Subscriptions and Amazon Kindle

[David-fr]

If Amazon pulls the Kindle reader from all IOS devices, then I'll be leaving with them!
Guess I start looking at the Android and WebOS devices.
As much as I love the iPhone and iPad, I'm tired of dictatorial Steve Jobs

I have my college books in my Kindle app on my iPad

 

[faith4more]

Will make it impossible for Kindle to compete with ibooks on ios at least with a 30% take. Stinks but maybe this is what Apple wants.

I don't do ibooks precisely because I don't want to be locked into Apple forever.

May be time to cast off the Apple shackles.

 

[kwajkat]

This has to be one of the more dumber moves Apple has done. Makes me reconsider if I will get a new ipad or not since I like reading my kindle books on the ipad. I would probably consider another tablet device if I could get my itunes movies out of itunes and into a different device.

 

[gloss]

I have to agree. If Apple insists on sticking to this idiotic course of action, I'll probably look into alternative platforms.

 

[malnar]

The simple, and most effective answer here is "buy a Kindle." If you want Apple to get the message loud and clear, go buy what they're trying to kill off. If Apple is going to insist on this and Amazon pulls the app, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I won't get rid of my iPad as I use that for a lot of other things. But I will take my Kindle books back to the platform it was intended for, if Apple keeps pushing. And when it comes time to look at a new tablet, well, then I may think twice about an iPad.

At the moment, I'm wondering if all of this is simply to keep Apple out in the news, good or bad, during a time when absolutely nothing is really going on for them. Remember, MWC is going on and tech news would otherwise be covering products from there. Now they're obsessed with Apple. Think about how much oddball Apple "news" (rumors) is out there this week when there really hadn't been much before - new "small iPhone," 3 different iPhone models being tested (one with keyboard,) new Macbook Pros again today, iWork 11 demo in Mexico (or wherever), etc. It might seem like this is bad news for Apple on this in particular, but it can't hurt too much to let this ride for a bit since it gets the attention off other products, then they come out next week or sometime soon with something that explains this more to calm nerves - but at a great time to keep the airwaves filled with the name "Apple."

 

[wolfpackfan]

The simple, and most effective answer here is "buy a Kindle."

You know this isn't a bad idea. If I see the Kindle and/or Nook apps pulled, I will probably buy a Color Nook.

 

[wolfpackfan]

Will make it impossible for Kindle to compete with ibooks on ios at least with a 30% take. Stinks but maybe this is what Apple wants.

+1

I have a lot more Kindle and Nook books than iBooks mainly because their prices are cheaper, the selection is better and the apps are better than iBooks. I bet Apple is looking to "force" users to use iBooks.

 

[Piggie]

+1

I have a lot more Kindle and Nook books than iBooks mainly because their prices are cheaper, the selection is better and the apps are better than iBooks. I bet Apple is looking to "force" users to use iBooks.

Or perhaps they think they can force Amazon to increase the costs of it's Kindle books to everyone to compensate for Apple's 30% cut on the iOS App?
Hence making their iBook pricing look better.

 

[JoJoCal19]

May be time to cast off the Apple shackles.

I hear ya. I have been waiting with cash in hand to buy the new MacBook Pro and iPad 2, to complement my iPhone 4. Then Apple goes and does something like this. While not reason enough to panic and jump ship, I'm just wondering what lies down the road for idiotic and controlling moves by Apple. While there is not another phone out there I would rather have, I can easily get a Dell XPS or Lenovo Ideapad Y series and then get a Windows 7 slate, that will fulfill all my needs. Definitely going to be switching from iTunes sourced media so it's not more difficult to jump ship should the day ever come.

 

[NilsO]

Welcome to Big Brother

The real problem is this:
Apple wants to make a profit on everything you download to your device, both executable code (Apps) and data (eBooks and basically all other digital content you purchase).

This is in sharp contrast to the traditional PC market, where applications and digital content are purchased independent of the PC manufacturer. In short, it is the difference between an open and a very closed ecosystem.

This makes the iPad unsuitable as a laptop replacement. Instead, it might compete with the Playstation, Nintendo, and other closed environments, where the manufacturer retains full control of the marketplace.

So is this a problem? It depends. If you have purchased an iPad as a laptop replacement or generic eBook reader, you will soon have every reason to feel cheated. Come July 1st, you will probably not longer be able to access your Kindle eBooks, due to Apple enforcing their very strict App store policy, which will be completely unacceptable to Amazon.

On the other hand, if you are happy with Steve Jobs watching over you, telling you what (and what not) to read via his "fantastic" iBookstore, and making all your other digital purchases (perhaps even tickets?) via in-App purchases, you probably will feel happy in your little gated community. Probably Safari itself will soon be modified to just be able to access Apple.com.

Most of us (including me) will probably start looking for iPad alternatives. This must be the single most compelling reason to switch to a Android device. Not that they are better or prettier (probably not), but I hope they offer freedom from Apple's tentacles. "Land of the free"? Hah.

 

[jim2011]

Just wait and see, I think that the 30% won't apply to kindle and many other services you guys are worried about. I think you would have heard an uproar about it already if that was the case. Besides the blogs and users on forums, there hasn't been any substantial backlash to the announcement.

 

[wolfpackfan]

Come July 1st, you will probably not longer be able to access your Kindle eBooks, due to Apple enforcing their very strict App store policy, which will be completely unacceptable to Amazon.

I really don't see this happening because I don't think neither Amazon or B&N (Nook) want to give up the iPad market. What I see happening is they increase their prices by 30% but staying in the market. This will cause people who just buy books occasionally to pay the higher price while those that buy lots of books to buy a Kindle or Nook. Amazon and B&N gain nothing by leaving the iPad market except to cause people to buy more iBooks books.

 

[JoJoCal19]

Most of us (including me) will probably start looking for iPad alternatives. This must be the single most compelling reason to switch to a Android device. Not that they are better or prettier (probably not), but I hope they offer freedom from Apple's tentacles. "Land of the free"? Hah.

That's just it. Pretty much all of the alternatives suck and even though the XOOM is nice, it's still too much money for what it is. I'd rather have one of the new Windows 7 slates that are coming out. Then I can run all of the Windows software on the go.

 

[McWatt]

I really don't see this happening because I don't think neither Amazon or B&N (Nook) want to give up the iPad market. What I see happening is they increase their prices by 30% but staying in the market. This will cause people who just buy books occasionally to pay the higher price while those that buy lots of books to buy a Kindle or Nook. Amazon and B&N gain nothing by leaving the iPad market except to cause people to buy more iBooks books.

This is what I initially thought as well. But then I found out that Apple has a policy that app providers must offer their products for the same cost or less in app as outside of an app. And I can almost guarantee that companies like Amazon are not going to raise their prices by 30% for all of their customers.

On a different note, I would still recommend getting a kindle. It only does one thing, but it does it very well. The e-ink screen is very easy on the eyes.

 

[NilsO]

I really don't see this happening because I don't think neither Amazon or B&N (Nook) want to give up the iPad market. What I see happening is they increase their prices by 30% but staying in the market. This will cause people who just buy books occasionally to pay the higher price while those that buy lots of books to buy a Kindle or Nook. Amazon and B&N gain nothing by leaving the iPad market except to cause people to buy more iBooks books.

What you do not understand yet, is that Apple will not allow this. They explicitly state that an item purchased within the App store cannot be more expensive than the same item purchased from the vendor's own store.

To visualize: Suppose Steve Jobs buys Disneyland (he probably can afford it). A can of Coke costs $5 inside the park. Steve would then declare that the Coca-Cola Company should also charge $5 for all cans of Coke sold outside the park (i.e., the rest of the world). Sounds fair?

 

[NightStorm]

Just wait and see, I think that the 30% won't apply to kindle and many other services you guys are worried about. I think you would have heard an uproar about it already if that was the case. Besides the blogs and users on forums, there hasn't been any substantial backlash to the announcement.

Agreed. This will only apply to subscription content, not purchasing books. Using the current in-app store structure to search through hundreds of thousands of Kindle books would be a nightmare. The system (at least in its current state) was not built for this type of shopping.