Barnes & noble

[The Bloated One]

Just saw this on the BBC...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17896534

TBO

[J-Sun]

So every reader in the universe reads the open ePub format except the Kindle and almost nothing in the universe reads the proprietary Kindle enkrypted krap except the Kindle. So B&N would have been a great alternative if you're set on getting an evil reader and wanted to tell Amazon to take a long walk off a short pier. But now your choice is between Amazon and Microsoft or minor people one of those two will drive out of business or buy eventually anyway. Gr-e-at.

Ain't "choice" grand?

[Warren_Paul]

I'm actually looking forward to it, tbh. It means I'll at last be able to get my hands on a nook - imo they are the best of the major brand ereaders. I just hope they don't turn it solely into an ipad. Glossy screen = fail. Keep the e-ink versions Microsoft.

Bridgestone are going in the right direction, their e-paper solution supports colour, but even so I notice it's still a bit glossy - not as bad as a tablet PC though, but still glossy compared to e-ink. It's much better than tablet PCs, but still needs some work on the glossy/glare aspect before it can compare to reading paper.

They didn't mention changing the file format, will it still remain epub?

To me all this means is that Microsoft is progressing from the tablet PC market and into the ereader market, which I think is actually a good thing in the long run, as long as they realise there is a difference of purpose between a nook and an ipad. They would likely start to compete with the technology Bridgestone is developing, and I think they will certainly improve the menu interface standards. Hopefully they improve the speed too.

The other two major brands, Kobo and Sony, won't be driven out of the market by Microsoft, and will still use the same format as the Nook - as long as Microsoft doesn't change it. At this point Amazon is still the only brand with it's own format. As it is, the noname brands are already driven out of the market, I'd be surprised if any people know they even exist. The four that people think of today -without any Microsoft involvement- are: Kindle, Sony, Kobo, Nook, and they aren't going anywhere.

[Finnien]

I think a large portion of the ebook market is hoping that dedicated ebook readers will fade away as tablets become cheaper, more versatile, and more integrated into society. If that happens, Amazon's kindle grip will slip, which is (in my opinion) a good and necessary thing to reduce the pressure Amazon can put on small publishers to change terms and such. In anticipation of this, I've read articles recently that indicate that major publishers are moving towards DRM-free ebooks. (Articles linked below)

With that in mind, we can assume Kindle books will always be locked to Kindle devices and Kindle apps. Barnes and Noble books are released in epub format, and can be read (I believe) on any device. If a customer wanted the maximum chance of his access to his purchases never disappearing, the more open format would be the wiser choice, I think.

I hope we'll start to see more direct delivery from publishers (such as Baen's ebook library), more independent readers on tablets, and a move away from restrictive formats. We might even see an ebook equivalent of something like Steam, which caters to steep periodic discount sales and indie publishers, while providing a nice centralized location for content delivery. Kindle certainly has a strong hold on the market, but *if* tablets become an everyday device as opposed to a luxury frill, and their battery lives can reach a capacity that doesn't frustrate everyday users, then we might see their hold broken.

In that case, I'd much prefer that all my purchases be on a Nook, with its epub format, so that it 'played well with others' in the future.

Interesting further reading:
John Scalzi on Tor/Forge's move to DRM-free ebooks:
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/04/2...iate-thoughts/

Two articles by Charles Stross on Amazon's market strategy and the necessity of publishers adopting a DRM-free stance:
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog...-strategy.html
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog...nd-ebooks.html

[Warren_Paul]

Originally Posted by Finnien

I think a large portion of the ebook market is hoping that dedicated ebook readers will fade away as tablets become cheaper, more versatile, and more integrated into society.

That would be a mistake, imo. There is a big difference between dedicated ebook readers and tablet PCs though. Tablet PCs just aren't suited for reading books, it's the type of screens they use. If a tablet PC used something like Aerobee, then maybe, but people don't want to read books on glossy media device screens.

[Finnien]

I agree that they won't fade away entirely. I, for one, love my ebook reader (currently a Nook, but I've had a Kindle before). However, I suspect that people who are not voracious readers who already own a tablet will be less likely to then purchase a dedicated reader. If/when tablets grow in popularity and utility, then the pressure Amazon can influence on the ebook market will hopefully dwindle. I also have found, in my recent return to college, that younger students are more likely to do more things on laptops and tablets and computers than I ever did, and are (I assume) less likely to be turned off by glossy media device screens, when they're already spending so much time reading on facebook and such. Only time will tell, but I personally suspect we'll see a growth in tablet readers as time passes.