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Amazon's E-Ink Kindle Sales May Have Been A Disaster Last Quarter

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  1. #1

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    Amazon's E-Ink Kindle Sales May Have Been A Disaster Last Quarter



    Amazon's E-Ink Kindle Sales May Have Been A Disaster Last Quarter


    We already know that Amazon's Kindle Fire tanked in the first quarter of 2012.

    But Paulo Santos over at Seeking Alpha thinks that regular Kindle sales have also melted away.




    Blip or a trend? Are people getting away from the walled garden of Amazon?

    Are Amazons hardware Skunkworks team (Lab126) in Shenzhen putting all their effort into TV and smartphones so not upgrading e-readers enough to warrant replacement purchases?
    Last edited by East_coast; 06-05-2012 at 11:18 PM.

  2. #2

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    Related: Read a Physical Book When You Really Need to Remember Something

    Not necessarily right or wrong, but nothing beats the feel of a physical book.

    Meanwhile: HK$50m electronic textbook fund proposed

    dear giant likes this.

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    Quote Originally Posted by GeoTommy:
    Intuitively that makes sense. Certainly, when I try and remember someone I tend to put them in context (where did I see them? what were they doing?) so putting words and facts in the context of where you saw them makes sense.

    I wonder if e-ink is failing because iPads and other tablets are becoming so good?

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    [I]Blip or a trend? Are people getting away from the walled garden of Amazon?

    Are Amazons hardware Skunkworks team (Lab126) in Shenzhen putting all their effort into TV and smartphones so not upgrading e-readers enough to warrant replacement purchases?
    Kindle software works on iOS and Android devices so the walled garden approach is still there. Why push the Kindle reader, which they are not making any money off, when other devices are available. Personally I like to read on E-ink reader than on a mobile phone.

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    Hopefully ebooks have the huge potential to offer teachers real feedback on the reading habits and styles of their students. Educators could benefit from such tools

    - Data on reading habits (how fast, duration, consistency to help spot struggling students)
    - Simple comprehension tests at the end of each section to re-enforce learning
    - New words register /glossary (e.g. just double click on a word and it goes into flash card programme)
    - etc

    Last edited by East_coast; 07-05-2012 at 08:25 PM.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    Hopefully ebooks have the huge potential to offer teachers real feedback on the reading habits and styles of their students. Educators could benefit from such tools

    - Data on reading habits (how fast, duration, consistency to help spot struggling students)
    - Simple comprehension tests at the end of each section to re-enforce learning
    - New words register /glossary (e.g. just double click on a word and it goes into flash card programme)
    - etc
    How about making reading fun for kids by making it easier and more convenient (and cheaper) to get books that interest them? Making reading more of a chore will only drive kids away.

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    Hopefully ebooks have the huge potential to offer teachers real feedback on the reading habits and styles of their students. Educators could benefit from such tools

    - Data on reading habits (how fast, duration, consistency to help spot struggling students)
    - Simple comprehension tests at the end of each section to re-enforce learning
    - New words register /glossary (e.g. just double click on a word and it goes into flash card programme)
    - etc
    That... sounds like something that would be put in an iphone/ipad app.


    I think eink reader's potential lies in actually having multiple pages with touch screen feature. Ie. having the front page as the interface. When you select the book of choice, a good 30-50 pages will be shown (with the title page in the front screen) so that it can be 'flip'able. But only thing that would drive that kind of idea is if the society became green fanatics or if eink paper can be on par with touch screens, then they may have a chance.

    I can imagine buying an 'eink book'. Would be awesome, I buy/download a epub/pdf file, the whole eink book changes the text/color to that book i just bought/downloaded. It's doing what a tablet couldn't do.

    As of current, and in the last couple of years, eink has merely been a fad for light readers.

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    If you named yourself DeletedUser, try to behave so you can show the world what you're made of. Otherwise change your name and then argue all you want. If not, at least show us you can make distinctions.

    Last edited by Creative83; 07-05-2012 at 11:08 PM.

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    I have an ebook app on my tablet, and I use it to read.

    The missus has a kindle with e-ink.

    I want to steal the kindle from the missus, it is so so so so so so so so so so so much nicer to read from the e-ink reader.

    For someone who wants a dedicated book reader, a tablet does not do the job. Its fine for a casual read, but to read a book, the kindle spanks any tablet.

    East_coast likes this.

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    I don't like shopping in reality and online. Do any versions of the Kindle allow you to read PDF files? Do any versions of the Kindle get too hot to hold - after all there must be a reason they call it the Kindle. I would have thought e-ink would stay cool but I wonder if hot processors and discharging cells make it a little uncomfortable in your hand.

    Last edited by br111an; 08-05-2012 at 01:06 AM.

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