When it comes to mp3 players, there is hardly any competition. The iPod rules them all. It doesn’t matter if someone else can build a batter mp3 player at this point in the game, Apple owns this category.
In the realm of e-readers, there have been a few different players. There’s the Nook and I think Sony has a model or two while Apple has completely stayed clear of e-reader only devices. There has been some competition between the Apple iPad and Amazon’s Kindle, but there have hardly been any sparks. They are simply two different kinds of devices.
Just has Apple dominates the mp3 market, Amazon is about to seal the deal and put the final nail in the coffin of competition and rule the e-reader market with their next move.
For a fixed monthly fee, Kindle users will have access to an entire library of books. Amazon is to book publishing as Walmart is to retail, so there’s talk of premium bestsellers being made available as part of the service, unlike similar library services like booskfree.com, bookswim.com and 24symbols.com.
With avid readers diving into e-readers and easy subscription services like this, what future do public libraries have?
As one technology continues to emerge (e-readers) and another disappears (print books) what will happen to the remnants?
Technology has never moved this fast.
[via TNW]
Brian Notess says
I’ll be interested to see how this actually pans out. I’m skeptical just because I’ve heard some of the licensing shenanigans that have gone on with publishers and electronic distribution.
If libraries were invented today, they would be illegal.
Eric Dye says
I know, right!!! https://churchm.ag/copyright-law-history/
Eleanor says
Interesting point … I’ll have to think about that one for awhile ….
As for libraries dying, I don’t think I’ll ever recover from my old-school tendencies – I suppose that’s what working at a newspaper for half a decade will get you. I just think libraries are community centers more than just book-loaning institutions. I don’t care how sophisticated your book-recommending algorithms are, they’re not as good as me asking my librarian “what do you recommend for my 11 year old niece who’s a good reader, likes mysteries, plays soccer and is thinking about going to science camp next year?”
Adam Shields says
I agree that I don’t think this eliminates libraries. The problem with libraries is the economy, not ebooks.
Eleanor says
I keep hearing about how demand for library services is up because of the economy. More people want/need libraries, but local governments don’t have the funds for it. Like a lot of things, I suppose …
Andy Darnell says
Just curious, What would your monthly break point be that would prohibit you from taking part in this service? I wonder if my family can share an account on multiple devices.
Adam Shields says
I wonder about the sharing. Right now you can have a number of kindle on a single account and share your books. But you cannot share (or at least last time I looked) newspapers or magazines. So Amazon has the technology.
Personally, if it was everything and sharing was enabled, I would probably be willing to spend up to $30-40 a month, but I read a lot. If they did $10 a month for up to 3 books, that would probably be good for most people.
Eric Dye says
Word.
Eric Dye says
That’s how the regular service works, so I would imagine it would be the same. However, the more I hear about this, the more I hear about obstacles being brought up. So it’s really hard to say how it would turn out in the end.
Adam Shields says
They sort of launched it. It is the kindle lending library. Not a huge number of books, but if you are a member of prime you can borrow and keep for as long as you want. I will look into it more to see the details