- Posts tagged amazon
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Jeff Bezos' Open Letter on Patents
Despite the call from many thoughtful folks for us to give up our patents unilaterally, I don't believe it would be right for us to do so. This is my belief even though the vast majority of our competitive advantage will continue to come not from patents, but from raising the bar on things like service, price, and selection -- and we will continue to raise that bar. We will also continue to be careful in how we use our patents. Unlike with trademark law, where you must continuously enforce your trademark or risk losing it, patent law allows you to enforce a patent on a case-by-case basis, only when there are important business reasons for doing so.
Translation: No, we won't be giving up ours, but we need major patent reform because Amazon plans to release an Android tablet soon.
Amazon may ship tablets by September
but [Amazon's] known to be concerned that Apple would corner Amazon on video and music.
Apple already has music cornered. The Amazon MP3 Store has barely made a dent, even though Amazon mostly takes losses on it.
If these rumors are true, I think it's because Amazon believes it can leverage its name and other services (e.g. free Amazon Prime) and have a valid, profitable tablet. I don't think Apple paranoia is driving this.
Apple's 30% cut is outrageous, yet when Amazon took twice that no one cared
The new 70% royalty more than doubles what Amazon currently pays in royalties. The increase was widely seen as Amazon.com's attempt to pre-empt the impact of Apple's entry into the e-book market
When rumors of Apple's typical 30/70 split (Apple/publisher) for an eBook store became too realistic to ignore, Amazon moved quickly to match the terms (though they didn't quite do so, putting a few conditions in place).
Until then Amazon had been taking up to 70% and no one questioned it or cared. Yet when Apple announced they'd soon begin taking 30%—their standard cut—of another category of item sold in the App Store everyone flipped out.
On the face of it, it's hard to believe those claiming outrage aren't primarily motivated by the fact that this is Apple, and any Apple headline is "news." Let's face it, "Amazon's 70% Cut is Evil and Publishers Will Perish" is an article few would have read.
Apple Preparing For Great eBook Experience, Amazon Preparing For... What, Exactly?
I like Amazon, and though I don’t own a Kindle I use the Kindle iPhone app often. I also love the Stanza eReader. You’d think the Amazon name, the Kindle app, and Amazon’s acquisition of Stanza would allow them to be impressive competitors to Apple in the software eBook arena, but instead I see Amazon about to get steamrolled...
Amazon Speaks: iPad Kindle App Will Be Cool, But Late
Amazon promises that the iPad version of the Kindle app it is working on will be cool, but it won’t be ready when the first Apple devices show up April 3. That’s because the e-commerce giant, like most other developers, hasn’t been able to test the app on a real device. And it’s going to wait until it can do so to finish the software.
They're stupid not to deliver on April 3. With no Kindle App why not try Apple's iBooks? Which is just what many will do.
It's hard to believe they're really waiting for the physical device to test with. Very few developers have the physical device yet there will be thousands of native iPad apps available on opening day. Besides, this is just an eReader, hard to believe the physical device will make that big a difference. Get the app in the store, and if the physical device makes a difference push an update out ASAP.
I think the real reason is that it's simply not ready. Amazon dragged their feet since the iPad was announced. They've focused on agreements and posturing with content providers, an SDK for the Kindle, and pushing out a weak beta of Kindle for the Mac. All those things should have taken a back seat to the iPad.
Only thing left is for their late Kindle iPad app to kick ass. Early looks seem promising. If the buying experience isn't significantly improved over the iPhone version, they blew it. Big time.
Good: Kindle For The Mac. Bad: Kindle For The Mac
Barnes & Noble Is Smart. Hello, Amazon? Anybody Home?
Designed specifically for the iPad," the company said, "our new B&N eReader will give our customers access to more than one million eBooks, magazines and newspapers in the Barnes & Noble eBookstore
Very smart of B&N to do this; the sooner they get it released after iPad launch, the better.
Meanwhile, I've heard nothing from Amazon on their plans for the iPad. Do they have any? They seem to be too busy licking their wounds instead of modifying the Kindle app for the new device.
Hello, Amazon, say something. Do something. You should beef up Stanza while you're at it. I want as many good eReaders on the iPad as possible and you control two of the most popular. I love the iPhone for book reading; the Pad could be that much better. Don't blow this.
