07.28
In Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble NOOK
I love competition.
Amazon introduced new Kindle models to stay on par with Barnes & Noble’s Nook.
Here’s the breakdown:
- $139: Amazon Kindle Wi-Fi
- $149: Barnes & Noble Nook Wi-Fi
- $189: Amazon Kindle Wi-Fi + 3G
- $199: Barnes & Noble Nook Wi-Fi + 3G
Note that Amazon has introduced a *new* version of the pricier Kindle. It now has a black case and… did you catch it? It now has Wi-Fi in addition to 3G as opposed to originally only having 3G. I’m not convinced the black case is a step in the right direction but I’m open on that point.
So bottom line the 2 devices are now essentially the same feature-wise.
Unfortunately since the last time I posted about Kindle and Nook, my enthusiasm for Kindle has wained greatly due to “KindleGate” – see here and here. Essentially it boils down to this: Amazon allows publishers to set the number of times a book can be download after purchase. So the more Kindle devices you buy, the more likely you’re going to hit this. Oh wait – there’s all those Kindle apps for PC, Mac, iPhone/iPod/iPad, Android, etc. Apparently it’s pretty easy to hit with anyone reasonably tech savvy.
ATTENTION AMAZON: You’ve lost a Kindle customer. No more Kindle purchases for me. Here’s how it should work: I buy a book, it’s tied to my Amazon account, I can download it and read it on any Kindle device or reader forever.
2 Responses.
That’s a mess.
It sounds similar to how iTunes requires your machine to be authorized to play DRMed (.m4p) music files… but at least Apple is clear about the number of machines that can be authorized at any given time, lets you manage which machines are authorized, etc.
Good point. Besides not being open about the download limit, the situation with Kindle’s DRM is amplified because they let the publishers set the conditions. Not good for the consumer.
My big complaint about Apple’s handling of machine management is not allowing you to de-authorize machines until 5 are authorized. It’d be nice to handle the situation where you forget to de-authorize a machine and wipe it.