“The new deal will take place June 30, offering publishers a much higher share of revenue than the current system,” Marsal reports. “When factoring in the cost of delivery at 15 cents per megabyte, Amazon said the average $8.99 book would earn the content provider $6.25. Under the previous plan, they would have taken just $3.15.”
Marsal reports, “Recent reports have said that Apple intends to continue that [70-30 split] in providing content for its forthcoming tablet, which is expected to serve as a multimedia device that can, among other tasks, be used for reading printed content. HarperCollins and other major publishers are said to be in talks with Apple to provide their content for the tablet.”
Marsal reports, “While speculation suggests Apple’s tablet will not function solely as a device intended for reading, its alleged ability to display e-books has had some dub it a ‘Kindle killer.’ In an interview last September, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said he believes ‘dedicated devices’ like Amazon’s Kindle will remain niche products while multi-purpose devices like the iPhone ‘will win the day.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Kindle, Schmindle. Even without the rumored tablet, Apple already has two Kindle (hardware) killers, iPhone and iPod touch.
Apple’s current devices already offer e-reader functions, including Amazon’s Kindle app itself. And, unlike Amazon, Apple hasn’t sold just a meager 2.5 million devices with grand hopes of having added another paltry 500,000 during the holiday quarter. Apple will sell upwards of 20 million iPhone and iPod touch devices in the holiday quarter alone; 40 times the Kindle sales estimated by analysts. 40 times. To date, adding in the holiday quarter estimates, Apple has sold roughly 75 million iPhones and iPod touches combined, all of which, providing they are running at least iPhone OS 2.0, are capable of using Amazon’s Kindle app, not to mention a huge selection of other e-reader apps. 3 million Kindles vs. 75 million iPhones and iPod touches. Let’s face facts, folks, the far and away #1 electronic reading device in the world is from Apple, not Amazon.
If they haven’t already, Amazon should forget about hardware and focus all of their attention on their Kindle software for Apple hardware.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “James W.” for the heads up.]
Personally I don’t see the Apple tablet killing the Kindle or vice versa.
The e-book situation is a complete mess though. It’s already balkanized into little fiefdoms of competing standards that will be nothing but a headache for most e-book consumers. To make matters worse, Apple is coming out with yet another competing standard.
What will be interesting is whether or not Amazon creates a Kindle reader for the tablet. They have one for the iPhone and supposedly one on the way for the Mac, and the tablet obviously shares OS X DNA with those devices so it would seem logical that the reader would be available for the tablet.
If so, Apple would probably say no, just as they have to Flash, not wanting a competing standard running on their hardware.
Sigh.
These companies really should get together and design A STANDARD. Then go off to their respective corners and attempt to create the best user experience possible.
Instead they seem to spend more time working on ways to lock us into one standard or another causing us to do what we do when they screw up…
acquire content illegally.
How many Kindle devices had been sold to date. Where are the real numbers from Amazon? Why are they afraid to publish actual unit numbers sold?
I don’t see it killing the Kindle. Their will always be a niche market. I see it just making it irrelevant. But actually it probably is both of those things already.
Clearly, the tablet, even if it does cost more will simply replace the need to have a Kindle, Netbook, iPod and portable game player in one swoop. Or you can carry all four if you like.
re: MDN Take
Why does every single product have to be a ______ Killer?
Amazon like the loser in Massa … running scared, fumbling all over themselves.
A lot depends on the battery life of the rumored iSlate. The longer the battery life, the more generally useful the iSlate becomes and the more that the Kindle and similarly limited devices are relegated to niche status.
That’s true disruption, they basically forced Amazon to cut its take in half, and doubled the revenue for booksellers.
Just as both Apple and Amazon thrive selling music online with only minor product differentiation, so too I believe there will be plenty of room in the marketplace for two or more companies who “get it” in the realm of e-books.
15 cents a megabyte? That’s $150 a Gigabyte.
They can’t deliver a megabyte for less than .15 cents a megabyte?
Things we’ll never see:
1. An Apple netbook
2. A virus-free Windows operating system
3. An MDN comment thread without some idiot dragging politics into it