Amazon has been the leader in designing technology for many years. In fact, Amazon greatly shocked the market when they designed the Kindle and made it possible to digitalize the experience of reading books. What many business experts are wondering is what happened to that momentum that the Kindle had previously possessed? The answer is that Amazon made a device that was only compatible with what they were selling on Amazon and the software was not compatible and intuitive for their users, (Barrett, B., 2015). What ended up happening as a result is that Amazon’s competition beat them with devices such as the Nook and the iPad.
One of the major issues that Amazon was affronted with in the case was the notion that their hardware and programming was not good enough. Being a loyal iPad user, I tend to agree. Kindle is very limiting to the reader for a variety of reasons. One being that you are limited to Amazon’s store, which has options but does not offer you the diversity that the iPad does because in theory, I could purchase any store of books online by using my iPad. With the Kindle, this is simply not the case.
Pertaining to the hardware of the Kindle itself, its screen is not nearly as good as other devices in its industry, (Lipton, J., 2014). The case reflects this that Kindles are difficult to read in resolution as well. This is important to understand because devices such as the Kindle were created to combat the aging population’s ease of reading and to make traveling easier with a book or periodical being merely a click away, (Sinha, A., 2015). Thus the fact that the Kindle is not doing what it set out to do is very limiting to the prospective customer that is trying to invest in the Kindle for its advertised benefits, (Sinha, A., 2015).
Coming back to the iPad, I am willing to argue that the iPad dominates both the Kindle and the Nook and it is because of the fact that you can purchase from many different stores. Thinking logically, why would I as a consumer want to buy one device that limits my options? This is precisely the battle that Amazon is facing with their Kindle and Barnes & Noble is facing with their Nook because both limit the consumer’s options. The companies have tried to increase revenues by making a Kindle App on the iPad, for example, but that basically silences their own business model in the future because, once again, why is the consumer going to buy all three devices when they have just one?
Amazon has to seriously consider their strategy with this because they have the opportunity to profit off individual sales of e-books on iPads, for example, or to invest their efforts to an inferior device that consumers do not respond as well to. Kindle had the market before Apple fired back with the iPad. Once that happened, Kindle was dead and continues to be dead. That being said, I do love Kindle’s App on my iPad. It is very useful and is better than the iTunes Store in many respects. In my viewpoint, this is where Kindle’s strength is going to be in the coming years.
An additional avenue for Amazon Kindle to pursue is their self-publishing side of e-books. This has recently become a major component of Amazon’s business that Apple has not touched. This has the potential to maximize profits that were lost in selling the Kindle devices because so many individuals greatly want to maximize their potential as authors that do not deal with traditional publishers. For example, many bloggers have taken this route to publish “look-books” that are affordable to produce that will generate them profits. Additionally, Amazon has offered these new authors exposure by agreeing to release a certain amount of their books for free for a limited amount of time. Then, Amazon lowers the price of production and after that, the author begins to earn royalties. This has been a great way for Amazon to increase their business by leaps and bounds.
In comparing how Barnes & Noble has responded to Kindle’s efforts, the Nook appears to be dying a slow death as well because Apple just has it all. For example, with my iPad, I can rent all of my textbooks for 75% below retail from a plethora of different vendors. What is important to understand about this is that Apple allows me to get a one-stop-shop for my textbook needs. Additionally, I do not have to carry these heavy books with me. I can read them from a beach in Tahiti on spring break if I so desire. Thus, thinking in that mindset, why on earth would I want to carry three different devices that limit my options for reading?
This is where Amazon is going to have to redirect their business as was explored in this case. Amazon’s future truly lies in their expansion of their App to sell more products to other smart phones, laptops, and tablets. That is Amazon’s place to shine because they have the greater merchandise potential than even Apple or Nook. Additionally, they have the potential to enter the Asian markets and take Alibaba, which is Amazon’s twin in the region. Thinking like this will allow Amazon to maximize its strengths instead of trying to beat a dead “Kindle horse.” Additionally, Amazon will be able to capitalize on the developing self publishing industry in a major way. If Amazon implements these strategies into their business models, they will see a great new direction for their company and increased profits.
All in all, the key to Amazon’s success is going to be playing into their strengths. If they do this, this is how their company is going to grow and evolve in future years. Many companies lose sight of this and try to promote technology that they have already lost on. Amazon has an opportunity to turn things around and if they do, they will surely reap the rewards.
References
Barrett, B. (2015). Amazon’s Hardware Isn’t About You and That’s the Problem. Retrieved from: http://www.wired.com/2015/08/amazon-hardware-fire-phone-kindle/.
Lipton, J. (2014). Reading Into the Kindle’s Future. CNBC. Retrieved from: http://www.cnbc.com/2014/11/19/reading-into-the-kindles-future.html/.
Sinha, A. (2015). The Future of the Kindle: Just Like Paper. Scroll.in. Retrieved from: http://scroll.in/article/708313/the-future-of-the-kindle-just-like-paper/.
