How the hell can you create an updated e-reader without giving people the ability to write? Readers are writers.
Both, at their core, are in the e-reader family--born from the Kindle and the Nook. It strikes me that most on those corporate teams must not be readers.
Serious readers read more than books and magazines--they read blogs, and they read blogs about books. They also, and more importantly, write blogs...about books.
About books. Readers are writers--did I mention that?
Why wouldn't you encourage people to blog on your e-reader? The whole genesis of the e-reader was for people to read books on your device--which is nothing more than a clever tractor beam into gently encouraging people to buy books from you. Ok, that is fine--but it strikes me that no one understood that readers are writers.
Log onto GoodReads once.
If you allow people to write, blog, create documents easily you will sell more Fires, or "Tablets" or Widgets. Right now, we can not do that. I can use the Android market to download an App like Blogger, but not from your devices.
Your new devices collectively strike me as a paper mache Death Star.
Allow people to write and create on your device and they will buy YOUR books, Amazon (or Barnes and Noble). Amazon, you tried to corner the market with your Amazon Prime offers but completely missed an easy access point in the market.
It wouldn't have taken much.
Allow Blogger, and Tumblr, and WordPress (et.al) to have an app on your network. Allow users to create written documents. You are not that far off from raising the eyebrows of the education market.
But right now all we can do on your unit is buy your books and play Angry Birds and watch movies. That's great, except that your are catering to an unproductive segment of our lives. The time when we sit to relax and escape in a book or a lazy game or movie. How about the other, dominant segments of our day when we are productive, creative, and entrepreneurial members of society?
People write to make money. There are scores of us out there. Not to mention the fact that readers are writers.
You tried to be clever and offered a limited Android market of Apps so that it is controlled by you and dollars funneled to you directly.
You completely missed a market of millions of people. There are millions of blogs out there. Millions.
People of all ages blog--right now, the 25-45 crowd blogs more than any other demographic. Yet, here is a million dollar tip for you. In the very near future, the 18-24 crowd will catch them as more schools turn to digital writing. Imagine getting your units into schools, colleges, universities as a primary tool?
Imagine textbook companies having an exclusive contract with you. Right now a half dozen textbook companies fight it out like pirates whenever a school district is going to replace its books. Imagine what kind of financial boon you could create for yourself if you partnered with a textbook publisher.
They publish books, you know. To schools where people read...and write. And people read and write at home, at work, on the train...people do read and write.
And your devices almost let us do that. Almost.
So it is back to buying more iPads for our school. And back to considering a second iPad for my house, rather than something else.
Do the research--and make the adjustment. You'll sell more Widgets.
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