Amazon Plans Netflix of Books

[Greg Tito]

Amazon Plans Netflix of Books

Soon you'll be able to subscribe to Amazon Prime and download any book to your device.

Print is dead. People have been saying that for years but Jeff Bezos' Amazon might be the company that actually brings about the Book-mageddon. After the public resisting the concept of electronic books for a generation - even though we had the technology - Amazon's Kindle device has slowly saturated the market of the world's book readers. With the Kindle, you still have to buy a "copy" of electronic books - which can sometimes cost more than a paperback of the same title - but now in the works is a subscription model. Amazon will charge $79 for an annual membership to its Prime service, which will include unlimited downloads of any book in its library. As reported by the Wall Street Journal today, Amazon is negotiating with book publishers for such deals right now.

Publishers of these books are not really happy about the idea. "Publishers are going to be very reticent to assign a value of zero to their products," said Peter Kafka on the WSJ's Digits show. "They don't want to convey the idea that their products are worth nothing."

That's why the first deals that would be ironed out will likely be for older books in publishers' portfolios, instead of bestsellers that are currently only in hardcover like George R. R. Martin's Dance with Dragons or still profitable for a certain audience like the Hunger Games or Twilight series. Stephen King's latest masterpiece might not be free in this service, but Richard Bachman [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bachman]'s might.

I probably wouldn't pay $79 a year for such a service, but that's not all that Amazon Prime entails. You also get free two-day shipping, and streaming of some movies and TV shows similar to Netflix. Consider that Netflix charges $7.99/month for streaming video - which totals $96 a year - and suddenly getting books, TV and movies for $79 doesn't seem terrible.

I would miss my bookshelf, though. The Kindle is a great device, but it's no substitute for the look and feel of a well made book.

Source: WSJ Digits [http://online.wsj.com/video/amazon-mulls-netflixlike-digital-books-service/375D5459-E360-4FA2-9F3D-3597F32661B2.html?KEYWORDS=amazon]



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[Wes1180]

Wish amazon prime was as nice and shiny in the UK

Basically you get free next day delivery on anything, but nothing else.

(as far as I am aware)

I'd probably really like it if it was for all books you can get on the Kindle, also do you get to keep the books if your subscription runs out?

 

[cynicalsaint1]

Man, if they actually get this worked out with publishers this would be completely badass!

Seeing as I have a Kindle and Amazon Prime already, this would totally be win/win for me.
I have a hard time believing that publishers are going to be anything but reluctant though.

 

[F-I-D-O]

I love my kindle. It's really nice for travel, especially since I don't have to carry around bigger books (such as The Game of Thrones series), and, while I love the feel of a new book, if this got finalized and worked, I'd gladly stop buying paperback books, especially since this is just a nice bonus to people who already have prime.
Now, if only Warhammer books would come out on kindle, I'd be set.

 

[InDetFilms]

Awesome. I would definitely pay 80/year for that. I heart my Kindle a ridiculous amount, and based on everything they're trying to offer with that service I would get value for money many many many times over.

 

[Catalyst6]

Hell, I might get Prime just for that. It was wonderful when I had it for free since I'm a student (extended trial? It was pretty long), I ordered so much stuff. Now... idk, it's not *that* much money, and I hardly use print media anymore over my kindle.

 

[LobsterFeng]

So do you have to have some sort of tablet to read electronic books? That's what I'm worried about.

 

[3AM]

So do you have to have some sort of tablet to read electronic books? That's what I'm worried about.

You can get the Kindle app free for just about any device - iPad, PC, Android phones, maybe even iPhone. I have it on a couple devices with different OSes and it syncs up great among all of them.

 

[Zombie Izzard]

So do you have to have some sort of tablet to read electronic books? That's what I'm worried about.

You can actually download the kindle program right to your pc or if you have an andriod or iphone you can download it to that. I have it on my cell and it works out great.

This idea seems intresting. But I'll stick to the library. All the books I could want and its free.

 

[Frizzle]

In response to the Movies and TV shows that Amazon Prime offers: Not exactly the best selection. I looked through it, and although it has a few good things that you'd be hard pressed to find elsewhere, the selection is still pretty meager compared to netflix and hulu. But still, for avid readers it would be a pretty good bargain, seeing as some new hardbacks are upwards of 20 bucks sometimes.

Does anyone know if the Amazon Prime student stuff includes the streaming media? Or just fast shipping?

 

[carletonman]

Now if they managed to put textbooks on this service, I'd gladly plunk down the $80 or so for this service. Considering I had to fork over a disgusting amount of money for school books, anywhere I can save money is a bonus.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

As long as there are printed books, I'm gonna use them.
There is nothing that can compare to the feeling of the paper in your hands while you read a good book.

Even though most people around me see me as the technology freak, technology can't replace books. Not in my world at least. The day when electronic replaces books will be a really sad day.

 

[Riobux]

I physically can not read stories on the computer due to eye-strain after the first 10 minutes of attempting to read a story and the lack of an attention span. I'll stick to the printed books thanks.

 

[Jodah]

I physically can not read stories on the computer due to eye-strain after the first 10 minutes of attempting to read a story and the lack of an attention span. I'll stick to the printed books thanks.

You may actually want to try a Kindle. I am the same way about reading on a computer screen but the e-ink that the Kindle uses works quite well. Most Office Max stores have display models you can look at.

Anywho OT: This may be the last straw for me to subscribe to Prime. I had already been thinking about it, I buy a lot of stuff from Amazon already, but this could do it.

In response to the Movies and TV shows that Amazon Prime offers: Not exactly the best selection. I looked through it, and although it has a few good things that you'd be hard pressed to find elsewhere, the selection is still pretty meager compared to netflix and hulu. But still, for avid readers it would be a pretty good bargain, seeing as some new hardbacks are upwards of 20 bucks sometimes.

Does anyone know if the Amazon Prime student stuff includes the streaming media? Or just fast shipping?

Just shipping sadly.

 

[Riobux]

I physically can not read stories on the computer due to eye-strain after the first 10 minutes of attempting to read a story and the lack of an attention span. I'll stick to the printed books thanks.

You may actually want to try a Kindle. I am the same way about reading on a computer screen but the e-ink that the Kindle uses works quite well. Most Office Max stores have display models you can look at.

I'd really rather pass. There's also the nice pleasant feel of a physical book in hand and being able to mount it on the wall. Not to mention, if it gets damaged it's a minor problem than a "oh god, my £100 expensive electronic reading device is ruined!".

 

[badmunky64]

I was considering getting a Nook for x-mas, but the kindle is looking a lot better if this rental feature happens.

Also did anyone else hear that? It sounds like public libraries just became aware of their immanent death.

 

[catalyst8]

I'm hugely impressed with my Kindle, reading backlit text for hours on end is uncomfortable, so the imitation paper is a welcome development. Books take up so much space that I'm restricted to only a few bookshelves for first & limited editions. US $96 is only £60 & I frequently spend more than that on a couple of texts, so it's a bargain as far as I'm concerned.

Viva la biblio revolution!

 

[spartan231490]

People keep saying print is dead. I will laugh at them in 20 years as I cruise around my local bookstore for the newest fantasy novel. You can't beat the feeling of reading a book, and you don't get that feeling when reading on a kindle.

 

[KaWaiiTSuKI]

I seem to be one of the few who actually don't like this idea.
I don't particularly want a Kindle. I don't know why, but there's something that just isn't appealing to me about them. Maybe it's the fact that I don't have a physical book I can turn the pages to but nothing to me beats reading an actual book, print on paper, turning the pages and enjoying it that way.

So, yeah I'm quite hesitant about this. :s