They'll be giving the competition a wedge for claiming to offer something Amazon doesn't: ad-free content.
Right now, the public is too confused about DRM to notice that DRM-free ebooks are more stable and often higher quality, and besides, few ebook stores have them, and those aren't the mainstream publishers. I'm sure BooksOnBoard would love to be able to say, "yeah, our books are a couple of bucks more... but HAVE NO ADS!"
Knowing how lucrative clickthrough ads are on websites, I have some idea how much an ad in an ebook is worth. Full-page ad when you first open the book? Is that worth twenty-five cents per copy of the book sold--especially since Kindlebooks are sold with the concept that only one person will ever read it?
They might be working on more dynamic ads--a page of Whispernet-fed ads that load every time you open the book, and have clickable links in them. But it seems that'd quickly annoy most customers, and they'd actively seek other sources for the books they want to read. (Oh, and in the process, notice the DRM issues that prevent them from buying from most other ebook stores.) Anything less dynamic & invasive isn't worth advertiser's money (advertisers are not going to think 1 purchase=1 reader is an advantage); anything that customers have to notice, will drive them away. At least some of them.
I think Amazon's exploring financing options, which is a good move, and setting itself up to shoot itself in the foot, which is not.
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Right now, the public is too confused about DRM to notice that DRM-free ebooks are more stable and often higher quality, and besides, few ebook stores have them, and those aren't the mainstream publishers. I'm sure BooksOnBoard would love to be able to say, "yeah, our books are a couple of bucks more... but HAVE NO ADS!"
Knowing how lucrative clickthrough ads are on websites, I have some idea how much an ad in an ebook is worth. Full-page ad when you first open the book? Is that worth twenty-five cents per copy of the book sold--especially since Kindlebooks are sold with the concept that only one person will ever read it?
They might be working on more dynamic ads--a page of Whispernet-fed ads that load every time you open the book, and have clickable links in them. But it seems that'd quickly annoy most customers, and they'd actively seek other sources for the books they want to read. (Oh, and in the process, notice the DRM issues that prevent them from buying from most other ebook stores.) Anything less dynamic & invasive isn't worth advertiser's money (advertisers are not going to think 1 purchase=1 reader is an advantage); anything that customers have to notice, will drive them away. At least some of them.
I think Amazon's exploring financing options, which is a good move, and setting itself up to shoot itself in the foot, which is not.