How green is the Kindle Fire? Amazon week - Part 1: Green impacts on e-reading

Today we start our Amazon week, following the announced of the company last week on the launch of its new tablet, Kindle Fire, and the new Amazon Kindle products (Kindle for only $79, Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G). The question we'll discuss today is are these new Kindles How making e-reading any greener?

Let's start with the bottom line. Our answer is Yes. Why? Mainly because of cheap prices and the evolution of e-reading devices:

1. Cheaper price, greater availability - "These are premium products at non-premium prices. We are going to sell millions of these." - Jeff Bezos. He's right and the new prices for both an e-reader ($79) and a tablet ($199) makes them more available for many people who couldn't afford these products so far. It is an important issue as one of the claims against e-reading was that it was one of these innovations that is only available to the rich and leaves the poor out. Well, not anymore, or at least Amazon's new prices are a big step to make this claim irrelevant.

2. Evolution of e-reading devices - It's important to mention that Amazon did not disclose the Kindle Fire's carbon footprint and given their past resistance there is a little chance they will do it later on. It means there are questions about manufacturing, the use of chemicals and other parts and so on that unlike with Apple for example are left unanswered.

Nevertheless, the contribution of the new Kindle products, both the Fire tablet and the new Kindle touchscreen e-readers are the fact that they're moving the whole market one or two steps forward. As we always said, even if right now e-readers are not as eco-friendly as we would like them to be, they will surely be so within couple of generations, and the competition between e-reader sellers is right now the most effective driver we have to ensure we're moving in that direction, seeing both e-readers and tablets that are better and in many ways more eco-friendly (the reduction in the iPad 2's carbon footprint comparing to the first iPad is a good example of this process).

So the bottom line is that the new Kindle Fire and the Kindle e-readers are contributing to greater competition in this market and therefore advancing the evolution and greening of e-reading.

Tomorrow, we'll compare Kindle Fire with iPad 2 and Nook Color and see which device is greener.

To read more on how green is your (and my) Kindle, visit our website at http://www.ecolibris.net/kindle.asp

More resources on the ebooks vs. paper books environmental debate can be found on our website at http://www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp.


Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

What if Republican presidential candidates were e-readers?

I saw a funny comparison of CSR reports to celebrities and it got me the idea of comparing the 2012 Republican presidential candidates to e-readers and see if we can find any interesting (and funny) matching and identical characteristics.

So without further ado, here's our comparison. We hope you'll enjoy it.

What if Republican presidential candidates were e-readers:

Michele Bachmann - NOOK

Why? "Expert recommendations and fun social features"

Herman Cain - Pandigital Novel Color Multimedia eReader

Why? Believes it brings added-value to the field. Bit of too much self-esteem.

Newt Gingrich - Sony Reader

Why? An old-timer. Doesn't really have a chance against the new generation.

Jon Huntsman, Jr. - Aigo X1 HD

Why? Popular in China.

Gary Johnson - iriver E-Book Reader

Why? Have you ever heard about it? I guess not..

Ron Paul - Astak EZ Reader

Why? Ignored by the media.

Rick Perry - Italica Paperback Reader

Why? "Light. Fast. Simple"

Mitt Romney - Amazon Kindle

Why? Front runner. Yet, you always look for something better.

Rick Santorum - The Kobo eReader

Why? "Have the look of a winner" (well, probably just the look..)

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

People who follow Safari Books Online prefer using the iPad for e-reading

I just got some interesting information from Safari Books Online. According to a recent poll they conducted on their blog, eBook readers prefer to use the iPad for e-reading.

Safari Books Online asked participants to select the devices that they use to read eBooks and other online content, 40% of respondents selected the iPad. 691 votes were received, and the full results are included below.

What devices do you use to read eBooks and other online content?

iPad - 40%
Desktop/Laptop - 24%
Smartphone - 19%
Kindle - 13%
Nook - 2%
Other - 2%

These are interesting results because most surveys so far found that the Kindle is the most preferred e-reader. Here are two examples:

Kindle wins e-reader battle versus iPad: survey - "Amazon’s Kindle scored strongly over Apple’s iPad as an e-reader, according to a survey by news navigator One News Page. In a survey of over 1000 US and UK users, almost two thirds preferred Kindle to iPad, though the users admitted the iPad was “more compelling” because of its multi-functionality." (Entertainment & Stars, Sept 2010)

Impact of the Apple iPad vs. the Amazon Kindle on the e-Reader Market - The Amazon Kindle (47%; down 15-pts) is hanging on to a rapidly diminishing lead over the Apple iPad (32%; up 16-pts) among current e-Reader owners. However, the iPad’s share of the overall market has doubled since the last time ChangeWave surveyed e-Reader owners in August." (InvestorPlace, Nov 2010)

The results of Safari are presenting the preferences of the people who follow Safari, which is an on-demand digital library that delivers expert content in both book and video form from the world’s leading authors in technology and business. Still, I wonder if it has also some further meaning, other than just saying that Safari's followers are big fans of Apple's iPad. Is the dominance of the Kindle as the preferred device for e-reading in danger? What do you think? I'll be happy to hear your thoughts.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Working to green the book industry!

Kindle Killer? Probably not, but will the iPad become a Kindle Cannibalizer?

OK, we got it. The iPad is not a Kindle killer. At least that's what we hear in the last couple of days following a recent survey of about 1,000 consumers by JP Morgan’s Internet team. Among other things this survey found that 40% of iPad owners also own a Kindle and that 23% of iPad users said that they plan to buy a Kindle in the next year.

So, no killing, but how about cannibalizing? How much can the iPad (and other tablets) squeeze the e-reader market, making the Kindle the preferred device only for the niche of avid and semi-avid readers?

Let's look first at the JP Morgan's survey. Erick Schonfeld summed it up on TechCrunch (click on the picture to see it in full size)

These are very interesting results. Like many others I also thought that the the iPad will have a greater negative influence on the Kindle and other e-readers sales.

But even though it's clear now that Amazon did a very good job in differentiating the Kindle from the iPad, as well as in marketing it, there is still one BIG question that is still unanswered:

How significantly the iPad (and other tablets) would cannibalize the e-reader market?

Yes, we know that the Amazon did well in 2010 (they won't say of course how many Kindle devices they sold but a recent report from Bloomberg estimated that Amazon was likely to sell 8 million Kindles in 2010), but how well will it do in 2011 and 2012 with dozens of new tablets coming and when the with estimates that U.S. sales of tablet computers will more than double in 2011 to 24.1 million?

I wonder how many of the 40% iPad owners that also own a Kindle bought first the Kindle and then the iPad? I would guess that probably 80-90 percent of them. So what we can learn from it? One possibility that is not mentioned on the JP Morgan's survey is that consumers bought a Kindle because that what was available in the market back then, but they want something that is more than just an e-reader and that's why they bought the iPad when it became available in 2010.

So one possible conclusion can be that the Kindle is not good enough for many consumers, who don't read much, and want to have other features such as internet browsing, e-mail, watching video, and playing games. Now when there will be so many new tablets available, it is definitely possible that this sort of logic will get consumers to buy the iPad 2 or any other tablet instead of the Kindle. The result: The Kindle sales will decline or at least won't grow as much.

True, 23% of the iPad users say they plan to buy a Kindle in the next year, but how many of them will actually do so? I guess this is the variable that will actually determine to what degree the iPad will cannibalize the Kindle sales. If 23% or even 15%-20% of tablet owners will also purchase the Kindle (or Nook or Kobo), then the Kindle will do just fine. But if the percentage would be significantly lower, then Amazon will dominate mainly a relatively small market niche that includes just avid and semi-avid readers that would care about the advantages the Kindle has over the iPad when it comes to e-reading.

Bottom line: Projections for the Kindle sales on 2011 expect less Kindle devices to be sold this year compared to last year (4-5 million in 2011 compared to 8 million in 2010), but we'll need to be patient and wait to the end of 2011 to see the real influence the iPad and other tablets have on the e-reader market in general and the Kindle sales specifically. Then we'll know if the iPad is really cannibalizing the Kindle or they can both co-exist and grow their sales happily ever after.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

New research looks into the habits of e-book buyers

The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) just released their Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading survey, looking into the habits of e-book buyers.

According to BISG's press release, Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading is the first study to capture data from hundreds of book buyers who also identify themselves as e-book readers. Respondents were first surveyed during a 2009-2010 cycle (November 2009 to July 2010) to find out when, why, how and where they purchase and use both e-books and e-readers, providing a baseline measure of impact in a dynamic market. Both the 2009−2010 cycle and the new 2010-2011 cycle are powered by Bowker's PubTrack Consumer.

Here some interesting findings from the 2010-2011 cycle:

- E-book buyers are buying fewer print books: more than 40% of survey respondents say they have reduced the number and dollars spent on hardcover and paperback books.

- So far, iPad shows only marginal impact on the popularity of Kindle and NOOK. It appears that heavy to moderate book buyers want a dedicated device for reading that doesn't have a lot of distractions bundled with it.

-Publishers are declining as a source of information about upcoming e-books, being replaced by retailers.

- Third parties play an important role in device acquisition: survey respondents say they more often received their device as a gift.

- When purchasing for themselves, survey respondents say they are most often motivated by a suggestion from a friend.

This is very interesting, especially as it shows you the cannibalization effect of e-books on physical books. I also wonders if the retailers they talk about as a source of information are mainly online retailers or also brick and mortar bookstores. It would be interested to find it out if e-book buyers go to bookstores to get advice and then go home (or just do it on their mobile phone) and buy the e-book in the cheapest place they find.

I didn't see the full research (prices start from $395 to non-members), but I'm quite sure the research didn't check the green side of e-book buyers' habits, so here are some questions for e-book buyers I hope they can include in the 2011-2012 cycle:

1. If you bought the e-reader, how much did you take into consideration the environmental impact of e-reader when buying it?

2. What the chances are you will read at least 18 books on your e-reader (this is the breaking-even point)?

3. Are you aware of the recycling options offered by the seller of your e-reader?

4. Do you think in general e-books are greener than physical books?

5. How many years you think you will be using your current e-reader?

5. If offered with the same quality and price, would you consider buying a "green" e-reader (one with considerably lower carbon footprint and minimal environmental and social impacts) if such an e-reader will be in the market when you will be looking for your next e-reader?

I'll be curious to see the answers to these questions!

More resources on the e-Books vs. physical books environmental debate can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting Sustainable Reading!

Is E-Reading Really Greener?

This question is at the center of an article I wrote, which was just published this month on the Independent Book Publishers Association's (IBPA) monthly journal, the Independent.

Here's the first paragraph from the article:

The emergence of e-book readers, starting with the release of Amazon’s Kindle in November 2007 and through the launch of Apple’s iPad in April 2010, is changing the book industry. No doubt about that. But is it also making reading more sustainable? Is it really greener to abandon the good old print-on-paper book for a cool gadget that holds hundreds of books without causing back strain?

So, is E-Reading Really Greener? You're welcome to read the rest of the article here and find out!

A press release of the IBPA on the article can be found here - http://www.booktrade.info/index.php/showarticle/28546

If you look for more resources on e-books vs. physical books, check our ebooks page at http://www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!