Amazon buys touch screen company

[Nathan Bransford]

In what we're hoping bodes well for future Kindle iterations, Amazon's pulled out its credit card and picked up New York-based startup Touchco, who specializes in -- you guessed it -- touchscreen technology.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/amaz ... indle-div/

What do you guys think? Will Amazon be able to keep pace with Apple and others in the device wars?

[christi]

As with any business, it will succeed with deep enough pockets, willingness to change, the smarts to innovate, the imagination to expand, and the willingness to take risks. If Amazon has all of these things, then I say they'll be quite competitive. They might even do something like the cable companies with cable boxes. If you can't afford the equipment, well for the low price of $5.99 you can rent a kindle for a month.

[casnow]

One thing is for sure, which is that they are going to make a lot more money on eBooks now that they are taking a 30% of fixed sale price on most eBooks instead of trying to sell it for $9.99 and taking a loss...

However, I still believe that eBook readers will diverge - you'll have very top end ones that do many things like the iPad and you'll have very dumb ones that will drop in price until they are very, very cheap.

[charlotte49ers]

They've got the benefit of name recognition with being one of the first (if not the first, I don't remember) e-reader. It's going to be interesting to watch play out. It kind of makes me think of the whole BluRay/HD battle a few years ago - it will just really be a wait and see deal, I'd imagine.

I just need them the devices to get a bit cheaper before I can even consider it! A school teacher's salary does not smile upon these $$$ things. :-)

[Skyhawk]

I'm not sure about that but I'm less sure about the publishing industry. So much so that I'm considering paying CreateSpace, a division of Amazon $5000 to put together a POD program for my book. The odds have always been stacked against us but particularly now, with money so tight, the tiny ray of chance I may have had is all but gone.

I see this as my only choice...or last option. If I'm creative, and work hard, I can promote the book through several medias along with my blog and actually start making some money. But here's my one concern. Once I take this road, will I kill my chances for traditional publishing all together? Or is there still a ray of hope provided the book does real well? Nathan? Anybody?

Also, has any body else considered this option and have some experience to share? Is there another company I should look into for a POD book?

I put two solid years of my life into my work and was dedicated emotionally as well so everything else in my life got put on hold. I think it's time to let go and move on. It was a promise I made to God for allowing me to survive and one time, actually sending an angel to revive my lifeless body but I'm not getting any help so perhaps it's not His will. That simple!

[JilltheImpossible]

I'm not sure about that but I'm less sure about the publishing industry. So much so that I'm considering paying CreateSpace, a division of Amazon $5000 to put together a POD program for my book. The odds have always been stacked against us but particularly now, with money so tight, the tiny ray of chance I may have had is all but gone.

I see this as my only choice...or last option. If I'm creative, and work hard, I can promote the book through several medias along with my blog and actually start making some money. But here's my one concern. Once I take this road, will I kill my chances for traditional publishing all together? Or is there still a ray of hope provided the book does real well? Nathan? Anybody?

I would definitely try getting an agent first if you're going to shell out that kind of cash. If you've already tried that route, revise your query and try again. don't give up!

As for the Kindle thing...I work for Barnes & Noble-strictly in nook kiosks-so it's my job to try and sell that product to as many people as I can. And from reading this article, I can already tell that a touch screen Kindle is going to make my job so much harder. Sigh. Yes, the nook has touch screen as well but this new Kindle isn't going to help when I get the question "So how is this any different from the Kindle?" I swear I get this question 300 times a day! Oh well, I'll be crossing my fingers that nook will try expanding the touch screen to the whole body of the device-not just the bottom segment.

Thanks for the heads up on this Nathan!