The new WiFi model will hopefully remove any final impediments to Amazon shipping its device to New Zealand customers. We’re still mysteriously Kindle-free almost a year after the international release. If, as most of us suspect, this is due to the lack of a deal with a local telco,  Amazon should at least be able to ship the WiFi model to these shores.

The new Kindle is 21 percent smaller and 15 percent lighter than the previous model. It has a 20 percent faster refresh rate on its E Ink screen, longer battery life (1 month without wireless, 10 days with wireless on), and a larger 4GB storage. It comes in white and a slate grey. Endgadget briefly got their hands on the gadget and report that:

… the Kindle is still very much the reading device you know and love (or hate, depending on your preferences). The build quality and materials used did seem slightly more polished than the previous version, and we really liked the new, more subtle rocker. We can also attest to screen refreshes and overall navigation feeling noticeably more responsive and snappy compared with the previous generation.

The US$139 price point of the WiFi model might be the final push the market needs to get below the US$100 mark for basic models such as the Kobo or BeBook One. The latter is still a ridiculously expensive A$449 for a non-WiFi e-Ink reader. It’s a perfectly good eReader but it’s hard to see how the smaller independent makers like BeBook can survive when they remain so far out of line with market trends.

Amazon's third generation Kindle

Amazon dropped the price of its Kindle almost 30% to US$189 from US$259. This is less than half the original US$399 price tag when it was launched two and a half years ago. Amazon’s move trumped Barnes and Noble which just a few hours earlier cut its Nook eReader’s price from US$259 to US$199.

These big price cuts from the top sellers mean the gap has narrowed considerably between them and the low cost Kobo Reader. In the US, the Kobo is sold by Borders at US$149. While its no-frills package of essential features looked attractive when the gap was large, it will put pressure on that strategy now. Rather than cutting the Kobo’s price, Borders in the US has offered a US$20 gift card to effectively cut its price to US$129.

No sign at this stage that Australian and New Zealand prices for the Kobo reader will change. In Australia, where both the Kobo and Kindle are available, the Kobo is still A$199. A Kindle including freight will cost A$235 at the current exchange rate, plus GST if any is levied. In New Zealand, the Kindle — frustratingly — remains unavailable so the price drops in the US are mostly academic at this stage. But, if it were available in New Zealand, a Kindle would be about NZ$290 landed. The Kobo is currently NZ$295 incl GST.

While it might be tough on margins, the momentum of the iPad and the push for further price drops for the e-Ink devices is going to be great news for ebook sales.

• Apple’s iBooks
• Amazon Kindle for iPad
• Barnes and Noble eReader
• Kobo Reader (which is also the Borders eReader and will soon be the Whitcoulls eReader for the iPad)
• Ibis Reader (this is interesting because it’s actually an HTML5 web app rather than a native iPad/iPhone app)
• Stanza
• vBookz (actually a text-to-speech reader app rather than a traditional e-reading app)

Among Perlow’s findings:

• Apple’s iBooks is the flashiest but “of all the reader applications we’ve looked at, it is actually the least functional. Apple designed iBooks to behave and act like a real book, and focused more on the aesthetics and UI than actual App functionality with the initial release.”
• Amazon’s Kindle wins in terms of the size of its 600,000-title ebook store but “from a feature perspective, the Kindle software is pretty weak when compared to its hardware counterpart.”
• Interestingly, it’s the Barnes and Noble eReader that wins the highest plaudits from Perlow. “Of all the paid content readers, by far the best one in existence is probably the Barnes & Noble eReader application.” But it’s probably not so useful outside of the US because of its ties to the very US-focused B&N store.
• Of particular interest in this part of the world is the Kobo which will shortly be released in this part of the world as the Whitcoulls reader app. For Perlow, it stacks up pretty well. “It’s extremely polished and very well-designed,” he says.
• The Ibis Reader is different from the others in being written in HTML5. It reads non-DRM ePub files. “Compared to the other reader apps on this list, the reading features within Ibis Reader are pretty spartan. … However, the interface is very clean and simple to use, and the reading experience is actually pretty good when compared to the native apps.”
• Stanza was the original e-reading app that popularised e-reading on the iPhone. It’s the latest to the iPad party but the result is good according to Perlow. “Stanza is by far the most sophisticated e-Reader application for iPad, as it supports not only the open EPUB format but also the legacy Mobipocket, PalmDoc (DOC), Microsoft LIT formats as well as HTML, PDF, Microsoft Word and Rich Text Format (RTF)…. If you have lots of content that you’ve collected over the years, Stanza is definitely a must-have app. There’s absolutely no downside, it’s free to use and does more than any e-book reader app on this list.”
• vBookz is a US$2.99 text-to-speech reader which works only with public domain ebooks  at this stage. Perlow concludes, “vBookz is an extremely interesting and exploitative iPad application, and one which may be good for getting children interested in classic literature and also a useful app for the visually impaired.”

Read the full ZDNet e-reader app review here.

UPDATE: ZDNet has also posted a comparison of ebook reader apps for the Google Android platform. Check it out.

To me, the most interesting thing is it shows is that the classics — the traditional fare of free reading — have some serious competition from new works which, for various reasons, authors or publishers have chosen to distribute free.  (Not quite free: they’re subject to Amazon’s US$2.00 WhisperNet charge for international downloading). You have to look towards the end of the list to find a high concentration of the traditional classics.

A lot of these free titles, of course, are self-published and there are quite a few from established authors that have been offered as promotions. It’s a great way to get recognition and cut-through: launch as a free ebook for a limited time then switch to paid, or sell more hardbacks and paperbacks.

Kobo on iPad from Kobo on Vimeo.

According to the Kobo blog, they’ve been hard at work on this since the iPad was announced two months ago. What was intended to be a slight tweaking of their iPhone app to suit the larger screen turned into a complete new app, built from the ground up to take full advantage of the iPad.

Kobo say they have yet to get their hands on an iPad so they’re relying on Apple’s developer tools, including the iPad simulator, to test it. They’re also relying on Apple to approve it since, like all Apps, it has to go through an approval process with Apple first. All going well, Kobo expects to be on the iPad at launch.

The iPad is due for US launch on Saturday April 3, right in the middle of Easter. Interesting timing … slow news day, plenty of photogenic crowds queuing for iPads? Other markets will follow in the coming months.

Meanwhile, not to be completely left out of the iPad hype, Amazon showed this snippet of its iPad App in the making.

The background colours of the reader sitting under the tree apparently change with the time of day, a nice touch. Apple certain has a way of getting designers’ creative juices flowing when developing for its platforms.

With this Kindle for iPad (once again, subject to Apple’s approval), Amazon’s Kindle reading and purchasing is now on its own Kindle hardware, PCs, the iPhone, Blackberry, Macs (just released a few days ago) and now the iPad. Interestingly, there’s still no Kindle app for Android. Nor, notably, does its Stanza iPhone app have an Android version yet — or an iPad version announced.

Others will be piling into the iPad with Barnes and Noble reputedly having a team of 14 developers at work and Skiff, the Hearst magazines initiative, also rumoured to be heading to the iPad. And, of course, Apple itself will be in the game with its iBookstore.

When Apple launched its long-rumoured iPad tablet computer late last month, it fired a major salvo in the battle for control of media in a new digital era. In its global sights were Google and Amazon who, along with Apple, are the companies driving this seismic shift in media.

All three companies are jockeying to be gatekeepers between content providers and consumers. So far, many of these battles have been playing out overseas but in 2010, New Zealanders will get to join in.

It’s the ability to get consumers to pay for digital content and reduce its reliance on a broken online advertising model that is at the heart of the media’s excitement. So it’s not surprising that a lot of the early jostling is for control of the one major medium that’s largely ad-free, books.

With business models that link online stores to specialised gadgets, companies like Apple and Amazon are proving that consumers will pay for music downloads, ebooks and even online newspaper subscriptions if you make it easy and attractive enough.

In this new world, the PC is no longer centre stage. Increasingly, what we’re spending our time doing is communicating, surfing the internet and consuming media online, not running applications like Microsoft Office. To do this, people want inexpensive gadgets that are highly portable, comfortable for lengthy reading or watching videos, simple to use, with long battery life, and always connected to the web.

It’s a wish-list that’s been tough to fill, until now. At last month’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, a slew of new ebook readers and so-called tablet computers were announced that, to varying degrees, will fill these needs.

Many will be in New Zealand by the second half of this year by which time Kiwis will also have access to content from local e-bookstores including Kobo from the Whitcoulls/Borders group, a host of New Zealand ebooks and perhaps some magazines from local publishers, and Amazon’s Kindle should finally be here.

The excitement of CES had barely subsided when Apple, with impeccable timing, announced on 27 January the much-hyped but impressive iPad.

For book publishers and the wider media industry, the iPad and its competitors can’t come soon enough. The iPad is a thin, light tablet the size of an A5 notepad. It will surf the web and do your email (it has an almost-full-size touch keypad and a real keyboard can be attached as an option). But importantly it also lets you comfortably read books, magazines and newspapers or watch videos over its wireless internet. It’s a very different experience from a PC but a very familiar one for millions of iPhone and iPod Touch users. The iPad looks just like a grown-up iPhone.

Its unexpectedly low US$499 entry level price point will make things much tougher for the numerous companies that announced entry into this market. They’re going to have to compete more on features and specialisation, making it much harder to get a foothold.

One area is screen technology where a lot of innovation has happened. Apple chose to stick with its proven LED technology which provides crisp colour images and quick performance but is hard on batteries, difficult to read in sunlight and can cause eye strain from prolonged reading. A new breed of electronic papers solves most of these problems and many of the new devices coming out this year will use them. Some of them are targeting business rather than consumers, hoping to finally bring about the paperless office.

To show off its print media credentials at the iPad launch, Apple CEO Steve Jobs demonstrated a special edition of the New York Times newspaper and a new application, iBooks, that lets you read ebooks – not just the black and white text editions that Amazon’s Kindle restricts you to but full colour, rich media versions that will make magazines and newspapers viable too. And from its associated iTunes-like iBook store, you can buy them right from within your iPad.

The deals Apple has struck with major book publishers are rumoured to give publishers a bigger margin and better control over pricing than Amazon gives them, two areas where Amazon has got offside. Watch for iPad deals with magazines and newspapers to follow.

In this battle to win the hearts and wallets of consumers and the media Apple, with its power to popularise gadgets, has a distinct edge over Amazon and Google.

Google’s strategy is to provide its Android and Chrome operating system platforms free to any manufacturer for this new generation of media-centric devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, and ebook readers. Dozens have already jumped on board and many of the direct competitors for Apple’s iPhone and iPad will be built using Google’s systems.

In mid 2010, Google will begin selling content through its own online bookstore, Google Editions, going head to head with Amazon’s Kindle and Apple’s iBook store. But Google plans to sell to intermediaries such as online booksellers and libraries as well as to the end consumer, potentially creating a more diverse industry. Google’s technology, reach and openness to partnerships is likely to make it a major contender. But Google is new to building system software and so far Apple still has the edge, something it’s likely to take advantage of as it wins over early adopters. And Google got offside with the publishing industry, governments and much of the public with its controversial Google Books programme, something that might come back to bite it as competition heats up.

Amazon, as an online retailer, is new to the hardware game. While it’s done a credible job with the Kindle getting consumers excited about ebooks, the Kindle is a very simple device and it’s by no means clear that Amazon can scale up its hardware operation to compete with the much more sophisticated devices consumers will be demanding.

An interesting, but little-noticed part of Apple’s announcement is likely to make Amazon’s job even tougher. Apple, like Google, is throwing its weight behind an industry-sponsored open ebook format called ePub. This might finally end the ebook ‘format wars’, tipping the balance in favour of a single format, ePub, and forcing Amazon to rethink its own proprietary Kindle format. Losing control of both the device and the format will make it tougher for Amazon to control the distribution of digital content. There are signs its market control is already weakening.

Other companies are in the picture, including Microsoft, and it’s too early to rule out a dark horse emerging. But so far, it’s looking like a three horse race to rule over the global distribution of digital content. Following Apple’s latest move, I’d say it’s Apple in front by a nose.

- Martin Taylor

There are hooks. The old 30% royalty still applies if your book doesn’t meet the terms Amazon specifies and you’ll also need to pay a download fee which varies by the size of your ebook file. According to the company’s announcement, to get the new 70% rate:

• Your book’s list price must be between US$2.99 and $9.99
• It must be at least 20% under the lowest print edition’s price
• It must be offered in all geographies for which you have rights

So to some extent, Amazon is paying for the higher royalty by saving itself from taking heavy discounts from its own margins. Still, for self-publishers and small publishers, it’s a useful improvement.

It looks like Amazon is trying to position itself better in anticipation of better deals from Apple’s forthcoming iSlate / iTablet and Google’s forthcoming Google Editions, both of which appear offer deals more in line with Amazon’s new option.

And in a further move to head off Apple, this New York Times story reports:

In its announcement Thursday, Amazon will say that it is letting programmers create what it calls active content — similar to applications — for the Kindle and keep 70 percent of the revenue from each sale after paying for wireless delivery costs.

Amazon will release a set of programming guidelines that other companies — including publishers of books and periodicals — can use to create and sell applications for the Kindle.

Until Amazon introduces more advanced models of the Kindle, developers will be limited by its slow-to-refresh black-and-white screen.

In the same story, the New York Times reports:

The move may also represent a shift in Amazon’s relationship with newspapers and magazines that make digital editions for the Kindle. Many executives at those organizations have expressed dissatisfaction with their 30 percent cut of subscription fees on the Kindle and lack of a direct relationship with those subscribers.

With a Kindle app store, those media companies will be able to sell more profitable Kindle applications, and present news that is updated throughout the day.

It’s aimed at the small publisher and self-publisher market with fairly minimal requirements. Here’s a summary of how it works.

1. You establish an Amazon account or use your existing account.
2. Add a book using a straighforward process that provides basic metadata, a description and cover image, lets you specify whether you want DRM applied or not, confirms that you have rights to the book (which can be limited to specified territories), and lets you set the retail price.
3. You upload a file of your book which Amazon converts into its own Kindle format. The formats that produce best results are MS Word, HTML or the PRC format. PRC is the old Palm format on which Amazon’s Mobipocket and Kindle (AZW) formats are based. Predictably, there’s no specific suggestion that ePub format would be useful, although you can still upload it, and Amazon specifically notes that PDF may lead to poor results.
4. You’re done.

It’s a simple way to get into the hottest ebook store on the planet. Amazon’s DTP agreement is also pretty straightforward although, as you’ll see below, is aimed more at the self-publishing market.

• You grant Amazon non-exclusive rights to sell worldwide (unless specifically restricted) and across all electronic media. You can terminate with five days notice.
• You receive a royalty of 35% of the list price you’ve set, subject to certain restrictions such as not being higher than the price the book is sold elsewhere. So Amazon keeps 65%. [Update 22 January 2010: Amazon offers a new 70% royalty option]. If you’re a self-publishing author, this is better than most standard book royalty deals—but much worse the 80% cut offered by sites such as Smashwords. For publishers, it’s a steep discount that’s more like the receipts they’d expect from a traditional print book distributor and their cut, of course, would need to be shared with the author on a typical 20-25% of net basis, ie the author would end up with about 7-9% of list. Amazon’s 65% cut is high by current digital standards and higher than the proposed 37% cut that Google would take through its Google Editions service scheduled for later this year. Google offers a two-tier deal, depending on whether books are sold directly by Google (Google keeps 37%) or through a retail partner (Google keeps 55%, allowing it to pass on a 45% discount to the retailer and keep the difference).
• If you’re a non-US business, your only payment option at the moment  is by cheque with a US$100 minimum balance.