Tinkershaw,
Why would a publisher or etailer want to aid Henry in this disintermediation process by setting up Gemstar ebooks as the standard.
New York, NY, October 12th - Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. (NASDAQ : GMST) today announced the release of six titles from best-selling authors exclusively for the Gemstar eBook in conjunction with the launch of the Gemstar eBook (under content agreements with five of the top U.S. publishing houses).
gemstarebook.com
Gemstar's publishing partner's:
gemstarebook.com
Gemstar's current content:
gemstarebook.com
Click each category for a complete listing. The Bestsellers really surprised me:
gemstarebook.com
Absolute security and critical mass of readers. Henry has the former but the latter is in danger. A $299 price point. I can't give out any cost information on the ebooks, but what I can say is that Henry is not doing all he can to distribute these books as quickly as possible.
You couldn't find a DVD player under $300 two years ago. Last night I saw the first under $100 at Best Buy. The same will happen with eBook. This is Consumer Electronics 101. Cost is a function of volume.
I can't reveal any of Thomson's plans, and this strategy may yet take shape, but in the end it is up to Henry, and he was not very excited about any use of the ebooks other than as consumer reading devices.
That is as it should be. Reading from the eBook must be as simple as reading from a paper book. Simplicity and dedication of use is a prudent strategy in my view, as an investor and a consumer.
It's odd to read your post on the very same day that the lights went on for me with the eBook. I post little about the eBook because I have considered it a side show. I feel differently now.
This view from a leading author says much:
Patricia Cornwell, a best-selling mystery author whose latest novel, The Last Precinct, will be one of the first offerings for the new venture, said she had been viewing e-books with anxiety for the past year or so.
"I was thinking in terms of the Internet, of which I'm a very big fan. But I would never want my books published there for the obvious reasons of potential piracy," she said.
"If you can start downloading books from the Internet and not paying anything for them, it might be a picnic for the reader for a while. But eventually it will be a famine because it will dry up the livelihoods of those who produce the works.
"It would kill the golden goose."
Regards
Stew |
