Amazon Kindle 2.0 = Fail
Amazon’s big annoucement is out today- a redesign of the Kindle. On the face of it, this is a story about the power of design. While Tim Brown of IDEO singled out Kindle 1.0 as an example of poor design (sorry Bob Brunner/Ammunition) that in turn hobbled adoption, Kindle 2.0 is a Frog Design re-envisioning, basically Mac-ifying the form factor with rounded buttons and a slimmer profile that immediately invited (favorable) comparisons to the iPhone 3G.
Still, I think most coverage misses the point. The secret of the iPod is not the form factor- it’s iTunes. Anyone can replicate the industrial design (as the Kindle proves)- but no iPod competitor can replicate the delivery mechanism for the content. WalMart, Amazon and other have tried, to no avail. Kindle’s secret sauce is WhisperNet, not the reader itself. I think Amazon made a big tactical mistake in not lowering the price ($359), especially in this economy. They should be following the razor & blade model - building unassailable market share in eBooks and taking a loss on the hardware if necessary. Mark my words, a re-designed Kindle, no matter how slick, is just not going to move the needle in terms of attracting a wider user base.
1 year ago