Amazon Buys Audible (Too Bad it Wasn't Apple)
Amazon.com plans to buy Audible Inc. in an all-cash purchase for about $300 million. Darn it. I WISH APPLE HAD DONE THIS. Since the two companies compete with each other in one of Apple's most important businesses -- downloadable music -- I think there's a good chance one or both of these companies will kill the cozy relationship Apple had with Audible. Meanwhile, Amazon's Kindle is a lousy player for audio books. It's way too big for a pocket. It's awkward even to carry around. More importantly, only Apple is in a position to reverse the civilization-killing decline of literary interest among young people -- the "Twilight of the Books," as The New Yorker called it. Imagine if Apple promoted audio books as heavily as it does TV shows and music?
5:58 AM * PERMALINK * 5 comments
Comments:
I agree... Apple my have missed an opportunity to make audible books Cool... This would've been just another reason for me to stay hooked on itunes.. Further more Steve's impression of our reading quantities leaves a lot to be desired... As a marketing strategist I'm left wondering if his ego has got in the way of the power the Apple brand has to make things "Cool"... Frankly we read all day at work, traveling to and fro etc... In my humble opinion people need a break from all the reading we do just to live... Hence the success of TV, radio & even Podcast...
Given Amazon's stance on digital music DRM, maybe this will get us plain old mp3 audiobooks we can use anywhere (another win for zune and other ipod competitors). I'm glad it wasn't Apple.
Mike, I thought you liked the Kindle....what gives?...anyway, in my opinion, I think the Kindle is great for newspapers and magazines since we have a tendency to read them once, maybe twice and then throw them away, but I think the feel of real books which people tend to keep will keep books around for a while.
GLAD it was not Apple. The iPhone is the only different-looking product. Everything they do is white (including services and apps), otherwise. Bleh. The only thing I see as good about Apple is that they're competition for Microsoft...again and finally.
***** Mike, I thought you liked the Kindle....what gives? *****
I do like my Kindle -- for reading -- and I like my iPods for listening. But Kindles for listening.... not so good.
Mike Elgan
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