Amazon Kindle

I love the idea of eReaders. It seems inevitable that the books crafted from the carcasses of trees have to go. It doesn’t have the public’s eye yet but when it does, carrying an eReader to class will be as cool as driving a Prius onto a UCLA campus. With all these things going for it, it amazes me that Amazon has executed on the idea so poorly. In my opinion, every aspect of the product and it’s positioning to the consumer is wrong.

Device – it’s ugly, bulky and lacks the technology you would expect for the price

Price – too expensive and no subscription model for a lower out-the-door sticker price

UI – needs a lot of work and has little to do with books (it’s predecessor!)

Marketing – most consumers still do not understand the device, it’s advantages or retail impact

Business – it will never make sense to charge the same amount of money for a virtual good as a concrete product; the consumer will always feel shorted