Kindle’s Looking better.
I wrote last year about some of my frustrations with Kindle for the UK (the hardware) and Kindle Publishing services and only thought it fair to them to share my views on their most recent product and service update.
First, the hardware. I’m very encouraged by the pricing and the features of the ‘All-New Kindle’. At £109, in the UK, it’s excellent value and the list of features is very comprehensive, especially the claimed battery life. I also like the hi-contrast screen and the book capacity – at 3500 books, that’s more than I’m ever going to read in a lifetime. The only downside is the b/w only screen which, at only 6″, is possibly a bit small for many.
Onto the publishing, where it used to be virtually impossible for non-US based authors/publishers to get their books listed, Kindle’s DTP (Digital Text Platform) is a big step forward and now, in theory at least, non-US authors and publishers can get their work published. The royalty situation remains complex and unclear though and is something Kindle really need to sort out if they are going to truly dominate this market place.
Authors and publishers want simple and consistent application of royalty payments and not for retailers (nor etailers) to dictate what royalties are due under what circumstances. Here’s a synopsis of how it currently works:
As a publisher/Author, you can select a 35% or 70% royalty from your ebook list price. The 70% only applies for book prices between $2.99 and $9.99 and ebook prices must be at least 20% lower than the same paper/hardback. Furthermore, the 70% royalty only applies to sales to US based customers. Royalties on sales to other territories are fixed at 35%. From there it gets messy. If Amazon find that the same ebook is being sold elsewhere at a lower price than on Amazon then they can reduce the price to match. In this case, any royalty will be reduced to a percentage of the Amazon dictated selling price, not the RRP set by the publisher.
Compare this with Apple’s iBookstore and iTunes where publisher retains 60% of price set by publisher. Period.
As a consumer, I really appreciate what Amazon are doing to keep ebook prices favourable for us. However, unless they make the process simple and attractive enough for publishers, they will miss out on maximising the number of books published as publishers and authors simply will not get sufficient return on their investment.
Can we still be packaged?
It struck me at a ‘welcome party’ while skiing the other week that tour operators still package us together into convenient little groups then package and label us.
The traditional skiing holiday with its early twenties enjoying boozy apres ski activities well into the early hours was clearly the format that worked 25 years ago. However, those 20 somethings are now in their mid 40′s and their expectations, wants and desires have changed. While listening to the local reps rant on about their apres ski activities, consisting of pub-crawls, pub-quizzes and boozy ski-trips I had already switched off and was looking around at their target audience.
Being late forties I wasn’t the youngest there but there were many far older than I and they had also switched off. Oblivious to their audience (customers) the reps continued their talk. Less than half way through I got up and left. Apparently we (me and the wife) were the only ones that voted with our feet.
This particular operator was desperately keen to get our feedback as it was important for them to learn from us, ‘particularly in these difficult economic times‘. That’s a great start, however, listening is only the first part of changing. Tour operators, like all businesses, need to actively listen to their customers then act and respond to their comments and needs. It’s not good enough nor acceptable to group, package and label our customers. Customers are human beings and each has their own needs that have to be satisfied in a way that they want. Our recent welcome party was a stark reminder that many companies, and probably industry sectors, still have a long way to go.
Alternative Gear
My usual ‘gear’ for any pro-shoot is my Canon 40D plus an array of lenses that usually breaks my back to carry around with me. Like many keen amateurs/semi-pro’s, I always like to have some gear with me for those just-in-case moments and I find my semi-pro gear prohibitive for this.
I’ve tried many compacts and none really give me the flexibility/quality/performance that I need. However, a solution that has really worked well for me is the Olympus E-500 and standard kit lenses. The 8megapixels is more than ample resolution and the two lenses combined give me a 14-150mm range (28-300mm in traditional 35mm terms). The kit is also really light and easy to use and can be carried around in a small kit bag. Sure, it has its restrictions in terms of hi-iso performance and the lenses aren’t as good as my main line Sigmas. However, for a great set to carry about for those just-in-case moments, I find it hard to beat. Plus using it takes me back to my early photographic days with my OM2.
How much will it cost?
After many years’ in business I’ve heard the question ‘How much will it cost’ (and countless variants on that theme) so many times that every new time makes me want to scream at the person asking the question.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m more than happy to provide an estimate or quote for a slug of work – When I know what I’m expected to be quoting for.
Would the people that ask me these questions expect a considered answer under these circumstances?
How much for a car?
How much for a flight?
How much for a suit?
How much for a meal?
How much for a house?
I could go on, but you’ll have the idea by now.
The cost, price, value of a product or service clearly depends on factors that are pertinent to its characteristics. A car can cost as little as a few hundred pounds in Newport auction or a quarter of a million for a Bugatti Veyron. Similarly, I can jump on a RyanAir flight to Spain for a tenner while a first class flight to NZ will set me back £15k. A bag of chips down Caroline street is about £1.20 these days and a meal at a half-decent restaurant in London will likely set me back £100, for two.
Not surprisingly, the price I would expect to pay in these circumstances will set my expectation as to the quality of the goods that I would receive. But that’s a different posting for another day.
The concept described here is surely not that complex for anyone to grasp; Different things cost different amounts. A ‘Simple’ brochure website (if there is such a thing) will be less costly than a full blown bespoke ecommerce solution with loads of clever widgets for SEO and product upsells. A full day’s photography that requires sets and back-ups and models will cost more than a head shot for a press-release.
The important point here is; I cannot tell you ‘how much will it cost?’ until I know what it is I am expected to be doing.
My Photography Resolution
Happy New Year to You all! I rarely make resolutions but one I have made for this year is to take time out to do more ‘photography for me’. I’ve spent a lot of time over the holiday season tidying up my picture catalog from last year and here’s one that I’ve pulled together to inspire me to get out and shoot more in 2010.
No photos available for wales
Gallery
Share your thoughts..