Today the long awaited Kindle Fire is released. I am looking forward to getting mine.
The Kindle Fire is the new full-color tablet from Amazon. It is part of the Kindle family, which I've continually upgraded upon new releases. I take my Kindle on all my air travel, for me it is the ideal way to consume content on the road.
The Kindle Fire (as well as the Apple iPad and Barnes & Noble Nook) bring a non-linear experience to reading a book. You can instantly jump from one part of the book to another. And it is in full color.
Kindle Fire delivers a new kind of business book
I specifically wrote my new book Newsjacking: How to Inject your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage to take advantage of these full color interactive components. Newsjacking was conceived, written, and published as an e-book only publication.
Amazon leads the way in this marketplace for one simple reason, content. Amazon is a content company that happens to create technology. The Kindle is built to serve the content, not the other way around. For that reason, I predict it will become very popular.
Most tablets are just technology. The computer is built because every company needs a tablet but it is not purpose built to drive a content experience. Apple (with the iPad) and Amazon are both pioneers in this new world of optimized electronic content.
As an avid reader, one of the most compelling aspects is interactivity – you can instantly link from the book to external content. It means a book read on an iPad or Kindle Fire is like reading a blog post with links to valuable content from other places. It means you can check out the Twitter feed of the expert cited in the text or watch a video that provides context to a concept.
As a content creator, it is fantastic to work within these platforms. Readers get a terrific experience.
Incidentally, I'm not advocating that print is going away. Heck I read a daily print newspaper, many print books, and a bunch of print magazines. But strongly believe there is room for both print and optimized e-content.
Another important aspect of the Kindle Fire and iPad is the instant nature of content consumption. I’ve heard from about 50 people who, in less than a day, saw my new book, downloaded Newsjacking, read the entire thing (which takes about an hour) and wrote reviews, blog posts, or tweets about the book.
Now that's real-time.
Are you getting a Kindle Fire? Do you read books on an iPad?
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The Kindle Fire will be an amazing disruptor in a fascinating market, but iit is wrong to think of Amazon as a content company rather than a technology company. They are not a content company, in that whilst content sits at the heart of their business, they don't own any content themselves, but retail other people's (nothing wrong with that!). They are in fact a tech company, as their growth and success has been about innovating with technology - from the very first use of the Internet to create a bookstore, through 1-click purchasing, to Amazon Prime and the Kindle. It's a great mistake to think of them other than as a tech company, which is why they will challenge Apple and crush Barnes & Noble.
Posted by: Chrisglennie | November 15, 2011 at 10:16 AM
Mr, Scott, as a result of this post and your pervious one, I bought a Kindle Fire (which shipped the same day) and plan to download your new e-book (the minute the Kindle arrives).
In your next post, would you please write about sales-resistance?
I could use a little.
Posted by: Bob James | November 16, 2011 at 06:12 AM
Never wanted a Kindle Fire.... till now! Thanks for the not-so-gentle nudge! ;-)
Posted by: Tina Behnke | November 16, 2011 at 10:32 AM
I have tons of Kindle books on my smartphone that read everywhere, including at home. Although it looks slick, I just don't know if I want to invest in an eBook reader. The only thing that I miss is that fact that you need a kindle to get the newspaper subscriptions.
Posted by: Jackie @ freeismylife | November 16, 2011 at 04:14 PM
Chrisglennie -- I violently disagree. Amazon owns tons of content. For example, they pioneered user reviews which they own hundreds of millions of. They have a fantastic algorithm for categorizing the product listings in a way that makes them easy to both search and browse. And the product listings themselves, with specs, features, descriptions, and editorial reviews are absolutely content they own as well. No doubt that Amazon is one of the biggest content companies in the world.
Bob -- enjoy it. I get mine delivered tomorrow!
Jackie -- I'm 50 and my eyes are too. I need a bigger screen!
Posted by: David Meerman Scott | November 16, 2011 at 06:40 PM
I still dont get it. Why should I have a Kindle when I can have an iPad? Yeah, it's $300 extra, but I can get a much better experience. Plus, Kindle App is available on my android phone.
Posted by: Leo Saraceni | November 17, 2011 at 11:12 PM
Go for it Leo. THey are different tools and it sounds like the iPad is better for you.
Posted by: David Meerman Scott | November 18, 2011 at 05:29 AM
Okay, you got me. I have to go and get your book. Been looking at the fire too.
Posted by: Cassandra Blizzard | November 18, 2011 at 11:26 AM
Love the new Kindle Fire. The color display is amazing vs the older model. I just think that buying a Ipad is more bang for your buck. You can do so much more with it and the cost is not that much more considering what you are getting.
Posted by: matt | November 18, 2011 at 08:06 PM
The new Kindle Fire for only $199 is more than a tablet - it's a Kindle with a color touchscreen for web, movies, music, apps, games, reading & more.
Posted by: Pierce County Jail | February 10, 2012 at 09:34 PM