Barnes and Noble – That Bell Tolls for Thee

…and it’s coming from Amazon’s Kindle Book download counter.

I’ve suggested to my friends for years that if Barnes and Noble doesn’t simplify their distribution network and offer the same prices online as in their stores, they will go out of business.  They’ve been bleeding us dry through their brick-and-mortar operation and losing a fair amount of their customers to price and frustration attrition.

How many times has this happened to you at B+N: “You mean you don’t offer the same price as on your website?  It’s actually $20 more?  Okay, I’ll just order it from Amazon, since it was $25 cheaper there.“  That’s price and frustration attrition.

This morning I received the proverbial nail in the coffin.  This e-mail from Amazon:Amazon's Kindle iPhone App

If you’re wondering what that squeaking sound is, it’s the clenching of Barnes and Noble’s board of director’s buttcheecks.

The only aversion most have to the Kindle (beyond DRM) is that you have to pay $300 to buy the device.  If you already paid $300 for an iPhone, why would you want to have yet-another-electronic-device that you now have to carry?  So far, the answer for most of us is to ignore it completely, despite the fact that the Kindle 2 is by most accounts a sexy, sexy device.

Problem solved with the new, free, Kindle for iPhone app.  And it means some serious trouble for any competing 3rd party book system, like – oh, the 2 week old Nook from B+N.

All hail the new defacto eBook standard: Kindle.

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  • Anon

    Barnes and Noble does have their free eBook app for iPhone. Certainly they're playing catch-up, but I don't think the brick-and-mortar store's going anywhere.

  • Anon

    Barnes and Noble does have their free eBook app for iPhone. Certainly they're playing catch-up, but I don't think the brick-and-mortar store's going anywhere.

  • chrisvieville

    Well now with Kindle for the PC I'm sold. I don't see spending the money on a Kindle at this junction but love the idea of downloading and reading right away so between the iPhone and my laptop the Kindle just kinda seems excessive. Like jewelery for cellphones…and bling for kittens…Ebooks FTW! uhhhh Mac version coming soon???

  • chrisvieville

    Well now with Kindle for the PC I'm sold. I don't see spending the money on a Kindle at this junction but love the idea of downloading and reading right away so between the iPhone and my laptop the Kindle just kinda seems excessive. Like jewelery for cellphones…and bling for kittens…Ebooks FTW! uhhhh Mac version coming soon???

  • chrisvieville

    Well now with Kindle for the PC I'm sold. I don't see spending the money on a Kindle at this junction but love the idea of downloading and reading right away so between the iPhone and my laptop the Kindle just kinda seems excessive. Like jewelery for cellphones…and bling for kittens…Ebooks FTW! uhhhh Mac version coming soon???

  • chrisvieville

    Well now with Kindle for the PC I'm sold. I don't see spending the money on a Kindle at this junction but love the idea of downloading and reading right away so between the iPhone and my laptop the Kindle just kinda seems excessive. Like jewelery for cellphones…and bling for kittens…Ebooks FTW! uhhhh Mac version coming soon???