What’s A Book Lover To Do?

On the heels of Microsoft finally stepping up and opening retail stores to answer Apple’s iconic dens of cool, comes another clash of the digital titans between Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

For the past couple of years, Amazon has been gaining incredible traction with its electronic book reader called "Kindle.” For those who haven’t heard of it, or who haven’t seen one, Kindle is a handheld electronic device that basically allows you to download books, magazines, newspapers and blogs into an “electronic book" that’s 1/3” thick and weighs just over 10 ounces. It holds 1,500 books and runs for literally days on a single charge.

For $9, or in some cases, even FREE, you can download a book from a library of more than 350,000 titles. Plus, through Amazon’s lightening-fast wireless WhisperNet, you can download the Bible or the entire works of Shakespeare quicker than you can read the Sermon on the Mount or the Act 3, Scene 1 soliloquy from Hamlet. It’s amazing!

But now there’s a new kid on the block. A newer, cooler, full-color electronic reader from Barnes & Noble, cutely and coolly named “nook.” “To be or not to be” was indeed the question, and apparently Barnes & Noble thinks Amazon has cornered enough of the market.

As is often the case with the second player to the market, B&N smartly let Amazon take the arrows. The question is, can they now claim the land. The next 90 days will tell a lot as nook enters its first big retail season. Armed with a simple touch screen, color and the ability to “loan” books to friends (a huge advantage over Kindle), nook does enjoy a number of features Kindle does not. Think iPhone vs. Blackberry.

The question is, how many bibliophiles are there, and how many are willing to switch from the Kindle they’ve already invested hundreds in, or are willing to plunk down $250 for a NICE-to-have, not NEED-to-have new item. Estimates put Kindle sales at 500,000 units in 2008 and some analysts have suggested Amazon could easily sell a million this year. As universities and even high schools begin to ponder the merits of downloaded text books, it’s easy to see how the market could be poised to mushroom in the next five years. The question is, how much share will nook be able to pull?

What’s most intriguing to me, is why Barnes & Noble didn’t completely torpedo Kindle with a $99 to $129 price point. Why not take the Gillette approach and give the razor away to sell the razor blades? That would have been a game changer.

I was given a Kindle as a gift two months ago, and I love it. Since receiving it, I’ve easily spent $100 with Amazon downloading books and magazines and even a few blogs. That will ebb and flow, but I can tell you, for $9 a crack, I’m much more likely to take a flyer on a book I’d like to read than I was when I had to buy a hardback for $29.95 and up.

I'm excited to see a nook up close and I think it will be fascinating watching the Kindle vs. nook Battle Royale this holiday season. If you don’t have either one, check 'em out. They're fun. They're addictive. And however the fight turns out, it will be fun to download and read about.

Your Move, Apple

What’s the next move for an underdog when the category leader starts following? Microsoft’s move into the retail world probably looks more like stalking than following to the folks at Apple. It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I’m not sure Apple is savoring the moral victory just now. The Apple Stores have been a giant consumer hit since they first started appearing in 2001, and they have played no small part in re-igniting a brand that had lost its way. Apple has proven to be a deft retailer over the years, and has used the in-store experience to build a connection with its consumers that is the envy of the industry and instructive for marketers far beyond the computer category. Apple has used the environment to engage its loyalists and convert PC users. More importantly, Apple uses its smart geeky-chic employees to close and tighten the customer feedback loop. The innovative and unique Apple Store experience has provided the company with a long-held challenger brand advantage over much larger rival Microsoft who enjoys no such customer connection. But with this move Microsoft has effectively stolen the playbook from Apple. Microsoft is unapologetic about co-opting the entire Apple Store experience and re-branding it for its own purposes. A description of the new Microsoft store demonstrates what The London Times calls “suspicious similarities to Apple’s stores” right down to the Microsoft “Answers Bar” a la Apple’s Genius Bar, where customers can get answers to technical questions. Frankly, I’m surprised it took Microsoft nine years to answer Apple’s retail challenge. I suppose that simply demonstrates the hubris that so often characterizes market leaders. So now the question for Apple is, “what next?” That remains to be seen, of course, but I’m betting if Steve Jobs has anything to do with it, Apple will deliver yet another game-changing innovation that will throw the market leader and the rest of the industry off its tracks. The people at Apple know what it takes to take on a market leader.