About a month ago, I started to draft a post about how, after all these years, nothing has killed the eReader. Despite tablets and huge smartphones, the humble eInk reading device keeps kicking. I still love reading a good book on my simple device, the Paperwhite. But this week I read an article with an arresting, if not foreboding, paragraph. It gave me pause. What if Amazon kills the Kindle, either on purpose or by neglect?
From Michael Kozlowski on Good eReader:
“Amazon’s overall quality and control have been steadily declining this year. It feels like they are not testing the updates properly, creating a bad user experience. This is likely attributed to the layoffs of the Kindle division last year and Lab 126, the secretive research and development arm. I have heard from many engineers and programmers working on the Kindle e-readers and Fire Tablets that morale is at an all-time low, and the Kindle is receiving less priority than ever.”
Before this, there was news of Amazon laying off thousands from its Devices and Services division, which includes Kindle. And further back, it was known that Amazon devices are unprofitable. They’re intentional loss leaders to gain market share and sell content (true, I buy eBooks from Amazon thanks to my Kindle).
All that does not paint a rosy picture for the beloved eInk device that Amazon pioneered. By the way, the Kindle backstory is pretty fascinating.
Less Kindle love?
So the Kindle is receiving less priority. That’s disappointing and unfortunate. But I don’t think Amazon should give it up or let it suffer neglect. The Kindle is a great part of Amazon’s brand; the whole company started by selling books. It’d be too detrimental to let one of its main fruits wither on the vine.
Speaking of bearing fruit, the Kindle literally kindled my love for reading. Growing up in public school, I was required to read books and attend book fairs, but I never became a reader or liked books. Then the Kindle, thanks to eInk and its digital advantages, compelled me to read. (Credit also goes to my wife for letting me borrow her Kindle Keyboard in 2011 to read The Hunger Games trilogy on it, which convinced me to buy my own eReader).
By the way, did you know the Kindle was released the same year as the iPhone, 2007? What a pivotal time.
Though possible, it’s unlikely that Amazon will ever kill the Kindle. But it could remain a lower priority for the company. That’s saddening, but I’m hopeful. Lowered focus on Kindle may be due to the generative A.I. craze. But once the limits of A.I., and low public demand for it, become clear, Amazon may stabilize and reinvigorate the Kindle.
Yes, but what if?
All that said, when I first read Kozlowski’s words above, my brain automatically looked for a life boat just in case the Kindle is drowning. My mind had to answer the big, “What if..?” question. The answer popped into my head: there’s a tablet for that.
If the Kindle were to go extinct like the dinosaur, then the tablet (I’d opt for an iPad mini) would probably be the fittest device to survive it. Or maybe a giant smartphone would be better. The point is there are many other screens in life upon which to read digital text (despite their lack of eInk displays).
But if the Kindle ceased to exist, that doesn’t mean Kobos, Nooks, or other eReaders would die too. In fact, they may thrive all the more. Though my mind did not jump first to Kindle’s directly competing devices, they would likely be greater alternatives than they are now. I would hate to “pay the switching cost,” potentially losing access to my proprietary Kindle eBook library, but I wouldn’t give up on eInk or eReaders. I just happen to already own an iPad and a few Apple Books, which are solid platforms and a safe investment.
So if the Kindle flame is extinguished, I’d look to Kobo, Nook, or iPad. I prefer eInk, but I also favor the all-in-one Apple ecosystem. But we don’t need to worry about this device doomsday scenario. The Kindle will likely survive, if not thrive, into the foreseeable future. And eReading is surely a never-ending story.
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