Tag Archive for 'Kindle'

Amazon takes a 70% revenue cut on Kindle purchases. Apple takes a 30% cut on App Store purchases. Both are closed-system business models. Amazon and Apple get away with it only because they can. But it also means they have a mixed-revenue business model, and can afford to discount on hardware. Other eReader device makers are going to have to be more open about download formats. Which means they’ll miss out on those revenue shares. Which means their hardware will stay pricey, allowing Amazon to reinforce its dominance. Right? Maybe not - subscriptions to magazines, newspapers etc still offer device makers the chance to intermediate delivery – if they choose to take it. Kindle’s the only wireless show in town so far, so will be interesting to see which way Plastic Logic and other eReader device makers go with this decision. The other question is whether publishers dig their heels in and are able to force Amazon to loosen its grip. I’m not convinced they will, because Amazon is the proof that content is no longer king…