Things are not going at all well within Amazon’s walled garden.
The Kindle may well be the dominant force it always has been, but there’s now an undercurrent of unrest amongst its most ardent fans that wasn’t really there before.
Yes, it’s Amazon cutting off the oldest Kindles on its roster that has finally shifted how a number of its fans see it. But this is just the latest in a long line of questionable decisions that Amazon has made in recent years.
I spend too much of my life embedded in news about this particular ecosystem, so I jumped ship early.
It’s now been just over a year since I cut off my Amazon Kindle for good, and I have no regrets. In fact, I recommend it to everyone.
Kindles getting 14 years of support is pretty amazing, actually
But should companies be forced to give more support to devices even after they’re discontinued?
Amazon’s tendrils are wrapped too tightly around Kindle
My decision to switch had nothing to do with Amazon cutting some of its oldest Kindles from its services. I mean, obviously it didn’t. I made that jump more than a year before we even knew that was going to happen.
But my point is that it wouldn’t have made an impact on my decision to leave Kindle behind, had it happened while I was there.
As much as it sucks, obsolescence eventually happens to all hardware. The Reaper comes for all, and it’s hard to argue that those particular Kindles didn’t have long lifespans for smart devices.
I’m at peace with my devices’ mortality. But my content’s mortality? Mmm, I’m much less cool with that.
In recent years, Amazon has made decisions that clearly haven’t been made with customers in mind.
Take removing the ability to download your e-books via USB. Sure, that’s very obviously a move to curb e-book “theft,” but it also prevents people from being able to back up their e-books to an offline repository.
Then, Amazon continued its war on jailbreakers, putting even more Draconian measures in place to stop jailbreaking.
Amazon did row back on the “no downloads” change, but it was clear what the message from HQ was: “These are mine, and don’t you forget it.”
I’m a big reader of fantasy novels, and have been enjoying the early Dragonlance novels recently. And maybe that’s why I struggle to see Amazon as anything but a vast and bloated dragon, squatting on its hoard of treasures.
Such a loathsome beast needs a band of mighty heroes to slay it, and as such, I can’t willingly place myself on the side of the dragon.
Sure, Amazon is legally in the right in everything it’s done — but I find it hard to swallow that the books I bought still actually belong to Amazon.
Everyone does it, but Amazon is the greediest
I’m not naive enough to believe that most companies that sell e-books aren’t doing the same thing as Amazon. Legally, they’re correct.
I haven’t bought a book. I’ve bought a license to view one. And that license can be taken away or altered as needed without my consent. That’s probably the biggest downside of e-books over traditional publishing.
Nobody can legally take away the books I buy from the bookstore, and nobody can stop me from giving them away or selling them. But my e-books? No, they’re not mine.
It’s simply the reality of buying digital goods in these current times, and it’s not unique to Amazon. But good grief, does it like to rub it in.
By removing the ability to download books, restricting jailbreaking, and yes, removing your old Kindle from its services, it’s reminding you that everything you bought is not yours to keep.
It’s not the only one doing this, but it is the loudest. It’s taking advantage of its position of dominance over the market to really twist the knife.
Kobo still uses DRM, but at least it’s not overtly making my life more difficult because of some misguided attempt to stamp out jailbreaking and keep people locked onto its platform. That matters.
I’m not losing out on anything
It used to be that if you weren’t using a Kindle, you were missing out. That is no longer the case, and it hasn’t been for some time.
Want a color screen? Waterproofing? A great storefront? Kobo has those too, and for less than the Kindle equivalent.
Want a Colorsoft? That’s $250 of your hard-earned dollars. The Clara Colour? Just $160. That’s a big difference in price for not much difference in abilities.
It’s now been over a year since I dropped my Kindle and moved over to a Kobo Clara Colour, and I’ve seen absolutely no reason to go back.
I had been worried I’d miss the great sales Kindle e-books often get, but Kobo often offers the same discounts at the same time.
Sure, I’m still missing out on a bunch of exclusives and Kindle Unlimited, but my to-be-read pile is so vast that this continues to be an easily ignored problem.
The biggest problem is that I left a lot of books on my Kindle. But hey, my Kindle is still there, and it’s new enough that I’m not worried about it losing access to my online library.
When I moved from Kindle to Kobo a year ago, I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to stick it out. I figured that Amazon was on top for a reason. I’d buckle when I saw the deals I used to get, or I’d miss some feature or another.
That hasn’t been the case. I’ve had such a good time with my Kobo Clara Colour that I recommend every disaffected Kindle owner make the jump. It’s worth it just to show Amazon the door.
8/10
- Brand
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Kobo
- Screen
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Kaleido 3
- Resolution
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1072 x 1448
- Storage
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16GB
