Amazon Prime ebook subscription in talks for Kindle tablet

Amazon is reportedly considering a subscription-based ebook service, in effect a Netflix-for-readers, which would charge an annual fee for content access. The scheme would initially be part of Amazon’s Prime scheme, customers of which currently get unlimited two-day shipping and streaming access to the retailer’s digital TV and movie library, the WSJ reports, although the response from publishers Amazon is in talks with has apparently been mixed. 

As with movie streaming, Prime subscribers would be able to choose from a selection of older titles as part of their $79 per year membership. Some have suggested that Amazon intends to limit the number of titles readers could access each month, though it sounds as though the exact policies, were the scheme to launch commercially, have not yet been decided upon.

Amazon's Precarious Path to Tablet Success

We have long been anticipating the Amazon tablet. Apparently, so has research firm Forrester, which released a report today on the business logistics of an Amazon tablet in a market dominated by Apple's iPad. If Amazon can come in at a price point below $300 and can withstand demand, Forrester sees the company selling 3 to 5 million tablets in the fourth quarter.

If Amazon pull off those sales, consumers and OEMs will flock to it as the legitimate No. 2 tablet behind the iPad, a position as yet unclaimed by the likes of Motorola, Samsung, HTC or Research in Motion. Yet, is that feasible in a market where so many others have failed?

No Margin Devices Buoyed By Amazon Services

The idea for Amazon is to make a tablet a low-margin or no-margin product and trust that its core business will make profits on the device. According to Forrester, media sales accounted for $3.7 billion (37%) of Amazon's revenue in the second quarter. When it comes to retail and content, Amazon is to e-commerce and media as Google is to the Web - the more people using the platform, the better it will do. One of the original reasons that Google bought Android and licensed it for free was to get more people on the mobile Web using Google products. Amazon could use the same ploy with devices pointed at Amazon products.

Kindle at a Glance

New, High-Contrast E Ink Screen with Pearl Technology
50% better contrast. The clearest text and sharpest images with latest E Ink Pearl display.

Read in Bright Sunlight
Unlike LCD screens, Kindle's screen reads like real paper, with no glare. Read as easily in bright sunlight as in your living room.

Lighter Than a Paperback
At only 8.5 ounces and 1/3 of an inch thin, Kindle is lighter than a paperback and thinner than a magazine.

Holds 3,500 Books
We doubled Kindle's storage so you can carry up to 3,500 books.

Battery Life of Up to Two Months
A single charge lasts up to two months with wireless off based upon a half-hour of daily reading time. If you read for one hour a day, you will get battery life of up to one month.

Built-In Wi-Fi
Connect to Wi-Fi hotspots at home or on the road. Includes free Wi-Fi access at AT&T hotspots across the U.S.

Quieter Page Turn Buttons
Quieter page turning means you won't disturb your partner when you want to read all night.