The Problem with the Kindle Store and eBook Adoption

The textbook for my Instructional Applications of the Internet course is "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms" by Will Richardson (3rd Edition, 2010). So, like any good Kindle owner, I purchased this book for the Kindle instead of purchasing the physical book. Not only did this save me a few bucks and a few days in shipping, but it also lets me use some of the advanced technological features of my new Kindle.

To my chagrin, the digital version of the book that I received is from 2006 (still the 3rd Edition, though). If I was reading "Jane Eyre", "The Catcher in the Rye", or "Animal Farm" this wouldn't be a problem at all. But five year-old book written on Web 2.0 technologies isn't worth the e-ink and e-paper used to print it.

As you can see on the image on the left, which was taken from the Amazon page for the physical book (2010),  the link to the Kindle book is a bit deceiving—leading me to believe that I am purchasing the exact same product in a digital format. To be fair to Amazon, if you dig deep enough on the webpage for the digital version, it does list the publish date as March 6, 2006. But to make matters worse (or more confusing) for the consumer, Amazon displays the customer reviews for the paperback version of the book on the webpage for the digital version.

So far, I absolutely love my Kindle and I've alerted Amazon about this issue. I'm hoping to receive a refund or a credit for this purchase. My past dealings with Amazon support have been positive, so I'm thinking this won't be a big issue with Amazon.

But this scenario brings up a larger issue with adopting new technology, especially in terms of digital media.

Are we sacrificing convenience and lower prices for quality? I would say we are, even if just a little bit. But I would argue that sacrificing a little quality is worth it.

Does a Kindle version of a book have same feel as a physical book? Not really. But I can read for hours on a Kindle with no strain on my eyes.

And these types of issues have been discussed ad naseum in terms of digital music. Does an MP3 from iTunes have the same fidelity as a physical CD? Not quite. But it's close enough to the point where most consumers don't care or can't tell the difference.

But this issue I am experiencing with Amazon is not a quality issue, it is an accuracy issue. How many songs would iTunes sell if they sold an album like "Led Zeppelin IV" without Stairway to Heaven? I'm confident that it wouldn't be even close to the well over 6 billion iTunes songs sold as of 2009.

So we've been hearing so much buzz about the widespread adoption of eBooks and eReaders, but for these to become as commonplace as MP3s and iPods, the onus is on the content creators (authors, publishers) and distributors (Amazon, B&N, Apple, etc) to provide the same content in the digital version as they do in their tangible counterparts.

I'm hoping this isn't too much to ask. If it is, I guess I'll just stick to reading the classics on my Kindle and read my technology books in paperback. Sounds a little ironic, doesn't it?