Sony opened the German e-book market.

Still hesitating Amazon, the e-book reader Kindle to Europe, and must now pass to the right: The Leipzig Book Fair raises its Sony PRS-505 on the German market. As a sales put the Japanese on two of Amazon's toughest competitors.

 

As for the local market, all suppliers of e-book readers a clear jam: In general, they serve the European market until years after their devices in Asia and America have proven themselves. That goes for Amazon's Kindle, which in the USA recently introduced the second generation, while a sale beginning in Europe, not even in the actual planning appears to be.

Chic: Sony goes Spätstarter with the PRS-505 on the pole position

And it is also true for the Sony PRS-505, which the Japanese companies at the Leipzig Book Fair in March once more as a novelty imagine, even though the thing in the U.S. since October 2007 on the shop's counter.

There are now the last to sell off stocks to make room on the shelves to create: Since Christmas is the PRS-505 in the U.S. already own successor PRS-700 competition.

Behold: The supposed novelty is a discontinued model.

Still, at least it seems now, too slow loszugehen with the electronic reading. Beautiful, but is slow, however, Sony's Reader,
ONLINE at blogs as a test last year found.

In Germany, the Sony PRS-505 until August 2008 at the IFA - and then again at the Frankfurt Book Fair. It was also announced that the readers in the spring of 2009 with the
Thalia book chain as a partner on the market should be. The fact that this announcement is once again reaffirming and almost repeated the same word may appear nonsensical, but given the peculiarities of the German market makes sense: Since 1996 ( "Rocket E-Book) triggered here as well as all the e-book announcements in hot air.

Now, the different, and Sony promises to stir once again force the PR drum: Just one day before the fair will be the Sony Reader is on 11 March, others in 230 branches of the book chain Thalia available. "Among other things," because as an additional distribution partners now also Buchhandels-wholesaler
Libri is on board. Its subsidiary company Libri.de where the AG blogsnet with ten percent stake, already advertises with the new reader.

An interesting constellation: three against Amazon

The Thalia chain is currently the largest book chain in the country, continue to pursue an aggressive expansion policy. Thalia operates some 290 bookstores and a book shop on the Internet, the market moves against ten percent. On the Internet, the company only so far but not a big violin.

Thalia.de is, however buch.de produced, in which Douglas Holding, principal owner of the Thalia firms, 35.2 percent holding. The buch.de internetstores AG produces and operates not only Thalia, but a total of 18 Webshops in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which is "on the online sale of books, music, movies, software and games specialist" and "electronics also - office and "have to offer - the local counterweight to Amazon, if you will.

The Internet is also actively Libri, the Amazon as Thalia with its own book shop on the Web competition, but also his more traditional clientele main groups: As Germany's leading book wholesaler, Libri supplies about 4000 booksellers with stationary goods. Even Amazon is one of the customers.

As an Internet retailer, the company offers end-users the choice between postal service and book your own pick up books ordered at one of about a thousand affiliated bookstores.

Sony also emphasized in its press release for sale the beginning of the e-reader partnership with the book: "Basically, every bookseller and the reader e-books in the Epub format from Sony Germany's wholesale partners Libri relate in their own business and sell it on the market of the future of electronic participate in reading. "

ON TO ONLINE blogs

Network World Ticker: Amazon's new ebook coming soon (28.01.2009)

E-Books: "Not every customer is behaving logically" (23.10.2008)

Media change: Why e-book reader will not displace (15.10.2008)

Sony E-Book Reader: Read rather slowly (09.10.2008)

Thalia as Libri have in Germany is still a greater weight on the market as Amazon. The online consignor is in many ways, a favorite of publishers, but not trade, because the levers from Amazon regelrecht.

The web Amazon has a standing in its market niche, that of Ebay, iTunes or Google in the market domain is: The Internet promotes monopolies.

Amazon is not as big as you think

Still, however, is the U.S. company is shipping the world's largest bookseller and also dominates the German market. But the bulk of the book sales will remain in the physical trading: Latest figures in 2008-2009 are not yet available, but what the overall market share is concerned, Amazon should still be less than Thalia. In 2007, Amazon's market weight on only three to four percent.