Comments on: Keepa Now on Kindle

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:40:07 +0000

Books, as a practical matter, I won’t get *any* of the $1.99 unless so many people subscribe — something I don’t foresee happening — that the payments meet Amazon’s threshhold for sending payment. I’m just trying to broaden the options for delivering Keepa in case this kind of technology catches on.

By: Bookslinger

Bookslinger — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 07:11:57 +0000

I guess Amazon could make certain free subscriptions available for free only via Wi-fi, but that would be confusing to a lot of kindle owners who want to keep it simple, and don’t want to bother going to a free wi-fi spot and have to log in to download something.

By: Bookslinger

Bookslinger — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 07:09:46 +0000

How much of the $1.99/month do you get?

The problem (or benefit, depending on how you look at it) is that the Kindle device gets it’s content via the 3G wireless cellphone network. And it does that so it will work anywhere, and the user doesn’t have to fiddle with the mumbo jumbo of logging into wi-fi networks with network name, password, and security settings.

(Unless you’re in range of a free wi-fi spot.)

Amazon has to pay the cell phone carriers for that bandwidth, and that cost has to come out of the revenue that Amazon charges for the content, whether it be a book, or media content.

If Amazon delivered free content to Kindles via 3G, they’d be paying the cell phone carriers for all that bandwidth, and get no revenue to cover that cost.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:18:43 +0000

I have no idea how they figured the cost, Christopher. It may be that they’ve raised the minimum from $.99 to $1.99 — either that, or Amazon’s exquisite taste recognizes that Keepa is twice as valuable as BCC!

By: Christopher

Christopher — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:10:13 +0000

I have a Kindle, and when I first got it I subscribed to a couple of blogs and newspapers (did the 14-day free trial). I ultimately decided I wasn’t a big fan of paying for the content I could get for free on my computer and cancelled both subscriptions. I do recall, though, that most blog subscriptions were only $0.99 (and a quick search reveals that BCC is still available for that price). So has Amazon raised the minimum subscription price?

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:23:57 +0000

Ah. I thought once it showed up in a search, it was available. It may still not be for another day or two.

Will appreciate all feedback. I’m trying to keep up with technology and gadgets and services, but am in way over my depth already.

By: kevinf

kevinf — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:20:44 +0000

Just tried to grab it on my Kindle reader on my android phone, and even though it came up in the search with the price and the 14 day free trial, I got a message that said “Not currently available”. I’ll try again later.

By: kevinf

kevinf — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:11:20 +0000

Unfortunately, my wife and I both got Barnes & Noble Nook Color ereaders, so Kindle does me no good. But it’s all good, because I can get Keepa via the web browser on the Nook, so I can even read Keepa at church over the wifi connection there.

I’ll try it via the Kindle app on my android phone, and see how it works there.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:52:11 +0000

Yes, go to Amazon.com and search for Keepapitchinin — you can do that from the search box on the main screen, or on the Kindle Store subscreen, or by the “blogs” link — Keepapitchinin is distinctive enough that it’s going to be findable wherever you search for it.

Try the 14-day trial and let me know what you think — how often do they deliver posts? are the illustrations visible? is the format at all workable?

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:36:35 +0000

Thanks for the update Ardis. Did you sign up Keepa on Amazon? Where do we go to get more information?