Amazon Copying Page from B&N, Will Add Lending Feature to Kindle
If it's true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Barnes and Noble should be blushing all kinds of red. That's because Amazon has made the decision to let Kindle users lend books to other Kindle device and Kindle app users, a feature Barnes and Noble's Nook had since Day 1.
"Later this year, we will be introducing lending for Kindle, a new feature that lets you loan your Kindle books to other Kindle device or Kindle app users," Amazon announced in a blog post. "Each book can be lent once for a loan period of 14-days and the lender cannot read the book during the loan period. Additionally, not all e-books will be lendable - this is solely up to the publisher or rights holder, who determines which titles are enabled for lending."
So what does this mean for the Nook? That remains to be seen, but for Amazon, matching the Nook's lending feature with identical terms takes away one of the rival eBook reader's key differentiating bullet points. All that's really left in the Nook's corner is the second touchscreen, otherwise the two units share the same overall feature-set and similar price points.
Does the ability to lend books make the Kindle any more appealing to you, or could you care less either way?
"Later this year, we will be introducing lending for Kindle, a new feature that lets you loan your Kindle books to other Kindle device or Kindle app users," Amazon announced in a blog post. "Each book can be lent once for a loan period of 14-days and the lender cannot read the book during the loan period. Additionally, not all e-books will be lendable - this is solely up to the publisher or rights holder, who determines which titles are enabled for lending."
So what does this mean for the Nook? That remains to be seen, but for Amazon, matching the Nook's lending feature with identical terms takes away one of the rival eBook reader's key differentiating bullet points. All that's really left in the Nook's corner is the second touchscreen, otherwise the two units share the same overall feature-set and similar price points.
Does the ability to lend books make the Kindle any more appealing to you, or could you care less either way?
