Most viewers do not like dealing with a set schedule. Being able to watch on their own time is the top reason users watch online. Other reasons include avoiding commercials and portability. Nearly 3/4 of online households log on for entertainment purposes daily, and 10 percent say entertainment is their most important activity on the Internet.

The leading types of shows viewed online are news, drama, comedy, reality, and sports, with user generated content following close behind.

Among online TV viewers, almost 90 percent watch online broadcasts at home. A small percent say they watch at the office, or from other locations, like the library or a friend’s house.

The leading methods of viewing are streaming video, used by 2/3 of online TV viewers, and free download. Other sites used for access besides YouTube and TV channel homepage include iTunes and Hulu. Few consumers are willing to enroll in pay per download and subscription services.

Amazon’s newly released download service, though it contains 40,000 movies and TV shows is not likely to garner a lot of support at $1.99 per TV program episode. Viewers still expect to watch the shows they are interested in at no additional cost. They are already paying for cable or satellite, so outside of those services including a DVR with those accounts or possibly TiVo, they expect any additional viewing to be free. To monetize those viewers will likely require a different approach than charging for the shows.Serivces like Amazons will have to be more creative, probably relying on third-party advertising to try and make their service work.

But it sold out initially and supplies have been tight. Amazon doesn’t report the numbers but word is they have sold almost a quarter million of these things. Not exactly chump change…..90 something million dollars. Understand that is before all the necessary digital books are sold so it seems to be an easy 100 million dollar business.

Now if they release a textbook version or supply scholastic studies, the value may increase rapidly.

Some analysts believe another 1/2 million will be sold in the next year and with the add-on sales, we would be looking at 225-250 million. The next estimates are for 2.25 million sold in 2010. All of a sudden, we’re looking at a billion dollar business.

You just never know, do you?

From the TV side, the video store will be accessible through the Sony Bravia Internet Video link, a $300 tower-shaped device that funnels Web video directly to Sony’s high-def televisions. That is an extra expense, for now. But future Bravias are expected to have this embedded in the television, making it even easier to gain access to the full catalog of past and present TV shows and movies, over the Internet, using a television remote control.Amazon Unbox, the company’s original download store, was a disappointment because it required users to install  software to watch the programs they bought. Plus it only worked on Windows PCs and TiVo boxes.

To make the new service more appealing, the first two minutes of all movies and TV shows will begin playing for users on Amazon immediately when they visit a product page on the digital video store.

It will also let users buy a show or movie without downloading the file to the PC. Amazon will store each customer’s selection online. They can then watch that show or movie whenever they return to Amazon, even if it is from a different computer or device, a solution that gets around studio concerns about piracy.

Amazon will have some big rivals if it hopes to dominate the emerging world of digital video. Apple, Microsoft, Google and Netflix are all looking to capture the living room as well.

Amazon Video on Demand is not expected to generate significant profits for Amazon, which must pay large royalties to Hollywood studios and develop the infrastructure to make the service operate reliably.

But Amazon may have another goal in mind, a way to let viewers and television advertisers link to the rest of Amazon’s online store with a click of the remote control.

The problem is the entry cost. Now is one of the worst times ever to be going into business, even if you’re just expanding an already profitable one. The cost to build a network of stores right now would be very expensive. So they will have to wait until prices (hopefully) settle back down some or look for another means of entry.

One means of entry is to find an existing company and buy them. It just happens that such a company is for sale right now and that’s Borders. This book retailer has been struggling of late and looking for a purchaser. Barnes & Noble would only be interested to protect themselves from an Amazon attack. Otherwise, they would be foolish to make the purchase because the two companies overlap in so many areas. A lot of stores would have to be closed due to proximity issues. Not a problem if Amazon buys in. It would probably cut their entry cost by 50% to get in this way.

Another reason Amazon is looking to add brick to their click operation is because they are about to lose protected status on taxes. A large number of states are now ramping up to require retailers online to collect taxes from purchasers in their respective states. That alone has handed the market to Amazon in the thin profit area of bookselling.

We shall see but don’t be surprised if the familiar Amazon logo shows up in a shopping center near you in the near future.

At originally $399 and now $359, the Kindle leaves a lot to be desired from the bargain hunters point of view. It just seems hard to fall $400 in love with a device which appears to be primarily a glorified electronic book. And that it is, for sure. How else in this age, do you justify that it is totally monochrome, not a stitch of color anywhere?

What is it the Kindle does? Well, there have been a number of portable book readers before but about the best they could do is download material from the Web to the reader via the computer. This is where Kindle shines. It is a wireless unit that needs no PC. Ordered material is downloaded directly to the unit. So whether it’s books or magazines, or whatever, if it’s available from the Kindle store, it can be downloaded directly and there are no extra charges for a cell contract or the like.

Here are the bullet points from Amazon on this thing.

• Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
• Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
• Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
• Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
• More than 120,000 books available, including more than 98 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.
• New York Times® Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise.
• Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.
• Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
• Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
• More than 300 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN’s Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post—all updated wirelessly throughout the day.
• Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
• Holds over 200 titles.
• Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.
• Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.
• No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—we take care of the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read.
• Includes free wireless access to the planet’s most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.
• Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.
• Included in the box: Kindle wireless reader, Book cover, Power adapter, USB 2.0 cable

While a lot of people are dismayed that this thing isn’t color, doesn’t show video, and can’t play the latest games, they miss the point. This is a dedicated device for avid readers. A true niche product. Not perfect, this is the first release you know. But the few little glitches or dislikes that some people have will be addressed in the next version, no doubt.

According to my brother, he’s glad he went ahead and got his now. With only a few days to play with it, he’s definitely enamored.

They offered up a new service that lets shoppers compare prices and buy things straight from their cellphones.

The new service is called Amazon TextBuyIt, and it lets people text a product name, its description or its UPC or ISBN to 262966 (that’s “Amazon” on the keypad) from anywhere their cellphones work — including from inside physical stores.

If Amazon stocks matching items, the service returns two results at a time. Shoppers can immediately buy one of the first two choices by texting back the number “1″ or “2,” or they can ask for more by texting the letter “M.”

New TextBuyIt customers will be prompted to enter the e-mail address associated with their existing Amazon account plus a shipping zip code. The service then calls them and walks through the checkout process using an automated voice system. Shoppers get confirmation by text message and e-mail.

From there, the customer can check the order status on Amazon’s website.

Does this really fit the consumer’s approach to buying? Seems to me that if a shopper wants to compare prices, he would be better served, (and more likely) to do so from home. If the intent when you go out is to look at a product at Sears and then dial up Amazon, wouldn’t it be a lot simpler to price compare straight from the various websites?

I do see this getting some use with potential impulse purchases where the shopper isn’t really looking to buy but sees a product which seems to be of exceptional value. Being unsure whether it really is a deal, a quick call to Amazon gets the answer. But then the word impulse enters into the picture. Impulse buyers seem to find other reasons to buy immediately besides price. Off the cuff purchasers will probably talk themselves out of waiting several days to save an extra 10% at Amazon when they can carry their prize possession home today.

Extra sales are to be had for sure, but don’t look for many store closures because of it.