Amazon recently announced that, in the 4 weeks immediately after the launch of their newly enhanced Kindle 3, more Kindle readers were sold than during the same time period following any earlier Kindle reader launch. The new, improved Kindle is not just in high demand – it is the fastest selling Kindle reader ever. Amazon didn’t reveal precisely how many Kindles were sold, but they did confirm that, since the release of the upgraded Kindle, customers have purchased more Kindles on Amazon.com and the new Kindle store at Amazon.co.uk combined than any other product.
Amazon’s latest generation Kindle 3 was unveiled at the end of July. The new version has a slimmed down design which packs the same 6″ display into a body that is 21% smaller and 15% lighter. Page turn speed is 20% faster and memory size has been boosted from 2GB to 4GB – sufficient to store 3,500 books. Battery life is now a month – with the Wi-Fi turned off – and the e-ink display has better contrast than previously.
An entry level Wi-Fi only Kindle has been introduced, aimed at customers who don’t see the need for 3G. This is on sale for just $ 139, the 3G plus Wi-Fi model sells for $ 189. Those prices represent huge reductions in comparison with the earlier $ 359 Kindle price tag. It’s a clear sign of how the e-book reader market is developing and maturing.
During the first six months of 2010, Amazon sold three times as many Kindle books as they did during the same period of 2009. The number of books available on the Kindle store has now grown to over 670,000 titles – and that doesn’t include the 1.8 million free titles available.
The Kindle remains the top selling product on Amazon’s site. It is also the most gifted and most wished for product on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. With the strong sales figures of the Kindle and the latest technical upgrades, it would be easy to overlook the importance of the opening of the UK Kindle store at Amazon.co.uk. The UK store has opened with 400,000 titles available and could increase international Kindle sales. If it proves to be successful – and why wouldn’t it be – it seems probable that further “local” Kindle stores in France, Germany, Japan etc. – and any other country with its own independent Amazon website – might be opened.
Whilst Amazon still faces competition from the Apple iPad this doesn’t seem to concern them too much. The difference in price between the Kindle and the iPad is, for the moment at least, large enough to tip the scales in favour of the Kindle for most customers whose chief interest is in reading books. The sale of e-books will become increasingly important as the e-book reader market develops and matures. The fact that Kindle books are outselling iBooks by a ratio of sixty to one speaks volumes.
Check out the Amazon Kindle for yourself and view the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you personalise your reader.
