Amazon must be absolutely delighted with the performance of its Kindle reader family in 2009. The Kindle 2.0 was launched in February and the large format DX followed shortly afterwards in June. The Kindle very rapidly became Amazon's top selling product - even before the international launch of the Kindle 2.0 in October.
By the end of 2009's festive season, the Kindle had become Amazon's "most gifted" product ever and, on Christmas day, Amazon sold more Kindle books than they did traditional printed volumes. That may very well have been due to all those lucky people who had found a Kindle under their tree on Christmas morning. In all probability, having opened their gift and got the Kindle out of the box, new owners would want to try out their new reader. That would probably have involved connecting to the Amazon website and downloading a Kindle book or two.
Even so, for Kindle books to outsell traditional books is still a noteworthy achievement. Although some may feel that this came about in a slightly artificial manner, in reality it just underlines the eminent suitability of the Kindle to Amazon's overall business model.
It goes without saying that Amazon's competitors have been enviously eyeing their success and taking appropriate action to ensure that they grab a share of the new e-book reader market. The list of companies with e-book readers in development reads like a who's who of consumer electronics multinationals. Microsoft, Apple, Sony and Samsung are just a small selection of the competitors who will be competing with Amazon in 2010. Not to mention Barnes and Noble who have thrown their hat into the ring with their Nook e-book reader.
Many of the new readers will include features which will make the Kindle, at least in its current format, appear somewhat out of date. Color displays, touch screen controls and a standard e-book format (ePub) which will let users lend their books to friends or even borrow books on loan from libraries are just some of the new options that e-book reader users can expect to see.
One thing's for sure, Amazon won't sit on their hands while the competition muscles in to the market which Amazon has labored so hard to create. The current Kindle family members, as innovative as they were only a few months ago, bear little resemblance to what e-book readers will be like in the near future. Amazon will, even now, be working hard on the development of the next enhanced version of the Kindle. No doubt they will be quietly confident and expectant of even greater success in 2010, despite the best efforts of the competition. Users of the Kindle can look forward to an upgraded and enhanced reader - probably during the first six months of the year. - 33374
By the end of 2009's festive season, the Kindle had become Amazon's "most gifted" product ever and, on Christmas day, Amazon sold more Kindle books than they did traditional printed volumes. That may very well have been due to all those lucky people who had found a Kindle under their tree on Christmas morning. In all probability, having opened their gift and got the Kindle out of the box, new owners would want to try out their new reader. That would probably have involved connecting to the Amazon website and downloading a Kindle book or two.
Even so, for Kindle books to outsell traditional books is still a noteworthy achievement. Although some may feel that this came about in a slightly artificial manner, in reality it just underlines the eminent suitability of the Kindle to Amazon's overall business model.
It goes without saying that Amazon's competitors have been enviously eyeing their success and taking appropriate action to ensure that they grab a share of the new e-book reader market. The list of companies with e-book readers in development reads like a who's who of consumer electronics multinationals. Microsoft, Apple, Sony and Samsung are just a small selection of the competitors who will be competing with Amazon in 2010. Not to mention Barnes and Noble who have thrown their hat into the ring with their Nook e-book reader.
Many of the new readers will include features which will make the Kindle, at least in its current format, appear somewhat out of date. Color displays, touch screen controls and a standard e-book format (ePub) which will let users lend their books to friends or even borrow books on loan from libraries are just some of the new options that e-book reader users can expect to see.
One thing's for sure, Amazon won't sit on their hands while the competition muscles in to the market which Amazon has labored so hard to create. The current Kindle family members, as innovative as they were only a few months ago, bear little resemblance to what e-book readers will be like in the near future. Amazon will, even now, be working hard on the development of the next enhanced version of the Kindle. No doubt they will be quietly confident and expectant of even greater success in 2010, despite the best efforts of the competition. Users of the Kindle can look forward to an upgraded and enhanced reader - probably during the first six months of the year. - 33374
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Check out the amazing Kindle ebook reader and have a look at the full range of Kindle accessories available to help you customise it to suit your taste.
