Posts Tagged ‘mobile computing’
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Amazon’s 2009 Success – Due To Highly Gifted Kindle Reader
January 13, 2010
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.
During the course of the 2009 festive season, the Kindle achieved the status of “most gifted” product ever for Amazon. More Kindle books were sold on Christmas day than traditional paperbacks and hardbacks. That was most likely due to all the lucky new Kindle owners who found one of Amazon’s readers in their Christmas stockings of course. Having got it out of the box, it would have been only natural for users to want to test their new toy. This would probably have taken the form of logging on to the Amazon Kindle store (wirelessly of course) and downloading a few Kindle e-books.
Nevertheless, selling more Kindle books than paperbacks and hardbacks is still a significant milestone. Whilst some may think that the way this was achieved was slightly artificial then perhaps that simply confirms the Kindle’s suitability for the Amazon way of doing business.
Needless to say, Amazon’s competitors have been keeping a watchful eye on Amazon’s success and taking steps to ensure that they secure a share of the developing e-book reader market. There’s a long list of companies who have their own e-book readers under development right now. It reads like a role call of electronics manufacturing giants. Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and Sony are just a few of the big names who will compete with Amazon during 2010. Barnes and Noble, the book selling giant, have also launched their own “Nook” reader.
Many of the next generation of e-book readers will incorporate features which will make the current Kindle offerings look out of date. Color displays, touch screen functionality and the adoption of a standard e-book reader format which will allow e-books to be transferred across different readers, or even borrowed from digital libraries, are just a few of the options that users can anticipate.
You can be sure that Amazon will not rest on its laurels while their competition enters the market which Amazon has worked so hard to develop. The current Kindles, as innovative as they were just a few short months ago, probably bear little resemblance to what e-book readers will be like in the (very) near future. Amazon probably already has their next generation Kindle under development (the Kindle 4?) and, considering the level of drive and innovation that they have displayed thus far, Amazon will be probably be looking forward to even greater success during 2010. Kindle users can look forward to an updated, enhanced Kindle packed with new features – probably in the first half of 2010.
Learn more about the amazing Amazon Kindle reader and have a look at the full range of Kindle accessories available to help you customise it to suit your taste.
Is The Kindle Cost Effective?
December 1, 2009
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past ten months or so, you’ll be aware of the huge buzz surrounding the Amazon Kindle ebook reader. Amazon’s Kindle 2 was launched in February of this year and they then followed up just a few short months later with the large screen Kindle DX.
The Kindle has now, in a very short time, become Amazon’s number one selling product. At the moment it is lapping up an incredible 60% share of the American e-book reader market. Amazon have now launched the Kindle 2 on the international stage – selling to more than 100 countries worldwide. A similar high level of success in the global market seems very likely.
Amazon’s Kindle is now virtually synonymous with e-book readers – but it is far from the only show in town. Consumer electronics manufacturers such as Apple, Microsoft, Sony and Barnes and Noble – to cite just a few examples from a very long list – all have their own e-book readers due for release in the immediate future. There is going to be cut-throat competition in the e-book market. In a way, it’s a compliment to Amazon that virtually any e-book reader in development which shows the slightest promise is immediately named the “Kindle Killer”.
Currently the Kindle 2 has a sales price of $ 259. Tha may be $ 100 lower than the launch price of $ 359 – but it’s still a fairly high price tag. Many analysts seem to think that a retail price of $ 150, or thereabouts, would be the magic number which would let e-book readers move from the high tech gadget arena into the mainstream marketplace. Higher levels of competition will surely force prices lower and 2010 could very well be the year that we see that $150 price tag.
If you’ve been considering treating yourself to a Kindle but have been holding off due to the cost of the device, then it might be worthwhile looking at the overall financial picture. E-books generally cost a fair a bit less than traditional paper books. They don’t use paper, ink or bindings and have no delivery costs. If you get through a book a week then you could recoup the price of your Kindle in just a few months.
Even better than cheap e-books, you can download a large selection of totally free e-books direct from Amazon’s Kindle store. Many of the free books are classics which are now out of copyright – Gulliver’s Travels, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Sherlock Holmes are just a few examples. You will also find more recent releases, possibly on special offer from publishers. In addition to completely free e-books, there are many books included among Amazon’s 360,000 Kindle titles which are available for a purely nominal fee – $ 0.01 is really quite common. You could very easily get the cost of your Kindle reader back just by using free, or low price, books for your Kindle.
Find out how to quickly and legally download free Kindle books and make your Amazon Kindle reader pay for itself in no time.
E-Book Readers – What Does The Future Hold?
November 25, 2009
In February 2009, when Amazon updated their Kindle e-book reader with the release of the improved and enhanced Kindle 2 reader, it was the only reader offering the facility of wireless connection. It took until June of this year for another reader to offer a similar wireless connection service. Even then, that competing reader was Amazon’s large format Kindle DX, which was specifically aimed at the newspaper, magazin and academic textbook audience.
It looked like the only competition to Amazon was Amazon itself. There were certainly no other serious challengers in sight.
Even now, in late November 2009, there are no readers outside of the Amazon Kindle family which offer wireless functionality. Amazon have enjoyed a commanding lead for some time now.
But that is about to change. Sony will be launching their new Daily Edition reader around about the middle of December and Barnes and Noble’s Nook is planned to hit the stores at approximately the same time.
Both of these readers have wireless functionality and some additional features, such as touch screen controls which will, in many people’s eyes, put them ahead of the current Kindles. The Daily Edition reader even allows users to borrow e-books from participating public libraries.
The Nook will allow its users to access a collection of over 1,000,000 e-books on the Barnes and Noble website. Users will even be able to lend e-books to friends and family – just like a real book.
Whether you consider the situation from the viewpoint of technical specification or from the user features and usability angle, the Kindle may find itself in the unaccustomed role of the second, or even third place option.
Next year competition will increase even more as manufacturers start to launch large format readers to slug it out with the Kindle DX. The good news is that consumers will benefit from increased competition which will tend to force prices lower. Considering that the Kindle has now become the number one selling product for Amazon, it seems highlylikely that they will respond to this competition in a positive manner. Expect to see further device enhancements and quite possibly new services. 2010 will see convergence on a standard e-book format – probably ePub – and this, combined with reduced prices and improved functionality – should be enough to allow e-book readers to morph from high tech toys into mainstream consumer products.
Discover the Amazon Kindle reader and see the full range of Amazon Kindle accessories.
Looking for Construction Books? Then Look No farther than Builders Books site! The leading seller of books on construction and builders books for skill levels from do it yourself to Professional Builders.