Amazon Kindle News: ten articles on this page
Record number of Kindles sold but
sales figures still unknown
The Guardian UK, Dec, 23rd, 2009 Amazon has been proud to announce that it is selling a record number of Kindles lately but due to it's secrecy, nobody is sure how popular the device really is - how many have been sold since it's 2007 launch?
"Amazon has always been a secretive company. Companies like Amazon think that giving out information will help competitors," said Paul Biba, editor of Teleread, which tracks the electronic book industry.
Sandeep Aggarwal, an analyst with Collins Stewart in New York who has tracked the Kindle's performance, believes that across both models, the 6" screen Kindle 2 and the 9.7" screen Kindle DX, will sell approximately 500,000 units this year.
"Amazon has always been a secretive company. Companies like Amazon think that giving out information will help competitors," said Paul Biba, editor of Teleread, which tracks the electronic book industry.
Sandeep Aggarwal, an analyst with Collins Stewart in New York who has tracked the Kindle's performance, believes that across both models, the 6" screen Kindle 2 and the 9.7" screen Kindle DX, will sell approximately 500,000 units this year.
Amazon Kindle software for the PC
From PC World, Nov 12, 09 Amazon's Kindle family gained a new member today with the arrival of the free Amazon Kindle for PC reader app. And while I'm not a big fan of reading books on computer displays, I have to admit that Kindle for PC handles the basics of its job well. But it lacks a few features--most significantly the ability to create your own notes--found not just in Kindle hardware but also in the Kindle for iPhone app.
A 5.3MB download, Kindle for PC installs in a jiffy. After you log in to your account, it presents a home screen with options to look at your archived items or to shop at the Kindle store. Books appear as color thumbnails, sortable by author or title. It was nice to see the book covers in color for a change (the Kindle iPhone app does this, too)
A 5.3MB download, Kindle for PC installs in a jiffy. After you log in to your account, it presents a home screen with options to look at your archived items or to shop at the Kindle store. Books appear as color thumbnails, sortable by author or title. It was nice to see the book covers in color for a change (the Kindle iPhone app does this, too)
Oprah's Praise Boosts Kindle Sales
Oprah Winfrey, the iconic talk show host, has boosted obscure authors into the spotlight & she did the same for the Amazon Kindle when she called the electronic book reader her "favorite new gadget" in an giveaway show last year.
Amazon has benefited from the "Oprah effect" ever since because Oprah's plugs have had a well-documented effect on sales of books and other items that she highlights on her show.
The Kindle, which launched in Nov. 2007, has just passed it's two year anniversary and Amazon has seen even greater sales with it's Kindle 2 International version and it's larger Kindle DX version. Amazon has been tight-lipped about Kindle sales, but states that the Kindle has been the number one seller on it's online retail website in the last financial quarter of 2009.
Amazon looks to Kindle interest around the world
From Times Online, Oct 29th, 2009 Amazon, the online retailer, made its Kindle e-book reading device available to customers in the UK and 99 other countries for the first time today.
The international version, like the American version, has a 6 inch monochrome screen that uses e-ink to display type accurately, can store 1,500 books and has the ability to download e-books wirelessly from Amazon. The device can only be ordered through the American website amazon.com, where it sells for $279 (£170), plus about £35 in UK customs clearance and VAT charges.
The international version, like the American version, has a 6 inch monochrome screen that uses e-ink to display type accurately, can store 1,500 books and has the ability to download e-books wirelessly from Amazon. The device can only be ordered through the American website amazon.com, where it sells for $279 (£170), plus about £35 in UK customs clearance and VAT charges.
Kindle meets the Blackberry?
From PC Mag, Dec 17, 2009 - According to Amazon's sales page, you might be able to access Kindle content on your BlackBerry. That functionality is arriving shortly but the start date has not been released.
The e-reader's sales page on Amazon.com currently features a BlackBerry icon and the words "Coming soon" written underneath, though no other details are provided. The page says that Mac functionality is also in the works.
"Rumors regarding a BlackBerry app for Kindle hit the Web months ago, but I hadn't heard or seen anything concrete until I just noticed the listing on Amazon's Kindle page," a writer for the San Francisco Chronical wrote.
The Blackberry will be the second major smartphone brand to be able to handle the Kindle application and joins the Apple iPhone & iPod Touch, which has been able to receive Amazon books since March 2009.
The e-reader's sales page on Amazon.com currently features a BlackBerry icon and the words "Coming soon" written underneath, though no other details are provided. The page says that Mac functionality is also in the works.
"Rumors regarding a BlackBerry app for Kindle hit the Web months ago, but I hadn't heard or seen anything concrete until I just noticed the listing on Amazon's Kindle page," a writer for the San Francisco Chronical wrote.
The Blackberry will be the second major smartphone brand to be able to handle the Kindle application and joins the Apple iPhone & iPod Touch, which has been able to receive Amazon books since March 2009.
Kindle DX goes International
SEATTLE–Amazon.com Inc. will start selling an international version of its larger-screen e-reader, Kindle DX, in Canada and another 100 countries in an effort to snag more sales around the world. The company already offers an international version of the Kindle.
Amazon said Wednesday that customers can pre-order the latest version of the $489 Kindle DX, which has a 24.6-centimetre screen and will wirelessly download books in many places around the globe.
The latest Kindle DX will begin shipping on Jan. 19 to countries including Italy, Japan and Spain.
In October, Amazon introduced an international version of the Kindle, which has a 15-centimetre screen. Amazon said it has shipped the product to more than 130 countries so far.
Five Publishers plan e-Reader to rival Kindle
From Business Week, Dec 8, 2009 Five of the nation's largest publishers of newspapers and magazines plan to challenge Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle electronic-book reader with their own digital format that would display in color and work on a variety of devices.
Time Inc., News Corp., Conde Nast, Hearst Corp., and Meredith Corp., whose magazines include Time, Cosmopolitan and Better Homes and Gardens, announced a joint venture on Tuesday to develop the format that rivals Kindle's gray "electronic ink." It promises to emphasize visuals, retaining the distinctive look of each publication, as compared to the text-oriented Kindle.
"The genesis of this idea is to build a fully featured kind of immersive e-reading application that can render our content beautifully on those devices that come to market," said John Squires, the venture's interim managing director.
Electronic books, newspapers and other publications that Amazon sells for the Kindle will only work with that device and News Corp has stated they are not quite satisfied with the arrangement.
Time Inc., News Corp., Conde Nast, Hearst Corp., and Meredith Corp., whose magazines include Time, Cosmopolitan and Better Homes and Gardens, announced a joint venture on Tuesday to develop the format that rivals Kindle's gray "electronic ink." It promises to emphasize visuals, retaining the distinctive look of each publication, as compared to the text-oriented Kindle.
"The genesis of this idea is to build a fully featured kind of immersive e-reading application that can render our content beautifully on those devices that come to market," said John Squires, the venture's interim managing director.
Electronic books, newspapers and other publications that Amazon sells for the Kindle will only work with that device and News Corp has stated they are not quite satisfied with the arrangement.
Amazon launches Kindle in the UK
From Daily Mail, Oct 19 ,2009 Just as Apple and the iPod revolutionised music sales, so Amazon hopes its Kindle will change the way the world buys and reads books.
Amazon today made its Kindle e-Reader available to UK book lovers for the first time in the hope it will be a Christmas sales hit.
it is among a raft of new electronic reading devices that are seen as a real threat to the traditional book.
High Street music chains have been largely wiped out by music downloads to iPods and other MP3 players, now eReaders could do the same to book stores.
Amazon's Kindle, which can download thousands of books and newspapers from the internet, is available to UK consumers for approximately £180
Amazon today made its Kindle e-Reader available to UK book lovers for the first time in the hope it will be a Christmas sales hit.
it is among a raft of new electronic reading devices that are seen as a real threat to the traditional book.
High Street music chains have been largely wiped out by music downloads to iPods and other MP3 players, now eReaders could do the same to book stores.
Amazon's Kindle, which can download thousands of books and newspapers from the internet, is available to UK consumers for approximately £180
The DX goes against the "smaller is better" trend
From Reuters, May 6th, Amazon.com introduced a larger, souped-up Kindle electronic reader A designed for students and newspaper readers, but a $489 price tag could make it too expensive for many consumers.
The Kindle DX is designed to be a more friendly vehicle for textbooks and newspapers, which often need a larger space to display their content effectively. The DX has about 2.5 times the screen area as the Kindle 2. Analysts believe that the DX is being introduced at a poor time during these recessionary times because it provides little of the interactivity that people get on other hand-held devices. It does not offer color or touch-screen.
Super-sizing the Kindle also appears to ignore consumers' fascination with pocket-size gadgets. It seems like you're fighting the impulse among consumers to go to smaller, more portable ways of acquiring media, such as an iPhone or a netbook,' said Alan Mutter, a technology venture capitalist and former newspaper editor who runs the newspaper
The Kindle DX is designed to be a more friendly vehicle for textbooks and newspapers, which often need a larger space to display their content effectively. The DX has about 2.5 times the screen area as the Kindle 2. Analysts believe that the DX is being introduced at a poor time during these recessionary times because it provides little of the interactivity that people get on other hand-held devices. It does not offer color or touch-screen.
Super-sizing the Kindle also appears to ignore consumers' fascination with pocket-size gadgets. It seems like you're fighting the impulse among consumers to go to smaller, more portable ways of acquiring media, such as an iPhone or a netbook,' said Alan Mutter, a technology venture capitalist and former newspaper editor who runs the newspaper
Newspapers hoping Kindle DX will bring back subscribers
Newsweek, May 9th - Can Amazon's Kindle help out the long suffering newspaper industry by getting people to pay for news subscriptions again? That's what some are expecting of the Kindle DX, a $489 large-screen model that Amazon unveiled today in New York and will go on sale this summer. The device has a 9.7-inch (diagonal) screen that Amazon says is two and a half times bigger than that of the Kindle 2, making the new device better for reading magazines and newspapers.
The question is whether those extra inches can save newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post. Free news on the internet has drastically cut the number of readers willing to pay for a paper copy of their daily news and some publishers are betting that Kindle users will pay for the convenience of reading digital news on a large screen.
The question is whether those extra inches can save newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post. Free news on the internet has drastically cut the number of readers willing to pay for a paper copy of their daily news and some publishers are betting that Kindle users will pay for the convenience of reading digital news on a large screen.
