Amazon is touting the success of the “Kindle”, the electronic reader which is sold on the company’s hugely popular website. In the first battle between Kindle and the Sony “Reader”, it appears the Kindle has won. It enjoys a 65 percent share of the market, as opposed to 35 for the Sony product.
Before you make comparisons to the VHS vs. Sony Beta battle for the dominant standard for videotapes (in which Beta had almost universal acclaim as the superior format, but lost to VHS based on adoption/availability/cost), there may not be an exit from the market for the loser if sales are adequate for both.
Most astounding to me is the fact that, for the very first time ever, electronic books OUTSOLD conventional books (you know, the ones with PAPER in them)! Amazon didn’t release specific figures, but stated that it’s peak sales day was December 14th, where it sold 9.5 MILLION items overall worldwide! That comes out to 110 items per SECOND!
For its part, the Kindle became the most gifted item in Amazon history (albeit a relatively short one), due in part to extensive marketing of the device.
I know that environmentalists will embrace a “book” that doesn’t kill trees, but I am a purist. Call me old fashioned, but I like the tactile experience of reading. Holding a book, turning pages, using a bookmark. Although I admit not having test-driven the machine, the thought of navigating an electronic device (Learning Curve #4,568 of the decade) holds no appeal for me. Different covers, sizes, textures and page/paper grades make the experience of reading one that involves all five senses.
If unfamiliar with the Kindle, here’s a product review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAf4vxGEOAo
After watching, it does make me at least want to give the Kindle a try. Downloading entire books through thin air and being able to store THOUSANDS of books and documents in a compact handheld device has its advantages.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezo says this is the future of books, doing to reading what the iPod has done to music.
He may be right.
Nevertheless, I will choose to go the old fashioned route—until they stop the printing presses! You know that sometime soon, a prominent author like Dan Brown will make a novel available ONLY as an electronic download (with a generous advance from Amazon, no doubt), all in order to spur adoption of the new technology.
I guess one truth is evident with any of the new electronic readers—“you can’t judge a book by its cover”. This, because the cover will always be the same.
If you’d like to receive my weekday blog in your box---or downloadable from Google on your Kindle or Sony Reader, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com
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