The Influence Of E-Books On The Publishing Market

The world of book publishing is about to undergo a massive upheaval – as a result of the rapid growth in the popularity of both e-book readers and e-books. Driven by the growing popularity of e-book readers – like the Amazon Kindle for instance – e-books have rapidly been accepted by the general public. It would be very easy to consider them as no more than another way of delivering written content. However, they may prove to be the most significant change to reading since Gutenberg invented the printing press.

Perhaps that sounds a little melodramatic – but the fact is that e-books totally change the long established publishing cycle. In general, publishers release hardback editions followed, normally a few months to a year later, by the paperback version. Obviously there is no reason why the e-book edition wouldn’t be published at the same time as the hardback.

Obviously, because e-books don’t use any paper, chemicals or bindings, and because they don’t need to be shipped, they cost a lot less than a printed book. What this means is that the e-book version could be made available at a reduced price concurrently with the hardback book. That could have a serious impact on the profits of the big publishing houses – especially if you consider that the people who own e-book readers are likely to be fairly heavy readers.

Some fairly heated discussions have already taken place between Amazon – who planned to price all e-books at $ 9.99 or less – and the major publishing houses. For a brief period, books by McMillan were removed from Amazon’s website. Whilst things have quietened down a little for the – it appears highly probable that e-book prices will fall further in future.

However, there are clearly some very positive aspects for the major publishing houses. Clearly they will have smaller costs when selling e-books, so they should be able to make a profit. Alternative strategies for marketing books will also become available to them.

The Amazon collection of Kindle books is the most extensive available on the web at this time. They have more than 700,000 titles to choose from – and there are a further 1.8 million out of copyright books which are available as free download from the Amazon Kindle store. Most of these were published before 1923, but there are other examples of modern books which can be downloaded at no cost.

You can often see publishers offering modern, sometimes recently published, books for free. Sometimes this is done for a short period. It allows them to showcase a new title or author and the increased number of downloads will help the book to move up the best sellers list. Once it has reached a decent level, the publishers can charge for it and benefit from its boosted ranking. You may also find the first book in a series being made available for free. Obviously the idea is that readers will go on to buy further titles in the series – assuming that they enjoy the opening volume.

Of course, both of these techniques could have been used with printed books. However, it would cost a lot more money, and therefore be a much riskier undertaking. It seems clear that e-books are here to stay. No doubt there will be some publishing firms who will attempt to safeguard their profits using somewhat restrictive techniques. It will be the ones that are best able to adapt to the new digital publishing landscape by offering value to both authors and readers who survive.

How CanYou Play Games On Amazon’s Kindle Reader?

The Amazon Kindle reader has been a huge success for Amazon since it was first released in November of 2007. The upgrade Kindle 2.0, released in February 2009 was a huge influence in the rapid growth and development of the e-book reader market and the new Kindle 3 reader, unveiled at the end of July 2010, has been selling faster than ever.

According to Amazon, the new Kindle 3 has been selling faster than any previous Kindle did during the equivalent post launch period. It’s a long way removed from the widely forecast demise of the Kindle that a lot of industry analysts anticipated in the wake of the Apple iPad’s launch.

In a way, it’s a compliment to the Kindle that, up until now at least, its only credible competition comes in the form of a versatile tablet computer which costs more than three times the price of the Kindle. If Amazon to increase the Kindle price by a factor of three, it seems fair to assume that some additional features could probably be added.

However, that doesn’t seem likely to happen. The Kindle has set its stall out as a specialist e-book reader. The iPad is a versatile device. They are two totally different kinds of gadget aimed at different market sectors. A side by side technical comparison is likely to be a fruitless endeavour.

Nevertheless, it’s interesting to note that there are now games being released for the Kindle. Apple’s iPad is clearly far and away the better device for playing games on – the Kindle’s e-ink technology display, whilst ideal for an e-book reader, is not suited for any application which requires a rapid screen refresh rate.

So it should be no surprise that the types of games being released for the Kindle are mainly word puzzles and number games. Currently, the most popular Kindle game is the timeless classic Scrabble. Other options include Sudoku, crosswords and general word puzzles. Just to be clear, we’re not talking about Halo or Grand Theft Auto here – but, without wanting stereotyping too much, it probably makes sense that someone who reads a lot might also enjoy solving word puzzles and maybe playing Sudoku.

Kindle Scrabble is currently available for $ 4.99 and is the top selling Kindle game at this time. Most games available seem to range from $ 0.99 to $ 4.99. We are even beginning to see some free games becoming available, a trend which – if Kindle games follow the same pattern as Kindle Books – will in all probability increase in future.

Playing Games On The Amazon Kindle

The Amazon Kindle reader has been a tremendous success for Amazon since it was originally launched in November of 2007. The enhanced Kindle 2.0, released in February 2009 was a major factor in the rapid growth and development of the e-book reader market and the latest third generation Kindle reader, unveiled at the end of July 2010, has been selling like hot cakes.

According to Amazon, the new Kindle 3 has been selling faster than any previous Kindle did during the equivalent post launch period. It’s a long way removed from the widely forecast demise of the Kindle that a lot of industry analysts anticipated in the wake of the Apple iPad’s launch.

In some ways, it’s a backhanded compliment to the Kindle that, at least up until now, its only genuine competition comes in the shape of a versatile tablet computer which sells for over three times the price of the Kindle. It seems reasonable to assume that were Amazon to treble the Kindle price, that some additional features could possibly be added.

However, that doesn’t seem likely to happen. The Kindle is clearly intended to be a specialist e-book reader. The iPad is a multi-functional device. They are two totally different kinds of gadget aimed at different market sectors. Comparing the two devices point by point seems unlikely to yield any meaningful result.

Notwithstanding that, it’s interesting to note that Kindle games are starting to appear on the market. Obviously the iPad is the clear winner when it comes to playing games – the Kindle’s screen, whilst ideal as an e-book reader, is not suitable for anything which requires a fast refresh rate.

So it should come as no great surprise that the types of games appearing for the Kindle are mainly numbers games and word puzzles. Currently, the most popular Kindle game is the timeless classic Scrabble. Crosswords, Sudoku and a variety of word puzzle games are also available. Just to be clear, we’re not talking about Halo or Grand Theft Auto here – but, without wanting stereotyping too much, it probably makes sense that someone who reads a lot might also enjoy solving word puzzles and maybe playing Sudoku.

Scrabble for the Kindle is currently selling for $ 4.99 and is the top selling Kindle game at this time. Most games available seem to range from $ 0.99 to $ 4.99. We can even see some free games appearing, a trend which – if Kindle games follow the same pattern as Kindle books – will most likely grow in the near future.

What Is In Store For The E-Book Reader Arena?

This time last year, the new market for e-book readers was really taking off – gold rush style. Following the huge success which Amazon had enjoyed with its Kindle reader – firstly with the Kindle 2.0 in February of 2009 and then with the large format DX edition in the summer of the same year – a veritable host of personal electronics manufacturers were either developing, releasing or updating their own e-book readers so as to get their share of the nascent market.

Sony and Barnes and Noble were bursting a gut to get their new readers launched before the 2009 festive season and Samsung, Plastic Logic, Asus and a host of others were rushing to get their readers on the market as fast as they could. For the first time ever, the Computer Electronics Show, which took place in Las Vegas during early 2010, featured a dedicated area for e-book readers. E-book readers were a hot new emerging market.

Right now however, no more than a few months later, it’s an entirely different scenario. The price of e-book readers has tumbled. Amazon have now introduced an entry level, Wi-Fi only, Kindle priced at $ 139 – not much more than a third of the $ 359 price which the Kindle 2.0 launched. The price of Barnes and Noble’s Nook reader is also down on its launch price at $ 149 – and you can expect to see this fall further prior to the festive season.

Several new e-book readers which were going through the development process – including Plastic Logic’s Que – have been cancelled. The market seems to be entering a new stage in its development – and whether there is any place in it for pure electronics manufacturers or not is highly debatable. Amazon’s business model is very well suited to selling lower priced reader hardware and making a profit on the follow up sales of Kindle books. Barnes and Noble could employ a similar strategy – but it’s somewhat debatable as to whether or not they could make use of economies of scale in the same way that Amazon can.

Of course, it would be lunacy to suggest that the launch of the Apple iPad had not played a major part in this. There’s little doubt that e-book reader prices would have come down anyway – but the iPad has certainly hastened things along quite a bit. However, bearing in mind the fact that the new third generation Kindles sold out shortly after they were released, the iPad doesn’t look like the Kindle Killer that it was expected to be.

Apart from the debate about e-ink displays being easier to read on than backlit screens, there is – for the moment at least – enough daylight between the price of the Kindle and the price of even the entry level iPad to make the Kindle the more attractive option for anyone whose primary interest is reading books. The iPad’s monthly connection fees will be a stumbling block for many customers.

It does look as if there is ample room in the market for both the Amazon Kindle and the iPad to co-exist – for the short term future at least. Other e-book reader manufacturers, including Sony and Barnes and Noble, seem destined to struggle as hardware prices will continue to fall.

Amazon And Apple Have Seized Control Of The Electronic Book Arena

It seems that e-book readers have been hot items for quite some time now. The market for e-book readers really took off in 2009, and one of the most important influences on this was the launch of Amazon’s Kindle.0 in February of that year. Amazon followed up with the launch of the large format Kindle DX in the summer of 2009 and, in the second half of the year, manufacturers of personal electronics were lining up to release their own e-book readers and secure a share of the emerging market. The fact that almost every new reader which showed any promise was instantly given the title of the “Kindle Killer” is a clear indication of just how important Amazon were to the market’s development. The Kindle reader was, without a doubt, the industry standard that had to be matched and subsequently beaten.

However, there was nothing to suggest that the reader which would offer serious competition to the Kindle was anywhere in sight. It was only with the launch of Apple’s iPad – a significantly different type of device – that the Kindle’s dominance was in any way threatened. Even then, the death of the Kindle as a result of consumers turning to the iPad just doesn’t seem to have materialised. Following the launch of the newly enhanced Kindle 3 in August 2010 Amazon, for the umpteenth time it seems, was out of stock of the devices and potential customers faced a wait of several weeks before their new readers could be shipped.

There can’t be much doubt that the Kindle’s high sales figures can, to some extent, be explained by the fact that the latest upgrades were also accompanied by a price reduction. Amazon introduced a new Wi-Fi only Kindle for just $ 139 for customers who didn’t have any need for 3G connectivity. If you consider that the Kindle 2.0 launch price was $ 359 in February of 2009, that’s a hefty price reduction. It moves the Kindle – and e-book readers in general – much closer to the sub $ 100 impulse buying zone for personal electronic devices. Whether this was prompted by the appearance of the iPad on the scene is probably a moot point. It seems clear that the price reduction would have taken place anyway, but there is still plenty of room for further downward price movement – quite possibly in the not too distant future.

Amazon and Apple may be enjoying a good deal of success, but the same cannot be said for other e-book reader manufacturers. Several planned e-book readers have either been postponed or cancelled all together. The Que reader from Plastic Logic seems to be pretty well dead. Irex, a previously well established Dutch company, went bankrupt following disappointing US sales figures for their Irex reader. The Skiff reader, from Sprint and Hearst has been cancelled.

Could we be heading towards a strongly polarised market in which Amazon dominate the low cost “pure” e-book reader sector and Apple clean up in the pricier tablet computer that also serves as an e-book reader market? There is a massive difference in the retail prices of the Kindle and even the entry level iPad. Is there sufficient space between the two devices, in terms of both specification and price levels, to allow new players to enter the market?

Recently Amazon confirmed that sales of Kindle books are outstripping the sales of hardback editions. It seems highly probable that e-book sales will catch up with and eventually overtake paperback sales – and probably in the not too distant future. It seems certain that e-books are going to be an important part in the future of reading, but just what type of device will you use to read them on?

The Amazon Kindle Is Selling Faster Than Ever

Amazon recently confirmed that, in the 4 weeks following the launch of their Kindle 3, more Kindle readers were sold than during the same time period following any previous Kindle reader launch. The latest Kindle is, not just still in high demand, but is the fastest selling Kindle ever. As usual, Amazon did not reveal the exact number of Kindles which were sold, but they did advise that, since the release of the new version of the Kindle, customers have bought more Kindles on Amazon.com and the new Kindle store at Amazon.co.uk combined than any other item.

Amazon’s latest generation Kindle 3 was unveiled at the end of July. The latest version packs the same 6″ display into a new slimmed down design which is 21% smaller and 15% lighter. Page turns are 20% faster and onboard memory has been doubled from 2GB to 4GB – enough for 3,500 books. With the Wi-Fi turned off, the battery will now last for a month – even with the Wi-Fi on, a 10 day life is achievable – and the e-ink technology screen has had its contrast improved.

A new entry level Wi-Fi only Kindle was introduced for customers who don’t feel the need for 3G. This sells for just $ 139, with the Wi-Fi plus 3G model on offer at $ 189. Those prices are very much lower than the earlier Kindle price tag $ 359. It’s a clear sign of how the e-book reader market is developing and maturing.

During the first half of 2010, Amazon sold three times as many Kindle books as they did during the first half of 2009. There are now in excess of 670,000 titles available on the Kindle store – not including the 1.8 million free out of copyright books available.

The Kindle remains the top selling product on Amazon’s site. It is also the most wished for and gifted item on the Amazon website.com and Amazon.co.uk. With the high sales returns for the Kindle and the latest technical upgrades, it would be easy to overlook the importance of the launch 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 early sales returns suggest that this will be the case – then Amazon may well open further Kindle stores in countries like Japan, France and Germany – all of whom have their own “local” Amazon websites.

Whilst the Apple iPad continues to offer competition, this doesn’t seem to concern Amazon very much. For the moment at least, the price differential between the Kindle and the iPad is large enough to make the Kindle the natural choice for most customers who are primarily interested in reading books. As the e-book market matures, much more emphasis will be given to the sale of e-books as opposed to e-book readers. The fact that Kindle book sales are outstripping the sales of Apple’s iBooks by a factor of sixty to one must be very encouraging for Amazon.

The New Amazon Kindle Third Generation Is Finally Released

It’s been a long time coming – at least it certainly feels that way – but Amazon has at last revealed its new, upgraded and enhanced Kindle reader. Dubbed the third generation Kindle by Amazon, there are a variety of improvements.

The new features of the Kindle 3 seem likely to press all the right buttons for e-book reader fans. It keeps the same 6” e-ink technology screen, but the display’s contrast has been improved by 50%, which should make reading even better. The speed of page turns, already good for the Kindle 2.0, has been made 20% faster.

The overall size of the reader has been shrunk by 21% and the weight is now only 8.7 ozs – a 15% reduction. Battery life with the Wi-Fi off is now a month, and even with Wi-Fi turned on a ten day life is expected. Memory has been doubled to 4 GB, enough for approximately 3,500 books. So the new Kindle is smaller, lighter, easier to read, has a longer battery life and allows users to carry a small personal library with them wherever they go. What more could you want from a mobile reader?

Well, a color screen would have been on many people’s wish lists. However, whilst Amazon have been working on a color e-ink technology display, it simply isn’t ready for commercial release at this time. This may perhaps be available in time for the next upgrade. Some users may have liked to see the inclusion of an SD slot for memory expansion. Even so, with the new increased 4GB of memory, most people won’t suffer too greatly.

As well as all the upgrades, Amazon have adjusted the price downwards and introduced a new Wi-Fi only Kindle for customers who don’t feel the need for a 3G connection. The Wi-Fi only entry level model is available for just $ 139, the Wi-Fi plus free 3G model sells for $ 189. The new Kindle 3 is also available in graphite, just like the new DX model, in addition to the original white.

Amazon has also launched a dedicated UK Kindle store on their British website. UK consumers will no longer require to have their Kindles shipped from the States. To begin with the UK Kindle store will have 400,000 Kindle books to choose from. It seems reasonable to suppose that Amazon may consider opening other dedicated Kindle stores for its other “local” websites in France, Germany etc. in the future.

Kindle 3 sales are strong. Potential customers currently face a wait of around about 4 weeks before their readers are shipped. It may be that all the reports of the Kindle reader’s demise, brought about by the release of Apple’s iPad, were very premature. The new upgrades, the lower prices and the fact that there is no monthly payment for connectivity, will be very appealing to many consumers. It looks as though the launch of the third generation Kindle may serve as a timely reminder of just how influential Amazon are, and will continue to be, in the world of books in general and e-books in particular

Digital Books Are Starting To Become More Widely Accepted

The recent surge in the popularity of both e-books and e-book readers has been heavily influenced by Amazon. Amazon’s Kindle reader first hit the market during November of 2006 and further updates followed with the release of the Kindle 2.0 in February of 2009 and the August 2010 launch of the upgraded third generation Kindle. The summer of 2009 also saw the launch of the large format Kindle DX, which was also updated in August 2010.

A great many industry analysts suggested that, notwithstanding the influential role of Amazon in the development of the e-book reader market, the release of the Apple iPad would signal the demise of the Kindle reader. However, after the launch of the third generation Kindle – accompanied by a reduction in the retail price – Amazon has sold out of their readers again. It looks as if demand remains high for what is now Amazon’s best selling product.

E-books have been readily accepted by many readers. Others seem to be attached to physical books. However, for the majority of people the convenience of being able to carry large quantities of books around with them, coupled with the ease of operation offered by e-book readers, has proven to be a winning combination. Recent cuts in e-book reader prices, prompted by the release of the iPad, have made e-book readers a much more attractive option for many readers.

Amazon recently advised that they are currently selling more Kindle books than conventional hardback books. The low selling priced of e-books – they use no paper or ink and have no delivery fees to speak of after all – certainly help. It seems reasonable to suppose that e-book sales will overtake paperback sales – and probably sooner rather than later.

As well as the price, the ease with which e-books can be bought is another influencing factor. Readers can download a book to their Kindle in less than sixty seconds, at any time of the day or night, just as long as they can connect to Amazon’s Kindle store.

A possible area of concern for some customers was the worry that they would be “tied” to one particular e-book reader. This issue has been very effectively addressed by Amazon who have released a large number of free “apps” to allow Kindle books to be read on a wide range of different devices. At the moment, Kindle books can be read on the PC, the Mac, the iPhone, the iPad, the Blackberry smart phone and any device which runs the Android operating system. It’s actually a clever strategy by Amazon. It not only removes customer’s concerns about being tied to one proprietary piece of hardware but every new app acts as a seperate point of sale for Amazon’s vast library of Kindle books. Currently, approximately 20% of all Kindle book sales are destined to be read on non-Kindle hardware.

It looks as if e-books are here for the long term and that they will gradually begin to account for a higher and higher proportion of book sales. It also seems probable that Amazon will continue to be a driving influence in the world of digital publishing in future.

Why The Amazon Kindle Will Survive

Since its original release back in 2007, Amazon’s Kindle reader has consistently been the best e-book reader available on the market. That’s why it has enjoyed such a high level of success to date. Back in the third quarter of 2009, when every electronics manufacturer was trying to get a piece of the emerging e-book reader market, any new reader was instantly hailed as the Kindle killer. This is due to the fact that the Kindle was, and still is, the industry benchmark.

The recent release of the upgraded third generation Kindle reader has widened the gap between Amazon’s reader and the trailing pack even further. It’s probably worth pointing out that the most credible Kindle killer to date is not another e-book reader but the Apple iPad. This is a very different device with a much higher price tag and, when looked at as an e-book reader, one which suffers in a number of areas in comparison with the Kindle.

The latest improvements include a doubling of memory from 2 to 4 GB, a higher contrast display, 20% faster page turns and an extended battery life. The device retains the same 6″ display, but in a smaller, lighter case – which now comes in either white or graphite. Amazon has also launched an entry level reader with Wi-Fi only for those who don’t envisage the need for a 3G connection. This is on sale at just $ 139 – very close to the $ 99 value commonly held to be impulse buy territory for personal electronics. The Wi-Fi plus 3G model is available for $ 189.

As well as these various technical improvements, and almost unnoticed by many, Amazon opened a separate Kindle store for the UK market. UK residents will now be able to purchase their readers locally instead of having an international version shipped from the States. This only took a few days to do – but some customers may have been put off by exchange rates and having to use a credit card (debit cards are more common in the UK). Amazon has just launched a major TV advertising campaign in the United Kingdom and it could be that this, together with the “local” UK Kindle store could generate a lot of sales for them. In the event that this proves to be a success, we might see additional local Kindle stores being opened for Germany, France and the other countries with their own Amazon websites.

Following the release of the Kindle 3, Amazon has sold out of Kindles yet again. Customers are pre-ordering Kindles for delivery in three to four weeks time, with the readers being shipped on a first come first served basis. All things considered, there’s absolutely no sign that demand for the Kindle is falling off – which is hardly surprising given the quality of the product.

In the past, reports of the Kindles death were always premature, and that still seems to be the case today. The Kindle and the iPad are completely different devices and there’s very little point in trying to compare them with each other. The Kindle is, by a long way, the best e-book reader available on the market. That’s why it will continue to thrive – and why Amazon’s influence in the future of digital publishing will continue to grow. Some people will continue to read traditional books, both hardbacks and paperbacks. Others will switch to an e-book reader, in which case the Amazon Kindle will be the most popular choice (as will Kindle books). Yet others will be chiefly concerned with surfing the net and watching videos when they’re on the move, reading an e-book from time to time – and they will probably find the iPad to be the best solution for their needs. Whatever your own personal preference is, Amazon will be more than happy to supply your needs.

Might Amazon Be Encouraged To Release New Products Other Than The Kindle Reader

Amazon’s newly released third generation is selling extremely well at the moment. An upgrade – which incorporates a new 50% higher contrast e-ink technology display, smaller and lighter casing, faster page turns and a doubling of memory to 4GB – accompanied by a price reduction and the launch of a new Wi-Fi only entry level model, has seen demand for the Kindle reader take off.

Currently, the new upgraded Kindles are out of stock and prospective customers face a three to four week wait before any new ones begin shipping. Sales of Kindle books are now regularly higher than hardback edition sales. It looks to be only a matter of time before e-book sales outstrip paperback sales.

Amazon has also opened a dedicated UK Kindle store so that UK customers don’t require to have their readers shipped across the Atlantic and can pay for their Kindle purchases in their local currency. It seems probable that further “local” Kindle stores will be opened for other Amazon international websites such as Germany, France etc. in the future.

In short, everything in the garden is pretty rosy for Amazon right now. Predictions that the Kindle would be killed off as a result of the launch of the Apple iPad seem to be largely inaccurate. Amazon’s policy of releasing free “apps” to allow Kindle books to be read on a variety of different devices looks to be paying dividends. So, considering what a huge success they have had with their first manufactured product, it’s probably no surprise that Amazon is reported to be considering developing prototypes for consumer gadgets other than the Kindle in their Lab 126 research facility.

Amazon has made no comment on what they may, or may not, be developing, but it has been suggested that they may be looking at mobile phones and music and/or movie players. However, industry analysts suggest that, were Amazon to enter the market with another gadget, they would need to be sure that they were adding value rather than just releasing another piece of personal electronic tech onto the market.

Much of the success of the Kindle reader must be attributed to Amazon’s strong association with books and reading in general. The huge number of Kindle books on offer – over 630,000 and increasing daily – and the fact that these can be read on so many other devices has been a big selling point. Any new gadget that Amazon decided to launch would probably need some similar type of support in order to achieve anything approaching the level of success enjoyed by the Kindle.