Amazon To Offer New Versions of Kindle e-Book Reader
Amazon will ship new versions of its Kindle e-book reader before year’s end. The original reader launched last November sold out in its first week and had Amazon scrambling to fill holiday orders. While sales have been brisk, estimates vary.
A Seattle newspaper confirmed late last week that Amazon.com is in the late stages of rolling out two new versions of Kindle. Reports unconfirmed by Amazon indicate there will be at least two new devices — one with a new user interface but the same dimensions of the original paperback-sized reader, and another the size of an 8-by-11-inch sheet of paper. Other tantalizing details are that the new readers may sport color choices.
The original Kindle has been criticized for its bland appearance and somewhat clunky controls, so color and a new interface could help sales. Not that Amazon seems to be complaining. Low estimates of current Kindle sales are pegged at around 230,000 units shipped in nine
According to Mark Mahaney, a financial analyst at Citigroup, “Although (Amazon) has not disclosed Kindle sales, our collection of documents points leads us to double our ‘08 unit assumption from 190,000 to 380,000. In its first year, that’s precisely how many iPods were sold. Turns out the Kindle is becoming the iPod of the book world.”
Weighty Textbook Market
The $5.5 billion textbook market is prime turf for the Kindle and Amazon. While e-book readers have made no significant dent in the market yet, a number of factors may push things along.
The chief complaint among students is textbook prices. Electronic versions can drive down both the production and distribution costs.
Another problem is weight. Students are lugging tens of pounds of books to and from classes.
Add to the mix that the Kindle has a built-in…
Original post by dhiram
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