The Amazon Kindle 3 Is Selling More Quickly Than Ever

Amazon recently confirmed that, in the 4 weeks following the launch of their third generation Kindle, more Kindle readers were sold than for the same time period following any earlier Kindle reader launch. The new, improved Kindle is not just in high demand – it is the fastest selling Kindle reader ever. Amazon didn’t reveal precisely how many Kindles were sold, but they did confirm that, since the release of the upgraded Kindle, customers have purchased more Kindles on Amazon.com and the newly opened Kindle store at Amazon.co.uk combined than any other item.

The new Kindle 3 was announced by Amazon at the end of July. The new Kindle 3 houses the same size of 6″ display in a smaller (21%) and lighter (15%) casing. Page turns are 20% faster and onboard memory has been doubled from 2GB to 4GB – enough for 3,500 books. Battery life with Wi-Fi turned off is now up to 4 weeks and the e-ink technology display has better contrast than ever.

Amazon also introduced an entry level Wi-Fi only model, for customers who don’t anticipate the need for 3G. This sells for $ 139, with the 3G plus Wi-Fi model selling for $ 189. Those prices represent massive reductions on the previous $ 359 Kindle price. It’s a clear sign that the e-book reader market is entering a new phase.

During the first half of 2010, Amazon sold three times as many Kindle books as they did during the first six months of 2009. The number of books available on the Kindle store has now grown to over 670,000 titles – and that doesn’t include the 1.8 million free classic books on offer.

The Kindle remains Amazon’s number one selling product. It is also the most gifted and most wished for product on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. With the high sales returns for the Kindle and the latest technical improvements, it would be easy to overlook the importance of the opening 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 why wouldn’t it be – it seems probable that further “local” Kindle stores in France, Germany, Japan etc. – and any other country with its own independent Amazon website – might be opened.

Whilst Amazon still faces competition from the Apple iPad this doesn’t seem to concern them too 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 books are outselling iBooks by a ratio of sixty to one speaks volumes.

Top Picks In Well-Known E-Book Readers

Technology has really dramatically changed the present day world in all aspects. No wonder the traditional concept of reading too has been redefined in the present times. More and more folks are switching to e-books these days owing to the convenience of usage it offers. In case you too prefer reading e-books over traditional books, it is advised to get hold of an eReader. The market is flooded with many types of the same, but some are more well-liked from the rest. Here is a list of the same.

Amazon Kindle; justifiably tops the list of the ideal eBooks readers available today. In fact, it’s credited as the primary e-tool that initiated the trend of eReaders. Amazon launched 2 different versions of the Kindle on its debut; including the Kindle 3G and the Kindle Wi-Fi. The 3G version was perceptibly the more expensive of the two. However, it has features to match and allows you to download eBooks wherever and whenever, to read as and when you wish to. For example, if you wished to read books on disability, you could merely download and read them at your own ease.

Another primary eReader is The Barnes & Noble Nook. Amidst numerous features that it boasts of, the stand out feature of this gadget, which makes it desirable, is the black and white E ink main display. To top it all, it comes equipped with a touch screen feature at bottom. Another highlight of this product is that, it can effortlessly support a number of formats, enabling expandable memory for more storage.

If extreme perfection and high end features is what you are looking for in an eReader, Sony PRS 900 Reader Daily Edition is the perfect option to vouch for. It is said to be the finest of all the eReader versions launched by Sony. The seven inch wide display screen and touch navigation, helps in legibility of even heavy text subjects of patents and many more. However, purchasing this one may absolutely pinch your pocket hard. With a price tag of $ 399, it is not affordable for all.

Another name that makes to the list of famous eReaders is Spring Design Alex. It not just has features of an eReader, but is also a complete version of Android. Its big size supports extra functionality. With a dual screen layout, it comes accompanied with touch screen LCD at bottom and black and white coloured eReader at the top. While you can always make use of this gadget to read books, you could see videos on the same. Because it is compatible with varied formats, watching videos of step by step guide self tanning lessons will no longer be tough.

Select one of these eReaders and your e-reading is certain to be a great experience.

What Next For The Amazon Kindle Reader?

The Amazon Kindle has established itself as the leader of the e-book reader pack. It has a 60% share of the U.S. e-book reader market – Sony’s PRS reader trails in second place with a respectable 35% share – and both the Kindle 2.0 and the Kindle DX are now on sale internationally. Practically every new e-book reader which shows even the slightest promise is instantly given the title of “Kindle Killer” only emphasises the fact that the Kindle is not just the market leader but the unofficial industry standard against which all new readers will be measured.

Considering the dominance of the Kindle, it’s easy to forget just what a recent addition it is to the e-book reader scene. The very first e-book reader – Franklin’s eBookman – was released in 1999, over a decade ago. The Sony PRS launched in 2006. It wasn’t until November 2007 that we saw the launch of the original Kindle. The updated Kindle 2.0 was released in February of 2009 and the DX followed in June of the same year.

However, Amazon’s competition has been busy. Sony has released their Daily Edition reader. Barnes and Noble launched their Nook and even the new Apple iPad is widely felt to be a threat to the Kindle. Various different e-book readers are now available and, needless to say, the newer ones incorporate features which are currently not included in the current version of the Kindle – touch screen functionality, color screen etc.

So how will Amazon respond? Up to now, with the exception of a few firmware updates, Amazon’s primary response to growing competition has been to reduce the ticket price of the Kindle 2.0 from its $ 359 launch price to $ 259. However, there are rumours that a new version of the Kindle is in the pipeline. Which begs the question – what should Amazon do to update the Kindle?

One explanation for the success of the Kindle is that it provides a superb user experience. It’s very easy to operate using only one hand, the controls are very good and the display is excellent across a wide range of different lighting conditions. It would almost be a shame if Amazon were to follow the example of the Sony Daily Edition and introduce a touch screen. If your main intention is simply to read books then this probably isn’t a massive improvement. If anything, it detracts from the ease of one handed operation. It also requires a slightly more reflective screen which will under perform in certain lighting.

The introduction of color would definitely be a good thing but, were this to be done in the manner of Barnes and Noble’s Nook reader, it would be fairly pointless. The Nook features colour navigation only – the actual reader is still monochrome. This is not, in itself, a bad thing. After all – as far as reading books goes, black text on a white background is a familiar arrangement to most readers.

What Amazon may well wish to do, and what they have done very well up to now, is to provide a superior user experience. Rather than focus on hardware gimmicks, Amazon may decide to go for options which will be genuinely useful to their customers. For example, quicker page turns with reduced screen flicker and prolonged battery life may be enhancements which end users would find beneficial. Likewise, increased choice of  Kindle books, faster downloads and the ability to share e-books might be more important to users than hardware mods.

Amazon has secured the market leadership position as a result of their ability to satisfy customer needs. Unsurprisingly they understand what people who read books actually want. The end result is that the Kindle is now their best selling product and, to date, they have not just led the market but practically defined it. The next generation of the Kindle will demonstrate exactly how the market will develop in future. In all probabilitiy, it seems highly likely that Amazon will continue to take the lead in the e-book reader market, rather than following their competitors.