Re-Kindling May Not Be Enough

Amazon's electronic reader is up against tough demographics

(NEWSER) - After about 9 months on the market, how goes the Kindle? No official sales figures are out for Amazon's electronic reader, but Liz Gunnison of Portfolio tries to get a sense of things. If you were expecting it to ignite a revolution in reading, keep dreaming. Amazon has likely sold about 240,000—that puts revenue at about $100 million, a "rounding error" by Amazon standards—and Gunnison doesn't see a huge market beyond that because of a host of demographic and market factors. More»

Sales soaring of the device iPad was to make obsolete

(NEWSER) - Looks like the advance obits for the Kindle, which was supposed to be killed off by the iPad, were a bit premature. The iPad is selling sensationally (3.3 million and counting), Daniel Lyons notes in Newsweek , but so is the Kindle (3.5 million this year). Why? Sure, slashing prices to $189 helped triple sales, but there's also the fact that the Kindle, if not as sexy as the iPad, is arguably better for reading books. Here's why:

• It weighs less than half as much as the iPad
• The Kindle screen is easier on the eyes and more visible outdoors, in sunlight.

Even with iPad competition, sales of devices rise

(NEWSER) - Amazon is selling more books as Kindle downloads than as hardcovers, CNET reports . In the past month, the website sold 180 Kindle books for each 100 hardbacks. CEO Jeff Bezos calls the shift "astonishing, when you consider that we've been selling hardcover books for 15 years and Kindle books for 33 months." More»

Plastic Logic's version is lighter, thinner, wider

(NEWSER) - Move over, Kindle. A new e-book reader made by German/British firm Plastic Logic is on its way, and seems to fix many of the Amazon reader’s apparent flaws, Wired reports. PL’s as-yet-unnamed reader is 8.5 inches by 11 inches, but less than 3/10 of an inch thick and weighs less than a pound. More»

Publishers group says it was strong-armed to accept new terms

(NEWSER) - Amazon is playing hardball with a book distributor that refused to give it a bigger share of the pie. The company's Kindle store yanked some 5,000 e-books after Independent Publishers Group, which represents hundreds of independent publishers, refused the online giant's demands. "They decided they didn't like the terms we offered, and we said, 'We're not going to change,' and they removed them," IPG chief Mark Suchomel tells the Chicago Tribune . More»