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Amazon claims biggest sales month ever for Kindle

Amazon said the month of December has been the highest selling month for the popular Kindle e-reader, but the company still hasn't released specific sales numbers.

Amazon has never publicly released sales figures, and announced it will begin to ship the Kindle with free expedited shipping to consumers interested in purchasing a unit prior to Christmas.  

It seems odd for the company to continually issue press statements that its e-reader has broken some type of sales records, but won't disclose specific numbers or confirm sales numbers compiled by analysts.

Even without exact sales figures, Amazon’s competitors know there is much work to be done. "We obviously fell behind Amazon," Sony CEO Howard Stringer noted during a recent press conference.  "But it's a long war, a long race."  

Sony is attempting to create partnerships with book publishers and other content providers, but analysts are unsure if that will have any long-term impact as the company continues to struggle against Amazon.

When the Kindle first launched -- becoming the first high-profile e-reader that consumers were interested in -- Amazon had a difficult time meeting demand, but that has changed.  Sony has found trouble trying to bring in new consumers, while Barnes & Noble, which recently launched its Nook e-reader, is having trouble meeting demand.

E-readers are expected to become even more popular in 2010, with Borders announcing it will finally begin providing e-books.  Furthermore, Creative, Intel, Plastic Logic, LG, and other companies have announced or launched e-readers, and analysts expect additional announcements during CES in January.

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Kindle is nice, But I prefer Sony Ereader
By sapiens74 on 12/18/2009 5:10:24 PM , Rating: 2
Various colors, the ability to use my memory cards and open formats (never thought Sony would do that)




RE: Kindle is nice, But I prefer Sony Ereader
By RJP on 12/18/2009 7:03:57 PM , Rating: 2
And after looking at the specs for the Amazon Kindle, the Sony Ereader, and the Barnes/Noble Nook, I chose the Nook as the best device for me. I'm eagerly awaiting shipment in early January, 2010. I already have my 16GB MicroSD card storage expansion card, and pre-ordered the spare battery with the device. This device hopefully will get me back reading books again, something I've neglected in this digital audio/video age.


RE: Kindle is nice, But I prefer Sony Ereader
By melgross on 12/18/2009 7:48:08 PM , Rating: 2
You might want to rethink that. so far, the Nook is just a beta, nothing has been finalized.

Read the reviews, some fairly bad. I don't trust the technology sites to give these things proper reviews, because the technology fascinates them so much they gloss over the defects.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/technology/perso...

His review is better as it gives the whole picture.


RE: Kindle is nice, But I prefer Sony Ereader
By Enigmatic on 12/18/2009 11:42:59 PM , Rating: 2
I wanted to get a Nook, but can't get one in Canada. Still thinking about a getting a Kindle though, generally gets positive reviews. Open formats is not as a big a deal to me, I'm gonna be using this for E-books and mostly new ones (so don't care much about Google books either) and Amazon has good enough selection for me.

But, if B&N do expand their e-reader outside the ol' U S of A and fix it up from the bugfest that it currently is I'll be all over that.


RE: Kindle is nice, But I prefer Sony Ereader
By MindParadox on 12/19/2009 10:54:39 AM , Rating: 2
watch out, if a publisher decides they no longer want to publish a book in e format, it can be taken away from ya (altho amazon DID repay people for the purchases, after a crap ton of complaints and a week or so went by)


By Icehearted on 12/19/2009 4:50:43 PM , Rating: 2
That's a much bigger issue for me than the obscene pricing of these things; Amazon giveth, then Amazon taketh away!

Feels too much like third party content control, and I can see how that would become a big problem later on. I'd rather decide for myself what I read, tyvm.


By knipfty on 12/20/2009 4:55:44 PM , Rating: 2
Not quite true. Amazon had an issue with a person who did not have the publishing rights to the book. When it was notified of the problem by the rights holder, Amazon removed the book, and refunded people's money.

The uproar was because people felt that Amazon should not be able to remove the book. That is still open to debate, but Amazon apologized and promised not to do it again.


RE: Kindle is nice, But I prefer Sony Ereader
By RJP on 12/19/2009 2:23:44 PM , Rating: 2
None of the NY Times reviewer's complaints are deal killers for me. I prefer touchscreens to mechanical keyboards - yes I bought the iPhone when it first arrived. Page turn time is reasonable to me. I'm not a Wi-Fi fan - I have 4 wired ethernet outlets in every room of my house. I don't plan to be hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots to load the device.

I bet that NY Times reviewer has a Kindle.


By Oregonian2 on 12/19/2009 3:20:47 PM , Rating: 2
Thing is you REALLY don't need a keyboard very much with an eReader (I've a Kindle). As it is, I prefer a mechanical keyboard (and I like the slanted keys on the Kindle 1 more than the straight ones on the current Kindle 2), but like I said, it doesn't really matter that much -- they aren't used much in reading books/documents. Mostly just the next-page/last-page buttons (which are huge things on the Kindle 1). A touch screen usually reduces screen sharpness ever so slightly and increases the distance from the surface to the "layer" that one reads on the screen. Not such a big deal other than one really won't gain much by a touch screen -- speaking from more than a year of eBook reading on my Kindle (which I love).

I agree about WiFi -- with Kindle's free 3G Whispernet I'm not sure why one would bother with wifi much.

P.S. - I do have a number of high-tech gadgets with touch screens, I like them. Just isn't really needed on an eReader like it is on other devices. With an eReader one usually picks a book/document and "stays there" for a comparatively long time, not needing a keyboard (etc).


By knipfty on 12/20/2009 4:58:54 PM , Rating: 2
So I guess you want to pay more for your books. A site did some analysis: http://www.inkmesh.com/blog/2009/11/30/amazon-barn...

- The average ebook price at the big three: $6.05 at Amazon, $7.96 at B&N, and $8.77 at Sony.

- The one line version of everything above: when it comes to ebook pricing, Amazon is currently the clear winner, Barnes & Noble is a distant second, but Sony doesn’t even seem to be trying.


RE: Kindle is nice, But I prefer Sony Ereader
By Devo2007 on 12/20/2009 4:55:07 AM , Rating: 2
Agreed with you 100% on this one. I didn't need wireless access, and wanted to something that would allow me to get books from multiple sources. After playing around with the Sony eReaders, I settled on the Touch Edition. Having text-to-speech would be nice, but not until they can perfect the technology and not have it sound "robotic." Heck, I'd take a combo eBook + Audiobook format.

What really surprised me was that they included Memory Stick AND Secure Digital memory card slots on this device for expansion. Awesome touch for sure.

After talking with a friend today, we discovered a very useful application for the eReader; one that beats a paper version of a book hands-down: Technical manuals. You can put a lot of manuals on an eReader, and search through them very easily. Sure, you can do that with a laptop as well, but sometimes it's not as convenient as a tablet/eReader.


By grampaw on 12/21/2009 3:13:25 PM , Rating: 2
Which is one reason why I ordered the Nook - I can store a lot of technical, or whatever, type documents given the 16GB SD card expansion capability. I envision just downloading tech manuals in PDF format and storing on the Nook for easy access.


By ATC on 12/20/2009 10:13:05 PM , Rating: 2
To each his own I guess. I liked my Sony reader which I've had since the Spring. But I just got the Kindle as a gift for my wife and I now prefer the Kindle.

Whispernet isn't a big deal but it's a nice feature to be able to get books on the fly, away from PC. I love the ability to hover over a word in any book/document and a definition pops up on the bottom instantly; very handy. I've looked up stuff on Wikipedia while reading and again it's not a big deal but nice nonetheless, and no fees for it. And maybe it's not a fair comparison as my Sony is quite a bit older, but the screen on the Kindle seems crisper and faster to refresh.

I downloaded a program called Calibre which converts any ebook to the Kindle format. Works great and is free.


bad news for good paper books
By gorehound on 12/18/09, Rating: 0
RE: bad news for good paper books
By spookynutz on 12/18/2009 6:35:12 PM , Rating: 2
I'm of the opposite opinion. I like reading books, not going to the store to shop for them. As much as I love my book collection, I would much rather have the extra space a digital collection would afford me. If it saves me some money, some gas, saves a few trees, and saves me from having to buy yet another bookshelf, I say bring on the e-readers.

I'll agree there's a certain charm to browsing through the racks of local music and book boutiques, but the charm doesn't outweigh the convenience of digital formats. At least not for me. I won't be lying on my deathbed regretting all the physical point-of-sale transactions I missed out on. However, I don't foresee brick-and-mortar stores for media going away anytime soon.


RE: bad news for good paper books
By Hakuryu on 12/18/2009 9:35:12 PM , Rating: 2
I made some points in one of the gift topics posted here, and agree with you. I like holding a book in one hand as I read in bed often, and I cannot see a reader being comfortable like that. Also, the pride you have at seeing your collection in physical books, and the ability for more than one person to read from your collection.

You make a good point with selling books also, but I'd add that is good for readers also. There are three stores in my general area that deal with used books, and I can get perfectly good condition paperback books for $1 or less, and hardcovers for $3. Of course they aren't first editions, but they read just the same.

I'll miss being able to browse the mess of titles in these stores... there are no buyers looking for books that sell, just what they amass, and it can be fun just to look through them all.


RE: bad news for good paper books
By Silver2k7 on 12/19/2009 2:49:55 AM , Rating: 2
Sure a real book might feel better to read from at the moment.. the technology is probably a bit off from beeing perfected.. but as soon as its there you can have more or less a library with you.

Hopefully we will get color, so comic books and other things will be readable on these too. Also newspapers need images so im sure color and animations will be introduced if it isnt already.

Perhaps wireless internet of somekind if these are to be hooked up to a virtual library or bookstore.


RE: bad news for good paper books
By rudy on 12/19/2009 1:46:06 PM , Rating: 2
I disagree with you e-books are a great thing we can finally do to help save the environment and reduce waste. Think of all the savings from energy to materials if less books are shipped around the country and you do not have to pay to get them shipped or drive to the store. The only thing that really bugs me is that they are even making ebook readers instead of allowing us to get all this content on our computers.


By ChristopherO on 12/19/2009 7:27:07 PM , Rating: 2
Amazon does have Kindle for PC. It shares the same library as the regular Kindle minus the newspaper and blog subscriptions. I guess they figure that's sort of pointless on a PC... Which makes sense.

But, seeing as how you talk, it doesn't sound like you've used a Kindle. The E-Ink screens are amazing. Even the highest quality LCD will induce a good amount of eye strain compared to regular paper. E-Ink screens on the Kindle might look boring, but you can read them for hours like a book and your eyes won't need extra attention, or get dry, or suffer all the ill effects you don't even realize you're inflicting on them by using an LCD.


RE: bad news for good paper books
By knipfty on 12/20/2009 5:04:03 PM , Rating: 2
And I guess music recording are bad since people don't see enough live music. Or cars are bad for the horse and buggy trade. Air travel must be bad, because you cannot see the same sights as you do while traveling by train.

You haven't even tried a Kindle, yet you dismiss them?


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