Posts Tagged ‘Kindle’

Random Young Writer Making a Killing in the Kindle Store

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011


Amanda Hocking (photo courtesy Business Insider)

Technology changes everything, again.

Amanda Hocking is living the dream: she’s in her mid-twenties, writing what she wants to write, and making a serious profit without any of the usual middlemen. No publishers, no editors, no marketers, no book-signing tours.

The Kindle store allows her to connect directly with readers, who sometimes pay only a dollar to download her work. But multiply one dollar by 100,000 downloads, and then imagine taking home 70% of that. (Amazon keeps the rest.)

This is good news for young writers looking to make a name (and a profit) for themselves, but what about all those people who make their living as publishers, editors, and marketers?

Surprise! Barnes & Noble Colors Its Nook

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

Amazon.com’s Kindle has been dominating the e-book market since the get-go, but the Kindle just got sucker-punched by Barnes & Noble’s all-new Nook Color. (Who’s naming these things?)

Full-color photo spread (including gratuitous moustache shot) in the original article:
Bloomberg, 12/2/10: Color Nook One-Ups Kindle in E-Reader Battle: Rich Jaroslovsky

On Amazon, E-Book Sales Surpass Hardcovers

Monday, July 26th, 2010

The convenience of the skinny Kindle sways more customers.

  • Sales of the Kindle, Amazon.com’s digital book reader, have skyrocketed and Amazon reports that it is now selling more electronic books than hardcover editions.
  • In order to compete with other e-readers made by Apple and Sony, Amazon slashed the price of the Kindle almost in half - a move that increased sales even further.
  • The growing popularity of the e-book boosted Amazon stock, reversing a steady decline since the recession.

Facts & Figures

  • Amazon has sold 143 Kindle books for every 100 hardcover books
  • Amazon will probably sell 3.7 million Kindles this year

Best Quote

“We’ve reached a tipping point with the new price of Kindle. Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books — astonishing when you consider that we’ve been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months.” – Jeff Bezos, Chief Executive of Amazon.com

Your Music’s Gone Digital. Your Photos Went Digital. Ready For Your Books?

Monday, May 4th, 2009

New technology could really affect the way you learn, get your news, and relax.

  • In late 2007, Amazon’s Kindle redefined electronic books. Not only did it have an E-ink screen (which doesn’t strain your eyes like LCD screens), but it also included high-speed wireless connection so you could download new books directly from anywhere in the U.S., at no extra cost.
  • Now, Amazon has released the Kindle 2. There’s no major redesign, but it is faster and a bit more polished than the original.
  • If you’re already a Kindle owner, no dire need to upgrade just yet. But if you’re buying your first ebook, this is a good place to start.

Facts & Figures

  • The Kindle’s Eink screen uses small shape-shifting ink-like capsules to form print-quality text that doesn’t strain your eyes at all.
  • The Kindle 2 features accident-proof buttons, a thinner body (.36 inch), more built-in memory (2 gigabytes), a joystick navigation button, 4x higher screen quality, better battery life, and a robotic voice for the option to listen as an audiobook.
  • The Sony Reader is Kindle’s only real competition, though it’s $30 more and doesn’t have Kindle’s favorite feature, wireless connection.

Best Quote

“The new Kindle 2 is less of a revolution, and more of a refinement.” – Seth Porges, bloomberg.com

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