Although normally dead quiet on Kindle sales figures, Amazon has boasted today that they have “sold millions” of the latest generation e-readers during the first 73 days of this quarter, strong numbers considering the Christmas rush is still heating up.
In the past, Amazon had said little about sales figures, only claiming that the Kindle was the top selling item on the e-tailer’s site, and its “fastest selling” item, ever.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also made the bold claim that e-book sales will pass paperback sales by summer 2011, and surpass hardcover and paperback sales by 2012.
The giant online retailer has always said that the hardware sales are not as important as the e-book sales, and Amazon even makes Kindle apps for iOS, BlackBerry, Android, Macs and PCs.
Despite being the clear market leader, increased competition from Apple, Barnes & Noble and now Google has analysts believing a once 70-percent share will fall to under 40 within 2 years.
The latest Kindle Wi-Fi sells for $140.
Result for: ceo jeff bezos
Amazon has announced it will sell two new models of their popular Kindle e-reader beginning tomorrow, with one costing just $139, the cheapest price yet for a Kindle device.
To justify the price of the Kindle Wi-Fi, Amazon has removed the ability to connect to the Internet via 3G cell networks, making it Wi-Fi only.
The second model will replace the Kindle 2 and include 3G access, and will sell for $189.
Each new model is slimmer and include higher contrast screens and “crisper text.” Both have six-inch screens, but weigh 15 percent less and are 21 percent slimmer. Each also has twice the storage of the original Kindles, allowing for up to 3500 books to be stored.
Says CEO Jeff Bezos: “The hardware business for us has been so successful that we’re going to continue. I predict there will be a 10th-generation and a 20th-generation Kindle. We’re well-situated to be experts in purpose-built reading devices.”
The Kindle Wi-Fi is now cheaper than both the rival Nook and the lesser rival Sony Reader, and over $250 cheaper than the Apple iPad.
Pre-prders start tomorrow, and both devices ship August 27th.
Result for: ceo jeff bezos
The Amazon Kindle, the most popular e-reader by market share will eventually have a color version, says CEO Jeff Bezos, but that day is not soon.
Speaking at the e-tailer’s shareholder meeting this week, Bezos says that while not impossible, adding color to the Kindle’s e-ink display is “a difficult technical challenge” and that the device is “still a long way out.”
Bezos adds that he has seen some prototypes “in the lab” but none of them are “ready for prime-time production.”
The e-reader market continues to get more and more crowded, especially with Apple’s introduction of the iPad tablet in April. The iPad has e-reading capabilities on a full color screen and a connection to the growing Apple iBookStore.
While Bezos refuses to disclose the amount of Kindle devices sold since launch, DisplaySearch reported last month that the number is somewhere in the 3.3 million unit range.
