Tag Archives: ebooks

Lower E-Book Reader Prices Could Signal The Start Of A New Pricing Policy In The Digital Publishing World

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Amazon, using their Kindle reader family as a vehicle, has been a major player in the development of both the e-book reader and e-book market. The first Kindle was released in November of 2007. In February of 2009, the updated and enhanced Kindle 2.0 hit the market, quickly followed by the large format Kindle DX in the summer of the same year.

The Kindle readers dominated the market and took a 60% share of all e-book reader sales in the USA. The Sony reader, which was actually launched in 2006 before the Kindle, followed in second place with a share of around 35%. Other companies saw the potential of the e-book reader market and launched or updated their own readers to get a slice of the pie.

Companies such as Sony, Barnes and Noble, Bookeen, Plastic Logic and iRex did their best to get their share of the new and fast developing e-book market, but the Kindle’s dominance looked to be pretty much unassailable. It wasn’t until the launch of the Apple iPad that the Kindle had any credible competition – even although the two devices were very different and would appeal, you would imagine, to different audiences.

Since the launch of the iPad, e-book reader prices have fallen quite some way. The Kindle 2.0 is currently selling for just $ 189, a huge reduction over the $ 359 launch price of February 2009. The large format Kindle DX has been upgraded, being fitted with a new improved screen, and has had a price reduction from $ 489 to just $ 379. Barnes and Noble have also dropped the price of their Nook reader from $ 259 to $ 199.

The launch of the iPad may, or may not, have been instrumental in producing widespread reductions in the ticket price of e-book readers, but it was clearly a major factor in pushing the price of the e-books to read on these devices upwards. Apple had set up its own book store prior to the launch of the iPad and had negotiated a deal with the major publishing firms which allowed them to fix the price of their e-book editions at whatever level they wanted – as long as the e-book was not made available on any other platform for a lower price. This pretty much killed the Amazon policy of setting e-book prices at $ 9.99 or less and was a welcome development for the publishers who were concerned about their profits reducing.

Amazon had to back down from this – but it’s not necessarily a bad thing for them, or Barnes and Noble for that matter. Amazon has always appeared to be more interested in selling books – and e-books – rather than hardware. That’s the only possible explanation for the fact that they have made it possible to read Kindle books on so many different devices. At the moment, you can read Kindle books on the PC, the Mac, your Blackberry, the iPod Touch, the iPad and any mobile device running Android. So companies like Barnes and Noble, Amazon and now Apple, who have a stake in the future sale of e-books over the life of a reader, can afford to sell the hardware cheaper and profit over the life of the device.

This trend may tend to favor companies which have a foot in both the book and hardware sales camps. Considering the current number of devices which can be used to read Kindle books, it looks as if Amazon will be a major player in the future of digital publishing for some time to come.

Discover the Amazon Kindle for yourself and view the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you customise and enhance your reader.

A Kindle Reader Is A Top Selling Item On Amazon For Many Reasons

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The Kindle reader rapidly rose to be the top selling item on Amazon. All it takes is a few minutes to review the benefits offered and it is apparent why that has happened. There are a tremendous number of books available for immediate download to the Kindle. You will also be able to read your personal PDF files and receive a large number of periodicals. You can use it almost anywhere in the US, and many other counties as well. There will be no other cables, a computer or software required. The reader will be ready to go right out of the box.

One of the most interesting features is the high quality of text that is provided by the “E ink” technology that uses ink that is electronically displayed. It gives the sense of looking at a page from a book on the six-inch diagonal screen. You will find it does not seem you are reading from a computer screen. There are six different font sizes to choose from.

Basically, all of your books can now be large-print text if you prefer. Images are presented in sixteen shades of gray which ensures images are bright and clear. They can also be rotated and displayed in full-screen mode. You can browse basic text-based websites and services for sport scores, images and maps.

Since there is no back-lighting involved, you will find there is no glare like with typical electronic devices. Users are very impressed with the ability to use a Kindle inside, or out on a sunny beach, with no loss of clarity. There is 2 GB of internal storage. The battery will last for two weeks when you turn off the wireless capability, otherwise the battery life is cut in half, you will be able to carry it with you anywhere.

Recharging the battery is done with the included power adapter or the USB cable. Some larger files, like audio books, may require you to download to a computer first. The USB cable will provide easy file transfer. Synchronization is done just as easily between your computers and hand-held devices. This provides the flexibility to read wherever you are at the time, then pick up on another device right where you left off.

With over a half-million books, nearly 2 million public domain writings, over 50,000 audio books, ebooks and periodicals available, you will build a very impressive personal library. There are free samples for almost all books. If you like it, one click and it can be purchased and downloaded. There is even a text-to-speech function with most books.

The Kindle is designed for long-term use. It only weighs 10 ounces, yet holds up to 1,500 books. If you ever come to a point you need more room, all of your purchases are stored for you and can be re-downloaded. It is very thin, about the thickness of a lead pencil, so it can be held comfortably in one hand. Both sides of the screen have the buttons used to turn the pages.

Having a Kindle reader is going to give you the option to download MP3 files if you like to have background music as you read. Any bookmarks and notations made will be synced. You will be able to clip and save texts for future reference. Having so many books at your fingertips, as well as music, audio books, countless ebooks and reference materials, in such a compact device, is what makes this Amazon’s top selling item.

Tired of carrying tons of gadget that you like to read on your ride? Why not get a amazon kindle? Well, these little electronic gadget allows downloaded gadget to be installed in it’s memory. We have what you need and tons of kindle accessories.

categories: kindle,ipad,ebooks,ereaders,books,reading,literature,electronics,computing,personal tech,technology