7 posts and columns on paperback

Kobo’s Strategy Includes Hardware With Introduction of New Touch E-Reader

in Commerce on May 23, 2011 at 8:00 am PT

The bare bones e-reader that Kobo released in May 2010 was intended to help sell more of its e-books. But now the company is also seeing the merits of pursuing a hardware strategy, which includes today’s unveiling of an all-new touch-enabled device.
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Amazon Drops the Price on Kindle, But Ads or No Ads, Don't Get Your Hopes Up for Free

in Commerce on April 11, 2011 at 6:47 pm PT

Amazon has dropped the price of its latest generation of the Kindle by $25, hoping to attract a larger user base of people who will now be able to afford the e-reader. But will the Kindle ever be free?

News Byte

Amazon Says Kindle Book Sales Have Overtaken Paperback Sales

in Commerce on January 27, 2011 at 1:05 pm PT

Amazon.com announced fourth-quarter financial results today, saying it hit two milestones: It had its first $10 billion quarter, and its Kindle book sales had overtaken paperback books as the most popular format on the giant bookseller’s site. Since the beginning of the year, it has sold 115 Kindle books for every 100 paperbacks sold (not including free books). During the busy holiday quarter, net income jumped eight percent to $416 million on a 36 percent increase in sales, compared with the previous year’s period. Revenues totaled $12.95 billion, which fell short of the $12.99 billion analysts were expecting, according to Thomson Reuters.

Amazon Opens Up on Kindle Sales, Says "Millions" Sold This Holiday Season

in Commerce on December 13, 2010 at 10:30 am PT

Amazon.com has sold “millions” of its new Kindle models in the first 73 days of the holiday quarter, according to a post by the Kindle team in an online forum.

Amazon Selling So Many Kindles It Can't Count Them

in Media on October 25, 2010 at 9:25 am PT

Or, more accurately–it won’t tell us what the count is. But Amazon will boast about sales of its new line of e-readers, and about e-book sales in general. Can’t blame them–we keep repeating every press release they put out.

Latest Guess at Kindle Sales: 5 Million This Year, 11.5 Million in 2012

in News on September 29, 2010 at 1:32 pm PT

Since the Kindle’s launch in November of 2007, Amazon hasn’t been particularly forthcoming with the device’s sales figures. Trumpeting the latest iteration of the Kindle as “the fastest-selling ever” is about as specific as it’s gotten. So coming up with a yearly sales forecast for the Kindle is no easy task. But that doesn’t stop analysts from trying.
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Voices

Kindle Hikes Book Prices and Adds to My Ambivalence

in News on May 11, 2009 at 8:49 am PT

Just when I was coming to terms with my ambivalence toward my Kindle e-book reader, Amazon and the publishers have gotten greedy. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the device since I bought my first one about 9 months ago. As a frequent traveler and voracious reader, I’ve found the Kindle to be nearly ideal. I never have fewer than a dozen books in its memory, and they’re always things I want to read.