Amazon Kindle - driving lots of traffic to Amazon

[Alexander Turcic]

The guys from Seeking Alpha analyzed how the Amazon Kindle performed in terms of traffic received from referring parties. The result is nothing but impressive:

Joining the lofty ranks of Webkinz, Zune, Uggs and video game consoles, Kindle-related terms for November debuted in the top tier of brand terms most often referring to Amazon from search engines. That's quite a feat, considering the product released late in the month, and 683,000 people visited the Kindle product page during those last two weeks.

Also, in comparison to the Apple iPod, Seeking Alpha discovered that the Kindle attracts a more mature crowd ("30-something business professionals") with higher income.

For instance, the gadget standard that is the iPhone generates most interest with the young 20-something set, with a correlating peak in lower income brackets that defies high premiums. Alternatively, the Kindle skews more to the 30-something business professionals, with an audience peak at a higher income segment, that can more easily manage the asking price. Clearly, the new reader appeals particularly to this demographic. Perhaps its ‘80s throwback design reminds them of a simpler, clunkier time with bigger hair… or maybe they just read more books.

[Steve Jordan]

Interesting... maybe Amazon should start promoting James Michener, Sidney Sheldon and Judith Krantz novels, then...

[lovebeta]

It seems that this article is just a copy from the compete.com blog.

And I don't like the tone of this article. The analysis is way superficial. Other than the statistics(which is good), the only thing they seem to know is the appearance of kindle.

Ironically, that is exactly why I got a kindle. Over the past ten years, I spent way too much time reading online and I found the online material, while very broad and up to date, is very shallow.

Needless to say, I think my post is another shallow one with just claims and no proof...

[Alexander Turcic]

Compete is co-publishing on Seeking Alpha.

[Alisa]

The 30-somethings I know hate the retro-80s trend. Most of my friends look at my Kindle as a nifty device but wonder why it looks like something out of old school Battlestar Galactica. I have to agree with them. I don't think aesthetics are helping sales at all. I don't care how old the target market is.

[Steve Jordan]

Originally Posted by Alisa

The 30-somethings I know hate the retro-80s trend. Most of my friends look at my Kindle as a nifty device but wonder why it looks like something out of old school Battlestar Galactica. I have to agree with them. I don't think aesthetics are helping sales at all. I don't care how old the target market is.

Agreed... Amazon should have put a lot a lot a lot more effort into an attractive design. (It sometimes leads me to suspect that Amazon does not seriously plan to make the Kindle part of its long-term e-book plans... or that this was just a proof-of-concept to get other companies involved in making Amazon-compatible readers.)

[geoelectric]

It's difficult for me to get hung up on the design. It's function over form, as far as I'm concerned. A slide-out keyboard would have been nice, but other than that there's very little I'd change.

Honestly, devices like the Sony Reader are too small to connect as "book" to me. Part of what works for me with the Kindle is that it's a bit larger. It affects portability, but day-to-day use is improved for me. That said, I'd prefer the extra space were given over to an iLiad-like large screen instead of the large keyboard.

[ProfJulie]

What are the real numbers? I have a hard time getting excited about .05% Doesn't seem very significant to me.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Agreed... Amazon should have put a lot a lot a lot more effort into an attractive design. (It sometimes leads me to suspect that Amazon does not seriously plan to make the Kindle part of its long-term e-book plans... or that this was just a proof-of-concept to get other companies involved in making Amazon-compatible readers.)

I actually think that design was deliberate. I would expect a generic design to look more like the Cybook. To me, that looks like a prototype on the outside. I think they were going for something conceptual here and missed the mark. I think they wanted it to look like pages. That seems to be what Bezos was saying.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by geoelectric

It's difficult for me to get hung up on the design. It's function over form, as far as I'm concerned. A slide-out keyboard would have been nice, but other than that there's very little I'd change.

I'd change the color, too. The white bounces back too much light. A darker case color would improve the contrast. A slide out keyboard would be great along with relocating the buttons on the back to the top. You shouldn't have to take the thing out of the case to turn the wireless off and on. If they had better power management I wouldn't care so much about it.

[TallMomof2]

Well, I'm pushing 50 (rather hard) and I like the design. It's fugly, has lots of neat buttons, and I'm always asked questions about the Kindle when I have it out in public.

(I've always been a little partial to Battlestar Gallactica, Star Trek, Star Wars, etc so that may explain why I like the Kindle.)

Designwise I'd like to see the wireless off unless the user is downloading content. Also the way books are listed could stand some improvement. It would be great to be able to create subfolders for series, authors, genres. I'd also like to be able to sort by purchase date. The keyboard is fine, personally the extra length at the bottom means that when I read in bed I don't have to prop it up on a pillow. Plus a slideout keyboard is just something else mechanical to break.

[chef]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

Well, I'm pushing 50 (rather hard) and I like the design. It's fugly, has lots of neat buttons, and I'm always asked questions about the Kindle when I have it out in public.

(I've always been a little partial to Battlestar Gallactica, Star Trek, Star Wars, etc so that may explain why I like the Kindle.)

Designwise I'd like to see the wireless off unless the user is downloading content. Also the way books are listed could stand some improvement. It would be great to be able to create subfolders for series, authors, genres. I'd also like to be able to sort by purchase date. The keyboard is fine, personally the extra length at the bottom means that when I read in bed I don't have to prop it up on a pillow. Plus a slideout keyboard is just something else mechanical to break.

Feel free to turn the wireless off whenever you want by turning the power off i the back. It's what the other button is for.

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by chef

Feel free to turn the wireless off whenever you want by turning the power off i the back. It's what the other button is for.

I leave it off except when I need to download but the button either needs better placement or have Whispernet turn off automatically when not needed.

[radleyp]

Well, I'm with you on the looks and the recommendations, TallMom, and I'm a generation older (am I more tolerant as I get older?, I continue to ask myself). A filing system of some sort is definitely needed, and that should be easily doable via a software upgrade. What the Kindle has done is to stop me from reading on my smartphone.

[CCDMan]

It's difficult for me to get hung up on the design. It's function over form,

Yup, it is a reader, not a fashion accessory. When being used, if it is done right it should vanish as far as the reader is concerned. If it can do that, it is fine.

Having said that, if it looked "cool" (whatever THAT is) they might increase sales among those shallow folks who think it IS a fashion accessory. <g>