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Old 05-16-2009, 08:37 AM   #211
Dahak
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Posts: 125
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony PRS-505(LC) & Rocket eBook
Quote:
Originally Posted by sirbruce View Post
http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/06/l...-event-in-nyc/

"We've added 45,000 books in the last three months. Kindle sales are now 35% of books where we have Kindle editions -- that's coincident with the launch of Kindle 2."
That's the first time I've seen something claiming to be an actual quote from a speaker. All of the hits I've found on the subject so far have been people interpreting and reinterpreting the graph info shown during the presentation.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sirbruce View Post
I won't say they weren't counting free Kindle versions of books; that's something I would do.
Yes, but would you do that and not say that you were padding your 'sales figures' with the give-aways and next-to-free public domain books?

If you want the sales figures to be more realistic, to have any meaning, you should also qualify that by also presenting the values only on recently published books... say, within the last few years. Doing so for books that have been published since the introduction of the Kindle would actually be the best idea - it would strip away most of the freebie and public domain texts and also show how the new format fares with its dramatic discounts versus the hardcover paper version.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sirbruce View Post
Since you're a doubting Thomas, it doesn't matter the exact phrasing; you're not going to believe it unless you corner Jeff personally, pin him down, and even then might believe he's lying.
Of course it matters what the exact phrasing is. By knowing what he's actually said, you have some bounds upon what he isn't saying.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sirbruce View Post
That's fine, but only if you don't trust figures for any other electronic device like cell phones, computers, PDAs, etc. that are regularly bandied about. Can these industry estimates be wrong? Sure. Are they likely to be wrong by more than 50%? No.

Sony has sold about 400,000, and there's no data that shows any other ereader has sold any large number of units in the US during this time. Amazon does indeed outpace everyone else's sales.
Take these two paragraphs together: with the numbers you've claimed for Kindle 'sales' versus Sony sales, then Amazon isn't only beating Sony, but grinding them into a fine powder and sprinkling it on their breakfast cereal.

Allowing for your limit to 50% error, then you can claim that Sony would be tied or beating Amazon by a slim margin. This despite the fact that Amazon has been hyping the thing ad-nauseum and Sony, well... hasn't.

(Assuming, of course, that the Sony numbers are any firmer than the Amazon 'numbers'.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by sirbruce View Post
It was on Oprah, you know.
Oh, please... let's not go there.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sirbruce View Post
As I suspected when I began writing this response.
When someone flatly refuses to tell you what numbers he's using to base his claims of owning the market, I tend to be doubtful when he breaks a two-year news blackout.

"The Kindle is a hit!" Why? Because Amazon says so!

That's pretty much what most arguments on the subject boil down to.
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