Amazon’s Kindle ‘Most Unused’ Christmas Gift

[xg4bx]

"Despite surging in popularity throughout 2011 – a year that included Amazon announcing we would be seeing an array of new models, including a quite impressive tablet, the Kindle Fire – Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader has topped an online discount website’s survey revealing last Christmas’ most ‘unused’ gifts. This comes after it was announced in late-2011 that Kindle sales were expected to be around the 5 million mark for the year.

The survey, conducted by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, found that of the 1500 people questioned about Christmas 2011 gifts received, around half reported they had at least one present that had remained unused a month on. Of those, a sizeable 22-percent admitted that it was Amazon’s Kindle which bore the brunt of their neglect for reasons we can’t really fathom, beyond the 50% who had not yet downloaded an e-book for consumption."

http://newrisingmedia.com/all/2012/1...tmas-gift.html


feel free to send your unused KF to me, i'll give it a good home.

[GreenMonkey]

Unfortunately, a lot of people in America don't read. I think it's a big part of what is going wrong with this country.

This is probably referring to the e-ink Kindle. I imagine a Kindle Fire would be used right away for Facebook and Angry Birds or whatever.

[RainingLemur]

I can see people thinking, "Oh, So-and-so reads a lot... I bet they'll like a Kindle!" And, lo and behold, So-and-so is grateful for the thought but ultimately doesn't care about ereaders (at the moment). I imagine that some will come around, try it out, and get hooked. Others will try it, then not want to deal with the "hassle," and sell/re-gift it.

[Elfwreck]

E-ink is terrific for avid readers. Good for formerly-avid readers who stopped because books got too expensive (there's no shortage of free & cheap great ebooks), or because their eyesight reached a point where they had a choice between "books they need a magnifying glass to read" and "books they need a shopping cart to carry."

E-ink is not particularly good for people who don't care for reading, who thought that having a shiny techtoy would turn them into readers. It won't. It's still reading. If they don't like getting their entertainment from words-onna-page, a Kindle isn't going to change that. (Neither is the Fire, but they don't need to read words to enjoy the Fire.)

[Rebecca_06]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

E-ink is terrific for avid readers. Good for formerly-avid readers who stopped because books got too expensive (there's no shortage of free & cheap great ebooks), or because their eyesight reached a point where they had a choice between "books they need a magnifying glass to read" and "books they need a shopping cart to carry."

Honestly, I think e-books still tend to be pretty expensive, at least the mainstream stuff. I can definitely see how the Kindle would go unused if the person likes to read the stuff that's cheaper as a used paperback than it is as an e-book. A lot of the cheap e-books are the older classics and the self-published works, which isn't everybody's thing.

[wvcherrybomb]

A friend's daughter (23 yrs old) was given a KF for Christmas by her boyfriend. I was shocked yesterday when she messaged me on facebook for help registering it! She had not used it at all since she got it.

Strange because she is unemployed and home all day with nothing to do. And, she reads all the time! I just don't get it.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by Rebecca_06

Honestly, I think e-books still tend to be pretty expensive, at least the mainstream stuff. I can definitely see how the Kindle would go unused if the person likes to read the stuff that's cheaper as a used paperback than it is as an e-book. A lot of the cheap e-books are the older classics and the self-published works, which isn't everybody's thing.

Exactly why I don't buy a Kindle for my mother, even though she reads far more than I do... she buys all of her books for $.25 and then gives them back to the thrift store. The Kindle would never approach that price for her legally, and the library selection stinks, and requires a computer to navigate (which she can't ever seem to figure out), even as easy as Library lending is on the Kindle.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Rebecca_06

Honestly, I think e-books still tend to be pretty expensive, at least the mainstream stuff.

I was thinking older books, often public domain--my husband knows a few older guys who've gotten ebook readers and are devouring classics they'd always wanted to read, never made time for, and just didn't get around to checking out from libraries. They're amazed at Gutenberg.

And for anyone who likes genre fiction--science fiction, romance, horror--there's endless stores with high-quality low-price ebooks.

I can definitely see how the Kindle would go unused if the person likes to read the stuff that's cheaper as a used paperback than it is as an e-book. A lot of the cheap e-books are the older classics and the self-published works, which isn't everybody's thing.

I love the self-published freebies! Which, if you like them, are great; and if you don't, are just pages and pages of listings to skip over. (I love having access to effectively infinite totally unfiltered content. But yes, not everyone's going to have an interest.)

So yes--I can see someone getting a Kindle, checking the prices of ebooks at Amazon, saying "WTF? These books are $3 at the local bargain used-book store" or "my cousin will give me the hardcover for free when she's done with it, or I can pay $14.95 now? I'll wait." Someone who mostly wants to read currently trendy pbooks in digital form is not going to find the Kindle a terrific bargain, and it's not going to inspire a non-reader--someone who reads a bestseller every few months--to become an avid reader.

[pidgeon92]

I spoke with a friend today who got one for Christmas. She likes it, but she still prefers "turning pages".... *sigh*

[theducks]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

I spoke with a friend today who got one for Christmas. She likes it, but she still prefers "turning pages".... *sigh*

My wife's Christmas, K4NT sits unused while she reads book after book after book.
Sigh!

[Synamon]

It's a bit intimidating starting from scratch with a device that has no books on it. I loaded a few classics and some of my favorites and set up a news fetch before I handed my husband his new Kindle. It's a shame Amazon doesn't send them out with a few freebies loaded on it, I think that would get people started off on the right foot.

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by twowheels

Exactly why I don't buy a Kindle for my mother, even though she reads far more than I do... she buys all of her books for $.25 and then gives them back to the thrift store. The Kindle would never approach that price for her legally, and the library selection stinks, and requires a computer to navigate (which she can't ever seem to figure out), even as easy as Library lending is on the Kindle.

It will take time for a some of those who got Kindles as gifts to "get going" and use them. I talked to older people at Walmart who were getting a Kindle because they could then read "free" books.

I can only think though if the device is there, sooner or later it will be used by someone.

Further, many times "good new habits" take time to get going, and sitting down and reading on a tablet will be new and strange for many non computer people.

[jgaiser]

On the other hand...

My roommate is a steady reader. A couple books a month. I've been trying and trying to convince her to get an ereader for the past year with no success.

Just before Christmas, I purchased my Kindle Fire. She played with it a couple of times and the next thing I know, she wants one. Now she loves it. She hasn't purchased a single book yet (I load her Fire up with books from my Calibre library I know she likes), but she's just about given up on paper.

The motivation of the giver is definitely one issue. I can see the Fire being bought as a cheaper alternative to an iPad, or being given to a child to encourage them to read.

The cost of ebooks is another issue. Almost everyone that I talk to is shocked to learn that ebooks as much as (or more) than paperbacks.

Technical knowledge is yet another sticky point. It may be dead simple to buy stuff from the vendor's book store, but getting free stuff requires a bit of background knowledge. (Examples: how to search for free books in the vendor's book store, knowing about places like Project Gutenberg or Archive.org, understanding the different ebook formats.)

Oh yes, and you aren't necessarily going to toss away your current pile of to-read books to dig into ereading.

[mlewis78]

The more that are sold, the more will be unused. This is not necessarily a negative.

Aside from that, I can't tell you how many hardcover books I've given as gifts that were never read.