The Register's take on Kindle Sales

[Riocaz]

Kindle fails to set light to unsold e-book pile

The humble paper-based book isn't burnt just yet. Amazon is keeping schtum as to how many e-books it has sold, but evidence is mounting that predictions of iPod-grade sales and billion-dollar revenues were a smidge optimistic.

I offer no comment purely because I have none to make.

[Tom90deg]

*Taps lectern* Ok, now everyone, today is a quick lesson. Repeat after me. "Just because we don't sell 1 million units in the first day does not mean we are a failure." Thank you!

The iPod has messed up people's thoughts on how tech gets sold...if it doesn't sell a million in a month, toss it out, it's a failure. How many units did the iPod sell initially? anyone know?

[ThomasMc]

If they would let customers download their books for other readers besides the Kindles, they might sell a lot more.

I'm not going to buy their $400 device just so I can buy my eBooks at Amazon. I already have a reader, thank you.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by ThomasMc

If they would let customers download their books for other readers besides the Kindles, they might sell a lot more.

I'm not going to buy their $400 device just so I can buy my eBooks at Amazon. I already have a reader, thank you.

And I hope you are enjoying your reader as much as I am enjoying my Kindle.

However, I think you are missing the point. Amazon isn't trying to corner the market, I think they realize there are many different book readers out there. They simply came up with one that has features that appeal to lots of people.....instant downloads and low prices, whether or not you can get whispernet, for example.

Ability to search authors, or books directly from the Kindle, both from Amazon, and at least 4 different free book sites. Probably 20% of the books I have downloaded I paid for. The rest came from here, or other free book sites.

A built in dictionary, that works seamlessly.

GREAT customer service, from all reports. I haven't had to use them, but the instant call back service sounds good.


Personally, I don't care about the built in mp3 player, I find it hard to read and listen to music at the same time. I just want a reader, something that fits comfortably in my hand, and doesn't take a lot of time to understand.

Now, if they could just come out with a reader designed specifically for college textbooks, they would own the world...........Let me add to this.....if they would just RELEASE a version that would work globally, they would own the world......

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by Tom90deg

*Taps lectern* Ok, now everyone, today is a quick lesson. Repeat after me. "Just because we don't sell 1 million units in the first day does not mean we are a failure." Thank you!

The iPod has messed up people's thoughts on how tech gets sold...if it doesn't sell a million in a month, toss it out, it's a failure. How many units did the iPod sell initially? anyone know?

I'm with you. Why oh why is the iPod the benchmark for the Kindle? Who's idea was that?

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I'm with you. Why oh why is the iPod the benchmark for the Kindle? Who's idea was that?

That's just because the iPod is the latest runaway electronics success story, and everyone's memory is too short to remember anything else.

And at any rate, it's pretty meaningless anyway, so who cares? They might as well compare it to a Big Mac or a Studebaker.

[Falbe Publishing]

Expecting an ebook reader to do as well as an IPod is not very realistic. It's well known that many people don't read books, but a large amount of people regularly consume music.

[koland]

Originally Posted by Tom90deg

*Taps lectern* Ok, now everyone, today is a quick lesson. Repeat after me. "Just because we don't sell 1 million units in the first day does not mean we are a failure." Thank you!

The iPod has messed up people's thoughts on how tech gets sold...if it doesn't sell a million in a month, toss it out, it's a failure. How many units did the iPod sell initially? anyone know?

The iPod didn't sell a million in the first month; nor in the first year. It came out at about the same price, sold about the same number of units and had many of the same DRM problems as the Kindle. At the time, it faced a lot of competition from non-apple-itunes-store handicapped MP3 players. Sure, it also played non-drm MP3's (but then again, so does the Kindle - along with letting you read several non-DRM ebook formats that you can load via USB).

The iPhone no doubt has set an outrageously high expectation of initial sales - but it's also a several generation in iPod, in many respects, not a "new" genera of tech.

[Prospect]

I think Koland has a point.

The comparison is of course meaningless and stupid but if you do compare the sales figures of the ipod to the Kindle estimates, they are in most respects equivalent.

http://www.systemshootouts.org/ipod_sales.html

One important point is that when Apple introduced their player in 2001, most people already knew what a mp3 player was all about, so the marked was already there, but most people does still not seen an e-reader live.

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by Riocaz

Kindle fails to set light to unsold e-book pile



I offer no comment purely because I have none to make.

No e-book reader will ever come anywhere close to Ipod sales numbers, simply because most people do not read. I think we'll see the biggest sales of e-book readers in the Far East, where they seem to be more popular (and where China is hoping to save many trees by distributing texts on ebook readers). As for Amazon, I never believed much of what they said about the Kindle, so I am not surprised that they wildly inflated sales figures.

And speaking of the Ipod, I downloaded ereader's software for the Ipod Touch today, and hope to try it tonight. Ereader has been very successful in ebook sales for several reasons (not least of which their DRM is not intrusive or based on flaky technology), and I have frequented them since they wqere PeanutPress. Just wish they would get stronger on nonfiction titles.

[questionfear]

Originally Posted by Tom90deg

*Taps lectern* Ok, now everyone, today is a quick lesson. Repeat after me. "Just because we don't sell 1 million units in the first day does not mean we are a failure." Thank you!

The iPod has messed up people's thoughts on how tech gets sold...if it doesn't sell a million in a month, toss it out, it's a failure. How many units did the iPod sell initially? anyone know?

FWIW, the iPod sold about 250,000 units during its first year of production. It didn't take off until the line split into mini, nano, classic, shuffle, etc. Bear in mind when several million iPods sell it is a combo of many units at many price points all listed...the Kindle (and for that matter the Sony Reader, the Cybook, the iLiad) is an example of one device line, not several, so you're going to see a smaller number...one size does not fit all.

[daffy4u]

I also don't think the iPod really started to sell until it opened up to Windows users. Maybe if (when) Amazon opens up to other ebook readers, books will literally fly off the shelves (and not just in a Whispernet kind of way).

[Donnageddon]

As for Amazon, I never believed much of what they said about the Kindle, so I am not surprised that they wildly inflated sales figures.

I don't believe Amazon has released any sales figures, "wildly inflated" or otherwise. Most of the figures quoted have been guesses by third parties. As is the opinion expressed in the posted article.

[seamusfp]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I'm with you. Why oh why is the iPod the benchmark for the Kindle? Who's idea was that?

Jeff Bezos?

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by seamusfp

Jeff Bezos?

Where?