As Phil Wahba reports for Reuters, “Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. is testing Wall Street’s patience by repeatedly touting the success of its Kindle electronic reader without providing specific sales figures.”
“In one press release after another in recent months, Amazon has talked up the Kindle’s best-seller status across all product categories,” Wahba reports. “On the day after Christmas, the retailer said the Kindle was the most-purchased gift in its history and sales of its electronic books surpassed physical book sales on the holiday itself. Previously, Amazon said the device had its best monthly sales ever in December, with only half of the month gone by at that point.”
Wahba reports, “In neither of these most recent examples did Amazon say how many Kindles or e-books were sold, nor by how much sales rose.”
Wahba reports, “Forrester estimates that the Kindle, which was launched in 2007, has a U.S. market share of about 55 percent, ahead of devices from Sony Corp and Barnes & Noble Inc’s recently launched Nook. It says 2.5 million Kindles have been sold to date, based on consumer surveys. Investment firm Cowen & Co. expects Amazon to sell 500,000 of the devices in its holiday quarter alone.”
MacDailyNews Note: Forrester’s figures measure single-function eReaders. They do not include iPhone and iPod touch. That’s the only way Kindle can get 55%. And the Kindle app for iPhone and iPod touch is the only logical way Amazon’s sales of electronic books could’ve surpassed their physical book sales.
Wahba continues, “In 2010, Forrester anticipates consumers to buy another 6 million e-readers and the field to become more crowded. Apple Inc. is expected to unveil a tablet in 2010 that would have e-reader functions.”
MacDailyNews Take: Apple has already unveiled devices that have e-reader functions, including Amazon’s Kindle app itself. And Apple hasn’t sold just a meager 2.5 million devices with grand hopes of adding another paltry 500,000 during the holiday quarter. Apple will sell upwards of 20 million iPhone and iPod touch devices in the holiday quarter alone; 40 times the Kindle sales estimated by analysts. 40 times. To date, adding in the holiday quarter estimates, Apple has sold roughly 75 million iPhones and iPod touches combined, all of which, providing they are running at least iPhone OS 2.0, are capable of using Amazon’s Kindle app, not to mention a huge selection of other e-reader apps. 3 million Kindles vs. 75 million iPhones and iPod touches. Let’s face facts, folks, the far and away #1 electronic reading device in the world is from Apple, not Amazon.
Forget the rumored Apple tablet, Apple already has two Kindle (hardware) killers, iPhone and iPod touch, and they’re doing quite the job on their own. When and if Apple’s tablet appears… well, let’s just say that Amazon should focus all of their attention on their Kindle software for Apple hardware than on Kindle hardware going forward.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The jig is up, Amazon.
If Amazon’s ebook sales claim is valid, then it seems likely that users of Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch had a lot to do with it.
So that was an MDN Take on an MDN Take on an MDN Note on a Reuters article? Just clarifying.
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I love my Kindle and I love my iPhone. Reading books on the iPhone pales in comparison to the Kindle experience.
I don’t see the advantage of bluffing you’re way through this Amazon. You do so many things right, that to undermine your credibility simply isn’t worth it.
I love the stanza free app, and all the free books they offer, yes I would like a bigger screen than my iPhone, but that’s coming.
Stand alone ereaders , are a flash in the pan
selling more ebooks on dec 25th than physical books would be easy. even a small number of people getting kindles means a huge influx of “try the new toy” on that day at that second. how many people went to their computers to buy new paperbacks and text books on christmas? they don’t need the ipod or iphone to do that, they only need a few thousand xmas sales. that is just silly. that tells us nothing at all about the sales, true, but Apple isn’t needed to make that happen either.
I would like to see some sales figures. I think it is overall an impressive device, even if we need a format standard and better pdf handling. The ebook prices are outrageous though. It can’t cost that much to produce the ebooks, and they should look at this as a chance to reinvigorate reading and book sales. seems book publishers could learn from the movie and music industries…
Pity iPhones just aren’t that good to actually read books on… Keep smokin though, it suits you.
@ Hotinplaya,
You can use Stanza on your Mac as well.
I find iPhone brightly illuminated display infinitely easier to read from than Kindle’s. The only time Kindle is easy to read is in brightly lit room, or on the beach. In practically EVERY other reading situation, light is inadequate, Kindle’s e-Paper looks gray and becomes strain on the eyes. I can read iPhone/iPod touch in complete darkness, as well as on the beach, and everywhere in between.
If the tablet ends up getting the screen brightness of the iPhone, I can’t imagine under what conditions could Kindle’s display possibly be easier on the eyes or more legible than the tablet’s. Since the size is no longer going to be a limiting factor as it seems to be now for some for the iPhone, about the only differentiator will be the price, which is pretty much the only reason Kindle may remain on the market.
If Apple does release an iSlate in 2010, as rumored, then I’ll wager a lot of money that Apple will sell more than 500,000 in the first weekend and more than 2.5 million in the first quarter it becomes available.
I would say that something like 80% of the books I have purchased in the past year were purchased for either my kindle app or my ereader app. I love reading on it but would not turn down a bigger screen.
The iPhone has been an easy on the eyes and cheap reading experience.
1. Save 300.00 plus dollars.
2. Can spend 300.00 plus dollars on books and not hardware.
3. A lot of books are free
4. Stanza will allow copy and share.
5. Allows on the hip, so I can read whenever. Not lugging an ereader.
6. Have iPhone! Soooo much to occupy the mind!
It truly is a GREAT way to experience e-books. Very little cost involved and if you stop reading- well no money wasted on another gadget.
Why is everyone so down on the Kindle? It’s not a contest of Kindle versus iPhone. I have both and I prefer to read on the larger Kindle screen.
My wife has a Kindle. My buddy Randy has one. My friend Dan has two (one is a DX). Marilyn has one. Lots of people I know have them. And we like them.
But it really isn’t a contest. Apple can have the iPhone and have lots of success with it. And Amazon can have the Kindle and their own success, too. Amazon’s success doesn’t detract from Apple’s success.
I use Stanza – read the Christmas Carol over the holidays, courtesy of Project Gutenberg, and am reading Alice in Wonderland that came with the app. Stanza is functional with some touches of elegance. I have the Kindle app, but it wants me to buy stuff, whereas Stanza is set up to get freebies, which if you are into classics, is all you need.
“Pity iPhones just aren’t that good to actually read books on… “
To deconstruct the argument, here’s some comparative info. It has been argued that the iPhone screen, being smaller, causes reader’s eyes to jump from end to end (line to line) too often, compared with Kindle. It has also been argued that the Kindle display is “sharper”, or “crisper”, or “clearer” than iPhone’s. Neither of these are supported by actual data:
iPhone dot-pitch (number of pixels per inch) is 160.
Kindle’s dot-pitch is 167 (negligible difference);
iPhone’s display width (when sideways) is 4 inches.
Kindle’s display width (when upright; can’ be turned sideways) is around 5.3 inches, but margins force the text into lines no more than 4 inches long.
So, both devices show lines of text four inches long, at around 160 pixels per inch of resolution. One of them has no illumination, the other is a bright backlit screen; one of them has 4 (only four!) shades of gray, the other is full colour.
So, the only reasonable argument I can see here is how Kindle doesn’t require you to page as often as the iPhone/iPod touch (in other words, every 150 seconds, instead of every 50 seconds…).
How is Kindle better for reading than iPod again…?
If Amazon has nothing to hide…then why not just publish the numbers? What’s the ultimate strategy in secrecy afford them?
Rather then making the news a feel good Kindle Holiday Quarter Press Release, people & analysts instead are left feeling blindsided about just how big a deal the product really is. Transparency is the order of the day. Let the numbers tell the story.
I am jealous of those of you that prefer to read on the iPhone vs the kindle. I read 4 books in the last week at around 500 pages each on my Kindle. Not once did i get any eye strain. I love the kindle app on my iPhone as well. It automatically syncs to the last page read on either device. However, after about 15 minutes of reading small text on a bright screen my eyes start to strain. I very much prefer paper or epaper for reading massive amounts of text. For me there really is no comparison. I use the Kindle for reading if I plan to read for a few hours, I use the iPhone if i just want to knock out a chapter or two while waiting for something.
The Kindle is great for old people with bad eyes =)
Hey Apple – How many Apple TV’s have you sold???
Hey Apple – How many Macbook Air’s have you sold???
Well Amazon just sold another Kindle.
I just ordered the DX.
I can store and entire technical library on that puppy and have it with me at all times.
I’m not going to read technical manuals on a tiny little iPhone.
@Predrag….
I suppose you have to experience it. The iPhone is fine for reading fiction but I like the large display of the Kindle DX for charts and diagrams. I like the Kindle for carrying around technical books.
Being able to view illustrations ALL AT ONCE is a freaking huge difference. Tilting and scrolling back and forth on the iPhone just doesn’t cut it.
MDN… you’re wrong about the Kindle App being responsible for the day after Christmas sales. Lots of people got Kindles for Christmas. And lots more people already had them, and Amazon gift certificates were popular this year.
Gees MDN, give it a rest. The kindle is a single use product for reading books, it never was meant to be competition for the iPod and doesn’t try to be. Unclench your cheeks and pull your knickers out of your crack and get over it.
“on the holiday itself”
That’s all you need to focus on when reading into Amazon’s hype about their e-book sales.
That same day, the number of apps downloaded by iPod touch devices were more than double what iPhones downloaded. That simply reflects lots of people trying out the new iPod touch devices that they got for Christmas. And the fact that people are more likely to give an iPod touch than an iPhone as a gift.
Amazon’s e-book sales on Dec 25 represent another spike in demand created by gifting. People don’t have to buy physical books on Christmas because they already opened them on Dec 25. I doubt that the trend has held up since then.
I don’t understand the Kindle hate…assuming the Apple tablet is going to be a backlit LCD it’s not really as good as the kindle for strictly reading. I have the kindle software on my iPhone and also a dedicated Kindle 2…I read the iPhone on the train, or while waiting for the doctor…but if I want to read for hours? It’s kindle to the rescue…eink is the only way I’d read for long periods of time on a device.
I sure hope Amazon delivers Kindle for the Mac soon to solidify their space… and… since Kindle already runs on iPhone, it will likely run on the new tablet anyway turning that tablet into an Apple Kindle.