Since its November 2007 launch, the Amazon Kindle reader has been a great product for the company. The strong association that Amazon has with both books and electronics makes it the perfect product for their business model. After the release of the upgraded Kindle 2.0 in February of 2009, followed by the release of the large display Kindle DX model in the summer of the same year, the Kindle went on to become Amazon’s best selling product.
During the 2009 festive season, the Kindle became Amazon’s most gifted product ever. On Christmas day 2009, Amazon sold more Kindle books than they did physical ones for the first time. In all probability this would have been due to people who had got a gift of a Kindle downloading a book or two to try it out. Nevertheless, it was a noteworthy event for both Amazon and the Kindle.
Amazon did seem to be a slightly reluctant manufacturer on occasions however. They seemed to bend over backwards to ensure that Kindle books could be read by people who didn’t have Kindles. At the moment, Amazon has released free Kindle “Apps” for a wide variety of different devices – many of which would be viewed as competitors of the Kindle. These include the PC, the Apple Mac, the Blackberry, the iPod Touch, the iPhone, the iPad and any device running Android. Amazon looked to be their own competition at times.
However, with the release of the Apple iPad, the method in Amazon’s apparent madness became clear. The launch of the iPad produced a downward trend in the prices of e-book readers as Apple fans rushed to get their hands on the new iPad. On the other hand, e-book prices started to edge upwards.
The main reason behind this was the deal which Apple had negotiated with the big publishing houses prior to the iPad’s launch. This allowed publishers to fix the price for the e-book versions of their publications at whatever level they wished – just so long as the e-book wasn’t offered at a lower price for any other reader – the Kindle for example. Amazon’s strategy of selling all e-books for $ 9.99 or less was pretty well destroyed overnight – and it started to look as if the iPad was not only a “Kindle Killer” but was going to mess up Amazon’s plans for e-book sales into the bargain.
A more considered analysis of the situation reveals that Amazon’s release of Kindle Apps for so many different devices was nothing short of inspired. Each App is actually an outlet for Kindle books – and with a higher average e-book price, Amazon will be able to sell Kindles for less but still make money over the lifetime of the reader by selling their Kindle books at higher prices. Even if the iPad were to wipe out Kindle sales completely – an unlikely event – Kindle books will continue to sell. And if another reader or tablet computer comes along there will, no doubt, be an “app for that” as well.
Learn more about the Amazon Kindle for yourself and view the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you personalise your reader.