Despite predictions from many experts that the Kindle e-reader would lose the battle against the iPad, Amazon has sold over 8 million Kindles this year, 60 percent more than analysts had predicted.
Prepared by: Zlatko Salahović
Amazon announced last week that their new third-generation Kindle is the best-selling product of all time. Many expected that the Kindle would quickly end up in the gadget graveyard as it cannot compete with the iPad, especially due to Apple’s proven expertise in design and promotion. However, Amazon did not even attempt to compete by creating a device that would rival the iPad. Instead, it went in a different direction and produced a device that is lightweight, relatively easy to use, and, most importantly, inexpensive.
(The starting price of the new third-generation Kindle is around $140, which is three times less than Apple’s iPad). The great success of the Kindle was also contributed by Amazon allowing users to download digital editions of books to their reader via free global data transfer over the 3G network. Amazon also attracts users with its universal approach to selling e-books, which is not tied to Kindle hardware. The Kindle e-book app is available on almost all mobile devices, allowing for easy reading of books on the iPad, Kindle, Google Android, as well as on personal computers. You can start reading on one device, pause, and then continue where you left off on another. Because of this approach, many e-book users quickly became accustomed to the Kindle bookstore regardless of which reading device they use. In comparison, Apple’s iBookstore is only available on Apple products.
