Saw this in today's paper -- Amazon.com sold more ebooks in the last three months for its Kindle (and other devices that use the software, like iPhones and iPods and such) than it did hardcover books.
Treeware isn't dead, nor do I see it dying any time soon, but the trend toward e-readers is showing a definite rise. And the numbers -- if a hardcover costs $26 and you can get the same content for $14.99 in about a minute from anywhere with wiFi or a phone sig, people can consider the convenience and do the math. Order the hardback, wait three or four days, $26, plus shipping. Run to Costco, get it for $15, plus the drive. Order it online, get it right now, and be able to carry it and a couple thousand others around in my backpack.
Hmm.
I haven't gotten an iPad yet, though it's on my list. But I have downloaded Kindle books to my iPod. Not the ideal choice for a reader, the tiny screen, but since it's on my belt when I'm out, I can sit and read anywhere I have an idle moment.
And oddly enough, the massive sell-through of Apple's iPad -- three million since they came out -- apparently hasn't hurt the Kindle's sales, which have also increased, albeit not as much as Amazon.com hoped. They did drop the price to $189, which certainly helped.
Stand by: The future is lurking just around the corner ...
Bought a new tablet computer the other day. Absolute joy to read on, when set to portrait mode....
ReplyDeleteGreetings, All
ReplyDeleteI purchased a Kindle for my wife, last Holidays. Since then, I got an iPad for myself. ("Brookstone" looked good on it, M. Perry!)
Yep, the Kindle "app" for the iPad makes it an excellent e-reader. If that app would deal with other e-format styles, it would be the primary use for the gadget! My other "iTems" aren't quite as comfortable as readers, but, as Steve pointed out, they're great when you're stuck in a line or waiting for an appointment!
(I had higher hopes, but the iPad is definitely NOT the creative writing tool I'd hoped it to be... not yet, anyway!)
Slainte'!
I'm a bit late to this party; however I just wanted to add that backlit devices cause me eye strain. I can read on the ‘Kindle 2’ for hours at a time, without any problems (and it helps that the charge lasts for 2 weeks at a time, with 3G turned off). I actually picked up the Kindle, on sale, specifically to read Bristlecone, with the other 3 soon to follow. I was quite sure that I'd hate not having a book in my hand, but found that I can adapt, providing I keep a healthy mix of both. And don't think that I didn't find the idea of Khadaji in a poorly made FPS upsetting- and they're almost all poorly made.
ReplyDeleteBacklit doesn't bother me -- I sit in front of a computer all day. Tiny print is bad, but if I can adjust a font so that it's the same size as a hardback book's? Not a problem.
ReplyDeleteI don't read out in the sunshine, so that's that problem.