Kindle sales already beyond 3 million units?
updated 06:50 pm EST, Fri January 29, 2010
Device faces competition from iPad, Nook, others
Amazon has allegedly sold more than 3 million Kindle readers through the end of 2009, according to an unnamed source close to the company. Analysts anticipated slower sales, with 2.5 million units expected by the end of 2010, although TechCrunch describes the source of the latest numbers as "amazingly accurate" with Kindle sales numbers for the past several years.
The online retailer has remained relatively secretive regarding the specific sales numbers for its popular e-book reader, although CEO Jeff Bezos earlier this week claimed the device is now owned by "millions of people." For titles available in both print and digital formats, Amazon reportedly sells six Kindle e-books for every 10 physical books.
Despite the seemingly impressive sales numbers, the device has faced increasing competition from alternatives such as Barnes & Noble's Nook. A recent report suggests half a million Nooks will arrive on the US market in the next several months.
Preceding Apple's iPad unveiling, Amazon announced new terms for royalty distribution. Publishers releasing e-books for the Kindle will now receive 70 percent of the revenue, closely matching Apple's business model for the App Store. A separate report claims Apple will allow e-books to be sold for prices as high as $14 or $15. Amazon has been criticized for placing a $10 cap on Kindle e-books, even for digital versions of high-priced hardcover bestsellers.
Although the iPad will serve as a multi-function device, Apple has touted it as a formidable tool for reading books and other print media such as newspapers. The company has developed its own iBooks app that will serve as a reader and portal for purchasing content through the iBookstore. Analysts have forecasted iPad sales of 4 million units by the end of 2010, with 2011 distribution potentially reaching 10 million devices.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
Shenanigans
I call shenanigans (read: BS) on this report. Not on MacNN's reporting, but on Amazon's honesty.
As Jobs has pointed out numerous times, when you have a hot seller you let people know that. That's why we all know how many iPhones were sold last quarter and why we don't know how many MacBook Airs were sold in the same period.
Walt Mossberg was quoted YESTERDAY saying that Amazon has never released sale figures for the Kindle, and you'd think he would be the first to know. Bezos is probably not lying per se, but like the Zune, Kindle may have shipped a couple million (tops), but how many of those are the original model, now mostly stored in some closet somewhere?
My mother-in-law is, in my judgement, a target Kindle customer. She has bought it twice (the original then the DX), passed the old one onto us (our verdict: "meh") and has probably bought 50 books (and downloaded as many free ones). She's very likely to ditch it for an iPad by xmas.
The claim that they "sell" six Kindle books for every 10 real books is just not supportable on what little evidence is available. They are clearly counting "free" books as "sold," and even if their 3M figure is right, that includes everyone who upgraded from the original model to the DX.
Let's put this another way: how many people do you know that own a Kindle compared to how many own an iPhone?
I rest my case.