Wednesday, August 04, 2010

E-Books Top Hardcovers at Amazon

E-Books Top Hardcovers at Amazon, NYT article.
In that time, Amazon said, it sold 143 Kindle books for every 100 hardcover books, including hardcovers for which there is no Kindle edition.
[...] The figures do not include free Kindle books [...]
The growth rate of Kindle sales tripled after Amazon lowered the price of the device in late June to $189 from $259, Amazon said.

(And the upcoming Kindle 3 is even cheaper, for the wifi model.)

OK, we don't know how the figures compare to paperback sales, which surely are quite another story, but still this seems remarkable to happen this early.


Book lovers mourning the demise of hardcover books with their heft and their musty smell need a reality check, said Mike Shatzkin...

Hey, here is a business idea (I just want 5% of the gross, thanks!): somebody should make a Kindle case which is like a harcover book, complete with a dozen paper pages (replaceable) in the front, and the smell of offset ink...
Perhaps one could buy old hardcover books by the gross, and hollow out half of them to fit the Kindle 3. I'm only half kidding about this.

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