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The kindle is not selling and has no future. This is a great move for Amazon, leave the hardware (low profit, high maintenance) and focus on eBooks (high profi

The kindle is not selling and has no future. This is a great move for Amazon, leave the hardware (low profit, high maintenance) and focus on eBooks (high profit, low maintenance) Sound strategy in the long run.

adamhowell 18y ago
> The kindle is not selling and has no future. Numbers? That's a big statement that -- unless you're on Amazon's board, I guess -- you don't really have any idea is accurate.
ajju 18y ago
You're wrong. For titles available on the Kindle, more than 10% of sales are now via the Kindle [1] That's significant and about to increase now that content can be accessed on an iPhone. [1] blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/brierdudley/2009/02/09/amazons_jeff_bezos_explains_th.html
- staunch 18y ago
  Be wary of Bezos' need to distort stats to serve the portion of his ego tied up in the Kindle.
  - ajju 18y ago
    My own experience with the Kindle (I bought 20 books on it last year) and circumstantial evidence (Kindles being sold out half the time, other people who have actually used a Kindle loving it - although not all of it etc.) gives me reason to believe him. Once you plunk down the $350, the itch to buy a $8 - $10 book that you just heard plugged by a friend you respect is simply too hard to resist. I have little doubt that Kindle owners are buying books more frequently and in large numbers. I think you still need a Kindle device for this iPhone app to work (not sure). Considering the fact that all the book lovers I know who hate the Kindle, love reading on their iPhones, if / when Amazon disconnects the two, this will accelerate.
    - warkaiser 18y ago
      Add to the fact that the you want to recoup the price you paid for the device in cheaper books. I bet that that would incentivize myself 200% towards buying more books.
  - ryanwaggoner 18y ago
    That's a serious accusation. Do you have any stats to back it up?
    - deleted 18y ago
      [deleted]
    - staunch 18y ago
      I think you're being a bit dramatic. All I know is based on what I've seen him say. He's extremely evasive about the actual numbers for the Kindle. He cherry picks a single number: "If you take the 230,000 titles where we have Kindle editions - Kindle unit sales are already more than 10 percent of all our sales." I believe (based on my conversations with people about this) that many people hear that from Bezos and take away the idea that the Kindle is now 10 percent of all Amazon revenue or at least all book sales. I believe he's phrasing this in an intentionally misleading way. I think he thinks that the Kindle isn't doing that well right now, but he believes in it and doesn't want to take the stock market hit in admitting that it's going to take a long time before the Kindle truly is a big success. "For that to happen in 14 months is very surprising. It took us 14 years to build up our physical book business." I'm just reading between the lines. I admit could be wrong.
jakewolf 18y ago
I just got one and am the biggest evangelist of it to my friends. Also have spent over 100 in the last week of it.

adamhowell 18y ago

> The kindle is not selling and has no future. Numbers? That's a big statement that -- unless you're on Amazon's board, I guess -- you don't really have any idea is accurate.

ajju 18y ago

You're wrong. For titles available on the Kindle, more than 10% of sales are now via the Kindle [1] That's significant and about to increase now that content can be accessed on an iPhone. [1] blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/brierdudley/2009/02/09/amazons_jeff_bezos_explains_th.html

staunch 18y ago
Be wary of Bezos' need to distort stats to serve the portion of his ego tied up in the Kindle.
- ajju 18y ago
  My own experience with the Kindle (I bought 20 books on it last year) and circumstantial evidence (Kindles being sold out half the time, other people who have actually used a Kindle loving it - although not all of it etc.) gives me reason to believe him. Once you plunk down the $350, the itch to buy a $8 - $10 book that you just heard plugged by a friend you respect is simply too hard to resist. I have little doubt that Kindle owners are buying books more frequently and in large numbers. I think you still need a Kindle device for this iPhone app to work (not sure). Considering the fact that all the book lovers I know who hate the Kindle, love reading on their iPhones, if / when Amazon disconnects the two, this will accelerate.
  - warkaiser 18y ago
    Add to the fact that the you want to recoup the price you paid for the device in cheaper books. I bet that that would incentivize myself 200% towards buying more books.
- ryanwaggoner 18y ago
  That's a serious accusation. Do you have any stats to back it up?
  - deleted 18y ago
    [deleted]
  - staunch 18y ago
    I think you're being a bit dramatic. All I know is based on what I've seen him say. He's extremely evasive about the actual numbers for the Kindle. He cherry picks a single number: "If you take the 230,000 titles where we have Kindle editions - Kindle unit sales are already more than 10 percent of all our sales." I believe (based on my conversations with people about this) that many people hear that from Bezos and take away the idea that the Kindle is now 10 percent of all Amazon revenue or at least all book sales. I believe he's phrasing this in an intentionally misleading way. I think he thinks that the Kindle isn't doing that well right now, but he believes in it and doesn't want to take the stock market hit in admitting that it's going to take a long time before the Kindle truly is a big success. "For that to happen in 14 months is very surprising. It took us 14 years to build up our physical book business." I'm just reading between the lines. I admit could be wrong.

jakewolf 18y ago

I just got one and am the biggest evangelist of it to my friends. Also have spent over 100 in the last week of it.