Exceeding the company's own expectations, Amazon.com have announced that Kindle eBooks outsold paperbacks for the first time last year. In the company's fourth quarter sales results published 27th January, Amazon.com reports that 115 Kindle eBooks were sold for every 100 paperbacks purchased.
In July, Amazon.com announced a tipping point had been reached when Kindle eBooks outsold sales of hardbacks and predicted that paperback sales would be surpassed by the second quarter of 2011. This milestone has been reached much faster than predicted, despite a growth in paperback sales as well, and Amazon.com have also reported that eBook sales were triple that of hardbacks.
Amazon Kindle - the Electronic Book Reader for Everyone
In August, Amazon.com launched its third-generation Kindle eBook reader and it has proven to be hugely successful, with the company reporting millions of the devices were sold in the fourth quarter of 2011 to become its best selling product ever.
The new Kindle device, available with 3G and Wi Fi or with Wi Fi only, is the size of a paperback and has a 6-inch display with new E Ink technology that gives a superior reading experience compared to previous Kindles. A key feature of the Kindle is its long battery life as it can run for several weeks on a single charge, or even longer if Wi Fi is turned off.
Amazon have reported that the US Kindle Store now has over 800,000 eBooks, including 107 of 112 New York Times Bestsellers and over 670,000 of these eBooks are less than $10. Millions of free, out-of-copyright books are also available.
In addition to the Kindle device, free applications can be downloaded that allow the same eBooks to be read on either PC or Mac. Free apps are also available for the most popular smartphones, including the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices and, most recently, Windows Phone 7 as well, plus the iPod Touch and iPad.
Amazon's Whispersync technology allows eBooks to be synchronised across any device the user has.
Together, Amazon and Apple are also revolutionising self-publishing by allowing any author to publish their own books to the Kindle Store or iBook Store.
Record Fourth Quarter Sales for Amazon.com
The company also reported that net sales increased 36% to a record $12.95 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to the same quarter in 2009. This brought total net sales last year to $34.2 billion, a 40% increase from $24.51 billion in the twelve months before, despite the impact of year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates which cost Amazon.com $86 million.
North America accounted for $7.21 billion of the company's fourth quarter sales, with international segments such as the UK and the newly launched Italian Amazon.it growing 29% to $5.74 billion.
See also Amazon vs Apple - is iBooks or Kindle the best for eBooks?
Jason Glover - Jason Glover has worked in the marketing teams of major companies for over twenty years, including over ten years in online marketing ...
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