I've got to be honest, I wasn't so sure that Amazon's (NASDAQ: AMZN) Kindle device would be a hit. But, according to BusinessWeek, it seems like it's doing okay. Kindle, which is a reading platform for e-books, actually experienced sell-outs after it was launched last fall. And now, CBS's (NYSE: CBS) Simon & Schuster has upped its support of the platform by increasing the number of titles from its portfolio to be sold on Kindle. How does 5,000 more titles from Simon & Schuster sound?
Just great, I'm sure Jeff Bezos would say. And who can blame him? It looks like people are really taking to Kindle, and although I don't think reading books for pleasure in such an electronic manner will ever come remotely close to challenging printed tomes, I know it's still important for Amazon to have a strategy in this arena. And like I mentioned at the beginning, the fact that Kindle seems to have had a strong start is very impressive.
It should be noted, though, that Bezos is keeping sales figures close to the vest. He doesn't want to give away too much in terms of stats, so who knows exactly how well the Kindle brand is doing. But the device received a price cut last week, and that is an interesting little tell in terms of the viability of the technology. In fact, one friend of mine is hoping the price continues to drop below $349 because he is bullish on buying one. I never thought I'd hear anyone in my circle even mention this thing in casual conversation.
While the Simon & Schuster vote of confidence shows that Amazon is on the right track with the Kindle, I still am reticent about its ultimate future. I see the platform as more of a showcase for shorter technical documents that don't need to be stored in print format to be fully enjoyed. Also, short stories and/or novellas that might be hard to place in literary markets also would be of great value to Kindle.
Jeff Bezos has got an interesting technological experiment on his hands, and while I know that I will always read novels the old-fashioned way, I'm willing to bet Kindle still has at least some growth ahead of it.
Disclosure: I don't own shares in any company mentioned here; positions can change at any time.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-03-2008 @ 1:02PM
gumbo koontz said...
I dont think bookshelves are an attractive idea as far as interior designing or decorations goes.. I think books are ugly things to grace any room. I put them in boxes and stowed away in my garage gathering dust. Old books smell , yuck!
6-03-2008 @ 1:03PM
gumbo koontz said...
Farhenit 451 degrees!!
Burn the books!!
They are weighing down your houses!!
Recycle your books and save trees...
Dont worry, you can find it again in the Internet...