Kindle Must Fight For Number One Slot - After Christmas
Although the e-book reader market is relatively new, it has the potential for exponential growth in the near future. The Amazon Kindle family of readers has been the undisputed king of the hill up to now. The Kindle 2, released in February of 2009, and the large display DX model, launched in June of 2009, have had very little genuine competition and have dominated the market. Both the potential of the market in general, and its importance to Amazon in particular, can be seen by the fact that the Kindle is now Amazon’s number one selling product - bar none.
However, there are plenty of manufacturers with new readers in the pipeline, many of which are planned for release before the end of the year with some others to follow in the early part of 2010. Two of the main contenders for the Kindle’s crown are the Sony Daily Edition reader and the Nook reader from Barnes and Noble. Both of these were planned for launch in mid-December 2009, in time to catch the pre-Christmas sales rush.
Priced at $399, the Sony Daily Edition is available for pre-order. However, Sony are not guaranteeing that it will be delivered in time for Xmas. According to Sony’s website, the reader will commence shipping on December’ and they will be despatched on a first come first served basis. Sony have been surprised by the level of interest and, whilst they will make every effort to get the new readers shipped in time for the big day, there are no guarantees that they will arrive in time.
Barnes and Noble’s Nook meanwhile, has had its shipping date pushed back from mid-December to January of 2010 for any orders lodged post Novemeber 20. Unexpectedly high levels of demand is the stated reason for this delay also.
In an attempt to make at least some holiday sales, Barnes and Noble is offering a “holiday certificate” for the Nook which advises the lucky gift recipient that they should receive their device early in 2010. Not quite the same thing on Christmas morning - is it?
Although there are plenty signs that the e-book reader market is about to enter a period of rapid growth during the course of the next twelve months, Amazon still retains its number one position - by some way. Competion will be much higher in future but, for the moment at least, Amazon’s rivals are still pretty much not out of the traps. Expect to see Amazon fiercely defending it’s leadership position next year. With 60% of the U.S. market and a recent international launch under its belt, the Kindle is Amazon’s top selling product and Amazon will certainly not give up the top slot without a fight. At the end of the day, consumers will benefit greatly from increased competition as this will produce a downward trend in price levels.
Find out more about the Amazon Kindle reader and learn how you can easily save money by getting free Kindle books direct from the Amazon Kindlestore.
