How Much Further Can E-Book Reader Prices Fall? by Keith Wright
There can't be much doubt that the key player in the e-book reader market is the Amazon Kindle. The release of the upgraded third generation Kindle reader has made Amazon's dominant position even stronger. It's noteworthy that the only credible competition to the Kindle thus far comes in the shape of a multi-functional tablet computer which costs over three times the price of the Kindle - Apple's iPad.
However, even the launch of the iPad doesn't seem to have impacted upon demand for Kindle readers. Since it was unveiled at the end of July, the new and improved third generation Kindle has been selling like hot cakes. Amazon advise that it's selling more rapidly than any previously released Kindle reader did in the equivalent post launch period.
One big advantage which Amazon has over its competition - including Apple's iPad - is the enormous library of Kindle books available for customers to choose from. There are currently over 670,00 titles available on Amazon's Kindle store - and that number is growing daily. There are also a further 1.8 million out of copyright books which are free for Kindle users to download!
Apart from making the Kindle reader a more attractive option for prospective customers, this massive selection of e-books means that Amazon can afford to have a slightly lower retail price for their e-book reader hardware based on the perfectly reasonable assumption that customers will be buying Kindle books during the lifespan of their reader. For Amazon, it's a significant competitive edge over their competitors.
Amazon have given a good indication of how they see the e-book market developing by releasing a number of free apps which allow users to download and read Kindle books on a selection of different devices. They clearly feel that, going forward, e-book sales will be more important than the sales for e-book reader hardware. So far, this has been a successful strategy for them. They have between 60% and 80% of the American e-book market (depending upon which estimate you care to give credence to) and about 20% of their total Kindle book sales are intended for use on non-Kindle devices.
Bearing in mind the downward price trend of e-book reader hardware in general, and the Kindle reader in particular, you have to wonder whether we could even see Amazon giving Kindle readers away for free in the not so distant future. Of course, it may well be a gift that would come with a few strings attached. Possibly members of Amazon Prime (Amazon's annual subscription premium express delivery service) would qualify. Perhaps they could launch some kind of e-book club where a commitment to buying a certain number of books in a given period of time would qualify members for a free Kindle - a sort of digital book of the month club. There are a quite a few possible options which could, quite realistically, make this a practical business model for Amazon assuming that the price of e-book readers continues to move downwards.
The very fact that this option is achievable for Amazon, but not for the vast majority of their competitors, must make it a scenario which they will need to seriously consider. It's an option which may be more realistic than you may think.
Learn more about the Amazon Kindle for yourself and view the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you personalise your reader.
Article Source: ArticleSnatch Free Article Directory
There can't be much doubt that the key player in the e-book reader market is the Amazon Kindle. The release of the upgraded third generation Kindle reader has made Amazon's dominant position even stronger. It's noteworthy that the only credible competition to the Kindle thus far comes in the shape of a multi-functional tablet computer which costs over three times the price of the Kindle - Apple's iPad.
However, even the launch of the iPad doesn't seem to have impacted upon demand for Kindle readers. Since it was unveiled at the end of July, the new and improved third generation Kindle has been selling like hot cakes. Amazon advise that it's selling more rapidly than any previously released Kindle reader did in the equivalent post launch period.
One big advantage which Amazon has over its competition - including Apple's iPad - is the enormous library of Kindle books available for customers to choose from. There are currently over 670,00 titles available on Amazon's Kindle store - and that number is growing daily. There are also a further 1.8 million out of copyright books which are free for Kindle users to download!
Apart from making the Kindle reader a more attractive option for prospective customers, this massive selection of e-books means that Amazon can afford to have a slightly lower retail price for their e-book reader hardware based on the perfectly reasonable assumption that customers will be buying Kindle books during the lifespan of their reader. For Amazon, it's a significant competitive edge over their competitors.
Amazon have given a good indication of how they see the e-book market developing by releasing a number of free apps which allow users to download and read Kindle books on a selection of different devices. They clearly feel that, going forward, e-book sales will be more important than the sales for e-book reader hardware. So far, this has been a successful strategy for them. They have between 60% and 80% of the American e-book market (depending upon which estimate you care to give credence to) and about 20% of their total Kindle book sales are intended for use on non-Kindle devices.
Bearing in mind the downward price trend of e-book reader hardware in general, and the Kindle reader in particular, you have to wonder whether we could even see Amazon giving Kindle readers away for free in the not so distant future. Of course, it may well be a gift that would come with a few strings attached. Possibly members of Amazon Prime (Amazon's annual subscription premium express delivery service) would qualify. Perhaps they could launch some kind of e-book club where a commitment to buying a certain number of books in a given period of time would qualify members for a free Kindle - a sort of digital book of the month club. There are a quite a few possible options which could, quite realistically, make this a practical business model for Amazon assuming that the price of e-book readers continues to move downwards.
The very fact that this option is achievable for Amazon, but not for the vast majority of their competitors, must make it a scenario which they will need to seriously consider. It's an option which may be more realistic than you may think.
Learn more about the Amazon Kindle for yourself and view the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you personalise your reader.
Article Source: ArticleSnatch Free Article Directory