The recent surge in the popularity of both e-books and e-book readers has been heavily influenced by Amazon. Amazon’s Kindle reader first hit the market in November of 2006 and subsequent updates followed with the launch of the Kindle 2.0 in February of 2009 and the August 2010 launch of the upgraded third generation Kindle. The summer of 2009 also saw the launch of the large format Kindle DX, which was also updated in August 2010.
A great many industry analysts suggested that, notwithstanding the influential role of Amazon in the development of the e-book reader market, the release of the Apple iPad would signal the demise of the Kindle reader. However, after the third generation launch – accompanied by some price cuts – Amazon sold out of Kindles (yet again). Demand seems to be holding up, and then some, for what is now Amazon’s best selling item.
E-books have been readily accepted by many readers. Others seem to be attached to physical books. However, for most people the ability to carry large quantities of books around with them, coupled with the ease of operation offered by e-book readers, has proven to be an attractive proposition. Recent cuts in e-book reader prices, prompted by the release of the iPad, have made e-book readers a much more attractive option for many readers.
Amazon recently confirmed that they are currently selling more Kindle books than conventional hardback editions. The lower sales price of e-books – which use no paper or ink and have no delivery fees to speak of – certainly helps. It seems reasonable to suppose that e-book sales will overtake paperback sales – and probably sooner rather than later.
The ease with which e-books can be bought, and subsequently delivered, is another influencing factor. Readers can download a book to their Kindle in less than sixty seconds, at any time of the day or night, just as long as they can connect to Amazon’s Kindle store.
One potential area of concern for many prospective customers was a reluctance to be “tied” to one particular brand of e-reader. Amazon appear to have tackled this issue very efficiently by making a host of of free “apps” which allow Kindle books to be read on a variety of different devices available. Currently, Kindle books can be read on the Mac, the PC, the iPhone, the iPad, the Blackberry smart phone and any device which uses the Android operating system. It’s a clever move on Amazon’s part. It not only removes customer’s concerns about being tied to one proprietary piece of hardware but every new app acts as a seperate point of sale for Amazon’s vast library of Kindle books. Currently, approximately 20% of all Kindle book sales are destined to be read on non-Kindle hardware.
All things considered, it looks like e-books are here to stay and that they will gradually account for a higher and higher percentage of book sales. It also seems probable that Amazon will continue to be a driving influence in the world of digital publishing in future.

