The Latest Kindle] From Amazon Offers Consumers Extra Choice At A Reduced Cost

Whilst it seems certain that the lauch of the Apple iPad has impacted upon the sales figures for Amazon’s Kindle reader, the internet retail giant doesn’t seem to be unduly worried. After a further price cut and an upgrade, the 6″ version of the Kindle is now out of stock. Amazon currently estimate that there will be a four to five week hiatus before any new readers are shipped out. The larger Kindle DX version is currently still available.

The newest Kindle version sees the physical size of the unit shrink by 21% (whilst still maintaining the same display size), a weight reduction of 15% and faster page turns. Thanks to the fact that the memory has been doubled, you can now carry a small library of 3,500 Kindle books with you wherever you go. With a battery life of up to one month (with Wi-Fi turned off) and a new high contrast, e-ink technology display, the latest Kindle is the perfect device for reading – on the road or at home.

Customers can now pick either graphite or white body colors and the standard unit comes with both Wi-Fi and free 3G connectivity. A cheaper Wi-Fi only reader is now included as an option for users who don’t anticipate the need for a 3G connection.

Starting in the UK, Amazon will be marketing the Kindle directly from some of its international sites. UK consumers will be able to purchase their Kindle straight from the Amazon UK site instead of having it shipped across the Atlantic from the USA. A dedicated UK Kindle book store will be launched, and no doubt similar arrangements can be anticipated for Germany and France at some point in future.

Amazon recently advised that Kindle books were outselling hardback editions on their US website . In the last month, Amazon has sold 180 Kindle books for every 100 traditional hard cover versions. They appear to be very confident that the future of reading is going to be digital – and these figures do seem to support that assertion. E-book readers are, commercially at least, a relatively new innovation. On the basis of these figures, the reading public seems to have adopted them very rapidly.

Recently, e-book reader prices have reduced by a long way. The latest Kindle with 3G and Wi-Fi has a price of $ 189, which is significantly less than the $ 359 February 2009 launch price of the Kindle 2.0. At just $ 139, the price of the Wi-Fi only reader is getting into mp3 player territory. The launch of the iPad may have influenced, or at least hastened, these price cuts to some extent – but the hardware price was always going to come down, and there may still be further downward movement to come.

Although the sales price of e-book readers has fallen, the cost of the e-books themselves seems to have climbed a little. This means that Amazon has a significant competitive advantage when compared with a lot of its competitors, who are primarily interested in manufacturing and selling hardware. Amazon’s massive library of Kindle books is a tremendous asset for them – as is the fact that they have made so many Kindle “apps” available which allow Kindle books to be read on a variety of other devices. As the emerging e-book market matures and more emphasis is placed on e-books rather than the hardware to read them on, Amazon look very well placed to be the dominant player in the new digital publishing world.