Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader seems to be constantly in the news. It gets a huge amount of publicity and has received endorsements from celebrities such as Stephen King, Oprah Winfrey and Hilary Clinton (in her role as a member of the New Democratic Leadership Council). Being so consistently in the news has turned the Kindle into an iconic piece of kit, almost on a par with the iPod, and it has very quickly become a landmark of the high tech gadget scene.
Hardly surprising then that it’s easy to forget what a relative newcomer the Kindle actually is and just how short it’s career to date has been. The first Kindle was launched in 2007. The upgraded and enhanced Kindle 2.0 came out in February 2009 and the large display DX model hit the streets in June of the same year.
Every new reader that is unveiled seems to be dubbed the “Kindle Killer”. It’s a back-handed compliment to Amazon in a way. We can now even see other devices – like Apple’s new iPad for example – being nominated for the role. Regardless of the fact that the iPad and the Kindle are different types of devices, many business analyst seem to be of the opinion that the iPad’s release spells trouble for the Kindle. Considering the brevity of its career to date, killing the Kindle now would be something akin to strangling it at birth.
It’s easy to overlook the fact that, not only was the Kindle introduced fairly recently, but that Amazon was a relatively late entrant into the e-book reader market. The Franklin eBookman – the first dedicated e-book reader, launched in 1999, more than ten years ago. Sony’s PRS reader was released in 2006.
In a relatively short period of time, the Kindle e-book reader has become virtually synonymous with both e-books and e-book readers. It’s a testament to Amazon’s commercial drive and customer service. The fact of the matter is that Amazon has taken the Kindle way beyond the point of a hardware release. It’s much more than a hot “must have” gadget. Amazon has tapped into consumer consciousness to provide an entire Kindle experience.
Of course, as a piece of hardware the Kindle is excellent. It’s well designed and very user friendly. It can be used with one hand on a crowded train, plane or bus. The display is easy to read in different lighting conditions. However, it’s the convenience of buying books and being able to download them in less than a minute – wherever you are and at any time that suits you, the fact that you don’t need to carry big heavy books around, and the huge selection of Kindle books available to choose from that has served to make the Kindle so popular.
Wireless free connectivity with no monthly charges, and the Amazon trust and brand recognition have also played a part in the Kindle’s success. Having established itself as the market leader after a late entry to the market, Amazon is not going to let its best selling product be killed off. 2010 will almost certainly see further innovation from the Amazon – rumors of a new Kindle in the first half of the year are already rife.
Check out the Amazon Kindle for yourself – and don’t forget to pick up a Kindle cover – it’ll customise and protect your device.