Every few years there’s a new development that sends a wave through the latest trends and becomes a tipping point for consumers, companies, entertainment trends and communication. Amazon’s Kindle device released a few years ago, welcomed the new dawn of reading. The first iPad trimmed the fat of computing to it’s core and found a niche’ with mobile connectivity.
The new wave is here and it encompasses all of these factors. Amazon’s new familly of Kindle eReader devices the new and improved Kindle, the Kindle Touch
The rise in adoption of eBooks and eReaders has been 10 fold in the last two years with most of the momentum coming from Amazon and the Kindle. Amazon made the smart move by allowing retail chains such as Woolworths, Dick Smith, Target and Walmart to sell Kindle devices to the wider consumer market to gain the next level of mind share and the pace has just been stepped up!
Here they are.
The New Kindle
The price point of $79 for the new Kindle blows all other competitors out the water. Barnes n Noble will have no choice to fight back and drop prices of the Nook. I wish them luck. Any readers, writers and authors who have been sitting on the fence up til this point because of price or some unknown uncertainty have just had this barrier crushed. 30% lighter, 18% smaller, but still features the same 6-inch e-ink screen. Unbeatable. This entry alone will get more Kindles in the hands of everyday consumers around the world than any other eReader. Authors this where your books need to be!
Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G
Amazon’s new $99 touch screen device still beholds the black and white e-ink screen, but your turning pages now with your finger. Like it’s new little brother, it’s lighter, smaller and Amazon confidently states it has an improved battery life on what was already an impressive battery life with Kindle 3. Amazon has included the new ‘X-Ray’ feature that allows readers to look deeper inside the book, to discover common ideas, mentions and additional book related information.
Hey authors! I can see this lending really well for ‘Bonus features’ in books, just like DVDs. Additional character information, story ideas, location settings, future book story plot teasers. Amazon has also revealed that this feature will pull additional information in from Wikipedia and it’s reader community based site Shelfari, which it acquired back in August 2008. It’s very promising to authors and should be encouraging those promoting books to start seeing the value in being active on social media and online communities. If your not now, you will be if you want to sell books!
The Kindle Touch 3G version sits at an affordable $149 and is basically the same device with the addition of 3G wireless connectivity, but what’s new and quite awesome is that it comes with a FREE 3G connection that’s available anywhere in the world with no fees. Turn it up a notch Amazon!
‘How’s them apples, Apple? Is Amazon’s Kindle Fire your official iPad Killer?’
New Colour Kindle – Kindle Fire
My favourite of the bunch. Apple needs to have a gameplan ready to go out the gates to counter this, because it has the potential to be the biggest threat to their iPad products. At an incredible third the price of the iPad at just $199, which you can pre-order here
The tablet is Android based (basically the same system as android phones) bringing the most popular apps and games such as Angry birds to the palm of your hand. All your entertainment will be acquired of course through Amazon’s digital cloud services. The Kindle Fire device also has an exclusive web browser powered by Amazon’s Silk technology that works with Amazon’s cloud technology. Did I mention this is a third the price of an iPad?
Writers and authors take action!
For the last couple of years Amazon has opened it’s arms offering the best opportunity for authors to get published and reach the mass consumer market accepting eBooks and print books from Independent publishers. For those writers and authors out there yet to jump into the foray of eBooks, regardless of why you haven’t done so yet, you need to now or be left behind.
Many writers and authors have their romantic ideals of paperbacks holding them back, they’re not going anywhere, but the marketplace is thriving because of eBook and eReader sales. The eBook format is a low-entry level for both new authors and readers adopting the new ‘save-a-tree’ way of reading, open to taking a chance on YOU new emerging authors striving for their attention and pennies. Authors now is the time.
‘Writers and authors get on board now if you haven’t already!’
As a reader, writer, multi-book author or publisher, at a $79 price point there is now no excuse not to capitalise on getting in on what is a huge (surely mammoth) portion of book sales and the future of reading. Get one of these and get familiar with the market your selling in. There’s one caveat for emerging authors though. Bad covers, bad editing and generally crappy books don’t sell. I don’t buy them that’s for sure. Create a good quality product that will get Amazon reviews, look good on all these new devices and offers great value which instigates word of mouth and you won’t go wrong.
Who’s stockings will have a Kindle device in it this year?
[…] to sky rocket and as Amazon broadens it’s market reach, it would be detrimental not to have a Kindle version accompany your print book. Get someone to properly format your eBook using HTML with a full table […]
[…] own publishing imprints and began it’s acquisition of best-selling authors. With the new Kindle e-reader devices and it’s leading Amazon S3 cloud storage, the move to become a leader in online technology […]