Kindle 4 To Launch In 2010?
2009 has been a good year for Amazon, and a lot of their success has been due to the Kindle ebook reader. The original Kindle was launched in November 2007. It sold out in five and a half hours and new stock wasn’t available for months.
In February this year, Amazon released the Kindle 2 which featured several enhancements over the original. The large format Kindle DX followed shortly after in June. Amazon now had a Kindle “family” and, aided by a lot of free publicity from bestselling authors like Stephen King, partnerships with colleges and universities plus a lot of discussion in political circles, the Kindle became virtually synonymous with e-book readers.
Unsurprisingly, a number of other manufacturers were casting their eyes over the developing e-book reader market and considering how best to get their share. Right now, the list of manufacturers who have their own e-book readers under development is impressive and includes such names as Microsoft, Apple, Asus, Barnes and Noble, Sony and Plastic Logic.
Any e-book reader that shows potential is immediately given the title of “Kindle Killer”. The various technical features of each reader are pored over and reported upon, especially when, as in the case of Sony’s Daily Edition reader for example, it has a new feature (touch screen control) which the current Kindle lacks.
However, whilst the technical aspects of e-book readers are certainly important, they are not the be all and end all. Some of the key factors in the Kindle’s success to date were the large choice of books on Amazon’s website, the freedom to download books in under a minute wirelessly – without the need for an internet connection and without monthly fees – and Amazon’s highly trusted brand name.
A number of the new readers will feature wireless connectivity. The Barnes and Noble Nook reader will allow users to choose from a selection of over 1,000,000 books on the company’s website. However, the one common theme that seems to be emerging among the e-book readers in development is the format of the e-books.
Most of the new readers seem to be lining up behind the ePub format. The Kindle, on the other hand, uses a proprietary format which effectively means that Kindle books can only be read on the Kindle reader.
Right now, considering that the Kindle is pretty much the only show in town, that’s not too much of a problem. However, in the near future, the ability to lend e-books to friends and family may become an important feature.
In a very short space of time, the Kindle has become Amazon’s bestselling product – bar none. So Amazon won’t surrender their market leadership role without a struggle. Maybe next year will see the launch of the Kindle 4. It will almost certainly include a number of technical improvements – but could it be that Amazon might also adopt the ePub format, or perhaps provide some type of translation service?
Find out more about the Amazon Kindle reader and learn how you can save money by getting free Kindle ebooks direct from Amazon’s website.
