Rise of the eBooks: Kindle Books Now Outsell Paperbacks

[candypants]

Here's an interesting factoid dropped by Amazon during their quarterly call: since the beginning of the year, Amazon has sold 115 Kindle eBooks for every 100 paperback books purchases on its site. Are we finally witnessing a momentum shift here?
Last summer it was reported that Kindle eBooks were already outselling hardcovers on Amazon (143 to 100), and now even that figure has roughly doubled since last July (~300 to 100). I wouldn't be surprise if the tablet boom helpt play a big role in this, as Amazon has Kindle stores on the iOS and Android platforms.
But the Kindle is no slouch either. Amazon mentioned that the third-generation Kindle had become their best selling product ever, outgunning previous sales champ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
- Gizmodo
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets...zon-kindle.jpg
http://gizmodo.com/5745505/rise-of-t...ell-paperbacks

[Gislebertus]

Wow.

I still buy books, despite having run out of space to shelve them years ago. Oh, and I prefer CDs to downloads. Having a physical hardcopy is just important to me, I guess.

[Krato]

if/when civilization collapses all of our information will be stored (lost) in cyberspace or on inaccessible hard-drives

[Star Eater]

I will never like ebooks as much as the feel of a book in my hands. I love getting a new book in the mail, checking out the cover, the colour illustrations inside. Part of the fun of owning books (to me anyway) is preserving their condition.

And yeah, I'm also short on shelf space.

[Randis]

Nothing beats real books and real SNES cartridges

[Star Eater]

Nothing beats real books and real SNES cartridges

I think you mean Genesis cartridges.

[Izi]

I think you mean Genesis cartridges.

What was Randis thinking?

[Star Eater]

What was Randis thinking?

I don't know, I'm still new here, so I figured it was not really my place to correct him, but some things are just bigger than me.

[zx52hg]

They can have my paperbacks when they take them from my cold, dead hands. I don't need an electrical charge to read them, they're cheaper than ebooks and they won't magically vanish from an EMP if somebody ever detonates a nuclear weapon high in orbit.

[Star Eater]

They can have my paperbacks when they take them from my cold, dead hands. I don't need an electrical charge to read them, they're cheaper than ebooks and they won't magically vanish from an EMP if somebody ever detonates a nuclear weapon high in orbit.

He who owns the paperbacks, owns the world! (After technology fails in 2012)

[QueenGwenevere]

if/when civilization collapses all of our information will be stored (lost) in cyberspace or on inaccessible hard-drives

Already happening, man. Hell, I can't read any of my files from college...

I admit I read too many books on my phone now, but they'll never replace nifty antique books with fancy leather covers, deckled edges, and plates mounted on heavy colored stock with tissue paper over them. And decorations throughout. HEADPIECES! TAILPIECES! BORDERS! The world needs more of this. Lots.

Besides, there's still no digital equivalent of an enormous twenty-pound art book with huge yummy high-res pictures. (You can't really use a Kindle to flatten a warped sketchbook...)

[Randis]

I think you mean Genesis cartridges.

You need to know that they come last.

1) Neo geo
2) Super Famicom
3) Sega Megadrive

[Star Eater]

You need to know that they come last.

1) Neo geo
2) Super Famicom
3) Sega Megadrive

We never had Geo's in SA. Well, I never saw one anyway, heard the console and the carts cost a fortune. The NG logo tune does bring back many happy smokey arcade memories though.

We barely had the snes, though I knew some people that had them. We DID have a plethora of boxless import Megadrive games though.

As for the great debate as to whats better, the snes was the stronger machine, but I will merely bring up two things which will end this argument like the Sopranos finale.

1) Mortal Kombat
2) Splatterhouse 3

Oh yeah and I like books.

[Vari]

I have a Kindle. It's cool and very useful, not only for conventional books, but for everything. Need to read a 40 page text on the internet? Copy+paste+convert in under a minute and transfer to kindle. That way you read it like a book, instead of going blind while staring at the PC screen. I use it for books, for university work and even for art books. I got all books by Loomis stored on my Kindle and even if they are smaller in size it's perfectly readable. Normal books are cool, but I'm living in a small student room and one day, when I'm done with university I'll have to go back home. I'm trying not to have too much stuff here, because I don't know when I'll need to leave. And one of the best things is that there are so many free books (not pirated, old, free books) available. As an example I recently read Pride and Prejudice. It's free for kindle, because it's old. Without Kindle I must pay $12 to read it. I'm definitely buying another one if this Kindle stops working.

As for the normal books, I'm keeping a list of books to buy when I'm back home. Even if I already read them on the Kindle I want to have them in paper form and put them on my shelf.

[Randis]

i should get a good ebook reader, i am reading a lot, both printed books and ebooks on my laptop but as i am getting older i start feeling more strain on my eyes from starring at the screen.

[Wingal]

Without Kindle I must pay $12 to read it. I'm definitely buying another one if this Kindle stops working.

You can read it for free on Google books as well.

I prefer books. Im picky and cheep when it comes to buying them though. I usually go to the library to find something to read and if its really good Ill buy it later. If they dont have it, i recommend it and hope they will buy it soon or request it from another library. Only down side to library books, for me, is some of them are very, very, old and the smell of them gives me a headache.

[ArtZealot]

i should get a good ebook reader, i am reading a lot, both printed books and ebooks on my laptop but as i am getting older i start feeling more strain on my eyes from starring at the screen.

That's the one thing a kindle has going for it, it's "e-ink" screen is really easy on the eyes and is a hell of a lot better than a laptop screen for long term reading of ebooks.
The only downside is that it's black and white but if u are just looking for something for reading ebooks, IMO, the kindle screen definitely beats irradiating your eyes on a laptop screen.

[JeffX99]

Are we finally witnessing a momentum shift here?

Gawd I hope not! I hate the things and what it could mean. I have books over 100 years old handed down through the family...with personalizations in them in beatiful fountain pen script. As an artist I need to be surrounded by information and images I can view simultaneously...and information, diagrams and images at my fingertips. Plus try showing a Kindle to your kids while you read them a story. Scary but thanks for posting the info.

[Stricken]

A Kindle might have been useful when I was at Uni. I studied English Literature and had to carry at least 5 or 6 books with me daily, and usually one of them was one of my two huge 2000+ page long anthologies (both if I was really unlucky). I didn't live on campus and had to travel 9 miles by public transport with my bag weighed down by books every day. However I could never, ever replace my collection with a Kindle. I wouldn't want to. I have hundreds of books and space-wise it can be a bit of an issue, especially as I'm always buying more, but I much prefer sitting down and reading from actual pages, the feel and the smell of a book. Staring at a screen doesn't do it for me.

[Mr Man]

I fear my eyes will pop out If I continue to gaze at a screen all day. Nothing beats a nice tactile book. Especially art books, James Jean has some real corkers!

[tarc]

Lots of happy trees.

[s.ketch]

Sorry to be one of those people but if our civilization collapses, we won't go back to the stone age. An high-orbit nuclear EMP isn't as effective as people who lobby for missile defense would have you think. EMP doesn't wipe out people's memory, we'll still know what a computer and electricity is. All tech won't be destroyed and it won't wipe out all physical storage devices. CD R and CD RW will be okay. The way they store data protects them. Plus we have a lot of unintentional Faraday cages. So sleep well knowing we'll be back up and running within a year or two.

On the topic at hand, books smell too good. There's something special about sitting down under a warm light source and cracking open a book that can't be replaced. The crisp pages, the fine paper, the visual feedback of progress as read pages stack up and the satisfaction of it. You have to set aside time and make a place to read a book. It's not something you can do anywhere. Which makes it more unique. Plus setting foot in a library is pretty fun. Searching for that right book using your wits and Mr Decimal.

If it's going to be digital, why read it all? Why not just digitize books and turn them all into audio files? It's like having a fireplace screensaver, it seems pointless. You can store 10,000 books but you can't really read them all. It's just catering to the "omg gimme gimme gimme" ipod people who need an app for that and that and that too.

[sanya]

Hmm, I'm all for keeping up with technology, and I certainly read my share of ebooks, a they're lighter than carrying a book on the train day to day.. having said that though, I still love books and will never stop buying them.

[ArtZealot]

Sorry to be one of those people but if our civilization collapses, we won't go back to the stone age. An high-orbit nuclear EMP isn't as effective as people who lobby for missile defense would have you think. EMP doesn't wipe out people's memory, we'll still know what a computer and electricity is. All tech won't be destroyed and it won't wipe out all physical storage devices. CD R and CD RW will be okay. The way they store data protects them. Plus we have a lot of unintentional Faraday cages. So sleep well knowing we'll be back up and running within a year or two.

On the topic at hand, books smell too good. There's something special about sitting down under a warm light source and cracking open a book that can't be replaced. The crisp pages, the fine paper, the visual feedback of progress as read pages stack up and the satisfaction of it. You have to set aside time and make a place to read a book. It's not something you can do anywhere. Which makes it more unique. Plus setting foot in a library is pretty fun. Searching for that right book using your wits and Mr Decimal.

If it's going to be digital, why read it all? Why not just digitize books and turn them all into audio files? It's like having a fireplace screensaver, it seems pointless. You can store 10,000 books but you can't really read them all. It's just catering to the "omg gimme gimme gimme" ipod people who need an app for that and that and that too.

I think in some perspectives, the below image may be a suitable reply to the above quote.

[BlightedArt]

That's the one thing a kindle has going for it, it's "e-ink" screen is really easy on the eyes and is a hell of a lot better than a laptop screen for long term reading of ebooks.
The only downside is that it's black and white but if u are just looking for something for reading ebooks, IMO, the kindle screen definitely beats irradiating your eyes on a laptop screen.

That was the only thing that questioned kindle's for me, I didn't realise until reading your post that the screens have been done in such a way as to prevent eye strain (sounds silly not realising it, but oh well).

In that case kindle's seem like a pretty good purchase. =)

[s.ketch]

I think in some perspectives, the below image may be a suitable reply to the above quote.

[Black Spot]

You can't take an electronic thingy into the bath for a long soak and good read. It's cheaper to have an accident with a book.

[vineris]

If it's going to be digital, why read it all? Why not just digitize books and turn them all into audio files?

Because audio files are big and slow? It doesn't take me 10 hours to read a 300 page novel. Plus I hate noise and I tend to zone out when people talk at me. I'd hate to wake up and realize I've just missed the last half hour of the story, as occasionally happens to me with podcasts.

You can store 10,000 books but you can't really read them all. It's just catering to the "omg gimme gimme gimme" ipod people who need an app for that and that and that too.

I want to digitize my library so that I can see my walls and don't have to push the armchairs aside to see what's hiding on the bottom shelf.

[s.ketch]

Because audio files are big and slow? It doesn't take me 10 hours to read a 300 page novel. Plus I hate noise and I tend to zone out when people talk at me. I'd hate to wake up and realize I've just missed the last half hour of the story, as occasionally happens to me with podcasts.



I want to digitize my library so that I can see my walls and don't have to push the armchairs aside to see what's hiding on the bottom shelf.

So what are we doing here? Are we actually arguing over this? I don't care that some people want or have Kindles. I don't see the point because I don't have a problem with physical books. I enjoy reading out of a real book rather than a screen. A Kindle will not make my life easier or better. I was just giving my opinion. I'm sure some people, like yourself, do want one. That's spectacular. Whatever melts your butter.

Sorry for insulting technology, I guess. I'll be sure to take it easy on the inanimate objects next time.

[ArtZealot]

That was the only thing that questioned kindle's for me, I didn't realise until reading your post that the screens have been done in such a way as to prevent eye strain (sounds silly not realising it, but oh well).

In that case kindle's seem like a pretty good purchase. =)

Oh yeaa. I was on the fence about them till a guy at my work brought his in. If you have a bestbuy in your area they have them on display at...most...bestbuys, i think? I know they have them at my bestbuy, but yeah. Actually seeing the physical object and seeing how the screen works, it makes it apparent why kindle is, as i've heard, so much better for "long term reading" than reading on something like a laptop or ipad which have similar screens. I mean, the kindle screen looks just like paper.

The only downside to the kindle is that it isn't backlit... but then again neither are books, and i think if it was backlit, it would give a lot of eyestrain. From what i've seen though, despite not being backlit, it is very readable in low light.

my 2 cents.