The Wall Street Journal and CNET are reporting that Amazon.com finally plans to roll out its long-gestating “Kindle:” e-book reader on Monday, November 19. Rumors have been circulating for over a year that Amazon was considering marketing its own hardware device which supported display and over-the-air purchases of electronic books from (of course) Amazon.com itself.
According to reports, the “Kindle” e-book reader will support over-the-air connections to Amazon’s book store via either Wi-Fi or EVDO data access via Sprint’s wireless network. Although reports of the device’s appearance have not been very complimentary, the reader is expected to offer a swing-out reading light, and may also feature applications targeted at mobile professionals, like email and Web browsing capability. CNET reports the “Kindle” reader may be priced at around $400, which will put it well above the $300 Sony Reader.
However, Amazon may be able to succeed with an e-book reader where Sony and others have floundered by leveraging its connections with publishers and media companies: if Amazon can offer a wide range of compelling content for its reader—and make that content easy to access, reliable, and affordable—it may finally be able to create a substantial market for e-books. However, like other media markets, Amazon may ultimately find that open formats are more likely to be adopted by consumers, who may be fazed at buying $400 e-book reader when they already have a perfectly capable device in the form of a smartphone, iPhone, iPod touch, or similar device. And, unlike music and video, there is no proven market for electronic books: industry analysts estimate e-book sales in the United States have ranged from $18 and $25 million a year in recent years.
