Amazon Now Selling More E-books than Hardcovers

By Geoff Duncan July 20, 2010

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Amazon.com has been notoriously tight-lipped about the number of books it sells, and that secrecy has extended to Amazon Kindle e-reader devices and e-books: the company has never said now many Kindles it has sold, or how many e-books its customers buy. However, in an unusual move, Amazon is tooting the Kindle’s horn a little bit, noting that its recent decision to cut the Kindle’s price to $189 has significantly boosted Kindle sales during the last month. The online retailer now claims it sells substantially more e-books than hardcover books, although it still wont’ say how many of either it’s actually moving.

“We’ve reached a tipping point with the new price of Kindle—the growth rate of Kindle device unit sales has tripled since we lowered the price from $259 to $189,” said Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, in a statement. “In addition, even while our hardcover sales continue to grow, the Kindle format has now overtaken the hardcover format.”

Amazon says that during the last three months, it has sold 143 Kindle titles for every 100 hardcover books—and during the last month (corresponding to the Kindle’s price drop to $189) that number has accelerated to 180 ebook titles for every 100 hardcover books sold. (The figures omit paperback sales; it’s a safe bet that paperbacks continue to outsell hardcovers and Kindle e-books by a wide margin.) Amazon has been selling hardcover books for since 15 years; however, the Kindle business is not yet three years old. The company says it has sold more than three times as many Kindle e-books in the first half of 2010 as it did in the first half of 2009.

Amazon also notes that five individual authors—Charlaine Harris, Stieg Larsson, Stephenie Meyer, James Patterson, and Nora Roberts—have each sold more than 500,000 Kindle books apiece.

Editors' Recommendations

Expect more cashier-free stores as Amazon starts selling its Go technology

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Outdoors

The best portable power stations

EcoFlow DELTA 2 on table at campsite for quick charging.

Affordable and efficient portable power is a necessity these days, keeping our electronic devices operational while on the go. But there are literally dozens of options to choose from, making it abundantly difficult to decide which mobile charging solution is best for you. We've sorted through countless portable power options and came up with six of the best portable power stations to keep your smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets functioning while living off the grid.
The best overall: Jackery Explorer 1000

Jackery has been a mainstay in the portable power market for several years, and today, the company continues to set the standard. With three AC outlets, two USB-A, and two USB-C plugs, you'll have plenty of options for keeping your gadgets charged.

Emerging Tech

CES 2023: HD Hyundai’s Avikus is an A.I. for autonomous boat and marine navigation

Demonstration of NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

This content was produced in partnership with HD Hyundai.
Autonomous vehicle navigation technology is certainly nothing new and has been in the works for the better part of a decade at this point. But one of the most common forms we see and hear about is the type used to control steering in road-based vehicles. That's not the only place where technology can make a huge difference. Autonomous driving systems can offer incredible benefits to boats and marine vehicles, too, which is precisely why HD Hyundai has unveiled its Avikus AI technology -- for marine and watercraft vehicles.

More recently, HD Hyundai participated in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, to demo its NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system for recreational boats. The name mashes together the words "neuron" and "boat" and is quite fitting since the Avikus' A.I. navigation tech is a core component of the solution, it will handle self-recognition, real-time decisions, and controls when on the water. Of course, there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes with HD Hyundai's autonomous navigation solution, which we'll dive into below -- HD Hyundai will also be introducing more about the tech at CES 2023.

Computing

This AI cloned my voice using just three minutes of audio

acapela group voice cloning ad

There's a scene in Mission Impossible 3 that you might recall. In it, our hero Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) tackles the movie's villain, holds him at gunpoint, and forces him to read a bizarre series of sentences aloud.

"The pleasure of Busby's company is what I most enjoy," he reluctantly reads. "He put a tack on Miss Yancy's chair, and she called him a horrible boy. At the end of the month, he was flinging two kittens across the width of the room ..."