Jeff Bezos says Kindle is "outpacing our expectations"

While we're guessing you haven't seen too many of 'em pop up at your local coffee shop, Amazon's Jeff Bezos nonetheless seems to be quite please with the performance of the company's prized Kindle e-book reader, with him recently saying that "the Kindle, in terms of demand, is outpacing our expectations." That demand has also apparently caused Amazon to "scramble" on the manufacturing side, resulting in a notice on the Kindle order page that the device temporarily sold out due to "heavy customer demand" (again). Of course, expectations and hard sales numbers are entirely different beasts, and you can probably draw your own conclusions given that Amazon is focusing considerably more on the former than the latter.

[paragraph @ Feb 1st 2008 12:08PM]

The problem i have with the kindle, and all eBook readers for that matter, is that they are one trick ponies. Sure, there are some hacks, and some limited functionality other than e-books, but i'd rather have a PDA with a solid eBook reader than an eBook reader.

When the Kindle 2.0 comes out with 16 colors, and some more PDA functions, I might bite, until them i'm firm on not buying in.

Also: i want color... i don't care how impressive the e-ink is, i want color...

[Andrew @ Feb 1st 2008 12:29PM]

PDAs don't have big enough screens for comfortable, long term, book reading so ebooks have a place (just not maybe at these prices!).

Does anyone know who's making these things for Amazon?

[dts @ Feb 1st 2008 12:17PM]

hey minus the fact they both have keyboards, they look nothing alike!

[John @ Feb 1st 2008 12:17PM]

aw, give em a break, this means they at least knew what they were getting into when they made this by keeping expectations low.

[Joe Maki @ Feb 1st 2008 12:21PM]

Under order, advertise how demand is exceeding supply, consumers jump on board, it must be great!

[yoshi @ Feb 1st 2008 12:20PM]

Several years back, there were big headlines that stated, "The number of women in Congress has TRIPLED this year!!!!!". What they didn't say was that last year there were only 2 and it tripled to a whopping 6.

So just what were their expectations? 100? And just how many did they sell?

[Vega @ Feb 1st 2008 12:21PM]

The main problem about ebook readers (in comparison with MP3 players) in general is they don't offer a big enough advantage over their biggest analog competitor (books). While a song usually only lasts about for hours you can ´fill a whole vacation with three paperbacks, so being able to access a large selection of books on the go is a feature most people have no use for.

[Vega @ Feb 1st 2008 12:22PM]

for hours = 4 minutes (Than god it's Friday...)

[nVidiot @ Feb 1st 2008 12:33PM]

I own a kindle. Use it all the time.

I don't understand people who compare them to PDA's. It's e-ink, it CANT display animations, etc. It's meant for reading, and it's FAR nicer than reading any PDA. It also has a battery that last some 30 hours.

So yes, it's a "one trick pony" (that also has a fairly highly functioning web browser).. but if you read a lot of books it's awesome.

[jbcaro @ Feb 1st 2008 12:49PM]

I would buy a Kindle in a minute if it had support from the textbook & journal publishers. I'd even pay the same price for an e-book version of the paper textbook/journal just for the convenience and reduced weight.

Come on Amazon. Let's get cracken with those publishers.

[BigD145 @ Feb 1st 2008 12:50PM]

I wish this book of Harry Potter would turn into a movie, but apparently it's a one trick pony.

[Steve @ Feb 1st 2008 1:02PM]

So far no one's mentioned Amazon's recent purchase of Audible.com, and how audio books fit into the grand scheme.

[kevjohn @ Feb 1st 2008 1:03PM]

Lesson for the day: always keep your expectations low! They're easier to 'outpace' that way.

[THJ @ Feb 1st 2008 1:04PM]

Vega nailed it, imo. I read about 3-4 books a month, I'm thinking one would need to read several books a week for the advantage that an e-book reader provides.

[Drew @ Feb 1st 2008 2:17PM]

Does anyone really buy this piece of junk? I mean $400 upfront. I would pay $79 or $99. Were they only expecting to sell 5 of them and that is why they are exceeding their expectations. And they are so fugly. Did anyone think of design when they decided to try and rip people off. Worse Amazon move ever.

[andy @ Feb 1st 2008 1:12PM]

Re: I would buy an eBook reader if...

Just face it, there is a market for these things. They serve their primary purpose very well. I'm sure there will be more functionality, eventually, but just pass on it if you're not interested; no need to criticize just because you don't read.

[icu @ Feb 1st 2008 1:25PM]

At age 26 I have zero problems reading a book on my pda with a QVGA resolution. In fact, I absolutely love it. If there was an e-book library I would probably never buy another leisure book.

Personally i think textbooks would be a huge hassle on the Kindle, and any device for that matter. There were many times in school that I wanted to quickly flip to a page, read it, and flip back, or bookmark 10 pages for reference, and while i'm sure similar functionality exists on the kindle it would break my flow of thought to make it happen. With a book you can flip to your desired page while still thinking about the problem, but with a kindle your thoughts would turn to which button to press or which bookmark number it is, etc...

On top of all that, how many people carry more than one leisure book with them at a time? Would you really want to read five books when on vacation? I prefer to do everything but read, except during downtime or relaxing on the beach, but i would limit that.

I got into e-books when I took the bus to work in downtown minneapolis. It was a great way to kill the 45-minute ride. I still don't mind a physical book, but if i can ebook it i'm happier, primarily because reading in bed couldn't be any easier and that's where i get most of my reading done. This is where the kindle fails miserably for me - how the heck did they miss the idea of simply sticking on an arm-based LED-light running on a AAA battery?

Maybe I'm an exception since I'm 26 and my eyesight isn't total garbage yet? If so then more power to the rest of the world and their kindles, i'm happy with my single, pocket-sized phone/organizer/gaming device/ebook reader/internet enabled phone.

FYI - i use easyreader for txt/html books, and chm ebook reader for CHM. PDF on windows mobile is garbage, so if the Kindle does this well then more power to it for this one feature.

[Sky @ Feb 18th 2008 4:41AM]

The number of times I have picked up a paper text book I read last year and thought 'ctr+F'...

[Lee Stanford @ Feb 1st 2008 1:31PM]

I've had a Kindle since the day after it was announced, and I love it. I haven't regretted the $400 for a single moment. The ubiquitous wireless is fantastic for me, I'm very much an instant gratification person. I've sat in parks, airports, restaurants, & trains using it. Nothing better than sitting in the airport, buying the morning newspaper, then reading it effortlessly on the plane. When I'm done, two clicks and I'm back to the novel I'm reading, two more clicks and I check out a sample chapter of another book I'm thinking of buying. One time the fellow next to me on the train was reading a book I thought looked interesting, so I went to the Kindle Store, downloaded a sample chapter, read it, liked it, bought the book. Easy as pie. Not to mention being able to purchase and download the NY Times or WSJ whenever I'm in the mood.

My only issues are that I wish it was prettier, and I'm not a huge fan of the DRM - I wish I could give books I've purchased to other Kindle users when I'm done, like a real book.

If you haven't used it, the Kindle seems like a bad idea, but try it out before you judge it, you may be surprised how cool it really is.

[John T @ Feb 1st 2008 4:22PM]

From the reviews I've read I'm pretty sure I want a Kindle but this whole first come first serve makes me nervous to throw down 400 dollars on something and not know the delivery time.

Has anyone heard or know of the typical time recently of recieving it after buying it?

[Dan Boden @ Feb 1st 2008 1:51PM]

Being the big gadget freak that I am, and someone that has read ebooks for a while on my PDA, I went ahead and shelled out $400 for one of these. Instantly had buyers remorse, but didn't cancel the order. Well, it finally showed up last Monday, and I have to say, it has far exceeded my expectations, and I don't regret at all what I payed for it now. It's small and light and fairly well designed, buying ebooks is ridiculously easy-- click store, click book, click buy (or send sample), and away you go. The book arrives within seconds. An audible subscriber? Well you can listen to your audio books on it too. It also will play .mp3s and can read unprotected books in the mobireader format. If you need to have docs that are in a pdf, txt, doc, or jpg format on it, just email it to your kindle account and amazon will convert them for ten cents. Or you can download mobipocket creator and convert them yourself.

But the "experimental" apps are where it really shines-- free (at the moment) go anywhere web access. "ask kindle nownow", in which you type in a question and you get three answers researched up by real live people and delivered automatically to your Kindle and email in about ten minutes.

Now there are a few annoyances-- the screen is a little dark and the web browser is pretty basic, but, all in all, every time I used it I end up thinking "what a cool gadget" and that its functionality is fantastic. I am very pleased with it and hope Amazon has great success with this.

[Dan Boden @ Feb 1st 2008 2:04PM]

Being the big gadget freak that I am, and someone that has read ebooks for a while on my PDA, I went ahead and shelled out $400 for one of these. Instantly had buyers remorse, but didn't cancel the order. Well, it finally showed up last Monday, and I have to say, it has far exceeded my expectations, and I don't regret at all what I payed for it now. It's small and light and fairly well designed, buying ebooks is ridiculously easy-- click store, click book, click buy (or send sample), and away you go. The book arrives within seconds. An audible subscriber? Well you can listen to your audio books on it too. It also will play .mp3s and can read unprotected books in the mobireader format. If you need to have docs that are in a pdf, txt, doc, or jpg format on it, just email it to your kindle account and amazon will convert them for ten cents. Or you can download mobipocket creator and convert them yourself.

But the "experimental" apps are where it really shines-- free (at the moment) go anywhere web access. "ask kindle nownow", in which you type in a question and you get three answers researched up by real live people and delivered automatically to your Kindle and email in about ten minutes.

Now there are a few annoyances-- the screen is a little dark and the web browser is pretty basic, but, all in all, every time I used it I end up thinking "what a cool gadget" and that its functionality is fantastic. I am very pleased with it and hope Amazon has great success with this.

[shaka999 @ Feb 1st 2008 2:16PM]

When my local library will check out a Kindle copy of a book I'll switch. Till then I'll stick with the low cost of borrowing paper books.

[Hannah @ Feb 1st 2008 3:46PM]

As someone who reads 3-4 books a week, I am very interested in the Kindle. I can't even begin to afford to buy it, though. Once it comes down in price a bit I will be really interested in it. And I have to differ to those who say it won't be good for textbooks. One of the main reasons textbooks are so expensive is because they must be constantly updated and new editions printed. If publishers could get the latest edition out there without having to reprint it - I imagine textbook prices might be able to drop a great deal, which would be a serious boon for poor college students everywhere.

And, shaka999, you're right...a library feature would be most excellent. My hometown library is allowing people to check out audio books online...why not e-books too?!

[Joe @ Feb 1st 2008 4:13PM]

Notice that Bezos doesn't tell us how many they've sold. That's because they have not sold many. My guess is they had low expectations to start, hence the low inventory and they've sold a few more due to the ridiculous hype and can say "due to demand".

I agree with others ... this device is a one trick pony and yet one more device to deal with.

[THJ @ Feb 1st 2008 5:04PM]

@ Lee Stanford - you make a great case for the Kindle, I'll have to take a closer look at it. Thanks!

[Charles @ Feb 1st 2008 5:07PM]

And Steve Jobs said people don't read anymore. Silly man, with his mock turtle-necks and skinny laptops.

[Gideon @ Feb 1st 2008 6:20PM]

Have a Kindle, and love it.

And I use it primarily for school. What text books I couldn't find on Amazon I scanned and it works just great.

And I can search, bookmark, annotate, and take notes on. Is it purely as convenient as a 'real book'? No. But I don't have to drag 10 books with me now, and I can read when I get a moment here and there because I always have my books with me.... I just have a new way of doing things, once I got used to it - it's much better now.

It may be a one trick pony, but it does it very well. And it doesn't way a ton like a tablet, and its screen is comfortable to read on unlike... well, everything else. Reading eInk is a real pleasure.

[Mateo2 @ Feb 1st 2008 7:05PM]

Some of you haters have no clue what you're talking about. Try purchasing a Kindle right now and see what happens. You won't get it for another month or a month and a half at best. And that's NOW, after the device has been out for a while and the christmas season is over with. The backorder has NOTHING to do with "low expectations", it's because the manufacturer of e-ink displays (the same that makes the display for Sony) cannot produce them fast enough. The device has been a major success all the way around.

[CaliforniaKid @ Feb 1st 2008 10:27PM]

Too expensive. PASS.

[dman @ Feb 2nd 2008 2:29PM]

There's a major problem with eBooks to me... I can't resell them. Some of us buy a book, read it, then want to get rid of it. If I have to spend $30 for the book, and I get a reduced price of $25 for the eBook, there is no savings. Why? If I read my $30 book in a week, I can quickly sell it for $20! eBooks don't work that way. I can't sell them, I can't donate them to my local library, I'm stuck with them. It's great for publishers (they sell more copies since a 'used eBook market' simply doesn't exist) but it's bad for consumers. I remember when I was in college, "new" my semesterly book total was $600, when I went on half.com and got it used, I paid around $150. Until eBooks can give me that savings, I'm not jumping in!

[Jerry C Zinser @ Feb 2nd 2008 2:44PM]

I was a skeptic who hates reading on a PC. But then is saw and held and read from a Kindle. So I have an order for 1 in the queue, and I expect to order a 2nd for spouse so we can both read the books without having to share devices.

But Amazon could learn a little about customer communications. They are unwilling to give a single estimate about when they will ship. They merely respond that they'll give an estimate sometime. I've tried to get them to say how long it will be before they can actually estimate shipping date, but without success.

[Jer @ Feb 3rd 2008 3:31AM]

Come ON! With all of the Engadget Papparazzi, you can not tell us how many kindles have sold? Even a factor? 10, 100, 1000, 10000, 100000? Some spy network, bleh.

[hg @ Feb 8th 2008 6:55PM]

Sales numbers are probably in the range of 5000-10000 units per month. The author of "How to Use the Amazon Kindle for Email & Other Cool Tricks" says that he's selling on average 125 copies of his article per day to Kindle owners - I'm guessing 50% market penetration, which would represent 7500 Kindles per month.

Repeat buyers will eventually be a factor, since you can share each download with up to 6 devices. I'm in that category, with a 2nd Kindle arriving next week (my son's birthday).

[Kangaroo Man @ Mar 5th 2008 12:00AM]

For those of you that can't get them, you may want to look at http://www.Kindle.MegaFreebie.com because I earned mine a week ago (for about $20) and they told me they are receiving a huge shipment this week to ship out and they will definitely have extras they said because a friend of mine wants to get one too so I asked. It's pretty easy to do and really cheap for those of you that really want one but don't wanna fork over $400. good luck