http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 9:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 11:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/I don't get why this is getting voted down, it makes quite a bit of sense. Kindle is exclusively sold on Amazon, so any sale will go through them. On ANYTHING else in the store, such as the Zunes or iPods, there are a multitude of places to purchase them. This leaves people shopping around as opposed to channeling all of their sales into one place, making Amazons success look to be more than it actually is.]]>Nov 30th 2009 12:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
For that idea to make logical sense there would need to be a reason why shoppers would suddenly turn away from Amazon in droves in every area except the Kindle. No, when you think about it, it really doesn't make a lot of sense.]]>Nov 30th 2009 1:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 2:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Dec 1st 2009 1:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
I'm not saying that they turned away, I am simply stating that all buyers are using Amazon for the Kindle, while only a percentage of buyers are using it for other products.

For example: Sally sells bananas and oranges, while Jill, Steve, Paul and Jenny sell just oranges. Sally sells 14 bananas and 6 oranges, while all of the rest sell 6 oranges each. Though one could look at the data and say that Sally selling 14 bananas and only 6 oranges shows that banana's are superior, in all actuality, there were 30 oranges sold and only 14 bananas sold. The only reason it appeared that way to Sally is because she's the only one selling bananas, where everyone is selling oranges. ]]>Dec 18th 2009 6:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Dec 20th 2009 1:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 9:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 9:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
Now, we're still only talking maybe 2.7M Kindles sold in 2010. Apple for example sold some 50 Million iPods last year. So we're not talking crazy saturation level numbers at this point. Still, they're making serious bank on the thing. Probably unlikely sales will tail off any time soon either, even given the coming competition, given how early we are in the curve still.]]>Dec 1st 2009 1:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 10:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 8:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Dec 1st 2009 1:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 10:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 10:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
On the topic of e-books, does anyone know a Zune Pass-esque subscription service for books? If not, why isn't there one? ]]>Nov 30th 2009 10:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
There's no all-you-can-eat service for renting books yet, but if you have an e-reader capable of reading ePub format (which I think is pretty much everything but the Kindle) then chances are good that your local library's website offers free 14 day ebook rentals for no charge at all.]]>Nov 30th 2009 10:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
I have a LOT of pdf e-books on my comptuer that I'd like to read on an easier screen than an LCD. I would love to get one, but I just don't have that cash now. Don't assume that everyone reading on e-readers are all using pay-for content... or even if they are, that they paid for it (!)]]>Nov 30th 2009 11:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
Some libraries offer an e-book lending program. Check with yours to see if they've joined the 21st century, and if they haven't then suggest it.

]]>Nov 30th 2009 3:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Dec 1st 2009 2:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 10:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 10:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 10:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 11:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 10:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 10:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 10:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 10:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 10:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
That is the point - it does not have anything to do with Apple.

We know how Apple fanboys live and die by Amazon rankings, so they must be quite upset right now.]]>Nov 30th 2009 12:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/No, that's not the point. Not only is this story not about apple, there are no comments about apple at all except for yours. You're the only fanboy in the comments.]]>Nov 30th 2009 12:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
OK, OK, sorry. Trying to make a little joke about the rabid Apple fanboys around here, but apparently it did not go over so well.]]>Nov 30th 2009 1:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
]]>Nov 30th 2009 10:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 11:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Dec 1st 2009 2:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
maybe it's just one guy..]]>Nov 30th 2009 11:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 11:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/I commute with tons of people on the transit everyday (in Toronto), and I've only ever seen 2 people in my lifetime with e-readers.. and they were both Sony.

this is a lie I tell you!

]]>Nov 30th 2009 11:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 11:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 11:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 11:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 11:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
And I have no temptation to respond to your post.]]>Nov 30th 2009 3:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 11:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 11:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 12:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
It is open. It can't get much more open.

What's not open are the Amazon books for Kindle; No, you can't use those on another device, but the Kindle can read ebooks from other sources; You're not locked into Amazon editions.

Furthermore, if you buy an Amazon edition, you have every right to keep it on your computer hard drive, CD, DVD, or wherever you want. You can read it on your computer, on your iPod/iPhone, or soon on other devices. You have complete control over the books you buy, and even if they do have a goof like with the 1984 debacle, you can still re-sync your copy of the book from your storage media and continue to read it (a fact Engadget continually ignores in their reporting of that story).

You can read books in most of the standard formats, so if you want to get books in Mobi format from other places that don't use DRM, and read them on your Kindle, you may. Nothing is stopping you. I have hundred of books from various online sources on my Kindle.

So what "open" features are you looking for? If it's the ability to read your Amazon Kindle edition books on a Sony reader or Nook, don't hold your breath... But then don't expect ebooks purchased from Sony, B&N, or Borders to work on other devices, either. They're just as protected-- and ALWAYS WILL BE-- because publishers won't just throw books out there without some form of DRM.

However, if you want open-source books, public domain books, or other books in standard formats, the Kindle handles them brilliantly (with the exception of PDF, which is often very small on the Kindle screen... Just convert it to Mobi with Calbre for free).

Honestly, there's not much more "openness" available to a device that does this. Most of the restrictions are in the ebooks themselves, not the devices, and these restrictions are in place because publishers-- Not Amazon (or any other reseller)-- put them there.

Considering this, Amazon is pretty generous with the number of ways you can read your Kindle editions, and they give you every possible way to download them, back them up, and keep them just as you would any paper book.

The only thing on the market that's more "open" is a real paper book, and good luck lugging a few dozen of those with you on vacation, or wherever you may need more than one book.

To each their own, but don't base your opinions on the FUD here at Engadget. They tend to skip the details to make the story sound more dire and potentially dystopian, when really, the Kindle is no more restricted than an iPod, Zune, PSP, Xbox 360, PS3, Sony e-Reader, Nook, or any other major media product on the market.
When you buy the DRM'd media, then yes-- You have restrictions. Don't use the DRM'd media, and they're all as open as you'd like.]]>Nov 30th 2009 3:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/
ePub together with Adobe DRM is about the closest thing we've got to a "universal" DRM'ed format right now. Sony's ereaders support it for example, as do Mentor, Be-Book, COOL-ER, Elonex, iRex. Not sure about the Nook. If we had a single format for buying DRM'ed books you could go to either B&N or Amazon for a given book based on price, and move your library from device to device, etc.

Hopefully all the non-Amazon devices will support this and the competition will force Amazon to support it too, even if they continue to sell books themselves in Kindle only format... Competition should be helpful here.]]>Dec 1st 2009 2:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/30/kindle-is-the-biggest-selling-item-on-amazon-bests-sliced-bread/Nov 30th 2009 12:53PM