Given
DigiTimes'
spotty record when it comes to pushing rumors you might be inclined to read "Digitimes Research" as a kind of oxymoron. Unfortunately, as long as Amazon
refuses to publish specifics with regard to units sold, these analyst estimates are as good as it gets. What's interesting is that
DigiTimes' checks at upstream suppliers reveal that Barnes & Noble's Nook accounted for 53 percent of all e-book readers shipped to US vendors in March. Interesting since Kindle is Amazon's bestselling product and an increasing share of the company's revenue is based on sales of electronics and general merchandise. Still, it's our guess that Amazon doesn't care too much about selling its own hardware (it's in the business of selling other people's content and goods). Besides, the Kindle app is already available on a wide range of devices including Apple's iPad and a wide variety of smartphones. One place you can't install it, however, is on the
steadily improving Nook.
posted April 26th 2010 8:15AM
Amazon: "lol!...You wish"
@StewieGriffin
Never really cared about the kindle device itself. But love the fact that there are kindle apps for almost every device that lets me read my books I buy from the kindle store anywhere and not tie me down to one device! Whispersync rocks!
I understand e-ink being easier on the eyes, and an overall better(depending on how you want to look at it) reading experience. But I have no clue why anyone would buy either of these now that the iPad exists.
@XChrisX
Price, little glare if you read outside and easier on the eyes if LCD screens bother your eyes.
@XChrisX
Adding the to your list price, you just named off some of the other reasons. For a lot of people that's enough. I have a kindle, and have zero interest in getting an Ipad at the moment.
@XChrisX I totally agree with the above comments. I've been reading ebooks on various devices for the past 10 years and the Kindle with its e-ink display is the best yet. Being able to read it on a bright summers day just makes such a change when it comes to reading an ebook outdoors.
@XChrisX While I agree on those points, I just can't see see buying a device like a dedicated ereader, when an iPad seems better equipped. Not trying to sound like a troll, but with a color display, web browsing, tons of apps, music player, movies, etc...it seems like a better option. However to each his own. However on the subject of nook vs. kindle, the nook would be my choice as it it more aesthetically pleasing. /rant
@XChrisX - I think this plays a big part for me:
What do you prefer?
-1 Device that does everything okay to well?
-Multiple devices that do limited things but are effectively the best at what they do?
I am most definitely in the second group. I use a ZuneHD because I consider it the best PMP ever made and I use a nook because its the best "e-reading" experience I have found. And yes I have tried the iPad iBooks app for reference.
I don't think I am any way in the majority, but I am pretty sure thats the best rationalization I can give to why I knowingly bought the nook over the ipad.
PS. Thanks for the opportunity to discuss the iPad vs e-ink without flamewars! haha ;P
@XChrisX : Why not get a better slate than the ipad? Why limit yourself to a pretty crappy product. There are tons of better slates out there.
@XChrisX
Ever hear of the saying "jack of all trades, master of nothing?"
Ipad.
@rutter9 Unless you're a Master Jack of All Trades.
@monkeycrackers
don't bring Chuck Norris into this.
@Argot Could you maybe just once think about not acting like a Troll? Maybe you could actually comment on the actual story and the devices in question. Did the Nook really outsell the Kindle? Does Amazon care as long as they sell lots of eBooks? You know, something like that...
ebay is a useful way of surveying demand, and prices seem quite robust which suggests there's a fair amount of demand.
I've found looking at ebay for number of devices which are sold as new along with closing prices gives an insight into whether a device is actually any good - if device is disappointing then owners don't hang on to them for long.
Without actual Kindle sales figures..(what the hell, AMZN).. this is a very Fox News-esque Headline...........?
:P
@Wesscoast
Where are the sources, and what are the hard numbers in the report?
It could very well be that more nooks may have been produced in march to be put up for sale in the best buy, and not necessarily sold.
Without this information, this report means absolutely nothing.
Darn DRM, I bought the Kindle first so I'm locked in to the Kindle eco-system - i have almost 65 books now. I'm just glad Amazon doesn't lock you into the Kindle Device.
I would guess this has more to do with stocking the nook at bestbuy than actual sales but I am usually wrong.
@dark Yes, I was just about to post this
@dark
You mean that people aren't willing to buy a $300 device, sight unseen from an online retailer when a viable competitor exists in a retail outlet form and will allow for instant gratification?! Heresey!
It will be interesting once Target starts stocking the Kindle. I have been trying to convince my dad that a Kindle would benefit his travel heavy lifestyle but it's hard to explain e-ink to someone who hasn't seen it.
@iclkennyg so take him into a barnes and nobel. Then he'll get the concept and then explain the differences. I have a nook and I like it. If cnet is to be believed they are both great devices.
I would think quite a lot of people wanting an e-reader are waiting to see the kindle 3.
The Nook is Kindle 2.0. Just look at both devices. The Kindle looks like something from the 90's....where the Nook looks more modern and much more stylish.
You've got to give credit where credit is due, Barnes & Noble smashed it out of the park. This is an elegant device.
I find these sales figures extremely doubtful.
1. When the Kindle looks as good as the Nook, I'm in for the few times I want to read in bright sunshine. Otherwise the iPad is a far superior reading experience for indoor reading. Not everyone lives at the beach. Especially in Wisconsin!
2. When the light is sub-optimal: iPad
3. When I'm waiting for my wife at the mall: iPhone
Beauty of the system is that my Kindle library works everywhere.
Where the iPad and iPhone kill everything is the use of Instapaper. Any article I want to read from a browser is so much easier to read when sent to Instapaper. And then it's available for off-line reading.
I got the opportunity to play with a Nook this weekend at my local B&N. I was not impressed. The text looks sharp and the unit is sexy, but navigation was slow (both page turning and searching). And I did not like using the small touchscreen area. I own a first generation Kindle and thought it was much more responsive than the Nook. I think each of the major players (Amazon, Sony, Nook) have some solid advantages over each other, like a large catalog, library access or free in-store reading. But my hands-on with the Nook left my unimpressed. When I upgrade my e-reader it looks like it'll be between the Sony and the Kindle.
@riliff The wife got a Nook right after it was released. I wasn't sure about it when she first got it but it's gotten better/faster with every update. I'm not sure if the in store unit you played with wasn't updated yet or if it was just slow because it was the tester (I've experienced this with in-store phones too). Page turning seems fast to me at home.
look, nook looks much nicer.
People see the color touchscreen on the bottom of the nook and automatically think it's a better device. In actual use, the touchscreen lags and is tied to the e-ink screen in frustrating ways. The Kindle's dedicated keyboard ends up being faster and more useful. The nook looks nice, but it's thicker, heavier, and slower than the Kindle. B&N had a nice idea, but executed it poorly. Even though they are improving the device with updates it still has a long way to go, regardless of extrapolated sales figures.
@Unimpressed Haven't used it since the few firmware updates have you?
@DougB541
I saw a demo of the new firmware. Things are better than they used to be but they are still not where they should be. Kindle page turns are still faster and the Kindle 2 came out a year ago. Kindle has also had 3G web browsing for years whereas the nook has only just added it with this update, and only via WiFi. So yeah, Kindle still beats the nook.
@iclkennyg
I think what he means is that these numbers are reflective of how many BB has purchased, not how many have been sold to the general public. When we see what they are ordering in the next few months/weeks then we'll have a better idea of how they are selling to the general public.
Totally disagree with the Author's statement:
"Still, it's our guess that Amazon doesn't care too much about selling its own hardware (it's in the business of selling other people's content and goods)."
In fact it is the opposite, Amazon cares about Kindle sales and not as much for ebook sales. That's why they were selling ebooks at a loss. But don't take it from me, here is the new yorker:
"Amazon had been buying many e-books from publishers for about thirteen dollars and selling them for $9.99, taking a loss on each book in order to gain market share and encourage sales of its electronic reading device, the Kindle."
So yeah, if this is true, and it probably is...it is big deal. Oh and BB only started selling the Nook a week or two ago...so they wouldn't have had the Nooks laying around since March.
For people trying to decide whether to get a iPad, a Kindle, a nook/sony eReader, here is a simple list to follow: 1) Don't buy an eReader expecting it to be a computer. Its not. Buy a laptop/netbook. 2) Get and iPad if you like the form factor but still need web, games, books, and have the money for it. 3) Get a Kindle if you have money to buy a library and own multiple devices that you want to read your books on. Whispersync is great for keeping your furtherest read point. 4) Get the nook/sony if you want a great selection of books, including the ability to get free library books through www.overdrive.com.
For you people that complain about the nook interface being slow: Its to read books with, not compute the trillionth digit of pi. Get over it. For you people that complain about the user interface: Its simple and actually makes perfect sense once you take your ADHD meds to slow yourself down and come to the realization that its a eReader, not a multitasking, supercomputer designed to cure cancer while texting your BFF.
Please,please,please, do a follow up on this at the end of April.
I have a Nook and I absolutely love it. There is certainly room for improvement when it comes to e-readers, and I'm confident that will come with future models moving forward. I'm just really happy to see Best Buy and Target embrace these devices. It shows me there is a real market for them and e-readers will only become bigger and better as we move forward.
"Global e-book reader shipments totaled 1.43 million units in the first quarter of 2010."
and:
"Digitimes Research senior analyst Mingchi Kuo cited figures from upstream suppliers as indicating that the nook accounted for 53% of e-book readers shipped to US vendors last month."
Unfortunately one of these quotes worldwide numbers and the other only US, and one is for a quarter and one for only a single month.
Plus of course the B&N Nook numbers might just be high for a single month because of stocking orders, and doesn't imply sell-through, so you'd actually have to follow the trend for a while for it to be convincing.
Too bad, would be interesting to compare these numbers to the so-far US only iPad numbers. If we assumed that something like 40% (a number I pulled out of my a**, anybody got a better number) of the eBook orders were from the US, then that 1.43M number would be 572,000.
I had the opportunity to try a Nook for a few minutes at Best Buy and was impressed. Compared to my Kindle 2, it has a much nicer e-ink screen. I didn't like the touch screen as much as I thought I would, but I've been spoiled by the iPhone, I think. The Nook's touchscreen felt slow and I found navigation kind of confusing compared to the Kindle. However I really liked the overall ergonomics compared to the Kindle. The back is rubberized, and has bulges down the sides that fit nicely in your hand. I would have no trouble using a Nook without a case, whereas the Kindle is almost too thin and hard to hold with my fingers positioned over the page keys, so I have to use the Amazon case most of the time.