Simon & Schuster and Amazon strike a deal; Amazon Kindle receives 5,000 new titles
By Opal Tribble
When the Amazon Kindle was released in November 2007 it sold out in less than six hours. Although it hasn’t been on the scene long it already boasts a staggering amount of titles, over 120,000 at last count.
Thanks to a deal with publisher Simon & Schuster Amazon Kindle users will now have 5,000 additional titles to add to its rapidly growing list.
“Kindle is re-igniting a love of reading — after purchasing a Kindle, customers purchase, on average, just as many physical books, and their total book purchases on Amazon increase by 2.6x,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO.
“This commitment from Simon & Schuster moves us closer to our vision for Kindle, which is to make any book, ever printed, in any language available in less than 60 seconds.”
You can use the Amazon Kindle with subscription services like the newspapers or magazines. The amount you pay can range from $1.25 for a magazine or up to $14.99 for a newspaper subscription.
Since its release the Kindle has received a lot of attention. In fact, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, has commented about this device. When speaking with New York Times John Markoff Steve had this to say:
“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”
Ok, it’s obvious that Steve doesn’t want people buying the Kindle. Where did he get his statistics? As I mentioned earlier the Kindle sold out in less than six hours upon release and it remained out of stock until April 2008.
For those who aren’t familiar with this device the Kindle is a portable electronic book reader that enables the user to wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs. The Kindle runs on a modified version of Linux based on the 2.6.10 kernel.
I don’t own a Kindle however, a few months ago I had the opportunity to review the portable device. I think the Kindle is ugly, and really dislike color. It’s white. I like the fact that it’s small, it weighs ten ounces, and more important it does what it’s supposed to do. In using the device I noted that downloads are fast, full length books rarely exceed a minute, and the great thing is you don’t need a computer to use it. The Kindle takes care of what’s needed through its own wireless connection.
The Amazon Kindle can store about 200 (text only) books in its memory. You have your own library in the palm of your hand. Excellent for a book lover like myself who has a room devoted to my book collection. I still prefer holding an actual book; however, I would use something like this device when I’m traveling.
One of the benefits for owning a portable device like the Kindle is when a book sells out you can still download a digital copy. Amazon does not sell the Kindle outside the United States. You can purchase the Amazon Kindle by logging onto Amazon.
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