Amazon has finally given us as close to some solid numbers as we’re going to get on Kindle sales, and it’s not really that close at all. Amazon has been either vague or reluctant to disclose actual Kindle sales numbers in the past, only asserting us that it was either doing well or had beaten numbers from the prior year or quarter. This time, it threw out the term “millions” for the Kindle units it had sold in the first 73 days of the holiday quarter.
If the number really is in the millions, then it’s some impressive growth compared to the total Kindles sold in 2009, which was estimated to be around 3.3 million units. It’s really tough to ever get a close enough estimate, however, as Amazon usually throws out statements like selling “three times as many Kindle books in the first half of 2010 than the first half of 2009.” At this point, it’s really difficult to say whether we’ll ever get solid Kindle figures from Amazon.
And to keep the same theme going, Amazon is saying something similar of the Kindle for the holiday quarter–it has sold more this quarter so far than all of 2009. Impressive, and I’m sure the attractive pricing and larger selection of titles has much to do with that. The improvement in the design and 3G and Wi-Fi options are good, too. Though I do wonder a little whether the color NOOK from Barnes & Noble might be stealing some of those sales – even if they are nearly or over $100 more.
Given the range of price points in the mid-$100 range, will you be picking one up for yourself or as a stocking stuffer this year? Although the Amazon Kindle app is available on a number of our smartphones and tablets, many still do prefer reading e-Ink versus the glowing screens on our every day gadgets.
[Via: eMoney]
