Since the release of various e-readers the sale of paperback books has been at an all time low.
The convergence of books and portable electronic devices has taken the book industry to a whole new level. With affordable prices on books, lightweight portability and ability to purchase a book right on the spot, it is no wonder why sales of e-books has surpassed paperback sales.
The Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader and Kobo eReader are among some of the top selling e-reader devices today. All of these devices have great advantages, which have caused a great competition among each other. But what makes The Amazon Kindle come out on top?
This past week Amazon reported that Kindle books are now outselling paperbacks on Amazon. The Kindle bookstore has 810,000 books available compared to Apple’s iBook Store that only has 150,000 books available.
On The Kindle, new releases usually start around $9.99 and there are thousands of books available for free. Amazon is providing a mega bookstore wherever you go and more affordable prices on books, it isn’t a wonder why readers are turning to The Kindle.
The Kindle seems like a perfect solution for college students to save on the expensive prices of textbooks. This device only weighing a light 8.5 ounces weighs less that a standard paperback, and weighs less than a back pack full of heavy textbooks.
Looking around in most of my classes I’m shocked to see that not many students are turning to devices like The Kindle to save on the price of textbooks.
“Even though prices for e-books are visibly smaller, the difference isn’t enough to make up the feeling for reading a real book. I also prefer to highlight and make notes in my textbooks which I can’t do on The Kindle,” said junior Scott Dubowsky.
It is understandable to see students and other readers set on their traditional ways of purchasing a book. Sitting down and reading a good book is a timeless tradition that I can’t see completely dying out, but sales will be significantly affected, which we have seen already the beginning stages of.
The Kindle and other e-bookstores have forever changed the way the book market operates. Publishers will have to change their publicity tactics if we are converting to all digital.
The advantages of more affordable books on The Kindle will certainly outweigh the disadvantages of the lack of paperback books.