The Success Of Amazon’s Kindle Is Due To A Wide Variety Factors

Amazon has had a great deal of success with its Kindle e-book reader family. It’s the number one selling product on Amazon’s website right now. Amazon has a 60% share of the U.S. e-book reader market and both the Kindle 2.0 and its larger sibling the DX are now on sale to customers in more than 100 countries worldwide – extending Amazon’s reach and growing their customer base enormously.

At the moment, Amazon’s main competition is Sony – trailing in second place but with a very respectable35% share of the American e-book reader market. However, there are a host of other companies who have witnessed the rapid development of the e-book reader market and now want a piece of the action. This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) had a separate section for e-book readers for the first time ever. Over two dozen companies – some of them household names, others less well known – had e-book readers on display. This is a clear indication of the business community’s faith in this market segment.

However, what many of these e-book reader wannabes may be overlooking is the fact that the reader’s technical features, as important as they are, are only one part of the equation. The success of Amazon’s Kindle reader to date has been the product of diverse factors over and above its proven technical features. Amazon occupies an almost unique position which affords it significant competitive advantages when it comes to marketing both e-book readers and the e-books to use on them.

It is, after all, the largest book seller in the world – bar none. In the eyes of the buying public, it therefore enjoys a very strong association with books. It also has a strong association with consumer electronic devices – admittedly in the capacity of a merchant – but the association is there. In any event, the Kindle has now established Amazon’s credentials as a manufacturer (albeit the actual manufacture is subcontracted) in a big way.

So, in reality, any who think they can mount a serious challenge to Amazon just by launching a reader which has a few more bells and whistles, or is somehow “cooler”, are probably going to get an unpleasant surprise when the sales returns start rolling in. It probably needs another instantly recognisable household name who is both trusted and respected to make any significant impact on the market right now. The likes of Microsoft or Apple would be prime contenders – and they both have their own readers, or devices which could be used to read e-books at least, under development.With their already established association with e-books – and their already respectable market share – it would also be unwise to discount Sony. Barnes and Noble? Maybe.

One thing’s certain, no small electronics manufacturer is about to mount a serious challenge to Amazon’s current market domination. Partnerships, such as Plastic Logic’s agreement with Barnes and Noble, who will provide the books for the Que reader, might throw up a few surprises. However, unless there is a truly unforeseen development in the offing, it seems as if the Kindle reader really is set to become the iPod of books.

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