The latest version of the Amazon Kindle reader, announced a few days ago, has capacity for 1,500 books – a home library full. People are buying the Kindle – more than 300,000 sold in the US last year – for more than reading books. The Kindle provides access to newspaper subscriptions, magazines and more than 1,200 blogs. This new version also has an “experimental” read-to-me fundtion. The Kindle s currently not available for use in Australia.
The Kindle, and other devices like it, eliminates the traditional supply chain. The distance between author is shorter and this is what makes the costs of the books less. Take Breaking Dawn, book 4 in the Twilight series -hardcover is US$15.63 and the Kindle edition is US$11.68.
These devices will ultimately arrive here in mass numbers and those of us retailing print product – books, magazines and newspapers – need to have a plan.