Sal Cangeloso has written an excellent review of the Amazon Kindle at Geek.com. It was accompanied by the photo which I have included here to show how the size of the Kindle compared to a book. The Kindle is not currently available in Australia and Amazon appears to be in no hurry to release it here. It’s lack of availability is another reason Australia is behind the United States when it comes to print book sales compared to digital book sales – or in front depending on your perspective.
The Kindle is used to read books, magazines and newspapers. It collects content through a wireless network connection – anywhere in the United States.
When the Kindle and similar devices are released here, disruption to print media will gain pace. The Kindle rests the distribution channel for publishers. This is why newsagents need to be aware of it and other disruptive technologies. From my first post about the Kindle in November 2007, I have considered this to represent a serious challenge to our model. Australian newsagents were created, after all, solely for the purpose of distributing print media products.