Its nearly a year since the Kindle Reader was unleashed on the world … and nearly a year (- 4.5 hrs) since it first went out of stock. So it is rather ironic that 1 year later we are again faced with severe kindle shortages. I had a kindle time-line/history post up on another site (which i doubt anyone ever reads) – I’m updating it, and sharing it with you. These are the big things that have happened with the Kindle during its first year -
- Sept 11th, 2006 – Kindle write-up in Engadget.
- Apr 20th, 2007 – Gizmodo talks about the Kindle. Gives details on price, wireless support.
- Nov 19th, 2007 – Kindle released – sells out in 4.5 hrs. Accompanied by huge buzz, and media coverage that has never been replicated (the Oprah effect was the closest we’ve come to that sort of buzz).
- Apr 21st, 2008 – After a long stretch of 4-5 week delays, the Amazon Kindle is finally back in stock.
- Early May 2008 – Mark Mahaney predicts 750 million in Kindle sales by end 2010, and estimates current Kindle sales at 10,000 – 30,000 units. Also puts down a 198,000 figure for end of 2008 total Kindle sales since launch.
- Mid May 2008 – Rumors of a UK launch for Christmas 2008 start swirling. As do rumors of a Kindle 2.0 being released in 2008, probably in time for Christmas Shopping Season.
- May 27th, 2008 – Amazon cuts Kindle price to $359. This causes a significant increase in interest.
- May 28th, 2008 – Penguin CEO sees growth in ebook sales – the first four months of 2008 surpass the total e-book sales for 2007. He attributes it mostly to growth of eBook Readers.
- May 29th, 2008 – At D: All Things Digital Conference Jeff Bezos hints at Amazon’s long term commitment to the Kindle. ” There will be a second version, a third version, a 10th version and so on”.
- Aug 1st, 2008 – TechCrunch claim inside information putting Kindle sales at 240,000.
- Aug 11th, 2008 – Mark Mahaney revises his Kindle forecast, and predicts 380,000 Kindles sold by end 2008.
- Aug 11th, 2008 – Fueled in part by Mark Mahaney’s revised predictions Amazon stock gains 9.41% on 3 times normal volume.
- August 24th – Amazon acquires book network Shelfari to go with its Abebooks acquisition earlier in the month (which got it a 40% stake in LibraryThing).
- Sept 8th – Verizon uses a Kindle in their Cable Ad.
- Oct 3rd – Kindle 2.0 leaked screenshots available at Boy Genius Report. No confirmation from Amazon.
- Early Oct – Sony releases the Sony Reader PRS-700 – touch screen, frontlight.
- Oct 14th – Harvard Medical School implements Kindle support for all their 20,000 educational resources at HMS.
- Oct 15th – Amazon Kindle wins Popular Mechanics’ Breakthrough Award for 2008.
- Oct 22nd – Amazon profits up 48% – stock still takes a 13% dive because Amazon cuts future outlook due to global economic crisis.
- Oct 23rd – Rumors start swirling about Kindle being Oprah’s favorite gadget.
- Oct 24th – Oprah recommends the Kindle heartily and throws in a $50 off coupon – interest and sales skyrocket.
- Mid to End Oct – People who don’t understand what Stanza (for the iPhone) is and what it does start touting it as a Kindle killer. People hear about this and the ones desperate for news stories to break start flogging the 300K Stanza downloads figure.
- Nov 1st evening – Amazon Kindle goes out of stock. Amazon says – Ships in 2-3 weeks.
Which brings us to today – November 17th, 2008. Just after midnight.
- The Kindle’s out of stock. 2-3 week shipping delays. What a way to celebrate a 1 year anniversary – disappear.
- No ETA on Kindle 2.0, except for some leaked horrendous looking photos. One minute, people can’t wait to see the photos, and next minute they’re hoping the photos are forged.
- Kindle still unavailable outside of US – that still not holding back crazy people from still buying it (me included). List includes Canada, UK, Mexico, Argentina.
An eventful year, that’s passed by quickly. It’s been a good one for the Kindle. Which leaves me wondering if I missed some big things? What for You are the biggest Kindle moments – How do you think Amazon and the Kindle have done in its first year of existence?
Filed under: kindle, thoughts Tagged: | kindle events, kindle history
I’m one of the ones
who bought a Kindle
in the first 4.5 hours
It fit my nomad style
I now have three other partners
sharing books on one account
and after nearly a year
you still will have to fight me
to borrow my Kindle
It takes me everywhere
and I try to keep it filled
with TBR
:>)
E-reading can be handled by the kindle and other devices, but what about the future of “p-reading” (p = physical)? We’ve still got plenty of people looking to read paperbacks and hardcovers because they either can’t afford an e-device or love the feel of a book. These books are getting increasingly expensive (average NY Times Bestseller is $22, all the way up to $39 per book) so people have begun to look for other book distribution alternatives to lower their costs.
This is where netflix-like book rental companies, such as Bookswim, enter — http://www.bookswim.com. No due dates, no late fees, and free shipping both ways is a good alternative to expensive book purchasing, and a good transition before ebooks really start to fly.
I’m looking forward to the redesign of the Kindle. Let’s see how this increases the spread of ebooks.
-George Burke
Founder, BookSwim.com
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