In a statement late last week, Amazon heralds the coming death of paper books. Can’t you hear it? Ever since e-book readers came on the market few years ago, e-books have slowly risen to over take paper books as the number one go to for books now a days.

Here are some bullet points from Amazon.com in regards to their news:

  • Since April 1, for every 100 print books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 105 Kindle books. This includes sales of hardcover and paperback books by Amazon where there is no Kindle edition. Free Kindle books are excluded and if included would make the number even higher.
  • So far in 2011, the tremendous growth of Kindle book sales, combined with the continued growth in Amazon’s print book sales, [has] resulted in the fastest year-over-year growth rate for Amazon’s U.S. books business, in both units and dollars, in over 10 years. This includes books in all formats, print and digital. Free books are excluded in the calculation of growth rates.
  • In the five weeks since its introduction, Kindle with Special Offers for only $114 is already the bestselling member of the Kindle family in the U.S.
  • Amazon sold more than 3x as many Kindle books so far in 2011 as it did during the same period in 2010
  • Less than one year after introducing the UK Kindle Store, Amazon.co.uk is now selling more Kindle books than hardcover books, even as hardcover sales continue to grow. Since April 1, Amazon.co.uk customers are purchasing Kindle books over hardcover books at a rate of more than 2 to 1.

What does this news eventually mean?  Paper books are becoming relics of a by-gone era and soon to be museum show-pieces to show our descendents how we read books. E-books are cheaper to create as well as buy, and you can receive them instantly once paid for which only makes sense as to its growing popularity. And that is why the future is upon us. Go forth and read.

About The Author

Acquanetta Ferguson is a freelance writer. This is the future, and she feels that the time is now to give reviews on the gadgets and tech toys before you spend your hard-earned money. When not going ga-ga over tech, she writes about her favorite sci-fi shows with complete abandoned. You can follow her at twitter @nettagyrl.

2 Responses

  1. Patrick

    What an enjoyable and informative read. I think the kindle will overtake printed books in popularity, becauase it satisfies the need for instant gratification. However I do not think that it will replace print media completely, especially when it comes to art related books. ebooks, Kindle, Amazon Kindle, ebook reader,

    Reply
    • Acquanetta Ferguson

      Hi! I don’t know…They way technology is moving, with all the tablets why couldn’t an art related books be in this format? though it has not come out yet (and may never?) those table top touch screen computers could actually be the perfect premise for art books.

      Reply

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