Kindle 2.0 Coming Around October 2008
An insider let slip that two new Amazon Kindle models will hit stores this holiday season, with the first coming as early as October. — The first is an updated version with the same sized screen, a smaller form factor, and an improved interface.
Context & Ripple Effects
Amazon launched the Kindle in November 2007, and reported sales have exceeded its initial estimates. At the same time, Amazon's rising consumer-book share has increased its leverage over publishers, including pressure on smaller publishers that resist its terms.
The reported holiday-device refresh is unconfirmed, but a smaller Kindle with an improved interface would extend Amazon's effort to make its ebook storefront the primary route between readers and publishers.
First-order effects
- Amazon would have a refreshed Kindle lineup for the 2008 holiday season, while existing and prospective Kindle buyers would face a more portable device and revised interface.
- Publishers would gain another reason to prioritize Kindle availability as Amazon's device sales and consumer-book reach reinforce one another.
Second-order effects
- Amazon's greater device presence would strengthen its negotiating position with smaller publishers, whose access to readers depends increasingly on Amazon's storefront.
- Other ebook-reader vendors would need to compete not only on hardware size and usability but also against Amazon's integrated retail channel.
Third-order effects
- If Amazon keeps pairing dedicated-reader updates with storefront control, digital-book distribution may concentrate around platforms that own both the reading device and the customer relationship.
- The Kindle points to a broader shift from selling standalone electronics toward using hardware to lock in recurring digital-content purchases.
The trend: Dedicated reading hardware is becoming a distribution lever for digital-content platforms, tying device design to control of the book marketplace.