Apple iPad Launch Results In Lower E-Book Reader Prices

Amazon, using their Kindle reader family as a vehicle, has been a major player in the development of both the e-book reader and e-book market. The first Kindle was released in November of 2007. In February of 2009, the updated and enhanced Kindle 2.0 hit the market, quickly followed by the large format Kindle DX in the summer of the same year.

With a 60% share of the American e-book reader market, the Kindle was the clear leader. The Sony reader, which was actually launched in 2006, before the Kindle, followed in second place with a share of around 35%. Other companies saw the potential of the e-book reader market and launched or updated their own readers to get a slice of the pie.

Companies such as Barnes and Noble, Sony, iRex, Bookeen and Plastic Logic did their best to secure a share of the new and rapidly expanding electronic book market, but the dominat position of the Kindle seemed to be virtually unassailable. It was only when Apple released its long awaited iPad that the Kindle first had any real competition - despite the fact that the two devices are very different.

Following the launch of the iPad, the prices of e-book readers have been significantly reduced. The Kindle 2.0 is currently selling for just $ 189, a huge reduction over the $ 359 launch price of February 2009. The newly upgraded Kindle DX, now with a higher contrast screen, can be your for just $ 379 - down from $ 489. The price of the Nook reader, from Barnes and Noble, has also been cut from $ 259 to $ 199.

Although the iPad seems to have provoked a round of price cuts among the manufacturers of e-book readers, the same cannot be said about the price of the e-books to read on these devices. Prior to the launch of the iPad, Apple had negotiated a deal with the major publishing houses which let them set the price of their e-book editions at pretty much whatever they wanted – as long as they did not allow the same e-book to be offered for a lower price on any other platform. This was a welcome development for the publishers, who had been unhappy with Amazon's policy of selling all e-books for $ 9.99 or less.

Amazon may have had to abandon their e-book pricing policy - but it's hardly a disaster for them, or for Barnes and Noble. Amazon has always appeared to be more interested in selling books – and e-books – rather than hardware. That's the only feasible explanation as to why they have bent over backwards in order to make it possible to read Kindle books on such a wide selection of different devices. Currently, you can read Kindle books on the PC, the Mac, the iPod Touch, the iPhone, the iPad, the Blackberry and any mobile device which runs Android. So companies like Amazon, Barnes and Noble and now Apple, who have an interest in the future sale of e-books over the life of a reader, can afford to sell the hardware cheaper and make their profits over the life of the reader.

Companies who sell both books and hardware may enjoy a significant advantage over straight hardware manufacturers in future. Considering the wide variety of devices which can be used to read Kindle books, you would suspect that, regardless of whether or not the Apple iPad becomes the most popular reader, Amazon will continue to have a huge influence in the future of digital publishing going forward.


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Find out more about Amazon's Kindle reader and have a look at the wide choice of Kindle accessories on offer to help you to protect and customise your device.