Sign of the apocalypse: A Kindle Christmas
Amazon announced that for the first time, on Christmas Day, it sold more e-books than print books. That's more validation of the e-book trend, which is gaining steam through the growth of Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's nook.
But before we hold last rites for printed books, we should note some caveats posted by Mashable: People who received Kindles as Christmas gifts would certainly want to add their favorite books, boosting e-book sales. And by Christmas Day, the holiday shopping season is basically over and most folks are spending time with their families, gorging on food and egg nog.
Still, a couple of days ago, I was struck by this passage in "And Another Thing ..." the latest in the Hitchhiker's Guide sci-fi series: "Ah, the deBoeuf Principle. I read about that in a thing with actual pages in it. A quaint thing where you flip the paper over."
I fear that sort of exchange is not so far away -- on Earth, let alone on Blagulon Kappa.
Comments
I ordered the Amazon Kindle with guaranteed Christmas Eve delivery. It didn't come on Christmas Eve, nor Christmas Day. I called customer service and shortly afterward I received an SMS text message stating that they'd attempted delivery on Christmas Eve (even though I was home all day and their "attempted delivery" time was one minute from the time it was scanned at a FedEx facility, 15 miles away). You would think they would offer a few free ebooks or something -- given the fact that they had obviously disappointed a customer with a failed guarantee. Instead, the only thing they offered was for me to return the product. Thanks Amazon customer service -- that really helps me out, seeing as how I was unable to give a gift on Christmas, due to your failed word!
Posted by: DeClaused-asinSantaClaused-Kindle | December 28, 2009 12:08 PM
Don't plan on getting a Kindle. Waiting for a better multifunction device. Maybe will get the iSlate which is supposed to be the new Apple Tablet in 2010. Hesitating with iphone. Still thinking multifunction.
That is a surprise.
Posted by: Book Calendar | December 28, 2009 1:17 PM