Big Sky Network

The next generation of books has arrived and gone.  You’ll have to wait a few weeks in order to get your hands on the  because it is sold out at Amazon.com.  But there are plenty more on the way.  According to Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney, Amazon was anticipated to sell 380,000 units in 2008, a number similar to IPod’s first year sales.    The same source has increased his forcasted Kindle sales reveneus in 2010 $400-$750 million to as much as $1 billion.  It is yet to be seen if the Kindle will transform reading like IPod did to music.

Six years ago I thought the Tablet PC would be the next generation of books.  These light notebooks can be swiveled into a tablet, making reading and taking notes easy.  A market was identified who were interested in subscriptions and books delivered to their PC for reading on the go.   However you still had all of the hassles of a PC; software troubles, low battery life, eye strain and overheating.

Amazon recognized an emerging market and introduced a product which overcame the PC problems; the Amazon Kindle.  The gadget is easy to use and the high-resolution screen looks and reads like real paper.  The device is completely wireless on its own network so there is no need to look for hotspots in order to download materials.  Books are delivered in less than a minute.

Books range around $8 and you can try before you buy: the first chapters are available for free.  Subscriptions to most major newspapers are available, as is up to date posts from favorite blogs.   The device holds over 200 titles, has a long battery life, and is lighter and thinner than a typical paperback, weighing in at only 10.3 ounces