Amazon: Ebooks Topping Hardcover Sales

First!
next poster is #2

This is not surprising.

If they could get more textbooks at a cheaper price, I'd buy one.

i used ebooks in college exclusively , as the weight of one C.S. book was similar to my laptop itself . it felt unusual to use ebooks at first but not for long .

No, they stated that it exceeded hardcover. I doubt the kindle is outselling trade/paperback books.

The only ebooks I have "bought" are the ones offered for free. (Do companies count these as "books sold"?) There are two reasons why I stick to free: 1) I don't want any company to have the right to pull my books off my shelf (like they can do with digital books that contact a remote DRM server) and 2) I have used a tablet PC for quite some time. They could have made a windows program for me to read eBooks, but instead said I needed to buy an overpriced dedicated system - heck, I don't use a dedicated DVD player anymore, why would I start using one for books?

So what do I do? I use a digital camera and my tablet pc to get my un-DRMed eBooks for my own personal use. If they are plain text, I might use OCR also.

With tablets starting to be more widespread now, and ebook programs availible on those tablets, it's only a matter of time before this gap grows even more than it already is.

Oops. And I was so careful to make sure I said 'hardcover' everywhere else in the story. Thanks!

Talking about eBook....

Jane: Do you read on eBook? or you still prefer the smell the old paperback/hardcover....?

I actually like both eBook and paperback/hardcover. eBook is convenient so no matter where am I, I always have my favorite books with me. However, once in a while, when I am relaxing at home... read some stories on paper just feel more like home.

I swore I would never get one. Then I moved from Ireland to Canada and was devastated I could only realistically bring a few of my books (basically the ones I was reading at the time) unless I was going to ship them. My brother ended up buying me a Kindle as a going away present and although I use it quite a bit, I still read paper books just as much, if not more. Mostly because I love bookshops. I like my Kindle but I doubt I would have invested one myself.

Jane:
Oh my.... I did not know you have moved to our side of the ocean!!! Welcome!! How did you like Canada? While I am in the States most of the time, I did travel to Canada countless times... I love that country.

Back to the story... yes I also like to shop in the bookstore. Online book shopping (even for real books) only works when I already know what am I going to get.

One thing I don't like the Kindle is... I can not enjoy the wonderful and colorful pictures on my DK cookbooks!!!!

I may be ok with some black and white chocolate pictures... but a black and white strawberry shortcake?!....

My wife recently got a Nook, and I must say it is damn convenient. Instead of us both taking along two or three books when we travel its just the one e-reader. However, I agree with others in saying that there is nothing like a good paper back next to the fireplace. At first I didn't think I would be able to read the Nook like a normal book, that changed when I tried to turn the page whilst emerged in a story.

Kindle and Nook are for those, who have never seen Sony Readers.

Yes, I would really want to know whether Amazon counted free ebooks. If free ebooks are included, then this hype is technically rubbish.

For those asking; from the link given in this article:

While this is true, this news is probably published by Amazon to inspire more kindle sales.

Personally, I still prefer paper for the books that I often consult and keep less important ones in e-form, the obvious advantage being cost and space benefits.

I read one or two books a week (too much time spent working overtime, college or gamese or it would be one or two a week) and after a while all those books start to take up space. I like being able to keep all my old books in one little space of the e-book reader... Wish they would drop the prices a little though.

I am at the point where I would look into an ebook reader but I do not want to be locked into a specific platform. I want to be able to check out a book from my local library, and I want to be able to loan a book to a friend. If they can give me that solution, then I will convert a lot of my library. I also have no interest in paying anything over $9.99(cnd) for any book as I would never consider buying a hard cover new release, I always wait for paper back.

Just my ,02 to the ebook industry.

i will never buy nor read an ebook.................and i mean NEVER will i support this industry.
I am a book collector and you would love to own some of the over 1200 books and the close to 200 vintage pulp magazines i own.

my books are collectable,no drm,i can resell them.
Ebooks = FAIL to my point of view

I'd still buy the hard cover. The ebook version is usually the same price and Im not going to pay $29.99 for an ebook.

The problem with that mentality is that most people just buy best sellers and a Steven King book is not going to be worth much 20 years from now.

Not to mention that the space needed to store 1000+ books is just not worth it for most of us. I live in a one bedroom apartment and my 2 bookshelves are already over flowing and I don't want to sacrifice any more space. I basically have to get rid of a book any time I want to buy a new one.

Have you looked at the Nook? Or for that matter, anything that supports open standards?

I've checked out 4 books from my public library and read them on my Nook...I also can loan any book I purchase to another Nook user for 14 days.

I didn't think I'd end up in the eReader market, but really have enjoyed it since I started. I've read quite a few books already and look forward to reading more.

I do agree about the price...I feel that when the hardcovers are being sold for $5.00 in the bargain books, so should the eBooks, but apparently it is not that way.

Amazon does offer a Windows program to read kindle books. The program is free, I have it on my computer right now. They also offer free readers for Mac OS, Blackberries, iphones, etc. It's on thier website.

This is true of most of the stores, isn't it? I know there is one for B&N, and I think Borders has one/is working on one too.

I like the ability of being able to read on one device, stop reading, and start again on another device in the same place. Very cool.

So, is there such a thing as a used ebook marketplace? I love buying and selling books. If I buy an ebook, I'm stuck with it forever. When I buy a physical book I can sell it when I no longer need it. If I can't sell my used ebook or get some type of credit for Amazon to take it off my system, then the price of ebooks must drop significantly for me to be interested.

This is much better than the iPad

Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer paper books. I still read newspaper too. There's just something about paper that I like. Maybe the feel? Maybe the smell? I don't know...