Citi: Amazon Kindle ‘The iPod of The Book World’

Apple has always benefitted from the iPod’s “halo,” which also spurred purchases of other devices, including the iPhone and the Cupertino, Calif. company’s line of Mac computers. Can Internet bookseller Amazon do the same for ebooks? “The Kindle has definitely established itself as the iPod of the book world,” a Citigroup analyst told investors Thursday.

The Kindle, an e-book reader drawing the most attention beside Apple’s rumored tablet, could earn Amazon $1.6 billion in 2010, according to analyst Mark Mahoney. The analyst said the Kindle is having “greater than expected traction” and expects the company to sell 2 million Kindles in 2009 – up from 1.5 million previously forecast.

In November, Amazon announced record sales for the Kindle, saying the e-reader was “flying off the shelves faster than any other product Amazon sells.” The Internet retailer did not release any sales figures, however

Amazon, noting the cult like attraction to Apple products, has made a series of moves to align the two company’s audiences. After introducing a slimmer, more iPod-looking Kindle 2, Amazon also released an iPhone application that allows Kindle owners to sync their library and download Kindle titles from their Apple handset.

The recently-released Barnes & Noble Nook has received some negative press, with writers noting the $259 device is ‘sluggish.’ Earlier this year, talk of the Barnes & Noble device prompted talk of it being a rival for Amazon or Apple.

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[Via Barrons and Wall Street Journal]

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