Amazon, long reticent about announcing sales figures of its Kindle e-reader, could sell more than 8 million of the devices this year, 60 percent higher than Wall Street analysts predicted, according to a news report. That would be a dramatic rise from the 2.4 million Kindles sold in 2009, unnamed sources within the online bookseller told a reporter.
The sales increase may stem from two trends: a growing demand for standalone e-readers even in the face of the multipurpose Apple iPad and Amazon’s decision to let its e-books be read on a wide variety of platforms, including the iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, RIM’s BlackBerry, Android-based phones and the latest addition: phones using Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 operating system. The multi-platforms are a sign Amazon does not plan to pin all of its e-reader and e-book sales on the Kindle, now offered in three versions, according to Piper Jaffray Analyst Gen Munster.
If correct, the 8 million sales figure would exceed Wall Street expectations for Kindle sales, as well as iPad demand. Analysts predicted Amazon would sell between 4 million to 5 million units of the e-reader, introduced in 2007, and competing with the likes of Sony and Barnes & Noble. Apple’s iPad, which allows tablet users to read books, view video and play games, has sold 7.46 million devices between its April introduction an September.
