In early December, Steve Haber, president of Sony's Digital Reading Business division, told the Wall Street Journal that the company has sold more than 300,000 of its Reader Digital Book devices to date. The news was a revelation not only because of the number itself but because Amazon, Sony's main competitor in the e-book reader market, has been unwilling to say anything specific about its Kindle sales other than that the device is sold out for a few weeks to come. Despite the grim economy and speculation that this will be a terrible holiday season for retail Haber remains optimistic about the Reader's sales for the holidays.
“Sales are very, very strong,” said Haber. “I was confident that we would have enough inventory to take care of everyone's needs for Christmas, but I am now beginning to become worried.”
So what caused this upsurge in sales? In July, Sony announced that the Reader would support the ePub e-book format, which is rapidly being adopted across the industry. In October, Sony launched its third-generation device, the PRS-700, which features a touch screen and more memory, though still no wireless capability. Also in October, Sony launched its “Reading Revolution” campaign, which sent 1,000 marketers into malls and streets to demonstrate the Reader. Sony's put a lot of engineering and marketing muscle behind the device recently, and Haber chalks the strong sales up to a growing overall consumer awareness and the openness of the device to various kinds of files: “There is more and more awareness of the category, of what the Sony Reader is, and what it's like to use it,” said Haber.
He likens increasing consumer interest in the Reader to the way the TiVO, the digital television recording device, has become a household necessity. “When TiVO first launched, it was the best-kept secret, but now everyone has one,” Haber said. “It's similar with the Reader.”
The Reader's lack of wireless connectivity for instant downloading (you need to connect the Reader to a PC and load books onto the device using iTunes-like software), one of Kindle's signature features, has been a sticking point for critics. And while Haber does promise “we will launch a wireless device in the future,” he also says, “Wireless is great for downloading daily content, but in general I think it's all overblown. There's a place for it, but the idea of dropping and dragging books is a pretty easy and pleasurable experience, plus you have the book on your PC as well.” We'll see. For now, things seem to be going well for the Sony Reader.
| In October, Bookrix, a German company, launched a U.S. version of Bookrix.com—a free, ad-supported Internet community where amateur authors can post and promote their work. Likening itself to MySpace, Flickr and Youtube, BookRix claims to be on the forefront of the shift from traditional to digital media. Although several sites (such as gather.com and bellaonline.com) allow writers to digitally self-publish, what sets BookRix apart, according to cofounder/CEO Gunnar Siewert, is its proprietary platform, ViewRix, which “lets the beta community convert any PDF or Word document to create a digital flip book.” ViewRix allows authors to combine original artwork and writing into digital books that can be directly integrated and presented on blogs, homepages and profiles. Bookrix currently has more than 4,000 international members. Users have the option to create a personal profile page on which they can write, share and collaborate. The site also allows its members to create fan pages, read unpublished work and share favorite books with online friends. In Germany, where Bookrix's membership exceeds 3,000, “about 50 members have [published] their works or are currently [publishing] their works” with print publishers in German, Siewert said. “The top 15 books on the site have been read 600 to 3,000 times.” Siewert considers Bookrix an essential tool because of the difficulty new authors find in navigating the traditional publishing world. “An author may have a story but no idea what to do next. Bookrix helps this author connect with readers who might be interested in the work.” Amateurs, however, aren't the only writers benefiting; professional authors including bestseller Cory Doctorow, Susan Wingate and William Sawyers have pages created by their fans. On Doctorow's page, for example, his fans have posted two of his books, along with video from two of his public appearances. But whether this site or others like it will lead to print publication in the U.S. remains to be seen. —Juan Martinez |
