Der Kindle

Here is the latest device for electronic book reading, the Amazon Kindle

For wireless downloads of books, magazines, newspapers and documents, this device is already sold out from their website at a price tag of $399.

Remember Napster? This was the little website that invented peer to peer (PTP) file sharing and destroyed the existing music distribution model by CD. Music labels fought the technology tooth and nail, but in the end technology prevailed. All was lost until Apple introduced the iPod and restored profitability to music publishing.

Until now, books have not been napsterized, as paper books and magazines are less easily digitized and shared. I find it interesting that Amazon is leading the charge with a device that could disrupt their initial business model, hardcopy book distribution. This suggests that Amazon intends to remain the leading distributor of the printed word for paper and digital media.

The Kindle may not be the iPod of the book industry, but only because the display technology and user interface are not yet ripe.

Merry Christmas to book publishers, and to book printers, not so much.