Amazon sells more e-books that physical books this hoiday season.

Amazon announced that Kindle has become the most gifted item in Amazon's history and for the first time ever customers purchased more e-books that physical books. With kindle being such a popular gift most people who got one must have simply gone online and ordered some e-books the read. It just works that easy. With 390,000 books to choose from is it any wonder.

We have added the list of the bestsellers this Christmas season from Amazon.


Amazon Worldwide 2009 Holiday Facts (includes www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk,www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.jp and www.amazon.ca):

• Amazon shipped to over 178 countries.


• One of our most remote shipments contained the EMU Australia Toddler Boot and was delivered to Atqasuk, Alaska.


• On the peak day this season, Amazon's worldwide fulfillment network shipped over 7 million units.


• Amazon shipped over 200,000 units to APO/FPO addresses.


• Amazon shipped more than 99 percent of orders in time to meet holiday deadlines worldwide.

Amazon.com 2009 Holiday Facts (www.amazon.com only):

• Amazon customers purchased enough fruit cake to equal the weight of a 1967 Volkswagen Bug.


• Amazon customers bought enough gingerbread house kits that if stacked on top of each other would be as tall as the Sears Tower.


• If all the computers customers purchased this holiday were stacked one on top of the other, they would be more than twice as high as Mt. Everest.


• Amazon customers bought over 50 times more Light Therapy devices this holiday season than there are sunny days in Seattle the entire year.


• For the holiday time period alone, Amazon customers purchased enough shoot-and-share camcorders to supply 50 years' worth of non-stop YouTube watching.


• Amazon customers bought enough Levi's jeans to clothe everyone at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.


• Amazon customers purchased so many Blu-ray disc players that if you lined them up side to side, they would stretch for more than 27 miles.


• During the 2009 holiday season, Amazon customers bought enough 8 GB iPod touches to play 442 years of continuous music.


• In 2009, Amazon customers purchased enough heart rate monitor watches to put one on the wrist of everyone who finished the New York City marathons in 2008 and 2009.


• Amazon customers purchased enough Frustration-Free Package items to eliminate over 32,000 pounds of frustrating plastic materials, such as plastic clamshells.


• The last One-Day Prime order that was delivered in time for Christmas, was placed on Dec. 23 at 9:17 p.m. Pacific and shipped to Boca Raton, Florida for delivery on Dec. 24. The item was a pair of Yellow Gold 8-8.5mm Freshwater Cultured Pearl Stud Earrings.


• The last Local Express Delivery order that was delivered in time for Christmas, was placed by a Prime member and went to Seattle. It was a Kindle that was ordered at 1:43 p.m. on Christmas Eve and delivered at 4:57 p.m. that evening.

Amazon.com's Hot Holiday Bestsellers (Nov. 15 through Dec. 19, based on units ordered):

• Electronics: Kindle Wireless Reading Device; Apple iPod touch 8 GB; and Garmin nuvi 260W 4.3-inch GPS


• Toys: Scrabble Slam Cards; The Settlers of Catan; and Scene It? Twilight Deluxe Edition


• Video Games and Hardware: Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board; New Super Mario Bros; and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2


• Sports & Outdoors: Razor A Kick Scooter; Victorinox Swiss Army Champion Plus Pocket Knife; and P90X Extreme Home Fitness Workout Program


• DVD: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince;" "Star Trek;" and "Up"


• Books: "Going Rogue" by Sarah Palin; "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown; and "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett


• Music: "I Dreamed A Dream" by Susan Boyle; "My Christmas" by Andrea Bocelli; and "Crazy Love" by Michael Bublé


• Jewelry: Sterling Silver Marcasite & Garnet Glass Heart Pendant; 10k White Gold Diamond 3-Stone Heart Pendant; and 18k White Gold Round Diamond 4-Prong Stud Earrings


• Watches: Casio Men's Waveceptor Atomic Dual-Time Watch; Invicta Men's II Collection Chronograph Stainless Steel Blue Dial Watch; and Timex Kids' Camouflage Stretch Band Watch


• Beauty: Sephora Brand Color Play Palette II; Santa's Lump of Coal Christmas Soap; and Sephora Brand Ultimate Blockbuster


• Home & Garden: Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter; Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator; and Oster Electric Wine-Bottle Opener


• Clothing & Accessories: The Mountain Three Wolf Moon Short Sleeve Tee; Levi's Men's 550 Relaxed Fit Jean; and Levi's Men's 501 Jean


• Shoes and Handbags (Amazon.com and Endless.com): Steve Madden Women's Bonanza Tall Shafted Flat Boot; Hunter Original Tall Welly Boot; and EMU Australia Women's Hip Boot


• Health & Personal Care: Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer; Philips Sonicare Essence 5300 Power Toothbrush; and Farouk CHI 1 Inch Ceramic Flat Hairstyling Iron


• Gourmet Food: Bon Appetit Gift Basket; Grand Ghirardelli Chocolate Gift Basket; and 50's Decade Box Gift Basket


• Home Improvement: Black & Decker MSW100 Ready Wrench; Bosch Laser Distance Measuring Device; and Joby Gorillatorch Adjustable and Flexible Tripod Flashlight


• Automotive Parts & Accessories: Wagan 12V Heated Seat Cushion; 3M Headlight Lens Restoration System; and Autel MaxiScan MS300 CAN OBD-II Scan Tool


• Baby: Baby Einstein Takealong Tunes; Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether; and Baby Einstein Bendy Ball


• Software: Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007; Adobe Photoshop Elements 8; and Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition


• Grocery: Coffee People Donut Shop K-Cups for Keurig Brewers; Coffee People K-Cup Santa's Buzz; and Vita Coco 100% Pure Coconut Water


• Wireless: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Unlocked Phone; Plantronics 510 Bluetooth Headset; and BlackBerry Bold 9700 Phone (AT&T)

An original post by

Sociolatte

3 Major publishes hold back the release of e-books

As the debat over pricing of e-books heats up. There are now three major publishing houses delaying the realase of e-books set to realease early next year.

"In an interview, Brian Murray, chief executive of News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishers, said that beginning in January or February, HarperCollins will delay the e-book publication of five to 10 new hardcover titles each month. The delays are expected to range from four weeks to six months, depending on the book."

"
On Tuesday, CBS Corp.'s Simon & Schuster publishing arm said it would delay the e-book publication of an estimated 35 adult and teen titles that it will publish through April 2010. The e-book editions will be delayed for four months.
Similarly, Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group, which publishes such writers as Stephenie Meyer and James Patterson, said it intends to delay the e-book publication of many titles in 2010 for three to four months."



"Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday that the electronic editions for more than 30 works coming out in the first half of 2010 would not be available until four months after the hardcover. The affected books include novels by Don DeLillo and Mary Higgins Clark and a memoir by Karl Rove.
Publishers and authors have worried that e-books might hurt sales for hardcovers, which cost more; Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com and other online retailers commonly price top-selling e-releases at $9.99."

Amazon had this to say about people not being able to buy they books or e-books in their preferred format when the market was hot for it.

"In a statement, Amazon.com, which sells e-books on its Kindle reader, said: “Authors get the most publicity at launch and need to strike while the iron is hot. If readers can’t get their preferred format at that moment, they may buy a different book or just not buy a book at all.”

So the debate continues for publishing houses. Do they release the e-books at a low cost and actually capute the market with the possibility of hardcovers books. Will major publishing houses take a hit to their revenue or will the benefit from the release of cheap e-books the electronic alternative in this digitial age. There is a huge market for e-books there is no deniying that. Publishers though have had a hard time coming to the exact figure for pricing of their e-books. That needs to worked out and got right. As it should not dampen to spoil the sale of hard paperbacks. 

An original post by

Sociolatte