A triumphant moment for electronic books and publishing, Amazon's Kindle 3 was the all time bestseller on Amazon.com. Introduced a few months ago with a new price, an improved form-factor and scaled down connectivity options, the Kindle 3 is a huge success not just for Amazon.com but also for booksellers and publishers who have welcomed the eBook route and consumers who are adopting electronic readers. Hit jump for Amazon's complete release plus an interesting peek at what people have bought this season.
Amazon.com today announced that the third-generation Kindle is now the bestselling product in Amazon's history, eclipsing "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)." The company also announced that on its peak day, Nov. 29, customers ordered more than 13.7 million items worldwide across all product categories, which is a record-breaking 158 items per second.
"We're grateful to the millions of customers who have made the all-new Kindle the bestselling product in the history of Amazon -- surpassing Harry Potter 7," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. "We're seeing that many of the people who are buying Kindles also own an LCD tablet.
Customers report using their LCD tablets for games, movies, and web browsing and their Kindles for reading sessions. They report preferring Kindle for reading because it weighs less, eliminates battery anxiety with its month-long battery life, and has the advanced paper-like Pearl e-ink display that reduces eye-strain, doesn't interfere with sleep patterns at bedtime, and works outside in direct sunlight, an important consideration especially for vacation reading.
Kindle's $139 price point is a key factor -- it's low enough that people don't have to choose."
Amazon Worldwide 2010 Holiday Facts (includes www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de,www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, and www.amazon.it)
- On Christmas Day, more people turned on new Kindles for the first time, downloaded more Kindle Buy Once, Read Everywhere apps, and purchased more Kindle books than on any other day in history.
- On the peak day this season, Amazon's worldwide fulfillment network shipped over 9 million units across all product categories.
- Amazon shipped to 178 countries.
- One of Amazon's most remote shipments contained the "Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue," "Toy Story" DVDs, "Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul," NHL 11, Halo Reach and Call of Duty: Black Ops and was delivered to the hamlet of Grise Fiord, north of the Arctic Circle in Canada.
- Amazon shipped over 350,000 units to APO/FPO addresses.
Amazon.com 2010 Holiday Facts (www.amazon.com only):
- Kindle (Wi-Fi) and Kindle 3G were the best-selling products on Amazon.com this holiday season.
- "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was the most purchased Kindle book on Christmas Day.
- "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was the most gifted Kindle book on Christmas Day.
- Of Amazon's top 500 most popular Kindle books, "The Dork Diaries" saw the greatest gain in popularity on Christmas Day.
- There were millions of Price Checks from Black Friday through the FREE Super-Saver Shipping cut-off date (for delivery before Christmas).
- During the holiday season, the biggest mobile shopping days for iPad, iPhone and Android users was Sunday, however the biggest mobile shopping day for BlackBerry users was Friday.
- The last One-Day Prime order that was delivered in time for Christmas, was placed on Dec. 23 at 6:48 p.m. PST and shipped to Billerica, Mass., for delivery on Dec. 24. The item was a Nautica Men's NST Chronograph Bracelet Watch.
- The last Local Express Delivery order that was delivered in time for Christmas was placed by a Prime member and went to Woodinville, Wash. It was an Apple Mac Mini that was ordered at 1:41 p.m. on Christmas Eve and delivered at 8:04 p.m. that evening.
- Amazon customers purchased enough snow/tire chains to outfit the entire population of three of America's top ski cities: Aspen, Breckenridge and Sun Valley.
- For the holiday time period alone, Amazon customers bought enough copies of "Eclipse" for Edward Cullen to watch the movie 1,000 times a year for all 109 years of his life.
- Amazon customers purchased so many pairs of jeans that if you folded each pair and stacked them on top of each other, the height would be the equivalent of Mt. Everest.
- Amazon customers purchased enough Kyjen Hide-a-Squirrels to hide one toy squirrel everyday for the next 100 years.
- Amazon customers purchased more Philips Norelco shavers this holiday season than the average beard hairs on a man's face.
Amazon.com's Hot Holiday Bestsellers (Nov. 14 through Dec. 19, based on units ordered):
- Electronics: Kindle (Wi-Fi); Kindle 3G; and Apple iPod touch 8GB
- Toys: Scrabble Flash Cubes; Qwirkle Board Game; and LEGO Ultimate Building Set
- Video Games and Hardware: Call of Duty: Black Ops; Just Dance 2; and Donkey Kong Country Returns
- Sports & Outdoors: Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation System DVD Set; Razor A Kick Scooter; and Power Balance Silicone Wristband
- Movies: "Inception"; "The Blind Side"; and "Toy Story 3"
- Kindle Books: "The Confession: A Novel" by John Grisham; "Decision Points" by George Bush; and "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
- Amazon MP3: "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" by Kanye West; "The 99 Most Essential Christmas Masterpieces" (Amazon Exclusive) by various artists; and "Born Free" by Kid Rock
- Watches: Timex Women's Sports Digital Watch; Timex Kids' My First Outdoor Black Fast Wrap Watch; and Casio Men's G-Shock Classic Digital Watch
- Beauty: Philosophy Limited Edition Hope in a Jar; Philosophy Peppermint Bark Duo; and Burt's Bees Essential Body Kit
- Home, Garden & Pets: Swarovski 2010 Annual Edition Crystal Snowflake Ornament; Cuisinart SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender; and Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler
- Clothing & Accessories: Levi's Men's 501 Jean; Levi's Men 550 Relaxed Fit Jean; and Levi's Men's 505 Regular Straight Fit Jean
- Shoes and Handbags: UGG Australia Women's Classic Short Boots; Red Large Vicky Giraffe Print Faux Leather Satchel Bag; and BEARPAW Women's Eva 10" Boot
- Health & Personal Care: Philips Norelco Men's Shaving System; Omron Digital Pocket Pedometer; and Philips Sonicare Essence Power Toothbrush
- Home Improvement: Black & Decker Ratcheting ReadyWrench; Striker Magnetic LED Light-Mine Flashlight; and Rockwell Jawhorse
- Automotive Parts & Accessories: Battery Tender Junior; Wagan Heated Seat Cushion; and Michelin Digital Programmable Tire Gauge
- Baby: Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes; Cloud b Twilight Constellation Night Light, Turtle; and Baby Einstein Bendy Ball
- Software: Anime Studio Debut 7; Manga Studio Debut 4; and Adobe Photoshop Elements 9
- Grocery: Coffee People Donut Shop K-Cups for Keurig Brewers; Vita Coco 100% Pure Coconut Water; and Numi Tea Bamboo Flowering Tea Gift Set
- Wireless: Samsung Captivate Android Phone (AT&T); HTC DROID INCREDIBLE Android Phone (Verizon Wireless); and Motorola DROID X Android Phone (Verizon Wireless)
- Frustration-Free Packaging: Transcend 4 GB Class Flash Memory Card; Fujifilm FinePix 12.2 MP Digital Camera; and Coffee People Donut Shop K-Cups for Keurig Brewers