What do you think of these popular authors?

What do you think of these popular authors?

I’ve often say that I’m an eclectic reader, and I do think I tend to range more widely than a lot of people. If I was stuck somewhere with only some random books in a gift shop, I’d happily read any (and all) of them, whatever the topic.

However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have preferences. I’ve read a lot of science fiction/fantasy, and a lot of non-fiction (especially about animals, and about human behavior).

I’m interested in you, though.

I wanted to get a sense of what my readers like to read.

I figured that doing it by authors would work: even though some authors write in many genres, I think that’s a broader sense than asking about individual books. You could like one book by an author, and not like another one by the same author.

I didn’t want to be the one picking the list: that’s why I didn’t do genres. I wanted something that was, if not objective, at least outside me.

I first tried GoodReads, and then Shelfari (both owned by Amazon), looking for some good indicator of popular authors.

I wasn’t satisfied with those. They didn’t seem to me to have a good data sample, rather than a curated list.

Fortunately, I remembered that LibraryThing has the “zeitgeist” feature, which would give me what I wanted. I had previously compared those three sites…the research for that article came in handy here. 🙂

I’m going to poll you based on their “top 75 authors” list. That’s based on the number of copies that their users have indicated…and I was happy to see that it wasn’t just the most recent authors who dominated.

There are actually only 74 authors listed, because one of them is “anonymous”. 🙂

I don’t want to give you too many poll questions: I find that tends to lessen the number of responses.

Let’s do this. I’ll first ask you if you’ve ever read anything by these popular authors. They are going to be in order of most popular at LibraryThing first:

Next, let’s go with just the 25 most popular, and you tell me which ones you would recommend to other people:

Finally, tell me which of the 25 most popular do you not want to read (again). Whether you have read somebody or not, you may just feel like you don’t want to put one of their books on your “To Be Read” list. That doesn’t necessarily mean you think the author is bad…they just aren’t for something that you want to read (and much as we all hate to admit, it’s very unlikely that we can read everything we’d like to read before…well, time runs out).

Feel free, of course, to give me and my readers your opinions on other authors (but be nice, of course). 🙂

On that big list of seventy-four, I think I’ve read…I’m going to say 56 of them. Pretty much all the ones I haven’t read are contemporary, although that’s no excuse. 😉 With some of them, I have books by them, but just haven’t gotten to them yet.

Here is that
LibraryThing Zeitgeist page

I think it’s fascinating.

Now of course, you might want to read some of these authors, if you haven’t. Here’s a link to help you find them:

Kindle store author search

I have to say, I’m really looking forward to seeing these results! I know the polls don’t always cover everything you want to say…feel free to add a comment to the post!

Update: Bonus deal: I meant to mention this one. It’s a Gold Box deal for today, and one of the Kindle Daily Deals. As always, check the price before you click that “Buy” button. These prices may not apply in your country, and may not still be in effect by the time you follow the below link:

50 Books in Popular Series, $1.99 or Less Each

 

Update: thanks to my reader Jack who made a comment which improved this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Round up #210: KPW search tip, France’s stance

Round up #210: KPW search tip, France’s stance

The ILMK Round ups are short pieces which may or may not be expanded later. 

Dans votre visage, Amazon!*

While Amazon has  benefited from some legal actions in the USA (notably the Department of Justice action against five publishers and Apple, and the State Attorneys General suit against the publishers), that’s not the case everywhere…notably in France.

This

The Guardian article by Angelique Chrisafis

gives you a pretty good rundown on a recent action by one house of government there that limits the discounting that Amazon (and hypothetically other online booksellers…but we know who they mean) can do…and they sort of count free shipping as a discount.

It’s intended to help brick-and-mortar bookstores compete, and is part of France’s long tradition of trying to provide cultural support within its borders.

I think you are going to know how I feel about this. You don’t protect your culture by making books more difficult to afford and obtain. That’s especially true if you think  your culture goes back more than five years or so…brick-and-mortars have a much harder time stocking the backlist than Amazon does.

While it isn’t an excuse, less affordable and available books do, I think, lead to more piracy (in the world of paperbooks, that includes counterfeits, which are surprisingly common in some places).

Today: “8-year-old flags ‘sexist’ children’s books; bookstore takes notice”

Personally, I’d like to see Amazon carry anything that’s legal, in terms of books.

I don’t really want them making editorial choices about what options I have.

However, there are some people complaining about the book mentioned in this

Today.com article by Morgan Brasfield

It sounded really ridiculous…and an 8-year was moved to tears by seeing them in a store.

They are two “survival guides”…one for boys, and one for girls.

I’m going to briefly quote the article:

“In the boy version, the chapters covered topics such as “How to Survive a Shark Attack,” “How to Survive in a Desert,” and “How to Survive Whitewater Rapids.”

The girl version addressed such issues as “How to Survive a BFF Fight,” “How to Survive a Fashion Disaster,” and “How to Survive a Breakout.””

Yes, these are recent books (not available in Kindle editions). I wanted to see what people were saying on Amazon…

Girls Only: How to Survive Anything
by Martin Oliver (illustrated by Daniela Geremia)

had the lowest possible rating a solid 1 star out of 5. That was with eleven reviews.

This one

Boys Only: How to Survive Anything
again by Martin Oliver, although illustrated by Simon Ecob

had 2.3 out of 5 with three reviews.

Ban the book (ironic given the timing around Banned Books Week)?

I think most of you would say no. I could see how it could be absolutely instructive to sit down with your kids (of both genders) and discuss this book…

Kindle Paperwhite tip: searching

I’m still exploring my new Kindle Paperwhite, which is the second generation. I did a complete menu map (linked above), but that doesn’t mean I tested everything at that point.

Both the first generation and second generation Paperwhites (I have mine open side-by-side right now) have a magnifying glass at the top of the home screen that you can use to search.

They also both have dropdowns where you can choose what to search.

Here’s the difference, though:

Gen 1:

• My Items
• Kindle Store
• Dictionary
• Wikipedia

Gen 2:

• My Items
• All Text
• Kindle Store
• Dictionary
• Wikipedia

Notice that in both of them, you can search for a word in the dictionary. That’s something people had wanted earlier, and it works pretty well.

The Gen 2 adds All Text…which means you can test to see if all of your books are  indexed.

Let me just explain indexing on the Kindles briefly. When you put a book on a Kindle, the device “reads” the book to figure out where the words are in it. It might make a note that “cat” appears at location 200, 355, 1420, that sort of thing.

That’s how it can find those words when you search for them.

As you can imagine, reading the book and building that index is energy intensive. If  you put a bunch of books on your Kindle in short order, you might want to leave it plugged in overnight…it can index while it sleeps.

How do you know if an e-book on your device hasn’t been indexed yet?

Search for a nonsense word (I use something like “xxy”).  When it gives you the result, it will tell you if there are any unindexed books yet…and which ones they are.

On the KPW2, switch to All Text when you do that search.

ON the KPW1, you can have it search My Items.

That’s likely to make the searches faster on the KPW2 when you search under My Items, since it only searches titles and authors.

Cutting the cable?

We used to get cable TV channels on a TV in our bedroom without a cable box. We weren’t stealing them…I think we paid something like $5 a month for some time, and we always let the cable company know that we had that TV.

Now, though, due to regulation changes (as I understand it), we suddenly don’t get any cable TV channels on that set (we do get some radio channels).

So, we are considering using the Fire in that room to provide content, and cutting way back on which cable channels we get (and perhaps dropping cable altogether).

We’ll look at that carefully. I watch a lot of cable news. One solution to that is

US TV Free

which I’m using now. I can get some interesting news channels, including Russia Today (which is in English and intended for American audiences) and the BBC.

It’s not perfect: it ends up buffering sometimes. Still, it’s a good choice.

I also use

DroidTV – Free Trial

I pay about $3 a month for it.

That has a lot of current shows. You have to wait for downloads…sometimes for hours before it happens, but you can do “season passes”.

I do believe both of these are legal: I wouldn’t use them otherwise.

I’m watching right now by running an HDMI cable from my Kindle Fire 8.9″.

I think it’s very likely that Amazon will release some TV device before the end of the year, that will use the Miracast that will be available on my Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi. Mine is scheduled to come October 18th…they’ve been pushing back the date for people ordering now. Order one today (at time of writing), and they now think October 21st. This is the one I think will be the most popular model, and may be really popular.

I’m speculating that Amazon might release two TV devices: an inexpensive Miracast stick that works with the Kindle Fire (it would probably plug into your HDMI port on your TV, and then you could wirelessly mirror from your Kindle Fire HDX), and a somewhat more expensive set-top box that has a lot of content options.

Here is a

Wall Street Journal article by Greg Bensinger

that speculates on the box, but doesn’t mention a stick. If you can’t see it from the above link, try searching for “Amazon Readies Set-Top Box for Holidays”.

We’ll see what happens…

Scribd responds to my questions

I want to thank Scribd for responding to my questions about their new subscription (“all you can read”) e-book service.

It’s $8.99 a month, and HarperCollins has signed up with it, meaning that you can get well-known content…although it will be backlist, not the absolutely current bestsellers, you would be likely to find things to read.

I’m not signing up for it myself, for two reasons.

I asked this:

===

Bufo Calvin
Oct 03 04:48 pm (PDT)

I have one of the most popular blogs of any kind in the Kindle store (I Love My Kindle) and had just started a write-up on your subscription service, but I have two key questions before I complete that.

1. You indicate it is compatible with the Kindle Fire, but the user is directed to Google Play (which does not recognize a Kindle Fire) for the Android app. The app is available on 1Mobile, but do you also make it available directly on your site?

2. When I tried a sample, I did not see an option to use text-to-speech. That’s important to my readers: is it available through your app?

Thank you for your attention to these questions.

===

They responded (quickly and courteously) with this:

===

Hello Bufo,

Thank you for reaching out to us. I spoke to our engineering team and we currently do not support Kindle through our app, because Google Play Store is required as you said. We have submitted an application to Amazon, but it’s still being reviewed by Amazon. The app will not work with Kindle e-ink, but will work with the Fires if/when it’s approved.

Regarding your second question, we do not support text-to-speech, unfortunately. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Best regards,
Kay Jong
Scribd, Inc.

Questions? http://scribd.com/faq

===

That shouldn’t stop you. This isn’t a case of someone blocking text-to-speech access, but simply not providing it. I use TTS too often myself to ignore the lack of it, but I have no moral objection to not including it. While I’d like every device to be accessible to everyone, I don’t think that’s a requirement for every app and every device in every circumstance.

As to not being in the Amazon Appstore…well, it may be later. Contrary to what some people say, Amazon does not “wall you into their garden”. You can get the Netflix app, for example: a direct competitor.

You could get the app now, from 1Mobile, or you could when I checked earlier.

Update: I meant to include the Scribd page…you can get all the info (and see what books are available) from links there:

http://www.scribd.com/subscribe

My guess is that this will succeed, and that we’ll see more subscription e-book services. It’s possible Amazon will do one (and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library is not all you can read, of course: it’s up to one book a calendar month).

Some of you might be thinking, “Amazon won’t do that…they want you to buy the books.” Well, yes, they’d prefer that…but they really want you to buy physical goods (“diapers and windshield wipers”) where there is more profit, and tying you into a subscription service (especially if it was linked to Prime) would help with that.

What do you think? Have you already cut the cable? If not, what would be necessary to get you to do it? Do you pay more than $100 a month for cable? Is it okay to sell a sexist book to kids? Do protectionist laws help or hurt book culture? Feel free to let me and my readers know what you think by commenting on this post.

* I was using Google translate to try to say, “In your face, Amazon!” Not sure how close it is, given the idiomatic nature of the expression.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Monthly Kindle Deals for $3.99 or less each: October 2013

Monthly Kindle Deals for $3.99 or less each: October 2013

Amazon does the Kindle Daily Deal, which discounts (usually) four books a day (often general fiction, a romance, a science fiction/fantasy book, and a kids’ book). That used to often be to $0.99, but I’ve noticed lately it’s more likely to be $1.99…or higher. Oh, and recently, it’s been five books commonly, not four…they just can’t seem to give us enough discounted books from which to choose! 😉

They’ve also been doing Kindle Monthly Deals for $3.99 or less each. That’s a recent rebranding: they used to say it was “100 Books”, but that’s also gotten to be more…there are 205 for this month at the time of writing.

Those prices only apply to the USA, and one weird thing is that some of the books seem to sell out at that price sometimes (or become unavailable for some other reason).

It’s also interesting…about 48% of the books in the USA Kindle store are $3.99 or less (1,037,349 of 2,180,0267). Still, these are on sale, and that’s worth something. 

I’m going to list some of the $3.99 or lower ones that caught my eye…I’m not necessarily recommending them, but I do think they are interesting.

The ones I list also don’t block text-to-speech access*…but I think blocking it is becoming rarer.

Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America
by Gilbert King
$2.99 at time of writing

You want your bargain books to be “good books”? How about the 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner for General Nonfiction? How about a book with a 4.8 out of 5 star average rating with 148 reviews at time of writing? That’s this book…if the subject matter sounds interesting, it’s certainly worth considering. This is also one that I would consider buying now to give as a gift later…you can delay the delivery date of gift purchases.

Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well
by Billy Graham
$2.99
4.7 stars, 420 reviews

Billy Graham has had a lot of influence on America…he has been both an advisor to Richard Nixon and a supporter of Martin Luther King.

Dragon Keeper (Rain Wilds Chronicles, Vol. 1)
by Robin Hobb
$1.99
3.8 stars, 232 reviews

The first in a trilogy, although that trilogy isn’t the first in this universe. Hobb is a popular and respected fantasy author, and will be a guest of honor at next year’s Worldcon.

Al Jaffee’s Mad Life: A Biography
by Mary-Lou Weisman, Al Jaffee
$1.99
4.5, 13 reviews

This could be a great gift for a Baby Boomer…at least, one who read Mad Magazine.

The Heart Mender: A Story of Second Chances
by Andy Andrews
$2.99
4.6, 268 reviews

This one is Christian fiction…I know some of you like to know that up front (whether it is a plus or a minus, that’s up to you).

Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs. Oscar Wilde
by Franny Moyle
$1.99
4.2 stars, 13 reviews

Wilde was an extraordinary writer, and a legendary wit. Can you imagine what Wilde’s life as a celebrity would have been like today? Well, for those of you who know more of Wilde’s story, imagine being the spouse in the midst of all that happened…

Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 1: Gifted
written by Joss Whedon, illustrated by John Cassaday
$3.99
4.4 stars, 74 reviews

I’m guessing pretty much everybody has entered the Whedonverse at some point by now…through The Avengers, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D….just to name a few. This is Whedon as a comic book writer (gathering together six issues). Note that because this is a graphic novel, there really is no text to turn into speech…that’s a limitation of the medium.

Bottom of the 33rd: Hope and Redemption in Baseball’s Longest Game
by Dan Barry
$2.99
4.6 stars, 103 revies

Yes, that’s right…one game that literally ran for 33 innings. Gee…did the crowd get four seventh inning stretches? 😉

Those are a few I noticed. If you saw anything else you think me and my readers would like to know about, feel free to comment on this post.

Enjoy!

* A Kindle with text-to-speech can read any text downloaded to it…unless that access is blocked by the publisher inserting code into the file to prevent it. That’s why you can have the device read personal documents to you (I’ve done that). I believe that this sort of access blocking disproportionately disadvantages the disabled, although I also believe it is legal (provided that there is at least one accessible version of each e-book available, however, that one can require a certification of disability). For that reason, I don’t deliberately link to books which block TTS access here (although it may happen accidentally, particularly if the access is blocked after I’ve linked it). I do believe this is a personal decision, and there  are legitimate arguments for purchasing those books. 

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Ready for a newer Kindle? Amazon’s trade-in program

Ready for a newer Kindle? Amazon’s trade-in program

Amazon has recently released a new Kindle Paperwhite, and has announced the third generation of Kindle Fires, including the Kindle HDX line.

As is often the case with electronics, the newer ones do more and/or cost less.

A lot of people want to be able to trade-in their older model to get a discount on the newer one.

Well, you can sort of do that through Amazon, and I’m going to tell you how.

First, though, let me say this. When I buy an electronic, I make a judgement at that time that the device is at a reasonable price for me. I honestly don’t get upset if a new one gets announced shortly after that that’s a better deal. If it was worth $100 to me when I bought it, it’s still worth $100 to me…even if somebody else gets more bells and whistles for $50. I’m happy for them, but I still feel like I made a good decision with the information I had.

Now, the other thing I’d say is that you might want to consider keeping the older Kindle “in the family” (or with a friend, or coworker). If you keep it on your account, and can give it somebody you trust, you are increasing your buying power. That’s due to the fact that Kindle store e-books have “simultaneous device licenses”. Unless it says otherwise on the book’s Amazon product page, six devices (Kindles and/or reading apps) can license the book at the same time.

Let’s look at this scenario.

Brix, Styx, and Straw are all band-mates in a combo called The 3 Little Pigz.

They could either have three separate Amazon accounts or share one.

They all want to read the same book, which costs $9.99.

If they have separate accounts (and if the book isn’t lendable, which is often the case), they’d have to pay $29.97 as a group (each one paying $9.99).

If the three of them are on the same account, they can pay $9.99 as a group ($3.33 each) and still all read that same book at the same time (usually).

For that $29.97, they can all read three $9.99 books on the same account: increased purchasing power.

Obviously, you need to be able to trust each other, although you can work on conditions. Not everybody needs the password for the account: you can buy books without that. I’ve written about “Kindle Klubs” before, and I might do it again, but for the purposes of this post, I think you get the idea.

Okay, but what happens if you do decide you want to get rid of last year’s (or 2007’s) model and get the newer one?

You could recycle your Kindle: Amazon will send you a pre-paid mailing label, so they make it easy.

You could donate it somewhere, or give it away.

You could sell it on eBay, or somewhere like that. I really do caution people about buying Kindles from strangers, though. The device could be stolen, and the person selling it to you might not even know that. If it stolen, you could end up out the device and the money you paid for it. Plus, you have to deal with the shipping and the “customer service”.

A simpler solution then selling it yourself is to use the

Amazon Trade-In Program

You probably won’t get as much value for it as you would doing it yourself, and you won’t get money for it…you’ll get an Amazon gift card.

Still, there’s something to be said for doing it the easy way. 😉

This isn’t exactly trading in your Kindle 2 for a Kindle Paperwhite 2. What happens is that you sell your Kindle to a third party through Amazon, and you get an Amazon gift card…which you could then spend on that Paperwhite 2.

You have to grade your device, and it has to be what you say it is.

How much can you get for it?

Remember, that depends in part on what the condition is. My Kindles are typically in quite good condition…I  usually keep them in covers, and I’m a pretty careful person (you typically couldn’t tell a paperbook had been read when I finished it).

These are subject to change at any time…even the models that they want might change.

What I’m going to list for you right now is only as of writing: if you go to the

Amazon Kindle Trade-In page

you’ll be able to figure out there what it is worth when you are ready for the trade-in.

With that said, here are a few of the 39 listings at time of writing

• Kindle Fire HD 7″: up to $81.50
• Mindle: up to $23.85
• Kindle Fire 2nd generation non-HD: up to $46.75
• Kindle Fire 8.9″ HD (wi-fi only): up to $128.25
• Kindle Paperwhite (wi-fi only): up $70.25
• Kindle DX: up to $93.75
• Kindle Fire 1st generation: up to $40.00
• Kindle Keyboard (Kindle 3): up to $27
• First generation Kindle (2007 model): up to $10
• Kindle 2: up to $27

As I’m looking at those prices, that really isn’t too bad. Instead of $119 for the new Kindle Paperwhite 2, you could pay net (after applying your gift card to your account) $48.75.

Now, some of these prices may look weird to you when you look at them. For example, a model with 3G and wi-fi may get you the same as a model with just wi-fi.

I’m sure it has to do with demand. Remember, this is not Amazon buying it back…it’s another company, NorAm International. It isn’t Amazon rewarding you for your loyalty, or compensating you based on what you paid. Amazon is facilitating the deal between you and NorAm. I think it’s great that Amazon does that, but it is going to be what the market will bear.

It’s worth mentioning also that Amazon has a generous

Kindle return policy

within the first 30 days of purchase. If you just ordered one and a new one is announced, you could return the one you bought when you got it and then buy the new one. Amazon knows that’s a hassle for both of you: if you recently bought one, contact Amazon at

http://www.amazon.com/kindlesupport

and see what they can do. If it’s in time, they might be able to switch you to the new one.

I like to keep my Kindles around for reference, and it makes sense with this blog and the other things I’ve written. That certainly may not be true for you, though, so it’s nice that the trade-in option is there.

Thanks to reader Phink who commented recently mentioning the program…I had planned to write about it, but I appreciated the nudge and effort to helpfully inform others. It helped convince this would be a good post to do. 🙂

What do you think? Have ever traded in anything at Amazon? How did it go? Do you keep your old Kindles? Actually, let me do a quick poll on that:

Have other thoughts? Feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Kindle Paperwhite 2: first impressions and menu map

Kindle Paperwhite 2: first impressions and menu map

My

Kindle Paperwhite, 6″ High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light, Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers

is here!

Let me first say that it was particularly easy to set up. They’ve been improving that, with on-screen guidance. All I needed was my wi-fi network password, and the rest of it was easy.

They even gave me a choice to set up parental controls, although I skipped that.

I’d say it took less than a minute to get itself up and running the first time.

It knew its name (“PowPow”), and it showed me the device time so I could confirm that it got it right (it did). I had my Cloud/archives, and was ready to go.

It did still have to index the (wait for it)…Kindle User’s Guide! Yes, it came with an onboard User’s Guide, not just online, which was nice.

It came about half-charged: people do ask about that sometimes.

The screen is quite evenly lit: you don’t have those “smudgy” spots on the bottom that you had with the Kindle Paperwhite 1.

I like the raised “Amazon” on the back of the device…it gives it a bit of tactility.

It does seem brighter and clearer. Even at the lowest lighting setting, there was still a bit of light, but it was quite, quite dim…even with my superior night vision, I would have been challenged to read at that setting in full darkness.

Now for the menu map (I’m on version 5.4.0):

Homescreen

Displayed along the top was my name for the device, wi-fi and the strength, the battery indicator, and the clock.

The first toolbar below that was

• Home
• Back
• Lighting
• Cart
• Search
• Menu

The menu button had

• Shop Kindle Store
• View Special Offers (I chose to have those)
• Cover/List View (it came set in Cover View…I switched it to list, my preference)
• Create New Collection
• Sync and Check for Items
• Settings*
• Experimental Browser

Below that was

• Cloud | On Device (similar to the PW1)
• My Items (with a dropdown: All Items; Books; Periodicals; Docs; Active Content)
• The sort (Recent; Title; Author; Collections

On the device were:

• Kindle User’s Guide
• Vocabulary Builder
• Dictionaries (2 items: The New Oxford American Dictionary; Oxford Dictionary of English)

At the bottom of the device, it told me what page of items I was on, and how many pages there were all together…and there was an ad, less than an inch tall.

I’d say it isn’t a hard adjustment at all from the PW1.

Let’s take a look at the

* Settings

That’s where a lot of the fun stuff will be. 🙂

• Airplane Mode (on or off…they explain that you should “Turn on Airplane Mode to disable wireless connectivity.”)
• Wi-Fi Networks (tapping that showed me the available networks, and that page included “Other…” and “Rescan”
• Registration (showed by name, and tapping it would let me deregister it)
• Device Options…I’m going to drop to sublist for this one:

• Device Passcode
• Parental Controls (Web Broswer on or off, Kindle Store on or off, Cloud on or off…deregistration and reset device are disabled when Parental Controls are active. With the store locked, you can still Kindle store books on your computer and send them to the device…that’s how it was on the PW1 as well)
• Device Time
• Personalize your Kindle (Device Name…you can change it on the device, without going to Manage Your Kindle)
• Personal Info (you can add whatever you want here, including contact information)
• Recommended Content (displayed in Cover View…on or off)
• Send to Kindle E-mail (you have to edit it on Manage Your Kindle, but it is displayed here)

Back to the Device Options Menu

• Language and Dictionaries…time for another submenu:

• Language (Deutsch, English (United Kingdom), English (United States), Espanol, Espanol (Mexico), Francais, Francais (Canada), Italiano, Portugues (Brasil), and two which I think are Japanese and simplified Chinese)
• Keyboards (you can choose to add keyboard in the above languages…and yes, it confirms them as Japanese and simplified Chinese
• Dictionaries (you can set the default dictionary here for the language you are using)

Reading Options menu

• Manage Vocabulary Builder (on or off…controls whether or not it remembers dictionary look-ups, and whether or not Vocabulary Builder appears on the homescreen)
• Page Refresh (you can make it refresh every “page turn” if you want
• Social Networks (connect to Facebook or Twitter…and view Amazon’s privacy policy)

Okay, once you are in the Settings area, you can hit Menu again to get

• Shop Kindle Store
• Restart
• Reset Device
• Legal
• Sync and Check for Items

Within a book, you tap towards the top middle to bring up the toolbar…oh, and it displays the name of the book on the top line, where the name of the device normally is.

Below that, you get:

• Home
• Back
• Brightness
• Cart
• Search
• Menu

This menu, though, is different:

• Shop Kindle Store
• Book Description (yes, it sill connects to the website to get you that)
• About the Author (won’t always be available)
• Landscape/Portrait mode
• Sync to Furthest Page Read
• Reading Progress
• Vocabulary Builder
• Settings (this is the main Settings choice above)

Below that is

• Aa (font size, font ((Baskerville; Caecilia, which is the default; Caecilia Condensed; Futura; Helvetica; Palatino)), line spacing, and margins)
• Go To (Contents, Notes, Beginning, Page or Location…and specific chapters, then End. A separate tab in Go To brings you to your notes, which are nicely displayed…you can delete or share them from here)
• X-Ray
• Share
• A multiple bookmark looking icon, which lets you jump to your bookmarks…click the plus on the top one to add a bookmark to this page

Not intuitive to me was that at the bottom of the screen, there was a things which told me the chapter I was in, what location I was on, and how many minutes were left to read in the chapter. Tapping it brought up the new Page Flip feature, which is really cool. You can preview pages, moving ahead or backwards with arrows, without losing your place. There is also a location slider, to adjust where you are in the book. The location slider also had a “chevron walks into a bar” icons (>|) which lets you jump by chapters…but just in Page Flip. It looks to me like you could figure out where you want to go with Page Flip, and then use the Go To button to get there.

“Long-pressing” (holding your finger or stylus on it for about a second) a word in a book gave me an X-Ray definition first, and a choice to get “More on Shelfari”. Tapping that brought me to the Shelfari (owned by Amazon) page for the current book…lots of info there).  I could also open the full X-Ray for that book.

I had a choice to see the Dictionary definition, or Wikipedia. I tried the Wikipedia search with Airplane Mode on…it didn’t like that much.

I could also search This Book, All Text, or the Kindle Store.

Tapping “More” gave me:

• Highlight
• Add Note
• Share
• Translation ( to Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish)
• Open X-Ray
• Report Content Error

Dragging a set of words (which seemed much more responsive than on the Kindle Paperwhite 1) gave these options:

• Add Note
• Highlight
• Share
• More (Search, Wikipedia, Translation ((which did do the whole phrase)), Report Content Error…all similar to above)

Overall, it does seem nicer than the Kindle Paperwhite 1, but not a quantum leap forward. I’ll need more experience with it, but I wouldn’t say you need to rush to upgrade from a KPW1…but I will say it is better. 🙂

If you have any specific questions, or comments, feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Snapshot: October 1 2013

Snapshot: October 1 2013

I generally run this information through eReaderIQ.com (it’s just easier than Amazon), and there are some vagaries in the searches (both there and on Amazon). I do try to run it the same way every time, so unless Amazon changes something, it should give you a pretty good idea.  NOTE: I’ve changed this explanation from saying “Jungle-Search.com” to “eReaderIQ.com”. It’s the same people and I assume the results are the same. eReaderIQ is just for the Kindle, Jungle-Search does Amazon generally. eReaderIQ has a slightly better interface for the searches.

Titles in Kindle Store

October 1, 2013: 2,175,847
September 1, 2013: 2,081,800
August 1, 2013:  2,060,431
July 1, 2013: 1,998,705
June 1, 2013: 1,972,277
May 1, 2013: 1,940,274
April 1, 2013: 1,924,138
March 1, 2013: 1,913,164
February 1, 2013: 1,849,479
January 1, 2013: 1,805,001
December 1, 2012: 1,742,991
November 1, 2012: 1,641,362
October 1, 2012: 1,579,329
September 1, 2012: 1,531,069
August 1, 2012: 1,486,649
July 1, 2012: 1,451,504
June 1, 2012: 1,407,210
May 1, 2012: 1,358,922
April 1, 2012: 1,315,927
March 1, 2012: 1,265,632
February 1, 2012: 1,207,522
January 1, 2012: 1,165,654
December 1, 2011: 1,112,876
November 1, 2011: 1,058,635
October 1, 2011: 1,033,611
September 1, 2011: 995,265 (roughly 40,000 removed one day: PLR?)
August 1, 2011: 1,015,056
July 1, 2011: 980,434
June 1, 2011: 974,841
May 1, 2011: 937,831
April 1, 2011: 897,663
March 1, 2011: 868,351
February 1, 2011: 828,708
January 1, 2011: 796,131
December 1, 2010: 768,865
November 1, 2010: 743,692
October 1, 2010: 714, 663
September 1, 2010: 687,246
August 1, 2010: 659,479
July 1 2010: 627,343
June 1 2010: 596,300
May 1 2010: 509,229
April 1 2010: 476,653
March 1 2010: 450,625
February 1 2010: 415,100
January 1 2010: 401,773
December 1 2009: 385,484
November 1 2009: 368,813
October 1 2009: 342,865
September 21 2009: 355,805
July 28 2009: 332,813
May 16 2009: 284,491

Approximate average of titles added per day:

October 1, 2013: 3,135
September 1, 2013: 689
August 1, 2013: 1,991
July 1, 2013: 881
June 1, 2013: 1,032
May 1, 2013: 538
April 1, 2013: 354
March 1, 2013: 2,274
February 1, 2013: 1,435
January 1, 2013: 2,000
December 1, 2012: 3,388
November 1, 2012: 2,001
October 1, 2012: 1,609
September 1, 2012: 1,433
August 1, 2012: 1,134
July 1, 2012: 1,476
June 1, 2012: 1,558
May 1, 2012: 1,433
April 1, 2012: 1,622
March 1, 2012: 2,004
February 1, 2012: 1,351
January 1, 2012: 1,703
December 1, 2011: 1,808
November 1, 2011: 807
October 1, 2011: 1,278
September 1, 2011: -638
August 1, 2011: 1,117
July 1, 2011: 186
June 1, 2011: 1,194
May 1, 2011: 1,339
April 1, 2011: 946
March 1, 2011: 1,416 (corrected from last post)
February 1, 2011: 1,051
Taken January 1, 2011: 880 (average for December 2010)
December: 839
November:  968
October: 914
September: 896
August: 1,037
July: 1,035
May: 2,809 (may be affected by Penguin return)
April: 1,086
March: 840
February: 1,146
January: 430 (may be impacted by Macmillan removal)
December 2009: 525
November: 556
October: 837

Magazines:

October 1, 2013: 652
September 1, 2013: 630
August 1, 2013: 628
July 1, 2013: 628
June 1, 2013: 626
May 1, 2013: 620
April 1, 2013: 609
March 1, 2013: 605
February 1, 2013: 601
January 1, 2013: 586
December 1, 2012: 573
November 1, 2012: 567
October 1, 2012: 558
September 1, 2012: 547
August 1, 2012: 510
July 1, 2012: 497
June 1, 2012: 476
May 1, 2012: 469
April 1, 2012: 453
March 1, 2012: 430
February 1, 2012: 409
January 1, 2012: 370
December 1, 2011: 340
November 1, 2011: 132
October 1, 2011: 129
September 1, 2011: 127
August 1, 2011: 119
July 1, 2011: 115
June 1, 2011: 110
May 1, 2011: 93
April 1, 2011: 86
March 1, 2011: 81
February 1, 2011:  80
January 1, 2011: 74
December 1, 2010:  83
November 1, 2010: 84
October 1, 2010: 80
September 1. 2010: 70
August 1, 2010: 64
July 1, 2010: 61
June 1, 2010: 60
May 1, 2010: 58
April 1, 2010: 53
March 1, 2010: 50
February 1, 2010: 46
January 1, 2010: 43
December 1, 2009: 40
November 1, 2009: 38

Newspapers:

October 1, 2013: 181
September 1, 2013: 181
August 1, 2013: 181
July 1, 2013: 179
June 1, 2013: 180
May 1, 2013: 185
April 1, 2013: 181
March 1, 2013: 198
February 1, 2013: 201
January 1, 2013: 200
December 1, 2012: 198
November 1, 2012: 202
October 1, 2012: 200
September 1, 2012: 201
August 1, 2012: 204
July 1, 2012: 201
June 1, 2012: 199
May 1, 2012: 195
April 1, 2012: 194
March 1, 2012: 193
February 1, 2012: 190
January 1, 2012: 188
December 1, 2011: 211
November 1, 2011: 191
October 1, 2011: 184
September 1, 2011: 177
August 1, 2011: 176
July 1, 2011: 176
June 1, 2011: 169
May 1, 2011: 167
April 1, 2011: 164
March 1, 2011: 161
February 1, 2011:  156
January 1, 2011: 153
December 1, 2010: 148
November 1, 2010: 145
October 1, 2010: 144
September 1, 2010: 138
August 1, 2010: 135
July 1, 2010: 136
June 1, 2010: 133
May 1, 2010: 128
April 1, 2010: 118
March 1, 2010: 107
February 1, 2010: 93
January 1, 2010: 89
December 1, 2009: 76
November 1, 2009: 58

Blogs:

October 1, 2013: 13,521
September 1, 2013: 14,792
August 1, 2013: 14,555
July 1, 2013: 14,432
June 1, 2013: 14,157
May 1, 2013: 14,552
April 1, 2013: 14,234
March 1, 2013: 13,870
February 1, 2013: 13,461
January 1, 2013: 13,110
December 1, 2012: 13,559
November 1, 2012: 13,178
October 1, 2012: 12,908
September 1, 2012: 12,417
August 1, 2012: 12,087
July 1, 2012: 12,759
June 1, 2012: 12,680
May 1, 2012: 12,914
April 1, 2012: 13,295
March 1, 2012: 13,038
February 1, 2012: 13,984
January 1, 2012: 13,571
December 1, 2011: 13,178
November 1, 2011: 14,286
October 1, 2011: 15,116
September 1, 2011: 14,801
August 1, 2011: 14,477
July 1, 2011: 14,053
June 1, 2011: 13,616
May 1, 2011: 12,901
April 1, 2011: 12,502
March 1, 2011: 12,080
February 1, 2011: 11,355
January 1, 2011: 11,087
December 1, 2010: 10,585
November 1, 2010: 10,255
October 1, 2010: 10,056
September 1, 2010: 10,036
August 1, 2010: 9,716
July 1, 2010: 9,429
June 1, 2010: 9,228
May 1, 2010: 9,094
April 1, 2010: 8,944
March 1, 2010: 8,754
February 1, 2010: 8,651
January 1, 2010: 7992
December 1, 2009: 7589
November 1, 2009: 7365

Percentage of books priced from one penny to $50 that are under ten dollars

September (taken October 1, 2013):  87.7% (1,777,735 of 2,024,990)
August (taken September 1, 2013): 88.5% (1,706,130 of 1,928,837)
July (taken August 1, 2013): 87.9% (1,681,162 of 1,913,454)
June (taken July 1, 2013): 87.7% (1,627,666 of 1,855,614)
May (taken June 1, 2013): 87.8% (1,605,912 of 1,828,577)
April (taken May 1, 2013): 87.8% (1,582,685 of 1,801,844)
March (taken April 1, 2013): 88.1% (1,573,845 of 1,785,986)
February (taken March 1, 2013): 88.4% (1,564,429 of 1,770,452)
January (taken February 1, 2013): 89.6% (1,534,604 of 1,713,256)
December (taken January 1, 2013): 89.9% (1,502,267 of 1,671,220)
November (taken December 1): 89.8% (1,451,437 of 1,615,716)
October (taken November 1): 90.0% (1,371,227 of 1,522,810)
September (taken October 1): 90.1% (1,322,272 of 1,466,890)
August (taken September 1): 90.0% (1,278,733 of 1,421,168)
July (taken August 1): 89.9% (1,240,642 of 1,379,399)
June (taken (July 1): 89.7% (1,204,888 of 1,343,776)
May (taken June 1): 89.8% (1,1174,668 of 1,308,331)
April (taken May 1): 89.9% (1,113,793 of 1,261,606)
March (taken April 1): 89.6% (1,089,619 of 1,215,625)
February (taken March 1): 89.7% (1,044,889 of 1,165,368)
January (taken February 1): 89.4% (994,448 of 1,112,467)
December (taken January 1): 89.0% (955,187 of 1,073,539)
November (taken December 1): 88.8% (907,647 of 1,021,647)
October (taken November 1): 88.7% (859,492 of 968,948)
September (taken October 1): 88.6% (835,590 of 943,545)
August (taken September 1): 88.4% (803,271 of 908,602)
July (taken August 1): 89.1% (829,823 of 931,713)
June (taken July 1): 89.2% (801,631 of 898,735)
May (taken June 1): 89.4% (799,845 of 895,091)
April (taken May 1): 89.2% (769,798 of 862,970)
March (taken April 1): 88.9% (739,192 of 831,867)
February (taken March 1): 92.4% (752,043 of 814,009)
January (taken February 1): 88.9% (692,840 of 779,683)
December (taken January 1): 88.8% (663,315 of 746,963)
November (taken December 1): 88.8% (639,676 of 720,179)
October: (taken November 1): 88.8% (617,133 of 695,278)
September (taken October 1): 93.0% (589,877 of 634,375)
August: 88.2% (565,260 of 640,936)
July: 87.7% (522,046 of 595,370)
June: 87.1% (479,793 of 563,436)
May: 86.8% (462,359 of 532,646)
April: 84.8% (377,624 of 445,421)
March: 83.9% (413,302 of 346,665)
February: 84.2% (328,597 of 390,178)
January: 83.4% (295,634 of 354,499)
December: 83.1% (283,497 of 341,112)
November: 82.8% (268,366 of 324,230)
October: 82.2% (252,511 of 307,241)
September: 82.0% (239,666 of 292318)
August: 83.2% (245,524 of 295,210)

Percentage of books with a publication date of the previous month priced from one penny to $50 that are under ten dollars

Books for September: 92.6% (55,613 of 60,082)
Books for August: 94.5% (55,159 of 58,358)
Books for July: 93.7% (55,648 of 59,365)
Books for June: 93.6% (52,745 of 56,323)
Books for May: 92.3% (51,237 of 55,482)
Books for April: 93.3% (53,929 of 57,818)
Books for March: 94.5% (53,632 of 56,758)
Books for February: 94.0% (48,876 of 52,015)
Books for January: 93.8% (50,100 of 53,418)
Books for December: 95.7% (49,147 of 51,337)
Books for November:  93.3% (47,702 of 51,103)
Books for October: 93.5% (48,869 of 52,243)
Books for September: 95.0% (52,571 of 49,491)
Books for August: 94.9% (45,180 of 47,593)
Books for July: 95.2% (46,712 of 49,072)
Books for June: 90.8% (50,056 of 55,143)
Books for May: 93.8% (44,463 of 47,396)
Books for April: 96.6% (45,211 of 46,800)
Books for March: 95.6% (48,578 of 50,788)
Books for February: 97.1% (51,180 of 52,734)
Books for January 2012: 96.9% (49,134 of 50,703)
Books for December: 96.8% (46,619 or 48,151)
Books for November: 96.0% (41,067 of 42,678)
Books for October: 96.2% (37,305 of 38,792)
Books for September 96.1% (33,889 of 35,254)
Books for August: 95.8% (37,440 of 39,100)
Books for July: 96.7% (42,922 of 44,400)
Books for June: 96.4% (45,332 of 47,018)
Books for May: 96.9% (51,840 of 53,484)
Books for April: 96.2% (42,795 of 44,464)
Books for March: 96.1% (38,961 of 40,558)
Books for February: 94.7% (32,379 of 34,206)
Books for January: 95.9% (29,010 of 30,260)
Books for December, 2010: 95.2% (23,419 of 24,593)
Books for November: 96.4% (28,189 of 29.251)
Books for October: 94.6% (22,005 of 23,268)
Books for September: 94.7% (22,338 of 23,592)
Books for August: 95.6% (24,514 of 25,638)
Books for July: 95.3% (24,375 of 25,579)
Books for June: 94.9% (21,774 of 22,945)
Books for May: 94.9% (24,436 of 25,737)
Books for April: 95.9% (23,695 of 24,714)
Books for March: 96.0% (23,703 of 24,699)
Books for February: 96.5% (26,850 of 27,815)
Books for January: 93.3% (11,857 of 12,704)
Books for December: 90.6% (8,948 of 9,879)
Books for November: 94.1% (11,520 of 12,239)
Books for October: 91.2% (6,789 of 7,445)
Books for September: 91.0% (5,104 of 5,608)
Books for August: 96.4% (20,239 of 21,079)

Books in the Seventy Percent Royalty Range ($2.99 – $9.99)

October 1, 2013: 64.6% (1,405,220 of 2,175,847)
September 1, 2013: 64.5% (1,342,522 of 2,081,800)
August 1, 2013: 64.4% (1,327,280 of 2,060,431)
July 1, 2013: 64.5% (1,288,838 of 1,998,705)
June 1, 2013: 65.0% (1,282,211 of  1,972,277)
May 1, 2013: 65.0% (1,261,991 of 1,940,274)
April 1, 2013: 65.7% (1,264,685 of 1,924,138)
March 1, 2013: 66.2% (1,265,680 of 1,913,164)
February 1, 2013: 67.4% (1,247,401 of 1,849,479)
January 1, 2013: 67.8% (1,224,368 of 1,805,001)
December 1, 2012: 67.9% (1,183,346 of 1,742,991)
November 1, 2012: 64.7% (1,061,871 of 1,641,362)
October 1, 2012: 61.4% (969,791 of 1,579,329)
September 1, 2012: 60.4% (924,771 of 1,531,069)
August 1, 2012: 59.4% (883,612 of 1,486,649)
July 1: 61.3% (890,148 of 1,451,504)
June 1:  62.1% (874,145 of 1,407,210)
May 1: 62.6% (850,030 of  1,358,922)
April 1: 66.8% (812,423 of 1,215,625)
March 1: 61.1% (773,783 of 1,265,632)
February 1: 60.5% (731,051 of 1,207,522)
January 1, 2012: 61.6% (718,191 of 1,165,654)
December 1: 62.5% (694,766 of 1,112,876)
November 1: 61.8% (653,971 of 1,058,635)
October 1: 64.6% (667,521 of 1,033,611)
September 1: 65.8% (654,521 of 995,265)
August 1: 66.8% (677,646 of 1,015,056)
July 1: 63.5% (622,648 of 980,434)
June 1: 65.8% (641,867 of 974,841)
May 1: 67.4% (631,871 of 937,831)
April 1: 67.5% (606,223 of 897,663)
March 1: 68.2% (592,077 of 868,351)
February 1: 67.7% (561,035 of 828,708)
January 1: 66.8% (532,092 of 796,131)
December 1, 2010: 66.9% (514,086 of 768,865)
November 1: 66.7% (493,644 of 743,692)
October 1: 68.2% (487,833 of 714,863)
September 1:  66% (453,408 of 687,246)
August 1: 58% (382,691 of 659,479)
July 1: 57.3% (359,361 of 627,343)
June 1: 57.1% (340,379 of 596,300)
May 1: 51.4% (261,869 of 509,229)
April 1: 51.1% (243,718 of 476,653)
March 1: 52.5% (236,418 of 450,625)
February 1: 50.8% (210,978 of 415,100)

Books from one penny to $2.98

October 1, 2013: 17.6% (381,972 of 2,175,847)
September 1, 2013: 17.9% (372,207 of 2,081,800)
August 1, 2013: 17.5% (361,079 of 2,060,431)
July 1, 2013: 17.3% (346,301 of 1,998,705)
June 1, 2013: 16.8% (330,723 of 1,972,277)
May 1, 2013: 16.9% (326,947 of 1,940,274)
April 1, 2013: 16.4% (315,280 of 1,924,138)
March 1, 2013: 15.9% (304,800 of 1,913,164)
February 1, 2013: 15.8% (293,041 of 1,849,479)
January 1, 2013: 15.7% (283,545 of 1,805,001)
December 1, 2012: 15.5% (270,520 of 1,742,991)
November 1, 2012: 19.2% (315,137 of 1,641,362)
October 1, 2012: 22.7% (358,015 of 1,579,329)
September 1, 2012: 23.5% (359,257 of 1,531,069)
August 1, 2012: 24.3% (361,675 of 1,486,649)
July 1: 22.0% (319,951 of 1,451,504)
June 1:  21.7% (305,794 of 1,407,210)
May 1: 21.3% (288,796 of  1,368,922)
April 1: 23.2% (282,254 of 1,215,625)
March 1: 21.8% (275,556 of 1,265,632)
February 1: 22.2% (268,203 of 1,207,522)
January 1, 2012: 20.7% (241,553 of 1,165,654)
December 1: 19.5% (217,026 of 1,112,876)
November 1: 19.8% (209,435 of 1,058,635)
October 1: 16.7% (172,745 of 1,033,611)
September 1: 15.5% (153,891 of 995,265)
August 1: 15.6% (158,010 of 1,015,056)
July 1: 18.9% (185,041 of 980,434)
June 1: 17.0% (165,687 of 974,841)
May 1: 15.6% (146,540 of 937,831)
April 1: 16.2% (145,638 of 897,863)
March 1: 16.9% (147,076 of 868,351)
February 1: 18.1% (149,809 of 828,708)
January 1: 18.7% (148,681 of 796,131)
December 1, 2010: 18.5%  (142,549 of 768,865)
November 1: 18.4% (136,964 of 743,692)
October 1: 17.9% (127,830 of 714,863)
September 1: 18.5% (127,165 of 687,246)
August 1: 21.1% (139,277 of 659,479)
July 1: 21% (131,432 of 627,343)
June 1: 20.5% (121,981 of 596,300)
May 1: 22.7% (115,756 of 509,229)
April 1: 21.6% (102,948 of 476,653)
March 1: 20.5% (92,180 of 450,625)
February 1: 20.4% (84,721 of 415,100)

Price Point Analysis of New York Times Hardback Fiction Equivalents

October 1, 2013:

10.99 10.99 10.99 10.99 10.99 10.99 9.99 9.45 5.99 10.99

10.99 10.99 10.99 10.99 10.99 5.99 9.99 12.8010.99 10.99

Average: $10.40

September 4, 2013:

6.50 10.99 11.99 10.99 11.04 10.99 4.99 10.99 10.99 6.50
9.00 8.00 11.99 10.99 7.48 10.67 11.99 11.99 10.99 12.60

Average: $10.08

August 1, 2013:

11.99 12.99 9.99 12.99 11.99 10.99 9.99 12.99 9.99 9.99

12.99 12.99 11.04 12.99 8.52 12.99 14.99 10.91 11.04 11.84

Average: $11.71

July 1, 2013:

7.99 12.99 11.04 12.99 12.99 11.04 11.04 7.99 11.04 11.04

12.99 12.99 7.99 7.49 11.04 14.99 7.49 12.99 10.99 12.74

Average: $11.09

June 1, 2013:

12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 8.99 12.99 13.99 12.99 12.99 9.00

14.99 12.99 9.99 9.99 10.99 14.99 10.99 12.80 9.68 12.99

Average: $12.12

May 1, 2013:

12.99 10.99 12.74 12.99 7.99 12.99 10.99 12.99 12.99 12.99
12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 10.99 10.99 12.99 7.49 14.99 12.59

Average: $12.23

April 1, 2013:

12.74 12.99 11.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 9.45
11.99 14.99 14.99 9.68 12.99 12.99 12.99 9.78 11.04 10.67

Average: $12.36

March 1, 2013:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 N/A 10.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99
12.74 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99

Average: $12.92

February 1, 2013:

N/A 12.99 12.74 12.99 9.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 11.04 12.99

9.99 8.00 12.99 11.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 13.59

Average: $12.38

January 1, 2013:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 11.04 11.04 12.74 11.43 12.74 12.99

11.99 9.99 12.99 7.50 12.99 8.00 19.99 13.49 13.99 14.99

Average: 12.49

December 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 11.99

12.99 12.99 19.99 9.50 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $13.22

November 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 19.99 12.99 9.50 12.99

11.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99 13.99 14.99 12.80 11.99 12.99

Average: $13.26

October 1, 2012:

19.99 12.99 12.99 9.50 12.99 12.99 9.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 11.99 9.45 12.99 11.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $12.84

September 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99 12.99 9.99 14.99 12.99 14.99 1.99

Average: $12.49

August 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $13.04

July 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 14.99 12.99 12.99

Average: 13.29

June 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99

12.99 9.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99 14.99

Average: $12.94

May 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 11.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $13.04

April 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

14.99* 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 11.9912.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $13.14

March 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99* 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

9.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

$13.04

February 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99* 12.99 9.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $13.04

* There was also an enhanced audio/visual version of this book for $16.99. I chose to enter it here only in the standard version, since that most closely represents the comparison between paper and e-book versions. It isn’t necessary to pay $16.99: it’s an additional payment for more features

January 1, 2012

Average: $13.14

December 1, 2011

Average: $12.40

November 1, 2011:

Average: $12.45

October 1, 2011:

Avg: $13.09

September 1, 2011:

Avg: 12.99

August 1, 2011:

Avg $13.29

July 1, 2011

Avg $13.09

June 1, 2011

Avg: $12.81

May 1, 2011

Average: $12.84

April 1, 2011

Average: $12.69

March 1, 2011

Average: $12.83

February 1, 2011

Average: $12.25
Agency Model average: $12.86
Non-Agency Model average: $9.99

January 1, 2011

Average: $12.52

Agency Model: $12.99

Non-Agency: $9.99

December 1, 2010:

Average: $12.78
Agency Model average: $13.52
Non-Agency Model average: $9.99

November 1, 2010:

Average: $12.83
Agency Model average: $13.59
Non-Agency Model average: $9.99

October 1, 2010:

Average: $12.38
Agency Model average: $12.79
Non-Agency Model average: $10.87

September 1, 2010:

Average: $12.52
Agency Model average $12.99
Non-Agency Model average $9.99

Textbooks in the Kindle Store

October 1, 2013: 34,585
September 1, 2013:  30,925
August 1, 2013: 29,956
July 1, 2013: 29,070
June 1, 2013: 28,194
May 1, 2013: 27,110
April 1, 2013: 26,35
March 1, 2013: 26,100
February 1, 2013: 25,000
January 1, 2013: 23,256
December 1, 2012: 21,507
November 1, 2012: 19,796
October 1, 2012: 19,095
September 1, 2012: 18,369
August 1, 2012: 17,756
July 1, 2012: 24,629
June 1, 2012: 15,581
May 1, 2012: 14,868
April 1, 2012: 16,509
March 1, 2012: 15,434
February 1, 2012: 14,827
January 1, 2012: 13,828
December 1, 2011: 13,396
November 1, 2011: 13,131
October 1, 2011: 12,788
September 1, 2011: 11,966
August 1, 2011: 10,316
July 1, 2011: 9,852
June 1, 2011: 9,442
May 1, 2011: 9,193
April 1, 2011:  8,952
March 1, 2011: 8,633
February 1, 2011: 8,342
January 1, 2011: 7,926
December 1, 2010: 7,637
November 1, 2010: 7,355
October 1, 2010: 7, 162
September 1, 2010: 6,831
August 1, 2010: 6,661
July 1, 2010: 6,481
June 1, 2010: 6,249
May 1, 2010: 6,117
April 1, 2010: 5,973
March 1, 2010: 5,728
February 1, 2010: 5,673
January 1, 2010: 5,549
December 1, 2009: 4,892
November 1, 2009: 4,768
October 1, 2009: 4,633
September 24, 2009: 4,678
August 11, 2009: 4,381

Free books (including public domain)

October 1, 2013: 56,199
September 1, 2013: 57,547
August 1, 2013: 56,113
July 1, 2013: 55,068
June 1, 2013: 55,811
May 1, 2013: 54,033
April 1, 2013: 55,670
March 1, 2013: 54,946
February 1, 2013: 54,567
January 1, 2013: 54,538
December 1, 2012: 50,869
November 1, 2012: 50,938
October 1, 2012: 50,982
September 1, 2012: 52,601
August 1, 2012: 51,680
July 1: 53,728
June 1: 50,470
May 1: 48,904
April 1: 49,826
March 1: 51,860
February 1: 48,207
January 1, 2012: 46,201
December 1: 43,757
November 1: 42,657
October 1, 2011: 42,710
September 1, 2011: 39,540
August 1, 2011: 38,936
July 1, 2011: 38,627
June 1, 2011: 37,415
May 1, 2011: 36,481
April 1, 2011: 33,469
March 1, 2011: 15,931
February 1, 2011: 15,947
January 1, 2011: 16,758
December 1, 2010: 16,708
November 1, 2010: 16,703
October 1, 2010: 16,702
September 1, 2010: 16,726
August 1, 2010: 20,634
July 1, 2010: 20,628
June 1, 2010: 20,590
May 1, 2010: 20,601
April 1, 2010: 20,619
March 1, 2010: 20,143
February 1, 2010: 19788
January 1, 2010: 19,802
December 1, 2009: 19,895
November 1, 2009: 18,547
October 1, 2009: 7,428
February 28, 2009: 7,401

Free books (without public domain)

October 1, 2013: 9,726
September 1, 2013: 10,794
August 1, 2013: 9,816
July 1, 2013: 8,921
June 1, 2013: 9,582
May 1, 2013: 7,807
April 1, 2013: 7,761
March 1, 2013: 7,710
February 1, 2013: 7,404
January 1, 2013: 7,261
December 1, 2012: 7,089
November 1, 2012: 7,186
October 1, 2012: 7,259
September 1, 2012: 8,701
August 1, 2012: 7,829
July 1, 2012: 9,660
June 1, 2012: 6,715
May 1, 2012: 5,195
April 1, 2012: 5,622
March 1, 2012: 8,356
February 1, 2012: 6,109
January 1, 2012: 4,102
December 1, 2011: 2,007
November 1, 2011: 1,681
October 1, 2011: 1,449
September 1, 2011: 1,283
August 1, 2011: 1,046
July 1, 2011: 883
June 1, 2011: 707
May 1, 2011: 20,984
April 1, 2011: 17,832
March 1, 2011: 241
February 1, 2011: 240
January 1, 2011: 230
December 1, 2010: 183
November 1, 2010: 171
October 1, 2010: 161
September 1, 2010: 143
August 1, 2010: 621 (125 without Amazon Breakthrough nominees)
July 1, 2010: 599 (102 without Amazon Breakthrough nominees)
June 1, 2010: 559 (63 without Amazon Breakthrough nominees)
May 1, 2010: 556 (57 without Amazon Breakthrough nominees)
April 1, 2010: 560 (59 without Amazon Breakthrough nominees)
March 1, 2010: 67
February 1, 2010: 52
January 1, 2010: 53
December 1, 2009: 84
November 1, 2009: 64
October 1, 2009: 67

Spanish edition books*

October 1, 2013: 76,079
September 1, 2013: 73,649
August 1, 2013: 71,335
July 1, 2013: 68,643
June 1, 2013: 66,070
May 1, 2013: 63,842
April 1, 2013: 61,264
March 1, 2013: 54,839
February 1, 2013: 52,638
January 1, 2013: 51,302
December 1, 2012: 48,905
November 1, 2012: 46,790
October 1, 2012: 44,232
September 1, 2012: 41,659
August 1, 2012: 40,214
July 1, 2012: 38,684
June 1, 2012: 36,891
May 1, 2012: 34,308
April 1, 2012: 32,157
March 1, 2012: 29,480
February 1, 2012: 22,834
January 1, 2012: 22,492
December 1, 2011: 19,928
November 1, 2011: 15,758
October 1, 2011: 16,874
September 1, 2011: 14,805
August 1, 2011: 11,383
July 1, 2011: 10,552
June 1, 2011: 9,917
May 1, 2011: 9,251
April 1, 2011: 8,362
March 1, 2011: 9,244
February 1, 2011: 8,608
January 1, 2011: 8.045
December 1, 2010: 5,839
November 1, 2010: 5,286
October 1, 2010: 4,982
September 1, 2010: 4,723
August 1, 2010: 4,623
July 1, 2010: 4,398
June 1, 2010: 4,078
May 1, 2010: 3,735
April 1, 2010: 3,383
March 1, 2010: 2,841
February 1, 2010: 2,548
January 1, 2010: 2,363
December 1, 2009: 3,483

Books in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL)

October 1, 2013: 428,318 (19.7%)
September 1, 2013: 408,514 (19.8%)
August 1, 2013: 389,380 (18.9%)
July 1, 2013: 369,622 (18.5%)
June 1, 2013: 352,649 (17.1%)
May 1, 2013: 336,351 (17.3%)
April 1, 2013: 319,676 (16.6%)
March 1, 2013: 302,080 (15.8%)
February 1, 2013: 283,641 (15.3%)
January 1, 2013: 264,444
December 1, 2012: 242,716
November 1, 2012: 235,957
October 1, 2012: 216,873
September 1, 2012: 198,009
August 1, 2012: 180,133
July 1, 2012: 168,440
June 1, 2012: 159,937
May 1, 2012: 146,182
April 1, 2012: 131,110
March 1, 2012: 117,652
February 1, 2012: 95,020
January 1, 2012: 69,850 (new measurement)

Price Point Analysis

April 1, 2010 was “Agency Day”, when the pricing system for some of the largest trade publishers in the US changed. I’ve started tracking price points, to see how that is affecting things. These are not ranges: it’s how many books are at a specific price point.

	4/1/2010
Total	476653
Prime	413032
Under $10	346665
	83.9%
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$ 0.99	43,993	9.17%	0.01%
$ 1.99	7,704	1.61%	0.00%
$ 2.99	14,560	3.03%	0.00%
$ 3.99	17,390	3.62%	-0.02%
$ 4.99	9,758	2.03%	-0.01%
$ 5.99	2,691	0.56%	0.00%
$ 6.99	1,800	0.38%	0.00%
$ 7.99	10,927	2.28%	-0.25%
$ 8.99	1,312	0.27%	0.00%
$ 9.99	51,857	10.80%	-0.26%
$ 10.99	191	0.04%	0.00%
$ 11.99	196	0.04%	0.00%
$ 12.99	308	0.06%	0.00%
$ 13.99	93	0.02%	0.00%
$ 14.99	806	0.17%	0.00%
$ 15.99	114	0.02%	0.00%
$ 16.99	67	0.01%	0.00%
$ 17.99	43	0.01%	0.00%
$ 18.99	21	0.00%	0.00%
$ 19.99	201	0.04%	0.00%
$ 20.99	11	0.00%	0.00%
$ 21.99	11	0.00%	0.00%
$ 22.99	21	0.00%	0.00%
$ 23.99	5	0.00%	0.00%
$ 24.99	50	0.01%	0.00%

—

4/1/2011
Total	897,663
Prime	831,867
Under $10	739192
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	71,036	7.91%	-0.84%
$    1.99	15,994	1.78%	0.06%
$    2.99	50,033	5.57%	0.30%
$    3.99	23,986	2.67%	0.24%
$    4.99	20,374	2.27%	0.48%
$    5.99	10,560	1.18%	0.16%
$    6.99	7,422	0.83%	0.07%
$    7.99	18,354	2.04%	0.20%
$    8.99	4,436	0.49%	-0.04%
$    9.99	96,211	10.72%	0.88%
$   10.99	766	0.09%	0.02%
$   11.99	1,383	0.15%	-0.01%
$   12.99	2,122	0.24%	0.01%
$   13.99	506	0.06%	0.00%
$   14.99	1,519	0.17%	-0.01%
$   15.99	172	0.02%	0.01%
$   16.99	225	0.03%	0.00%
$   17.99	403	0.04%	0.02%
$   18.99	199	0.02%	0.01%
$   19.99	568	0.06%	-0.01%
$   20.99	45	0.01%	0.00%
$   21.99	152	0.02%	0.00%
$   22.99	21	0.00%	0.00%
$   23.99	22	0.00%	0.00%
$   24.99	104	0.01%	-0.04%

—

5/1/2011
Total	937,831
Prime	862,970
Under $10	769,798
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	74,929	7.99%	0.08%
$        1.99	16,497	1.76%	-0.02%
$        2.99	56,878	6.06%	0.49%
$        3.99	22,937	2.45%	-0.23%
$        4.99	24,880	2.65%	0.38%
$        5.99	13,387	1.43%	0.25%
$        6.99	5,215	0.56%	-0.27%
$        7.99	18,992	2.03%	-0.02%
$        8.99	5,053	0.54%	0.04%
$        9.99	103,463	11.03%	0.31%
$      10.99	865	0.09%	0.01%
$      11.99	1,412	0.15%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,271	0.24%	0.01%
$      13.99	490	0.05%	0.00%
$      14.99	1,577	0.17%	0.00%
$      15.99	134	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	235	0.03%	0.00%
$      17.99	471	0.05%	0.01%
$      18.99	207	0.02%	0.00%
$      19.99	465	0.05%	-0.01%
$      20.99	29	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	172	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	34	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	79	0.01%	0.01%
$      24.99	110	0.01%	0.00%

—

6/1/2011
Total	974,841
Prime	895,091
Under $10	799,845
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	81,095	8.32%	0.33%
$        1.99	16,628	1.71%	-0.05%
$        2.99	54,630	5.60%	-0.46%
$        3.99	22,026	2.26%	-0.19%
$        4.99	18,976	1.95%	-0.71%
$        5.99	10,685	1.10%	-0.33%
$        6.99	7,039	0.72%	0.17%
$        7.99	15,841	1.62%	-0.40%
$        8.99	4,226	0.43%	-0.11%
$        9.99	90,005	9.23%	-1.80%
$      10.99	619	0.06%	-0.03%
$      11.99	1,481	0.15%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,112	0.22%	-0.03%
$      13.99	571	0.06%	0.01%
$      14.99	1,720	0.18%	0.01%
$      15.99	176	0.02%	0.00%
$      16.99	230	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	251	0.03%	-0.02%
$      18.99	178	0.02%	0.00%
$      19.99	468	0.05%	0.00%
$      20.99	25	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	200	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	29	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	59	0.01%	0.00%
$      24.99	121	0.01%	0.00%

—

July 1, 2011

7/1/2011
Total	980,434
Prime	898,735
Under $10	801,631
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	73,957	7.54%	-0.78%
$        1.99	18,207	1.86%	0.15%
$        2.99	34,414	3.51%	-2.09%
$        3.99	26,942	2.75%	0.49%
$        4.99	8,926	0.91%	-1.04%
$        5.99	5,117	0.52%	-0.57%
$        6.99	3,725	0.38%	-0.34%
$        7.99	14,537	1.48%	-0.14%
$        8.99	2,009	0.20%	-0.23%
$        9.99	79,377	8.10%	-1.14%
$      10.99	491	0.05%	-0.01%
$      11.99	1,574	0.16%	0.01%
$      12.99	1,863	0.19%	-0.03%
$      13.99	509	0.05%	-0.01%
$      14.99	1,555	0.16%	-0.02%
$      15.99	453	0.05%	0.03%
$      16.99	201	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	138	0.01%	-0.01%
$      18.99	118	0.01%	-0.01%
$      19.99	271	0.03%	-0.02%
$      20.99	18	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	186	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	32	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	111	0.01%	0.01%
$      24.99	125	0.01%	0.00%

—

August 1, 2011

8/1/2011
Total	1,015,056
Prime	931,713
Under $10	829,823
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	76,233	7.51%	-0.03%
$    1.99	17,083	1.68%	-0.17%
$    2.99	66,967	6.60%	3.09%
$    3.99	12,921	1.27%	-1.48%
$    4.99	27,893	2.75%	1.84%
$    5.99	12,894	1.27%	0.75%
$    6.99	2,715	0.27%	-0.11%
$    7.99	18,431	1.82%	0.33%
$    8.99	5,638	0.56%	0.35%
$    9.99	111,705	11.00%	2.91%
$   10.99	473	0.05%	0.00%
$   11.99	1,691	0.17%	0.01%
$   12.99	2,129	0.21%	0.02%
$   13.99	576	0.06%	0.00%
$   14.99	1,768	0.17%	0.02%
$   15.99	252	0.02%	-0.02%
$   16.99	230	0.02%	0.00%
$   17.99	128	0.01%	0.00%
$   18.99	249	0.02%	0.01%
$   19.99	468	0.05%	0.02%
$   20.99	46	0.00%	0.00%
$   21.99	166	0.02%	0.00%
$   22.99	64	0.01%	0.00%
$   23.99	90	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	59	0.01%	-0.01%

September 1, 2011

9/1/2011
Total	995,265
Prime	908,602
Under $10	803,271
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	77,793	7.82%	0.31%
$    1.99	16,614	1.67%	-0.01%
$    2.99	56,503	5.68%	-0.92%
$    3.99	21,995	2.21%	0.94%
$    4.99	21,595	2.17%	-0.58%
$    5.99	11,312	1.14%	-0.13%
$    6.99	7,477	0.75%	0.48%
$    7.99	16,948	1.70%	-0.11%
$    8.99	14,883	1.50%	0.94%
$    9.99	102,626	10.31%	-0.69%
$   10.99	485	0.05%	0.00%
$   11.99	983	0.10%	-0.07%
$   12.99	1,374	0.14%	-0.07%
$   13.99	316	0.03%	-0.02%
$   14.99	1,501	0.15%	-0.02%
$   15.99	160	0.02%	-0.01%
$   16.99	159	0.02%	-0.01%
$   17.99	285	0.03%	0.02%
$   18.99	165	0.02%	-0.01%
$   19.99	446	0.04%	0.00%
$   20.99	50	0.01%	0.00%
$   21.99	171	0.02%	0.00%
$   22.99	41	0.00%	0.00%
$   23.99	33	0.00%	-0.01%
$   24.99	109	0.01%	0.01%

—

10/1/2011
Total	1,033,611
Prime	943,545
Under $10	835,590
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	81,946	7.93%	0.11%
$        1.99	16,172	1.56%	-0.10%
$        2.99	48,287	4.67%	-1.01%
$        3.99	16,808	1.63%	-0.58%
$        4.99	17,389	1.68%	-0.49%
$        5.99	8,259	0.80%	-0.34%
$        6.99	5,300	0.51%	-0.24%
$        7.99	10,833	1.05%	-0.65%
$        8.99	12,478	1.21%	-0.29%
$        9.99	89,175	8.63%	-1.68%
$      10.99	395	0.04%	-0.01%
$      11.99	804	0.08%	-0.02%
$      12.99	1,285	0.12%	-0.01%
$      13.99	302	0.03%	0.00%
$      14.99	1,386	0.13%	-0.02%
$      15.99	146	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	151	0.01%	0.00%
$      17.99	144	0.01%	-0.01%
$      18.99	75	0.01%	-0.01%
$      19.99	368	0.04%	-0.01%
$      20.99	22	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	150	0.01%	0.00%
$      22.99	26	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	35	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	66	0.01%	0.00%

—

11/1/2011
Total	1,058,635
Prime	968,948
Under $10	859,492
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	84,612	7.99%	0.06%
$    1.99	7,659	0.72%	-0.84%
$    2.99	19,157	1.81%	-2.86%
$    3.99	10,245	0.97%	-0.66%
$    4.99	7,451	0.70%	-0.98%
$    5.99	3,026	0.29%	-0.51%
$    6.99	2,533	0.24%	-0.27%
$    7.99	8,414	0.79%	-0.25%
$    8.99	11,882	1.12%	-0.08%
$    9.99	70,312	6.64%	-1.99%
$   10.99	348	0.03%	-0.01%
$   11.99	1,144	0.11%	0.03%
$   12.99	1,068	0.10%	-0.02%
$   13.99	280	0.03%	0.00%
$   14.99	1,171	0.11%	-0.02%
$   15.99	69	0.01%	-0.01%
$   16.99	118	0.01%	0.00%
$   17.99	116	0.01%	0.00%
$   18.99	59	0.01%	0.00%
$   19.99	234	0.02%	-0.01%
$   20.99	33	0.00%	0.00%
$   21.99	153	0.01%	0.00%
$   22.99	29	0.00%	0.00%
$   23.99	28	0.00%	0.00%
$   24.99	89	0.01%	0.00%

—

12/1/2011
Total	1,112,876
Prime	1021677
Under $10	907,647
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	90,203	8.11%	0.11%
$    1.99	17,711	1.59%	0.87%
$    2.99	29,634	2.66%	0.85%
$    3.99	23,617	2.12%	1.15%
$    4.99	23,320	2.10%	1.39%
$    5.99	4,606	0.41%	0.13%
$    6.99	4,887	0.44%	0.20%
$    7.99	13,241	1.19%	0.40%
$    8.99	10,646	0.96%	-0.17%
$    9.99	71,709	6.44%	-0.20%
$   10.99	466	0.04%	0.01%
$   11.99	598	0.05%	-0.05%
$   12.99	1,038	0.09%	-0.01%
$   13.99	317	0.03%	0.00%
$   14.99	1,234	0.11%	0.00%
$   15.99	78	0.01%	0.00%
$   16.99	109	0.01%	0.00%
$   17.99	132	0.01%	0.00%
$   18.99	50	0.00%	0.00%
$   19.99	278	0.02%	0.00%
$   20.99	25	0.00%	0.00%
$   21.99	168	0.02%	0.00%
$   22.99	31	0.00%	0.00%
$   23.99	25	0.00%	0.00%
$   24.99	104	0.01%	0.00%

—

1/1/2012
Total	1,165,654
Prime	1073539
Under $10	955,187
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	99,225	8.51%	0.41%
$        1.99	16,088	1.38%	-0.21%
$        2.99	38,295	3.29%	0.62%
$        3.99	24,602	2.11%	-0.01%
$        4.99	18,289	1.57%	-0.53%
$        5.99	4,438	0.38%	-0.03%
$        6.99	5,002	0.43%	-0.01%
$        7.99	11,495	0.99%	-0.20%
$        8.99	12,412	1.06%	0.11%
$        9.99	68,467	5.87%	-0.57%
$      10.99	421	0.04%	-0.01%
$      11.99	549	0.05%	-0.01%
$      12.99	1,010	0.09%	-0.01%
$      13.99	270	0.02%	-0.01%
$      14.99	1,272	0.11%	0.00%
$      15.99	142	0.01%	0.01%
$      16.99	102	0.01%	0.00%
$      17.99	192	0.02%	0.00%
$      18.99	44	0.00%	0.00%
$      19.99	279	0.02%	0.00%
$      20.99	19	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	134	0.01%	0.00%
$      22.99	30	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	36	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	108	0.01%	0.00%

—

2/1/2012
Total	1,207,522
Prime	1,112,467
Under $10	994,448
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	107,238	8.88%	0.37%
$        1.99	8,528	0.71%	-0.67%
$        2.99	28,515	2.36%	-0.92%
$        3.99	7,463	0.62%	-1.49%
$        4.99	6,509	0.54%	-1.03%
$        5.99	2,761	0.23%	-0.15%
$        6.99	2,740	0.23%	-0.20%
$        7.99	7,571	0.63%	-0.36%
$        8.99	13,377	1.11%	0.04%
$        9.99	58,244	4.82%	-1.05%
$      10.99	331	0.03%	-0.01%
$      11.99	476	0.04%	-0.01%
$      12.99	914	0.08%	-0.01%
$      13.99	186	0.02%	-0.01%
$      14.99	988	0.08%	-0.03%
$      15.99	82	0.01%	-0.01%
$      16.99	98	0.01%	0.00%
$      17.99	194	0.02%	0.00%
$      18.99	59	0.00%	0.00%
$      19.99	167	0.01%	-0.01%
$      20.99	15	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	163	0.01%	0.00%
$      22.99	20	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	19	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	58	0.00%	0.00%

—

3/1/2012
Total	1,265,632
Prime	1,165,368
Under $10	1,044,889
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	113,150	8.94%	0.06%
$        1.99	10,638	0.84%	0.13%
$        2.99	43,320	3.42%	1.06%
$        3.99	18,776	1.48%	0.87%
$        4.99	8,565	0.68%	0.14%
$        5.99	3,879	0.31%	0.08%
$        6.99	3,591	0.28%	0.06%
$        7.99	8,164	0.65%	0.02%
$        8.99	14,825	1.17%	0.06%
$        9.99	62,009	4.90%	0.08%
$      10.99	375	0.03%	0.00%
$      11.99	673	0.05%	0.01%
$      12.99	936	0.07%	0.00%
$      13.99	249	0.02%	0.00%
$      14.99	1,005	0.08%	0.00%
$      15.99	117	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	102	0.01%	0.00%
$      17.99	210	0.02%	0.00%
$      18.99	55	0.00%	0.00%
$      19.99	213	0.02%	0.00%
$      20.99	12	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	170	0.01%	0.00%
$      22.99	26	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	20	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	73	0.01%	0.00%

—

4/1/2012
Total	1,315,927
Prime	1,215,625
Under $10	1,089,619
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	118,411	9.00%	0.06%
$        1.99	12,440	0.95%	0.10%
$        2.99	53,686	4.08%	0.66%
$        3.99	30,997	2.36%	0.87%
$        4.99	10,786	0.82%	0.14%
$        5.99	5,026	0.38%	0.08%
$        6.99	4,705	0.36%	0.07%
$        7.99	8,988	0.68%	0.04%
$        8.99	5,461	0.41%	-0.76%
$        9.99	71,568	5.44%	0.54%
$      10.99	654	0.05%	0.02%
$      11.99	1,281	0.10%	0.04%
$      12.99	1,835	0.14%	0.07%
$      13.99	438	0.03%	0.01%
$      14.99	1,739	0.13%	0.05%
$      15.99	323	0.02%	0.02%
$      16.99	236	0.02%	0.01%
$      17.99	86	0.01%	-0.01%
$      18.99	118	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	395	0.03%	0.01%
$      20.99	25	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	272	0.02%	0.01%
$      22.99	34	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	17	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	96	0.01%	0.00%

—

5/1/2012
Total	1,358,922
Prime	1,261,606
Under $10	1,133,793
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	122,040	9.27%	0.28%
$        1.99	13,124	1.00%	0.05%
$        2.99	64,106	4.87%	0.79%
$        3.99	37,072	2.82%	0.46%
$        4.99	12,631	0.96%	0.14%
$        5.99	6,288	0.48%	0.10%
$        6.99	4,897	0.37%	0.01%
$        7.99	10,145	0.77%	0.09%
$        8.99	3,156	0.24%	-0.18%
$        9.99	76,063	5.78%	0.34%
$      10.99	809	0.06%	0.01%
$      11.99	1,816	0.14%	0.04%
$      12.99	2,159	0.16%	0.02%
$      13.99	565	0.04%	0.01%
$      14.99	2,010	0.15%	0.02%
$      15.99	140	0.01%	-0.01%
$      16.99	306	0.02%	0.01%
$      17.99	78	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	91	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	471	0.04%	0.01%
$      20.99	24	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	283	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	34	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	27	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	150	0.01%	0.00%

—

5/1/2012
Total	1,407,210
Prime	1,308,331
Under $10	1,174,668
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	125,811	9.56%	0.29%
$        1.99	13,076	0.99%	0.00%
$        2.99	66,685	5.07%	0.20%
$        3.99	36,204	2.75%	-0.07%
$        4.99	11,225	0.85%	-0.11%
$        5.99	5,903	0.45%	-0.03%
$        6.99	4,569	0.35%	-0.02%
$        7.99	10,524	0.80%	0.03%
$        8.99	2,717	0.21%	-0.03%
$        9.99	71,733	5.45%	-0.33%
$      10.99	885	0.07%	0.01%
$      11.99	1,818	0.14%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,140	0.16%	0.00%
$      13.99	684	0.05%	0.01%
$      14.99	2,042	0.16%	0.00%
$      15.99	182	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	302	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	73	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	108	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	513	0.04%	0.00%
$      20.99	29	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	251	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	35	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	29	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	97	0.01%	0.00%

—

7/1/2012
Total	1,451,504
Prime	1,343,776
Under $10	1,204,888
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	129,323	8.91%	-0.65%
$        1.99	12,780	0.88%	-0.11%
$        2.99	64,315	4.43%	-0.64%
$        3.99	27,128	1.87%	-0.88%
$        4.99	12,335	0.85%	0.00%
$        5.99	6,307	0.43%	-0.01%
$        6.99	5,118	0.35%	0.01%
$        7.99	10,689	0.74%	-0.06%
$        8.99	2,871	0.20%	-0.01%
$        9.99	78,303	5.39%	-0.06%
$      10.99	875	0.06%	-0.01%
$      11.99	1,804	0.12%	-0.01%
$      12.99	2,291	0.16%	0.00%
$      13.99	688	0.05%	0.00%
$      14.99	2,225	0.15%	0.00%
$      15.99	218	0.02%	0.00%
$      16.99	332	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	79	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	104	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	443	0.03%	-0.01%
$      20.99	26	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	319	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	44	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	30	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	109	0.01%	0.00%

—

8/1/2012
Total	1,486,649
Prime	1,379,399
Under $10	1,240,062
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	137,876	9.27%	0.36%
$        1.99	9,880	0.66%	-0.22%
$        2.99	46,971	3.16%	-1.27%
$        3.99	12,096	0.81%	-1.06%
$        4.99	8,445	0.57%	-0.28%
$        5.99	4,956	0.33%	-0.10%
$        6.99	3,180	0.21%	-0.14%
$        7.99	10,781	0.73%	-0.01%
$        8.99	2,877	0.19%	0.00%
$        9.99	70,140	4.72%	-0.68%
$      10.99	962	0.06%	0.00%
$      11.99	1,910	0.13%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,371	0.16%	0.00%
$      13.99	636	0.04%	0.00%
$      14.99	2,056	0.14%	-0.01%
$      15.99	192	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	357	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	121	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	82	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	337	0.02%	-0.01%
$      20.99	35	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	364	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	38	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	24	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	86	0.01%	0.00%

—

9/1/2012
Total	1,531,069
Prime	1,421,168
Under $10	1,278,733
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	144,288	9.42%	0.15%
$        1.99	13,399	0.88%	0.21%
$        2.99	68,395	4.47%	1.31%
$        3.99	14,760	0.96%	0.15%
$        4.99	11,627	0.76%	0.19%
$        5.99	6,456	0.42%	0.09%
$        6.99	5,407	0.35%	0.14%
$        7.99	11,697	0.76%	0.04%
$        8.99	3,050	0.20%	0.01%
$        9.99	74,605	4.87%	0.15%
$      10.99	955	0.06%	0.00%
$      11.99	1,973	0.13%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,119	0.14%	-0.02%
$      13.99	582	0.04%	0.00%
$      14.99	2,039	0.13%	-0.01%
$      15.99	212	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	347	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	127	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	81	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	385	0.03%	0.00%
$      20.99	19	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	313	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	38	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	26	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	99	0.01%	0.00%

—

10/1/2012
Total	1,579,329
Prime	1,466,890
Under $10	1,322,272
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	147,931	9.37%	-0.06%
$        1.99	16,053	1.02%	0.14%
$        2.99	87,788	5.56%	1.09%
$        3.99	20,853	1.32%	0.36%
$        4.99	14,656	0.93%	0.17%
$        5.99	7,558	0.48%	0.06%
$        6.99	6,642	0.42%	0.07%
$        7.99	13,807	0.87%	0.11%
$        8.99	3,256	0.21%	0.01%
$        9.99	84,003	5.32%	0.45%
$      10.99	972	0.06%	0.00%
$      11.99	2,052	0.13%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,189	0.14%	0.00%
$      13.99	587	0.04%	0.00%
$      14.99	2,123	0.13%	0.00%
$      15.99	216	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	339	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	109	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	117	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	509	0.03%	0.01%
$      20.99	32	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	371	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	38	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	32	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	109	0.01%	0.00%

—

Total	1,641,362
Prime	1,522,810
Under $10	1,371,227
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	155,732	9.49%	0.12%
$    1.99	24,777	1.51%	0.49%
$    2.99	134,461	8.19%	2.63%
$    3.99	49,221	3.00%	1.68%
$    4.99	29,671	1.81%	0.88%
$    5.99	15,629	0.95%	0.47%
$    6.99	12,969	0.79%	0.37%
$    7.99	22,527	1.37%	0.50%
$    8.99	6,642	0.40%	0.20%
$    9.99	134,811	8.21%	2.89%
$   10.99	1,576	0.10%	0.03%
$   11.99	2,986	0.18%	0.05%
$   12.99	3,292	0.20%	0.06%
$   13.99	894	0.05%	0.02%
$   14.99	2,717	0.17%	0.03%
$   15.99	319	0.02%	0.01%
$   16.99	481	0.03%	0.01%
$   17.99	235	0.01%	0.01%
$   18.99	237	0.01%	0.01%
$   19.99	902	0.05%	0.02%
$   20.99	68	0.00%	0.00%
$   21.99	431	0.03%	0.00%
$   22.99	87	0.01%	0.00%
$   23.99	86	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	218	0.01%	0.01%

—

12/1/2012
Total	1,742,991
Prime	1,615,716
Under $10	1,451,437
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	163,634	9.97%	0.48%
$        1.99	40,111	2.44%	0.93%
$        2.99	192,449	11.72%	3.53%
$        3.99	122,419	7.46%	4.46%
$        4.99	50,073	3.05%	1.24%
$        5.99	27,780	1.69%	0.74%
$        6.99	20,681	1.26%	0.47%
$        7.99	40,348	2.46%	1.09%
$        8.99	10,692	0.65%	0.25%
$        9.99	236,101	14.38%	6.17%
$      10.99	2,423	0.15%	0.05%
$      11.99	4,346	0.26%	0.08%
$      12.99	4,614	0.28%	0.08%
$      13.99	1,299	0.08%	0.02%
$      14.99	3,439	0.21%	0.04%
$      15.99	840	0.05%	0.03%
$      16.99	595	0.04%	0.01%
$      17.99	354	0.02%	0.01%
$      18.99	495	0.03%	0.02%
$      19.99	1,498	0.09%	0.04%
$      20.99	120	0.01%	0.00%
$      21.99	383	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	153	0.01%	0.00%
$      23.99	136	0.01%	0.00%
$      24.99	370	0.02%	0.01%

—

1/1/2013
Total	1,805,001
Prime	1,671,220
Under $10	1,502,267
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	172,149	10.49%	0.52%
$    1.99	42,262	2.57%	0.13%
$    2.99	206,531	12.58%	0.86%
$    3.99	126,369	7.70%	0.24%
$    4.99	52,158	3.18%	0.13%
$    5.99	29,128	1.77%	0.08%
$    6.99	20,656	1.26%	0.00%
$    7.99	41,417	2.52%	0.07%
$    8.99	10,775	0.66%	0.01%
$    9.99	235,662	14.36%	-0.03%
$   10.99	2,195	0.13%	-0.01%
$   11.99	4,123	0.25%	-0.01%
$   12.99	4,319	0.26%	-0.02%
$   13.99	1,207	0.07%	-0.01%
$   14.99	3,600	0.22%	0.01%
$   15.99	966	0.06%	0.01%
$   16.99	581	0.04%	0.00%
$   17.99	377	0.02%	0.00%
$   18.99	547	0.03%	0.00%
$   19.99	3,087	0.19%	0.10%
$   20.99	105	0.01%	0.00%
$   21.99	418	0.03%	0.00%
$   22.99	144	0.01%	0.00%
$   23.99	136	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	359	0.02%	0.00%

—

Percentages for February 1, 2013 were corrected on March 1, 2013

2/1/2013
Total	1,849,479
Prime	1,713,256
Under $10	1,534,604
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	178,913	9.67%	-0.81%
$    1.99	45,121	2.44%	-0.14%
$    2.99	214,748	11.61%	-0.97%
$    3.99	130,320	7.05%	-0.65%
$    4.99	54,653	2.96%	-0.22%
$    5.99	31,434	1.70%	-0.08%
$    6.99	21,941	1.19%	-0.07%
$    7.99	42,620	2.30%	-0.22%
$    8.99	10,835	0.59%	-0.07%
$    9.99	230,800	12.48%	-1.88%
$   10.99	2,463	0.13%	0.00%
$   11.99	4,593	0.25%	0.00%
$   12.99	4,563	0.25%	-0.02%
$   13.99	1,304	0.07%	0.00%
$   14.99	3,703	0.20%	-0.02%
$   15.99	1,004	0.05%	0.00%
$   16.99	659	0.04%	0.00%
$   17.99	435	0.02%	0.00%
$   18.99	598	0.03%	0.00%
$   19.99	5,276	0.29%	0.10%
$   20.99	116	0.01%	0.00%
$   21.99	458	0.02%	0.00%
$   22.99	178	0.01%	0.00%
$   23.99	154	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	395	0.02%	0.00%

—

3/1/2013
Total	1,913,164
Prime	1,770,452
Under $10	1,564,429
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	187,353	9.79%	0.12%
$        1.99	49,309	2.58%	0.14%
$        2.99	227,956	11.92%	0.30%
$        3.99	133,323	6.97%	-0.08%
$        4.99	58,386	3.05%	0.10%
$        5.99	35,339	1.85%	0.15%
$        6.99	25,102	1.31%	0.13%
$        7.99	45,755	2.39%	0.09%
$        8.99	12,282	0.64%	0.06%
$        9.99	224,082	11.71%	-0.77%
$      10.99	3,590	0.19%	0.05%
$      11.99	7,838	0.41%	0.16%
$      12.99	6,533	0.34%	0.09%
$      13.99	2,318	0.12%	0.05%
$      14.99	4,760	0.25%	0.05%
$      15.99	1,341	0.07%	0.02%
$      16.99	1,129	0.06%	0.02%
$      17.99	719	0.04%	0.01%
$      18.99	920	0.05%	0.02%
$      19.99	5,711	0.30%	0.01%
$      20.99	303	0.02%	0.01%
$      21.99	280	0.01%	-0.01%
$      22.99	359	0.02%	0.01%
$      23.99	250	0.01%	0.00%
$      24.99	482	0.03%	0.00%

—

4/1/2013
Total	1,924,138
Prime	1,785,986
Under $10	1,573,845
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	193,771	10.07%	0.28%
$        1.99	50,993	2.65%	0.07%
$        2.99	240,734	12.51%	0.60%
$        3.99	138,910	7.22%	0.25%
$        4.99	60,568	3.15%	0.10%
$        5.99	37,409	1.94%	0.10%
$        6.99	25,863	1.34%	0.03%
$        7.99	47,298	2.46%	0.07%
$        8.99	12,791	0.66%	0.02%
$        9.99	235,041	12.22%	0.50%
$      10.99	3,781	0.20%	0.01%
$      11.99	9,716	0.50%	0.10%
$      12.99	6,538	0.34%	0.00%
$      13.99	2,325	0.12%	0.00%
$      14.99	4,848	0.25%	0.00%
$      15.99	1,403	0.07%	0.00%
$      16.99	1,182	0.06%	0.00%
$      17.99	759	0.04%	0.00%
$      18.99	922	0.05%	0.00%
$      19.99	5,772	0.30%	0.00%
$      20.99	249	0.01%	0.00%
$      21.99	277	0.01%	0.00%
$      22.99	3,212	0.17%	0.15%
$      23.99	281	0.01%	0.00%
$      24.99	519	0.03%	0.00%

—

5/1/2013
Total	1,940,274
Prime	1,801,844
Under $10	1,582,685
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	201,240	10.37%	0.30%
$    1.99	52,243	2.69%	0.04%
$    2.99	251,311	12.95%	0.44%
$    3.99	141,835	7.31%	0.09%
$    4.99	62,839	3.24%	0.09%
$    5.99	37,835	1.95%	0.01%
$    6.99	25,567	1.32%	-0.03%
$    7.99	42,663	2.20%	-0.26%
$    8.99	13,147	0.68%	0.01%
$    9.99	237,096	12.22%	0.00%
$   10.99	3,738	0.19%	0.00%
$   11.99	9,891	0.51%	0.00%
$   12.99	7,097	0.37%	0.03%
$   13.99	2,922	0.15%	0.03%
$   14.99	5,166	0.27%	0.01%
$   15.99	1,523	0.08%	0.01%
$   16.99	1,263	0.07%	0.00%
$   17.99	795	0.04%	0.00%
$   18.99	992	0.05%	0.00%
$   19.99	5,704	0.29%	-0.01%
$   20.99	403	0.02%	0.01%
$   21.99	282	0.01%	0.00%
$   22.99	325	0.02%	-0.15%
$   23.99	278	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	513	0.03%	0.00%

—

6/1/2013
Total	1,972,277
Prime	1,828,577
Under $10	1,605,912
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	203,653	10.33%	-0.05%
$    1.99	59,583	3.02%	0.33%
$    2.99	269,149	13.65%	0.69%
$    3.99	177,673	9.01%	1.70%
$    4.99	64,192	3.25%	0.02%
$    5.99	39,122	1.98%	0.03%
$    6.99	26,506	1.34%	0.03%
$    7.99	44,572	2.26%	0.06%
$    8.99	13,388	0.68%	0.00%
$    9.99	246,384	12.49%	0.27%
$   10.99	3,809	0.19%	0.00%
$   11.99	10,090	0.51%	0.00%
$   12.99	7,409	0.38%	0.01%
$   13.99	3,008	0.15%	0.00%
$   14.99	5,322	0.27%	0.00%
$   15.99	1,560	0.08%	0.00%
$   16.99	1,298	0.07%	0.00%
$   17.99	772	0.04%	0.00%
$   18.99	970	0.05%	0.00%
$   19.99	5,749	0.29%	0.00%
$   20.99	239	0.01%	-0.01%
$   21.99	287	0.01%	0.00%
$   22.99	307	0.02%	0.00%
$   23.99	238	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	513	0.03%	0.00%

—

7/1/2013
Total	1,998,705
Prime	1,855,614
Under $10	1,627,666
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	213,310	10.67%	0.35%
$        1.99	62,342	3.12%	0.10%
$        2.99	278,848	13.95%	0.30%
$        3.99	193,610	9.69%	0.68%
$        4.99	66,074	3.31%	0.05%
$        5.99	40,374	2.02%	0.04%
$        6.99	27,288	1.37%	0.02%
$        7.99	45,103	2.26%	0.00%
$        8.99	13,847	0.69%	0.01%
$        9.99	284,366	14.23%	1.74%
$      10.99	4,009	0.20%	0.01%
$      11.99	10,950	0.55%	0.04%
$      12.99	7,321	0.37%	-0.01%
$      13.99	3,474	0.17%	0.02%
$      14.99	5,331	0.27%	0.00%
$      15.99	1,596	0.08%	0.00%
$      16.99	1,391	0.07%	0.00%
$      17.99	791	0.04%	0.00%
$      18.99	997	0.05%	0.00%
$      19.99	5,888	0.29%	0.00%
$      20.99	427	0.02%	0.01%
$      21.99	316	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	315	0.02%	0.00%
$      23.99	303	0.02%	0.00%
$      24.99	536	0.03%	0.00%

—

8/1/2013
Total	2,060,431
Prime	1,913,454
Under $10	1,681,162
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	222,737	10.81%	0.14%
$    1.99	64,606	3.14%	0.02%
$    2.99	291,135	14.13%	0.18%
$    3.99	198,365	9.63%	-0.06%
$    4.99	68,727	3.34%	0.03%
$    5.99	41,493	2.01%	-0.01%
$    6.99	26,838	1.30%	-0.06%
$    7.99	43,276	2.10%	-0.16%
$    8.99	14,083	0.68%	-0.01%
$    9.99	250,215	12.14%	-2.08%
$   10.99	4,366	0.21%	0.01%
$   11.99	10,785	0.52%	-0.02%
$   12.99	5,311	0.26%	-0.11%
$   13.99	5,063	0.25%	0.07%
$   14.99	5,243	0.25%	-0.01%
$   15.99	1,700	0.08%	0.00%
$   16.99	1,496	0.07%	0.00%
$   17.99	884	0.04%	0.00%
$   18.99	1,112	0.05%	0.00%
$   19.99	6,138	0.30%	0.00%
$   20.99	525	0.03%	0.00%
$   21.99	452	0.02%	0.01%
$   22.99	1,217	0.06%	0.04%
$   23.99	492	0.02%	0.01%
$   24.99	603	0.03%	0.00%

—

9/5/2013
Total	2,125,648
Prime	1,975,738
Under $10	1,740,605
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	231,849	10.91%	0.10%
$        1.99	66,882	3.15%	0.01%
$        2.99	306,025	14.40%	0.27%
$        3.99	205,151	9.65%	0.02%
$        4.99	70,590	3.32%	-0.01%
$        5.99	50,259	2.36%	0.35%
$        6.99	26,971	1.27%	-0.03%
$        7.99	46,685	2.20%	0.10%
$        8.99	14,005	0.66%	-0.02%
$        9.99	259,151	12.19%	0.05%
$      10.99	7,970	0.37%	0.16%
$      11.99	7,437	0.35%	-0.17%
$      12.99	4,779	0.22%	-0.03%
$      13.99	4,446	0.21%	-0.04%
$      14.99	4,586	0.22%	-0.04%
$      15.99	1,481	0.07%	-0.01%
$      16.99	1,635	0.08%	0.00%
$      17.99	1,117	0.05%	0.01%
$      18.99	902	0.04%	-0.01%
$      19.99	6,213	0.29%	-0.01%
$      20.99	529	0.02%	0.00%
$      21.99	596	0.03%	0.01%
$      22.99	1,651	0.08%	0.02%
$      23.99	557	0.03%	0.00%
$      24.99	651	0.03%	0.00%

—

10/1/2013
Total	2,175,847
Prime	2,024,990
Under $10	1,777,735
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	238,423	10.96%	0.05%
$        1.99	68,359	3.14%	-0.01%
$        2.99	317,934	14.61%	0.21%
$        3.99	312,151	14.35%	4.70%
$        4.99	73,574	3.38%	0.06%
$        5.99	51,850	2.38%	0.02%
$        6.99	28,129	1.29%	0.02%
$        7.99	48,784	2.24%	0.04%
$        8.99	14,346	0.66%	0.00%
$        9.99	259,306	11.92%	-0.27%
$      10.99	8,826	0.41%	0.04%
$      11.99	7,401	0.34%	-0.01%
$      12.99	4,852	0.22%	0.00%
$      13.99	4,469	0.21%	0.00%
$      14.99	4,961	0.23%	0.01%
$      15.99	1,490	0.07%	0.00%
$      16.99	1,727	0.08%	0.00%
$      17.99	1,525	0.07%	0.02%
$      18.99	970	0.04%	0.00%
$      19.99	6,421	0.30%	0.01%
$      20.99	553	0.03%	0.01%
$      21.99	595	0.03%	0.00%
$      22.99	1,625	0.07%	-0.01%
$      23.99	577	0.03%	0.00%
$      24.99	613	0.03%	0.00%

Summary

There was a huge jump in the number of books in the store and in the number of average books added per day (which follows).  That may be partly seasonal, although the jump has been bigger before in December 1st counts than October 1st counts since we’ve been tracking it. Prices were somewhat up overall (looking at the sub-ten dollars in the one penny to fifty dollar range, for example, or at the lower ends), and the percentage of books in the KOLL (Kindle Owners’ Lending Library) declined (although the count of them increased…apparently, books didn’t go into the KOLL in the same percentage they went into the store). On the New York Times Bestseller list, $10.99 is the new $12.99, although $12.99 was the new $9.99 not that long ago. 😉 It’s going to be an interesting holiday season: we may see some real price wars again, and there may be a lot of people getting tablets for the first time (which may increase the number of people reading books…tablets aren’t better for reading e-books than RSKs ((Reflective Screen Kindles)) but they may fit better into many people’s current lifestyles than p-books ((paperbooks))).

Data were drawn using http://www.ereaderiq.com. There are a number of possible sources of errors (eRi, Amazon, me), but these are probably pretty good.  The same people now do eReaderIQ.com, and I may switch to that eventually.  However, I’m reluctant to change my methods in order to maintain consistency.

• The free books referenced here are from the Kindle store: there are many other sources for free books
• My search for textbooks definitely has false positives (books that aren’t really textbooks). I search for -domain (to eliminate public domain titles, which would be older books, generall) textbook. That would find a bookabout textbooks, for example
• I searched for “Spanish edition” to find Spanish language books. That has some false positives as well
• I look at price percentages of books in the range of one penny to fifty dollars, to eliminate freebies and limit textbooks
• The price point analysis is for books at that specific price: it does not represent a range of prices
• I compared the percentage of price points in the Price Point Analysis when I showed the difference…not the number of books
• This information is based on what a United States customer sees

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Round up #209: bookstores, Hollowland

Round up #209: bookstores, Hollowland

The ILMK Round ups are short pieces which may or may not be expanded later. 

PowPow is shipping!

My

Kindle Paperwhite, 6″ High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light, Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers

has started its journey. 🙂

Since it’s a 2nd generation Paperwhite (PW), and I’ve been writing that as PW2 (which I read as “PW squared”), I have named it “PowPow”. 😉

I am looking forward to exploring it. I hope to have a menu map out by the end of Wednesday.

My Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers (which I have named “HDXter”, pronounced “Aitch-Dexter”) is still scheduled for October 18th.

I’m excited to see them both!

Mini-review: Hollowland

Hollowland (The Hollows, #1)
by Amanda Hocking
Free at time of writing
X-ray, lending, text-to-speech, all enabled…and unlimited simultaneous device licenses

I’ve written about Amanda Hocking before. In particular, there was this piece, more than two and a half years ago, about Hocking being one of the iconic Amazon indie authors making it in the writing world. I’ve also said I think Amanda Hocking may be the best tweeter on the planet. 😉

However, honestly, I’d never read a novel by Amanda Hocking.

Now I have. 🙂

It was free, and I knew from the tweets this was a talented author.

The product page describes it as a “young adult” novel, although it wasn’t categorized that way.

Certainly, the protagonist would generally appeal to that demographic, and there are elements of the story structure (the way that the world can revolve around person still figuring out who they are and where they fit in it) that I’m sure help to contribute to an excellent 4.3 out of 5 star rating with 684 reviews.

However, I have to say…there are things where I would caution you. The appearance the “S word” early on…well, that’s becoming almost acceptable on broadcast TV. We did, though, get to the “F word” eventually. There is clinically described violence (quite a bit of it, even though it is commonly against “zombies”), and…um…an unambiguous sex scene.

If those aren’t concerns for you, then let me say that I liked the characterizations, and the world. I could feel for the people involved, be amused in the right places, and recognize the realness of several of the characters.

As an animal lover (and Hocking tweets quite a few animal pictures), I also appreciated one particular element.

Overall, the story was enjoyable, and I was looking forward to seeing what happened next as I went through it.

In terms of production quality, well, there were a number of minor typos, but they weren’t as common as zombie kills in the book. 😉 The cover was haunting.

I wouldn’t say this is classic literature, but if you are comfortable with the elements I mentioned and are looking for a good popcorn book, this could be it.

Library of Congress websites will go offline if the government shuts down

As I write this (but maybe not when you read it), we don’t know yet if the U.S. government will shut down, and if does, for how long.

We do know, though, that the Library of Congress websites (with the exceptions of Thomas.gov and Congress.gov) will go offline if it happens.

That would include a site I’ve mentioned before:

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

While many people would be affected in much more serious ways, I thought some of you might be wondering…

Bookstore mini-round-up

You know, I read a lot of stories about bookstores…both about ones opening and ones closing. I know I’m probably more interested in that than some of you, since I managed a brick-and-mortar bookstore. I do think it relates to e-books, though, since the different delivery media for books (e-books, audiobooks, p-books ((paperbooks))) have an interdependency. Feel free to let me know if you’d rather not see these types of stories.

SCPR.org: LA’s Last Bookstore looks to keep the page in the digital age by Colin Berry

This sounds like a bookstore I’d like to visit! It’s funky and apparently has a huge selection of used books, many for $1. It’s exactly the kind of store I’ve suggested could thrive in the current and projected environment. They’ve made it an experience to go there:

“The result could be out of a neo-Victorian sci-fi novel. As Spencer has imagined it, the Last Bookstore is more quirky than stuffy, with bicycle-wheel chandeliers, a huge mural made of paperbacks, and sculptures made of books that literally fly off the shelves.”

New York Daily News: True South, financially strapped black bookstore, closes in Bedford-Stuyvesant by Reuven Blau

On the other hand, not every specialty bookstore is going to survive, even with community support. I love that there was this bookstore in Bed-Stuy: that’s not what you always hear about with that neighborhood…

Idaho Stateman: Ada Community Library Bookstore grand opening Oct. 5 by Cynthia Sewell

That’s right: it’s a used bookstore as part of a community library…and it’s adding a bookstore to the world.

How is it going overall for bookstores?

Fortune: The indie bookstore resurgence by Verne Kopytoff

The article (which I recommend) has several positive indicators…more sales, more membership in the American Booksellers Association.

However, it does talk about Amazon’s “aversion” to collecting State sales tax. Amazon has sent a top executive to argue in favor of a national internet sales tax policy (not a new tax, but what I refer to as “equal collection legislation”. What they don’t want is different rules in different places. Of course, I think it’s also reasonable to ask: if brick-and-mortar stores were not collecting sales tax now, would they be “averse” to having that added to their duties? I’m thinking yes…which suggests that there isn’t a moral superiority in that element, but simply a matter of circumstance. I’m not saying that local institutions aren’t more inclined towards paying local taxes (since they see the benefits more directly), but I don’t think it’s fair to say that because you are doing something you are legally required to do, you are better than someone who hasn’t been legally required to do the same thing.

What do you think? Amazon has fought a sales tax thing…are they taking advantage of the tax structure to get an unfair marketplace edge? Do stories about brick-and-mortar bookstores belong in ILMK? Are you excited because you ordered a new Kindle? Have you been to any of the bookstores I mentioned? If so, how was it? Did you buy anything? Is it okay for young adult books to use profanity and have violence and sex scenes? If so, what makes them young adult? Is that not a label for guidance, but just one for marketing? Feel free to let me and my readers know what you think by commenting on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Which Kindle should you buy? Fall 2013

Which Kindle should you buy? Fall 2013

Amazon has recently announced new versions of the Kindle Paperwhite and of the Kindle Fire. While it is possible that more announcements will be made for this holiday season (it wouldn’t surprise me to see a price drop on the lowest priced Kindle, for example), these are likely to be the ones you are considering right now. If I need to come back and revise in light of announcements which may come later this year, I will. I do think it is possible that some models may be in short supply: I’m particularly impressed with some features of the new Kindle Fire HDX line, which may considerably broaden their appeal (particularly as workplace devices).

I should also mention that this information is based on the USA. Not all models are available in all countries, and prices may vary.

I am only going to list devices available new from Amazon. There may be refurbished models available (including the popular Kindle Touch model), but the price is going to be more variable and availability much less predictable. You can find them here: Certified Refurbished Kindles. Certified Refurbished Kindles can be an excellent buy. They have been reviewed carefully by Amazon, and typically carry the same warranty as one you buy new.

A note for upgraders: the Kindle Paperwhite 2 appears to be the same dimensions as the Kindle Paperwhite first generation, so your old covers should still fit. The same is not the case for the Kindle Fire: for example, the Kindle Fire 8.9 HDX is actually smaller than last year’s Kindle Fire 8.9 HD.

I’m going to list the models available new in order of price, lowest to highest.

Definitions

RSK (Reflective Screen Kindle): an EBR (E-Book Reader) which does not have lighting behind the image. RSKs are particularly good for long form reading, having a long battery life compared to a backlit device. They can be read easily in bright light, because you read them by light reflecting off of them (the same way you read a paperbook). The technology does not “refresh the screen” quickly enough to handle video. While they can play some games, their primary function is reading. The screens on the earlier models used a brand name technology called E Ink. RSKs currently do not do color images.

Tablet: a backlit device, similar in that way to a laptop, desktop, or SmartPhone. You read what is on the screen by a light coming from behind it. In bright light, they can be hard to read, because the light coming from behind the screen is competing with the light hitting the screen from the front (the sun, for example). Tablets can do full animation (meaning you can watch movies and TV shows, and play games that require animation). They can show many colors. They are good for visiting websites. The software is flexible, and you can install many types of “apps” on them. The battery charge life is much shorter than on an RSK: a day of full use will require a recharge.

Frontlit: a reflective screen device that has been equipped with a built-in light facing the screen. That’s what the Kindle Paperwhite is, as well as some models from other companies. This will allow you to read in bright light and in darkness, although because it does not change the underlying technology of the RSK screen, it does not allow for video or color. In some ways, it is the best of both worlds for e-books. The Paperwhite is the most comfortable reading experience I’ve had, including p-books (paperbooks). The battery charge life is also remarkably long: more comparable to an RSK than to a backlit device.

Wi-fi: a short-range wireless broadcast of the internet, typically the size of one building or so. Customers will usually use wi-fi they are broadcasting themselves in their own homes, or at a public wi-fi spot (many restaurants provide it).

3G: a method of connecting to the internet similar to a cell phone.

4G: another method of connecting to the internet, but faster than 3G.

Special Offers: devices with “Special Offers” have their initial price reduced because they are supported by advertisers. You see advertising on the device when it is “sleeping”, and a small ad at the bottom of the screen where you select the book you want to read. The advertising does not appear in the books themselves. Note: you will probably need to click a choice on the product page to get one without Special Offers. The links I give you will take you to the product page, but some features need to be selected manually on those pages.

GB: short for “gigabyte”, it’s a unit of measure of memory. The more gigabytes you have on the device, the more things you can store on it. That’s not likely to be an issue with e-books, but could possibly be with movies. More GBs cost you more. Many people recommend getting as much as you afford. I usually go on the lower end, since I keep most of my content in the Cloud/archives, and download it as I needed. I tend to keep about ten Kindle store books on one of my devices at a time. That gives me enough time to download more before I run out. If I was going to be out of wi-fi range for a week, though, I might download books before I went. If I’m on a long flight and want to have a couple of movies downloaded, I do have to be aware of the memory use.

Front-facing camera, rear-facing camera: a front-facing camera is looking at you while you are looking at the screen. It’s good for videocalls (such as Skype), but awkward to use to take pictures of other people. A rear-facing camera is on the back of the device, looking the same way you are looking when the screen is facing towards you…similar to a typical still or videocamera.

Must Have Features

There are many things that Kindles have in common, but not every Kindle has every feature. I’m going to list some of the features that people insist on having, and tell you which models available new have it. Note: it is very important to  realize that features may be made available to older models in updates (that has happened), but may not. Don’t be surprised if you reject a model because it didn’t have something, and then it was added retroactively. That’s not going to happen with hardware features (a Kindle Paperwhite is not going to be able to download speakers to it), and software features may have hardware limitations that keep them off the older models:

Audiobooks: Kindle DX, Kindle Fires

Collections (the ability to organize your e-books on your device in to groupings you define): currently, Paperwhites, Kindle DX. “Cloud Collections”, which appear to be a similar ability that can be shared centrally between apps and devices, have been announced for the Kindle Fire HDX, the 7″ Kindle Fire HD (but not the 8.9″, which is last year’s model), and the new Kindle Paperwhites.

Mayday (on screen live Amazon tech support): Kindle Fire HDXs

Music (MP3s): Kindle DX, Kindle Fires

Origami cover (a new gadgety cover from Amazon): Kindle Fire HDXs, new Kindle Fire HD (only the 7″)

Physical page turn buttons: Mindle, Kindle DX

Text-to-speech (the Kindle can read any text downloaded to it out loud to you, unless that ability is blocked by the publisher. It will not be able to read websites or typical PDFs): Kindle DX, Kindle Fires

Touchscreen: Paperwhite, Kindle Fires

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Priced at $69

Kindle (“Mindle”) with Special Offers
Available: now (it was announced September 6, 2012)
Type: RSK

The Mindle (my name for it: it’s also called the “Baby Kindle” and the “Starter Kindle” and the “Kindle 4”) is the lightest Kindle, and the least expensive. It’s an excellent starter model, and can be good for children. If you just want something on which to sight-read books, it’s a good choice. It does not have speakers, so audiobooks are out, and there is no text-to-speech. It does not have a touchscreen or a physical keyboard (you navigate through letters on screen), but does have physical page turn buttons. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $89 

Kindle (“Mindle”) without Special Offers. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $119

Kindle Paperwhite, 6″ High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light, Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers
Available: pre-order now, released on September 30, 2013
Type: frontlit RSK

Like the Mindle, this is designed primarily for sight-reading: no audio. However, one of the key differences is a new patented light system. The light is still directed at what you are reading, and not your eyes. You can adjust the light for all conditions: bright light outside and in a darkened room. Even with the light being used, the battery life is twice that of the Mindle…reading half an hour a day with wireless off, the Paperwhite will last about eight weeks versus the Mindle’s four weeks. The Paperwhite has a touch screen, compared to the Mindle’s “five-way controller”. The touch screen has also been improved over there Kindle Touch, which it is effectively replacing.  The Paperwhite also has these features which are not on the Mindle:

• X-Ray (background information about characters and things in a book with no wireless connection necessary to use it…a good study aid)
• Time to Read (estimates how long it will take you, based on your personal reading speed, to finish a chapter or a book)
• Instant translations
• New (I’ll be testing and reporting on these new features soon): Page Flip, which will let you look ahead in the book without losing your place
• New: automatically build flashcards for vocabulary words which you look up in the onboard dictionary
• New: In-line footnotes
• Coming soon: better integration with GoodReads
• Coming soon: Kindle FreeTime
• Coming soon: Cloud Collections (organize your books where Amazon stores them for you…in “the Cloud”

For someone who wants a Kindle for reading, but wants more…a high school versus an elementary school student, a serious reader who wants to read anywhere, any time, the Paperwhite is going to be the best choice. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $139

Kindle Paperwhite 2, 6″ High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light, Wi-Fi – without Special Offers
Available: pre-order now, released on September 30, 2013
Type: frontlit RSK SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Kindle Fire HD 7″, HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Includes Special Offers
Amazon label: “Best Value Kids Tablet, Family Tablet”
Available: pre-order now, released on October 2, 2013

If you want web-surfing, video, and popular apps like Angry Birds and Where’s My Water?, you need a tablet. At $139, this is the lowest priced Amazon tablet. What are you missing if you get this one, rather than the $229 Kindle Fire HDX model? It has no microphone, no camera, and does not come with Mayday (the onscreen live technical help). The screen isn’t as good and the processor isn’t as fast as the HDX models, but those stats would have been considered quite good a year ago.

If you don’t need to impress with the state-of-the-art, and you need something to entertain the kids or get the job done at work (as long as that job doesn’t require a camera), this is going to be a good buy. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $154

Kindle Fire HD 7″, HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Without Special Offers

Low priced tablet with the least amount of memory and no ads. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $169

Kindle Fire HD 7″, HD Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers

Larger onboard memory capacity with ads.  SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $184

Kindle Fire HD 7″, HD Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Without Special Offers

Larger onboard memory capacity without ads.  SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Priced at $189

Kindle Paperwhite 3G, 6″ High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light, Free 3G + Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers
Available: e-mail sign-up to be notified when available, ship date Nov. 5, 2013
Type: frontlit RSK

The top of the line current generation reading-focused device from Amazon.  SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $209

Kindle Paperwhite 3G, 6″ High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light, Free 3G + Wi-Fi – Without Special Offers
Available: pre-order now, ship date November 5, 2013
Type: frontlit RSK

Same as above, no ads.  SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Priced at $229

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers
Available: pre-order now for October 18, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Personal Movie Tablet, Best College Tablet”

This is the state of the art Amazon tablet in the 7″ size. I’ve had a Kindle Fire 1st generation, and 8.9″ Kindle Fire HD (2nd generation), and this is the one I’ve ordered for myself (look for my review and information on it shortly after release). The Mayday feature may make it a particularly attractive gift for getting people who aren’t as comfortable with tech able to do things like Skype (and e-mail, for that matter). Why would you move up to the $379 8.9? Part of it is the screen size, although for me, the 7″ has been adequate and easy to carry. The 8.9″ is also the only one with rear-facing camera (so you can take pictures easily of other people and things. The larger version has a better screen and somewhat longer battery life. I think this one may be the most popular of the new models.  SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Priced at $239

Kindle DX, Free 3G, 9.7″ E Ink Display, 3G Works Globally
Available: now (this version is more than three years old, announced on July 7, 2010)
Type: RSK

This is now several generations back, but has its fans and charms. It’s a large screen RSK with no built in lighting. You’ll read it in the dark the same way you would with a paperbook: with a booklight or lamp. It has a physical keyboard and physical page turn buttons. It has audio, so you can do text-to-speech, music, and audiobooks. The onboard memory is about three times that of a Kindle Paperwhite or Mindle. The battery charge life is much shorter than a Paperwhite, and shorter than a Mindle It comes with free 3G, but doesn’t have wi-fi. It doesn’t have all of the features of the Kindle Paperwhite, and isn’t likely to get them. This is old school, definitely, but might be attractive to some people for that reason, along with some of the features.  SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Priced at $244

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Without Special Offers
Availability: pre-order now for October 18, 2013
Type: tablet

State of the art smaller tablet with no ads and least memory.  SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Priced at $269

Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers
Available: now (this is last year’s model, announced September 6, 2012)
Type: tablet

This was last year’s larger screen model, and it’s the one I typically carry with me now. I do find that it is heavier and larger than I like. It is very much like this year’s $139 model, except with that larger screen, a front-facing camera (for Skype), a better screen, and about 8 ounces (a couple of hundred more grams) of weight. If you want the larger screen, but don’t want to spend the money on the HDX, this is the one. It’s also worth noting that this has an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) out port, which the HDXs don’t have. That means that with a cable which you buy separately, and a pretty modern TV, you can display what’s on your Kindle Fire on your TV. However, some apps (such as Xfinity) will block the use of the HDMI cable automatically. Still, using the Miracast wireless technology on the Kindle HDXs may mean buying an additional display device for many people.  SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 32 GB – Includes Special Offers
Availability: pre-order now for October 18, 2013
Type: tablet

State of the art smaller tablet with ads and the middle amount of memory.  SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $269

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 32 GB – Includes Special Offers

State of the art smaller tablet with ads and the middle amount of memory. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE

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Priced at $284

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 32 GB – without Special Offers

State of the art smaller tablet with no ads and the middle amount of memory. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE

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Priced at $309

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 64 GB – Indludes Special Offers

State of the art smaller tablet with no ads and the most memory. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE

===

Price at $314

Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi, 32 GB – Without Special Offers
Available: now (this is last year’s model, announced September 6, 2012)
Type: tablet

Last year’s larger tablet with no ads and the middle amount of memory. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Priced at $324

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 64 GB – without Special Offers

State of the art smaller tablet with no ads and the most memory. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE

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Priced at $329

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE from either AT&T or Verizon, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers

State of the art smaller tablet with no ads and the least memory. This version comes with 4G, which means you would be able to connect without having a wi-fi router near you, but you would also pay for a data plan from your carrier. Note that there are two different selections, one for AT&T and one for Verizon, not one for both. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE

Priced at $344

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE from either AT&T or Verizon, 16 GB – Without Special Offers

State of the art smaller tablet with no ads and the least memory. This version comes with 4G, which means you would be able to connect without having a wi-fi router near you, but you would also pay for a data plan from your carrier. Note that there are two different selections, one for AT&T and one for Verizon, not one for both. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE

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Priced at $369

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE from either AT&T or Verizon, 32 GB – Includes Special Offers

State of the art smaller tablet with ads and the middle amount of memory. This version comes with 4G, which means you would be able to connect without having a wi-fi router near you, but you would also pay for a data plan from your carrier. Note that there are two different selections, one for AT&T and one for Verizon, not one for both. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE

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Priced at $379

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers
Available: November 7, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

This model is it: the top of the line. Best screen and best battery life, front-facing and rear-facing cameras, all the latest features (including Mayday live on-screen help), if you want to get somebody the best, you would get the 64GB, 4G model of this one. It’s only about an ounce more than the 7″, which is remarkable (and quite a bit less than last year’s large-screen Kindle Fire HD). SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Priced at $384

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE from either AT&T or Verizon, 32 GB – Without Special Offers

State of the art smaller tablet with no ads and the middle amount of memory. This version comes with 4G, which means you would be able to connect without having a wi-fi router near you, but you would also pay for a data plan from your carrier. Note that there are two different selections, one for AT&T and one for Verizon, not one for both. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE

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Priced at $397

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Without Special Offers
Available: November 7, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

State of the art larger screen tablet with lowest memory and no ads. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $399

Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi & 4G LTE through AT&T, 32 GB – Includes Special Offers
Available: now (this is last year’s model, announced September 6, 2012)
Type: tablet

Last year’s larger screen tablet with the middle amount of memory and 4G through AT&T (which would require a separate paid data plan) with ads. Note that there is not a Verizon option with this model. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $409

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE from either AT&T or Verizon, 64 GB – Includes Special Offers

State of the art smaller tablet with ads and the most memory. This version comes with 4G, which means you would be able to connect without having a wi-fi router near you, but you would also pay for a data plan from your carrier. Note that there are two different selections, one for AT&T and one for Verizon, not one for both. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE

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Priced at $414

Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi & 4G LTE through AT&T, 32 GB – Without Special Offers
Available: now (this is last year’s model, announced September 6, 2012)
Type: tablet

Last year’s larger screen tablet with the middle amount of memory and 4G through AT&T (which would require a separate paid data plan) and no ads. Note that there is not a Verizon option with this model. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Priced at $424

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE from either AT&T or Verizon, 64 GB – Without Special Offers

State of the art smaller tablet with no ads and the most memory. This version comes with 4G, which means you would be able to connect without having a wi-fi router near you, but you would also pay for a data plan from your carrier. Note that there are two different selections, one for AT&T and one for Verizon, not one for both. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE

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Priced at $429

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 32 GB – Includes Special Offers
Available: November 7, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

State of the art larger screen tablet with the middle amount of memory with ads. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $444

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 32 GB – Without Special Offers
Available: November 7, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

State of the art larger screen tablet with the middle amount of memory with no ads. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $479

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 64 GB – Includes Special Offers
Available: November 7, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

State of the art larger screen tablet with the most memory with ads. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE through AT&T or Verizon, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers
Available: November 7, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

State of the art larger screen tablet with the least memory and ads, with 4G. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $494

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 64 GB – Without Special Offers
Available: November 7, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

State of the art larger screen tablet with the most memory with no ads. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE through AT&T or Verizon, 16 GB – Without Special Offers
Available: November 7, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

State of the art larger screen tablet with the least memory and no ads, with 4G. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $499

Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi & 4G LTE through AT&T, 64 GB – Includes Special Offers
Available: now (this is last year’s model, announced September 6, 2012)
Type: tablet

Last year’s larger screen tablet with the most memory and 4G through AT&T (which would require a separate paid data plan) and no ads. Note that there is not a Verizon option with this model. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

Priced at $514

Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi & 4G LTE through AT&T, 64 GB – Without Special Offers
Available: now (this is last year’s model, announced September 6, 2012)
Type: tablet

Last year’s larger screen tablet with the most memory and 4G through AT&T (which would require a separate paid data plan) and no ads. Note that there is not a Verizon option with this model. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $529

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE through AT&T or Verizon, 32 GB – Includes Special Offers
Available: December 10, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

State of the art larger screen tablet with the middle amount of memory and ads, with 4G. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $544

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE through AT&T or Verizon, 32 GB – Without Special Offers
Available: December 10, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

State of the art larger screen tablet with the middle amount of memory and no ads, with 4G. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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Priced at $579

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE through AT&T or Verizon, 64  GB – Includes Special Offers
Available: December 10, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

State of the art larger screen tablet with the most memory and ads, with 4G. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

===

Priced at $594

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi & 4G LTE through AT&T or Verizon, 64  GB – Without Special Offers
Available: December 10, 2013
Type: tablet
Amazon label: “Best Movie Tablet, Gaming Tablet, and Business Tablet”

State of the art larger screen tablet with the most memory and no ads, with 4G. SELECT OPTIONS ON PRODUCT PAGE.

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That should help. 🙂 If you have specific questions, feel free to comment on this post to ask them. If you notice any errors, please also let me know: this was a complex task because of how the information is available at Amazon on the items.

Update: thanks to readers Sara Miles and Judy Schechter for comments which improved this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

The most popular…

The most popular…

I was proud of myself when I got over my tendency to condemn things that were popular. Look, I know I like a lot of things that aren’t popular…my Significant Other got me this great t-shirt that says, “Nobody’s Target Market”. 😉 However, I realized that it was as silly for me to exclude something because it was popular as it was for others to exclude it because it wasn’t.

Sure, I could assume that anything which is super popular has been…homogenized in some way, that is must have had challenging or controversial elements removed. However, I think it will also generally have some value that appeals to a lot of people. I’m interested in people, and what they like and how they think…and that includes pop culture.

So, for fun, I thought I’d look at some of the most popular items in the (USA) Kindle store.

Amazon updates these every hour, so it may be different by the time you see it. It’s also possible for people to game they system, by buying a bunch of copies of a particular book in an hour, just to push it to the top.

I still think you’ll find this interesting…

As usual, I won’t intentionally link to books which block text-to-speech access*.

Oh, and this is important: typically, the publishers decide on the categories themselves, and that is often done for marketing reasons. I’ve seen the same book categorized as both fiction and non-fiction, for example.

Most popular biography:

Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom: 1940-1945

Most popular non-fiction children’s book about animals:

Dinosaurs: Amazing Pictures & Fun Facts on Animals in Nature (Our Amazing World Series)

Most popular book about puppets & puppetry:

Puppet Planet: The Most Amazing Puppet-Making Book in the Universe

Most popular book about physics:

The First War of Physics: The Secret History of the Atom Bomb, 1939-1949

Most popular book about popular dance:

Ballroom Dancing

Most popular time travel romance:

Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition (Land’s End – book #1)

Most popular book on heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning:

HVAC Instant Answers (Instant Answer Series)

Most popular South American newspaper:

O Globo

Most popular book on skateboarding:

Kalifornia Blu

Most popular book on finance:

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader

Enjoy!

* A Kindle with text-to-speech can read any text downloaded to it…unless that access is blocked by the publisher inserting code into the file to prevent it. That’s why you can have the device read personal documents to you (I’ve done that). I believe that this sort of access blocking disproportionately disadvantages the disabled, although I also believe it is legal (provided that there is at least one accessible version of each e-book available, however, that one can require a certification of disability). For that reason, I don’t deliberately link to books which block TTS access here (although it may happen accidentally, particularly if the access is blocked after I’ve linked it). I do believe this is a personal decision, and there  are legitimate arguments for purchasing those books. 

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Round up #208: AZTV, books on a plane?

Round up #208: AZTV, books on a plane?

The ILMK Round ups are short pieces which may or may not be expanded later. 

Committee reportedly recommends lifting restrictions on some electronic device use on planes

I reported about this recently, and the story has now come down

AP story by Joan Lowy

that a committee put together by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is going to recommend easing restrictions on, for example, reading on an EBR (E-Book Reader) during take-offs and landing.

The FAA will likely get the report on Monday, and could act swiftly enough to have it mean that we could enjoy downloaded content on our devices by 2014.

Fortunately, I don’t think it needs Congressional approval… 😉

“…outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances”

Speaking of Congress…

I’ve written before about the issue of “public performance” and copyright. For example, I don’t demonstrate text-to-speech to a group of people with a copyrighted work, since that would be a public performance…and that’s a right controlled by the rightsholder (with certain Fair Use exemptions).

Recently, a Congressperson read an entire copyrighted work on the floor, as part of a filibuster (I’d rather leave the specifics out of it…this isn’t about the politics).

In my house, we immediately questioned the legality of that. Assuming (which I think is safe) that the rightsholder didn’t authorize the performance, wasn’t that infringement?

The Congressperson clearly was performing it for the public…television cameras were part of it.

Is the entire text now entered into the Congressional record…and is that record in the public domain?

Would C-SPAN be in trouble for broadcasting it?

It seemed like a likely infringement to me, potentially punishable by a fine, but these issues can be complex.

Some of the copyright elements are addressed in this

techdirt article by Mike Masnick

My phone was listening to my car yesterday

Okay, this definitely falls in the category of FWP (First World Problems), but my  Significant  Other and I were quite amused. 🙂

I was going to Whole Foods, and my SO texted a shopping list.

We’re vegetarians, and that list probably wasn’t like most of yours. 😉 One of the things was “Fakin Bacon”, a vegetarian protein product.

I got everything else, but didn’t see that.

I used voice recognition on my Galaxy S4 to send a text to say that I hadn’t gotten it. I didn’t figure it would recognize “Fakin”, so I just said “bacon”. My SO got this text:

“I did not get bacon and I do feel her presence.”

Needless to say, those last six words provoked a puzzled response.

What had happened was that I had text-to-speech going in the car (I wasn’t driving yet, by the way), and I was listening to Ghosts: True Encounters with the World Beyond by Hans Holzer (which I’m enjoying very much…Holzer has a dry wit I like).

The Galaxy picked up part of a sentence out of the book read by my Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ 4G, being relayed by Bluetooth through my car’s sound system.

I’m actually very impressed by that! Remember that the phone’s microphone was facing the other way (towards me). It shows you how far TTS has come!
September Day, the voice of the Kindle Fire HD (who I interviewed) can be proud of the clarity of the delivery! 😉

KFHDX: my readers speak

I’m always grateful for my intelligent and thoughtful readers who comment on my posts!

Sometimes, it gets me thinking, and sometimes it crystallizes questions for me that many people might have.

I’ve had good comments on two posts I’ve written recently about the new Kindle Fire HDX line and the live onscreen tech support available for them called Mayday:

• New Kindle Fire Tablets announced: Kindle Fire HDX
• “Mayday? I’m bored…”

I thought it was worth a quick summary of some of the points.

Doris asked about Miracast, which is how you’ll wirelessly put video from your Kindle Fire HDX on to a TV. It’s worth noting that the KFHDX does not have the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) out that the Kindle Fire HDs had (and have…the 8.9″ will continue to be available).

Some TVs have the capability, but many don’t.

Roku set-top boxes are supposed to be getting it in the future, but don’t have it now (I verified that with Roku).

Google’s Chromecast stick (which, as I recently wrote, has been outselling Kindles…at Amazon) doesn’t do it.

What does?

I’ve looked a bit, and haven’t seen a solution I would like.

However, one of my most insightful commenters, Edward Boyhan, suggested that Amazon could introduce their own Miracast stick…by this holiday season.

Brilliant!

Amazon creates the demand for Miracast with the KFHDX, then fills it themselves.

If they could do a $35 stick that you plugged into the HDMI port and allowed full mirroring of your KFHDX…Chromecast would be walloped, and Roku would have issues.

They’d get a big advantage out of announcing it before people spend $75 on a Miracast router or something within a month of the KFHDX deliveries.

cardinalrobbins asked about a possible fee for Mayday. I don’t think that’s going to happen, although they might eventually limit it to Prime members (remember, everybody who buys a new KFHDX can be a Prime member for free for a month).

It’s got to cost money, but it also may both save money (by having faster resolutions) and inspire enough sales to make up for it and then some. For me, the Fire is largely about getting you hooked on Prime. Mayday means you’ll buy a Fire HDX which means you’ll become a Prime member which means you’ll buy “diapers and windshield wipers” (as I like to say)…which is where the real money is.

Google, by the way, is now doing same-day delivery…and it’s six months free:

https://www.google.com/shopping/express/

You have to be in certain areas, because they will be picking up the items at local stores.

This can only push Amazon to even faster delivery options…no doubt, through Prime.

Another comment a couple of people have had, including jjhitt, is about the demographics of the Mayday reps shown in the commrecials:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=PFYHF1w8w3g

I’ve commented before about how the demographics of the people in Kindle commercials don’t necessarily align with the demographics of the customer base (particularly in terms of age in the beginning).

This may be a bit more of a concern, though.

Imagine you are currently the greatest Customer Service Kindle rep Amazon has ever seen. Customers love you, and you are super-knowledgeable and empathetic.

The Mayday program opens up, and it would be a considerable raise.

You don’t get it, though, because of your appearance.

You have a Mohawk, face piercings, a neck tattoo, are overweight, or regularly wear a religious icon.

Is that possible?

I hope not…but the people in the commercials so far don’t exhibit characteristics like that, and I would bet that some of the current phone reps do…

GOOD E READER: “Sony Abandons the eReader Market in the United States”

While the headline for this

GOOD E READER article by Michael Kozlowski

is an exaggeration (and refuted in the article itself…that happens a lot, sometimes because the headline writer is not the post author), it is interesting that Sony is not going to sell its new PRS T-3 EBR (E-Book Reader) in the USA due to “…the region’s market changes”.

Sony was the first major player here with a non-backlit EBR…and they are moving away from that.

That doesn’t mean they will necessarily be the lead in abandoning EBRs here…but it is intriguing.

What do you think? Will personal appearance factor into who becomes a Mayday rep? Should it? Will Amazon introduce a TV interface this year? Would you pay for Mayday? Would it encourage you to get Prime if that was a requirement for Mayday? If you had same-day delivery from Amazon and it included everything you usually buy, what would make you go to a brick-and-mortar store? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.