Does Amazon need DRM?

Does Amazon need DRM?

Why do people buy e-books at Amazon? Will they continue to do so in the future?

Let’s take the latter question first: I think they will, and I’m going to explain why. That should also answer the first question (although I’m going to ask you why you buy them also).

What got me thinking about this was a nice

iReaderReview article

I saw it in my morning Flipboard read, although I have some correspondence with the author of that blog. Some of us Kindle bloggers do correspond some, but we don’t send each other a heads-up on every article we write. 🙂 We probably all read each other pretty much, but reasonably assume that we’ll look at the blogs.

The article explains about gatekeepers, and breaks it all down with bullet points and speculation.

I’ve written about the idea of flattening the market, of consumer buying directly from creators, notable in this article:

A Tale of Two Middles

However…

I think Amazon has an appeal to people that will survive the removal of apparent competitive advantages. This is a key short excerpt from switch11’s post linked above:

“It’s all a House of Cards. The New Gatekeepers lording over Authors and Readers and Publishers. Pretending they are indispensable. Using everyone’s fears to exploit them and gain power.

What’s going to happen if DRM is eliminated and Authors, Readers and Publishers (especially Publishers) realize that Amazon and B&N are 100% redundant and replaceable by hot air.”

In the status quo, people obviously buy e-books from Amazon.

The status quo isn’t going to continue, though.

There is a chance that equal collection legislation will pass, and internet companies will collect sales tax at the point of sale the same way that brick and mortar stores do. That wouldn’t affect me on e-books (California doesn’t currently charge sales tax on e-books sold electronically…they are treated like contracts, not like objects). Some other states apparently do, since I see a lot of people commenting on sales tax on their e-book purchases.

That’s a change.

Another potential change, addressed by the article that sparked this, is the possible end of DRM (Digital Rights Management). Basically, that is electronic code inserted into content by the publisher to control the use of the content.

As I wrote about yesterday, Tor (part of Macmillan) has been DRM-free through Amazon for over a year, and they aren’t reporting adverse effects from it.

DRM is part of what keys your file to your device, meaning that you can’t just copy your e-book file from one Kindle to another and read it. It also limits your ability to copy and convert the file…you can’t simply take your Kindle e-book file and turn it into a file which can be read by a NOOK.

The article (which I recommend) suggests that if DRM was gone, people would have no reason to buy e-books from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

I just don’t think that’s the case.

Equal access doesn’t mean equal trust.

Equal access doesn’t mean equal convenience.

Equal access doesn’t mean equal service.

I want to get my content from Amazon because I trust them, because I can centralize everything in one place, and because of their service.

Let’s say that five different publishers start making their books available broadly from their own sites.

Even if the prices are equivalent, I don’t want to have to go to five individual sites to get those books…and I don’t want to have to go back to them to retrieve them (if they’ll even archive them for me for free, like Amazon does).

We use the term “one-stop shopping” to describe all sorts of things…it’s a shorthand for convenience, for not having to go several places to do several things.

That’s one of the big appeals of Amazon.

My life is my life…it’s not a whole bunch of separate transactions. I might want to know if I bought a household product at the same time I bought a food or an e-book. I want to be able to look at my purchases for a month sometimes…not just my e-book purchases, but all of them.

I can’t do all that from Amazon right now…but I can do a lot of it.

There are times I want to browse for something…I want to see all of the e-books on one subject. If I was at publisher A’s site, I wouldn’t see publisher B’s books. The publishers are trying to address that with Bookish.com. Bookish, though, isn’t going to show me independently publisher books. It’s also not likely to show me critical reviews of books by other readers, like Amazon does.

Hey, I might also want to browse for movies, games, t-shirts, and toys related to that topic…not as likely from a publishers’ site.

So, centralization is key. It’s like the internet: can you imagine logging into separate networks for each of the sites you visit?

Trust is another issue.

The “middle-less market” imagines that I’ll see a tweet from somebody with a link in it for a book. I’ll click on that link, and end up directly on the author’s website. I would then presumably give my credit card (or Paypal, or Bitcoin) information to this person that I have maybe never heard of before. I’m going to trust them with my information.

I’m also going to trust them to send me a good quality copy of the e-book. I’m going to trust them to deal with any problems I might have.

Look, if there is something I find unacceptable about an e-book I buy from Amazon (whatever it is…I don’t have to give a reason), I can “return” it myself within seven days of purchase for a refund. I can do that just by going to

http://www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle

and click or tap

Actions…

Is every author going to have that reassurance and convenience for me?

It’s like when I managed a brick-and-mortar bookstore, and an independent would come in ask me to put a book on the shelf “on consignment”. I wouldn’t pay them unless the book sold.

One of my first questions to them would be, “If I wanted a thousand copies of this tomorrow, could you get it to me?” A traditional publisher typically could (or nearly that quickly). That indie didn’t have those resources. In a physical store, shelf space costs you money, because you are paying rent on it. It’s advertising space…I couldn’t have something sitting there that couldn’t result in more sales if I needed it.

What was our arrangement if the book was shoplifted (surprisingly  common in bookstores)? What if I wanted to get rid of the book? How would I return it to them? How did I know the book wasn’t defective, and if it was, how would that get remedied for my customer?

As a manager, I had to go with the people who could best service the store.

As a customer, it’s similar.

One more major point: Amazon not only stores all those books for  me (and my annotations, if I want): I can share them easily with other people on my account. Amazon knows me. If somebody has a device registered to my account, they are fine with it being downloaded to that device (as long as it is compatible, and we don’t go over the simultaneous device limit the publisher has set).

How is an author with a website selling maybe one book going to know that someone else is on my account? Are they going to let me have unlimited devices on my account, the way Amazon does? Will I even have an account, or will it be one purchase and “see ya”?

Does DRM help Amazon lock in a customer base? Sure. If it was gone, would that mean people would stop shopping at Amazon? I don’t think so. You can already get DRM free books at Amazon (Amazon gives that option to publishers using their Kindle Direct Publishing, and there are those Tor books), and people still buy them from Amazon.

So, let me ask you…

While I think “middle-less” will certainly grow, I also think Amazon will still hold their “end” up in the future. 😉

What do you think? Do you feel trapped into buying from Amazon, or are you doing it entirely by choice and preference? If you could buy your e-books from a thousand different sources, would that be better or worse? Can you envision some other system besides either retail or “island suppliers” (everyone is independent) that would work as well as what we have now? Maybe some central rating and payment site for indies…and why wouldn’t that be Amazon? 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.

Round up #167: no DRM doesn’t increase piracy for Tor, Mothers’ Day specials

Round up #167: no DRM doesn’t increase piracy for Tor, Mothers’ Day specials

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

Mothers’ Day specials

Oh, how the pace of commerce has changed! Mothers’ Day is this Sunday in the USA, and you can still get deals on line and get the item in time. Whether you are buying for a Mom or not, I thought I’d mention a couple.

First, there’s the deal on the Kindle Fire HD 7″ models directly from Amazon (this doesn’t appear to apply to the 8.9″). You have to enter this code at checkout:

FIRE4MOM

Note that entering it a checkout means you will not get the opportunity to enter it if you use 1-click. This deal is good through May 12th, and only for USA customers. Here is a link to the rest of the

Kindle Fire HD 7″ deal details

Second, DecalGirl has a deal on skins. Skins are really a way to personalize a device, including Kindles and Kindle Fires. It’s like a super duper sticker you put on it. You can even do customized ones by uploading a photo. They have a promotional code for 25% off through May 13th…I guess they even have the late folks covered…so to speak. 😉 Of course, you could also let Mom pick her skin.

You can shop here:

DecalGirl Mothers’ Day skins

At checkout, enter the code

THANKSMOM

I assume it’s okay to post this, since they sent me an e-mail they said I could forward to friends…you’re my friends, right? 😉

Senate passes equal collection legislation

I’ve written about this a lot before, and I’m happy to see it moving along (even though it isn’t law yet).

There’s nice coverage of the vote by the Senate to pass equal collection legislation in this

Money.CNN.com article

Just to summarize, it would mean that large internet retailers would collect sales tax at the point of sale on online purchases, similar to what happens in a brick-and-mortar store.

This is key: it is not a new tax.

If people think of it as a new tax, it probably won’t pass the House of Representatives, despite the bipartisan support it has had.

Nobody will owe a penny more of sales tax if this passes…but the vast majority of people will pay more.

That’s because you are probably expected to pay sales/use tax in your state on your annual taxes when you buy things from out of state retailers…but most people just don’t. We do in my family, and it’s a bear…if this does pass, it will simplify things for me.

Can you imagine figuring out your own sales tax on your brick-and-mortar purchases, and then paying it as one lump sum once a year?

I’m not convinced it will pass the House, although there are certainly  motivations  to do so. Amazon and Wal-Mart both support it. More importantly, the Federal government might be able to send less money to the states if the states were able to collect the sales tax they were already owed. However we all know that “logic” isn’t spelled “lawgic” for a reason…the two don’t have a whole lot to do with each other. 😉

Tor going DRM-free has not increased piracy

There’s a fascinating

Tor.com post

that talks about how things are going after a year of being DRM (Digital Rights Mangement) free. Tor is a major publisher (part of Macmillan), and I reported on their decision.

DRM is code inserted into digital content by the publisher to control the use of that material.

When you download an e-book that is DRM-free, there is nothing it that technically stops you from copying it or altering it.

That doesn’t mean that you have the right to do anything you want: you could still do things (like distributing it freely over the internet without permission) which would be illegal infringement.

However, if you want to convert it from an e-book you can read on a Kindle to an e-book you can read on a NOOK, that is apparently okay.

Here’s the key line in a short excerpt:

“As it is, we’ve seen no discernible increase in piracy on any of our titles, despite them being DRM-free for nearly a year.”

That doesn’t mean there has been no piracy (there can even be piracy of DRM-protected files…it’s just harder), but that releasing without DRM hasn’t meant that there was any more or it (as far as they can tell).

As they note, their success doesn’t mean it would be equally successful for all books, but you can bet other tradpubs (traditional publishers) are looking at this carefully.

Taking a Kindle for a test drive…really

My Significant Other and I knew that it was getting to be time to buy a new car (I had a Scion XB with over 150,000 miles on it…it was still doing fine, but you start thinking about maintenance costs at that range).

For me, tech in the car is a big thing. I’ve been listening now to text-to-speech in the car for years.

In the Scion, that was with an FM transmitter, playing through the radio.

We wanted a hybrid. We’d been driving Toyotas (I did like the Scion a lot) and had pretty much settled on a Prius.

Then, we drove a Ford Fusion over the weekend…and bought it. 🙂

For us, the drive was just so much better…the feel of it, and especially the visibility.

The tech was fine: it’s practically like having gotten a new computer, which is a fun day for me. 😉 I’m not that big on driving, but I really enjoyed it today. I have a touchscreen in the car, but I can also talk to it. The Kindle Fire (and my phone and my Blackberry and my Significant Other’s phone) paired to the Bluetooth with no problem. I start the book on the Kindle (before I start driving), and tell it to play Bluetooth audio…and I’m off and running. It also has two USB charging ports, so I don’t need a car adapter with this one.

Unrelated to the Kindle, the back-up camera is crazy cool. I haven’t had a new car for about nine years, so this all new to me. I really like that it shows me two virtual reality lines for where the car is going to go…and if you turn the steering wheel (even before you start moving), it shows you the projected path. It’s going to take quite a while before it feels natural to look forward (at the screen) when backing up, but I can clearly see the advantages.

That “taking a while” thing happens, though. I had a funny one the other day. The clock in our bathroom died, and I’m often reading on my Kindle Fire in there while I exercise and brush my teeth (I take a long time doing the latter). However, I did have a paper magazine up on the towel rack where I normally put my Fire. I caught myself reaching up to push something on the paper magazine to see what time it was. 🙂 I didn’t get very far, but that’s clearly become a habit for me.

Some people ask why an RSK (Reflective Screen Kindle…anything but a Kindle Fire) doesn’t show a clock all the time. One reason why their batteries last so long is that they do very little when you are reading. They redraw the “page”, and that’s about it unless you tell it to do something. If there was a clock, they’d have to redraw the page at least every minute…that would eat up battery charge life.

What do you think? Will equal collection legislation pass the House? How will it affect Amazon if it does? Did you buy any more books from Tor because they went DRM-free? How do you use your Kindle in the car? 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.

Things keep getting better #1

Things keep getting better #1

I’m an optimist.

Really…is it that obvious? 😉

While there are certainly terrible things that happen in the world, and we have the increasing problem of individuals who want to do bad things being able to hurt more people in more ways more quickly at the same time, generally, I think the world is good and getting better.

Even when we look specifically at the Kindle and e-books overall, we can see it.

One way is to look at things people about which people have complained in the past, and see if they have been changed.

In many cases, they have.

That doesn’t mean everything, of course…there are a lot of things which haven’t been remedied…yet.

I’m also not somebody who says something is bad just because it isn’t everything I want. I figure if I’m hungry and somebody gives me a third of a meal, that’s a third I didn’t have before. I don’t get mad because I didn’t get that full meal.

That said, let’s take a look at some of these improvements.

First, generally…Kindles are cheaper and do much more than they used to do. When the Kindle was introduced on November 19, 2007, it cost $399, and held about 200 books. There were only about 80,000 books available in the USA Kindle store (which was the only Kindle store there was).

Now, the least expensive Kindle is $69 in the USA (you can buy more than five of them for the price of one of the original Kindles), holds about 1,000 books (five times as many), and we are closing in on two million titles in the USA Kindle store.

Next, let’s look at some of the big improvements in chronological order:

Text-to-speech (February 9, 2009)

I don’t think people had really been asking for this: it came as a surprise to me and many others. This has been a long and bumpy road: initially, it was for all books, than Amazon allowed rightsholders to block it, and some did so…big time. However, it appears to me that has been reduced over time, and Amazon encourages independent publishers not to block the access.

SmartPhone access (March 4, 2009)

While this ability to read e-books without carrying an EBR (E-Book Reader) with you was originally just for the iPhone and iPod touch, free apps eventually let you read on Android devices, Blackberrys, Windows Phones…a wide variety.

Kindle Publishing for Blogs (May 13, 2009)

Amazon has given creative people many ways to make money with their art. This was one of them that was relatively simple. While you might not consider every blog “art”, it does allow people to get their ideas out there and get some compensation for it.

USA Today includes e-books in its bestsellers’ list (July 23, 2009)

There was a lot of talk about when the mainstream media would start recognizing e-books, giving readers of that format more information and authors more exposure. This is really when it happened.

Kindles go international (October 7, 2009)

People outside the US get Kindles, and this is when the announcement was made. Oh yeah, they also lowered the price on the US-only model with this announcement.

Kindle for PC released (October 22, 2009)

This greatly expanded access…in 2009, not everybody had a SmartPhone. 😉

Kindles come to Canada (November 17, 2009)

I’m not going to mention every time the Kindle began selling through a region-specific Kindle site, but people had been clamoring for this…well, perhaps asking nicely for it repeatedly. 😉

PDF support and landscape mode (November 25, 2009)

I wonder how many people remember that these weren’t available initially? It part of a free update…those have brought us so many features!

Barnes & Noble introduces the NOOK (November 30, 2009)

Yes, I consider this an improvement for the Kindle…the competition has been good for us Kindleers.

Permanent delete from the archives (December 9 ((?)), 2009)

That’s right…for the first two years, we could not delete books from our Kindle accounts (we could delete them from our devices). People had really wanted that!

Add to Wishlist button added to Kindle book product pages (December 11 ((?)), 2009)

Many people use this functionality for tracking, and they had been asking for it.

International rightsholders get Kindle publishing (January 15, 2010)

It was called the “Digital Text Platform” at that point…it became Kindle Direct Publishing later.

Amazon doubles the possible royalty rate for indie publishers (January 20, 2010)

It goes up to 70% from 35%.

Kindles become available in brick and mortar stores (April 25, 2010)

This was in Target…they were the first.

Collections (book “folders’) come to the Kindle (June 14, 2010)

In another free update, we get one of the most requested features…a way to organize our books on our Kindles.

Active content (games and apps) come to the Kindle (August 3, 2010)

The first two games were Every Word and Shuffled Row. There had been hidden games on the Kindle before that, but these were actual downloadable titles.

Gifting of Kindle books (November 19, 2010)

Wow, did people want to give Kindle e-books to people! Before this, you could do gift certificates, but this was a huge improvement.

Lending books to friends (December 30, 2010)

People wanted to lend e-books, just like they could p-books (paperbooks).  Sure, it’s limited, just as it was for the NOOK, but that’s an improvement.

Ad-supported Kindles (April 11, 2011)

Okay, okay…nobody was walking around with a sign saying, “Please put advertising on my Kindle!” 😉 However, this did lower the prices, and the ad-supported versions tended to outsell the full price ones, showing a preference.

Reading e-books in a browser (August 10, 2011)

The Cloud Reader was announced on this date, which would lead to the ability to read your Kindle store books without downloading and special software.

Borrowing books from public libraries (September 21, 2011)

There still is work to go on this, but we can now borrow e-books from public libraries for our Kindles. The Big Six publishers have all at least announced plans for some representation in public libraries.

I’m gong to stop there in this post…the next big era comes with the release of the Kindle Fire. That doesn’t mean improvements stopped at that point, though! They just keep coming. I fully expect to get comments pointing out the things that haven’t happened yet, and maybe I’ll address those myself in another post. I just wanted to leave you with this list of improvements, often at a lower cost.

See? Things are getting better. 🙂

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

Round up #166: Harper Lee sues, Star Wars Day

Round up #166: Harper Lee sues, Star Wars Day

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

“May the Fourth be with you!”

Ath you probably…wait, that thould be…that’th thilly! Drat, once you say “May the Fourth be with you”, it’s hard to stop using the TH’s for S’s. 😉

May the Fourth has become Star Wars Day, due to the above pun. Amazon is getting in the spirit, with discounts over the weekend on Star Wars stuff…check out the

Star Wars store at Amazon

One of today’s Kindle Daily Deals is

10 Star Wars books

for $1.99 each.

That is quite a few options…you might want to start with Heir to the Empire: Star Wars (The Thrawn Trilogy): Star Wars, Volume I by Timothy Zahn. That one is rated 4.4 with over 500 stars, which is impressive…most impressive. 😉 Is it a Jedi yet? That’s your call…

As always, check the price before you buy…it may not apply in your country, and I know I’m getting this out pretty late in the day.

You can also get

40 Star Wars Dark Horse Graphic Novels for $3.99 each

Note that graphic novels often have the text as part of an image, which can’t be read by text-to-speech. That doesn’t mean that the publisher has blocked it, just that it is unavailable to the software.

Edgar Award Winners

The Edgar Awards, given by the Mystery Writers of America, is sort of like the Oscars for mysteries. 😉

The winners were announced on May 2nd, and here is a list:

http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html

This may not have been updated yet, but Amazon maintains a list of Edgar-winning Kindle books here:

Kindle Store › Award Winners › Edgar Awards

You can also go from that page to award winners in other categories, including: Nebular and Hugo (science fiction); RITA (romance); Newberry (children’s books); Nobel; Pulitzer; and more!

Sign up for the Kindle Daily Deals e-mail and get a selected e-book free

You have to be signing up for the first time for this marketing e-mail from Amazon, but this is a nice incentive:

Kindle Delivers Daily Deals: Sign Up and Get a Selected Kindle Book for Free

AP: “‘MOCKINGBIRD’ AUTHOR LEE SUES OVER COPYRIGHT IN NY”

This was an interesting

AP article

I would guess that To Kill a Mockingbird is the most desired book to have Kindleized.

It’s often been stated that Harper Lee, the author, doesn’t want to deal with e-books, but this article suggests it may be more complicated than that.

A lawsuit filed by Lee alleges that Samuel Pinkus, Lee’s agent, took advantage of infirmity and got Lee to assign the copyright to Pinkus.

If that’s the case, that could certainly have complicated the sale of the e-book rights.

How would you like to be in court defending yourself against Harper Lee? It’s going to be very difficult to not look like the bad guy…even if Atticus Finch isn’t presenting the author’s case. 😉

Digital Book World: “Public Libraries, Corporate Publishers and eBooks”

Well, this is a round up , so I want to make sure everybody is caught up on tradpubs (traditional publishers) and libraries.

The tradpubs had not been universally making e-book available to public libraries…and they still aren’t all doing it 100%.

However, this

DBW article

by Jack W (sic) Perry gives you a nice timeline. All of the tradpubs are now doing something with public libraries. That’s nice to see, although it’s not everything yet without restriction.

Well, I don’t want to wait too long before I send this out, so the deals are available to more people…enjoy!

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

Thousands of ILMK posts

Thousands of ILMK posts

This the 2,000th post in the I Love My Kindle blog, so I can now officially say I’ve done thousands of posts. 🙂

The first one appeared on August 28, 2009…that means I’ve averaged very close to 1.5 posts a day. If I average 1,000 words a day (and I’m confident it’s more than that), that’s the traditional equivalent of a book that’s about 5,376 pages (at 250 words a page)…gee, that puts me in Stephen King territory. 😉

I’ll do more of an analysis when we actually get to the next birthday of the blog at the end of August, but I did want to celebrate…and to thank you, subscribers and readers, who keep this going.

Since this is the 2,000th post, I’m going to give away 20 licenses (that’s what you get when you buy something in the Kindle store…if these were paperbooks, I’d say “20 copies”) of my Kindle store titles.

You can get one by commenting on this post…I’ll give one away to each of the first twenty people to comment and request one. I think twenty will make it enough to give my international readers a chance at it.

You can request which one you want…I’ll list them below. If you don’t specify one, I’ll probably send you The Mind Boggles, since that’s the most recent title.

Please do not include contact information in your comment…your e-mail address already appears to me (but not to my other readers), and that’s where I’ll send the request.

For those who are curious about the mechanics here, I’ll be gifting the books to the requesters through the Kindle store. I don’t get a discount on that, but I do get a royalty, just like I would if somebody else bought them.

Thanks again, whether you’ve been with me from the beginning, or are just starting down the road with me!

• Free Books for Your Kindle
• Frequently Asked Kindle Questions
• ILMK! (I Love My Kindle!) (not the blog 🙂 )
• Love Your First Generation Kindle Fire: The ILMK Guide to Amazon’s Entertablet
• The Collected I Love My Kindle Blog Volume 1
• The Disabled Deserve to Read: The Controversy Over the Amazon Kindle’s Voice
• The Kindle Kollection: Three Early Books about the Kindle
• The Mind Boggles: A Unique Book of Quotations

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

Google Play comes to NOOK tablets

Google Play comes to NOOK tablets

“And the walls come tumblin’ down…”

Barnes & Noble sent me a

press release

and then I saw this other places as well (including a heads-up from Joseph Holmberg, one of my readers.

Google Play is now going to appear on NOOK tablets.

This is an important tipping point moment.

Right away, I think people may see it on the surface as a tactical  move against Amazon’s Fire tablets. Amazon doesn’t have access to Play on their tablets: Barnes & Noble does.

Yes, people will certainly see that as a competitive advantage for Barnes & Noble. For people who haven’t decided which way to go, it gives B&N a big leg up.

However…

This goes much deeper than that. That is only the tip of the “hypeberg”, so to speak. 😉

Both Barnes & Noble and Amazon have been primarily content providers in the past. They have sold books, which I think most people would still see as Barnes & Noble’s main focus (I’m not sure everybody thinks of Amazon that way any more).

When B&N introduced the NOOK, it was a “reader’s tablet”. You used it to get content from B&N.

Now, suddenly, that’s not the focus of the device at all.

Let’s think of Barnes & Noble as…a restaurant.

You went in, and you bought what was on their menu.

Now, when you walk in and sit down, they give you their menu…but they also give you a super menu that has the menus for ten other major restaurant chains, and you can order from them. You want a Round Table pizza delivered to your Barnes & Noble table? Fine, no problem.

The restaurant’s own menu has almost nothing on it that isn’t on those other menus, and there is a ton more choices on the other menus.

Why would you order from the restaurant’s own menu at all? It means you have to look in two different places…and one of them almost always has what you want, and the other one doesn’t.

That’s a real question: why would Barnes & Noble continue to offer their own appstore, videos, or music? That’s a lot of work, which Google will do if they don’t.

Yes, Barnes & Noble would probably make more profit on their own “menu”, but not if it isn’t making many sales for them.

I didn’t mention books on purpose, but Google Play also has books. If they ramp up that part of the store, good luck to B&N in competing…even on their own tablets.

The NOOK line has just become a hardware business, not a content business.

That then brings in another question: will people continue to buy NOOK tablets if they see them as just another tablet choice? When they don’t see them as “Barnes & Noble’s reader’s tablets” but as a direct competitor to, say, the Nexus or a Samsung?

I really think this move could lead to Barnes & Noble getting out of the tablet business eventually, or it becoming just a minor sideline.

Now, there is another important point here.

Know what else is in the Google Play store?

The Kindle app.

My  understanding  is that this means that NOOK owners can just download the Kindle app from Google Play, and with no rooting, nothing fancy at all, enjoy their Kindle e-books on their NOOK tablets.

That’s an awful big celebrity to invite to your birthday party. 😉 It makes it a little hard to keep the focus on you.

My guess is that there are some really significant changes in store (so to speak) for B&N in the next year, and this is part of it.

Should Amazon respond?

The first question is whether or not it is up to them.

While I see people blithely saying that Amazon just hasn’t paid some licensing fee to Google, I haven’t really found something that shows that is the case.

There are more references to Amazon and “walled gardens” on the internet than there are anacondas in the actual Amazon river. 😉

Amazon is actually pretty open. They allow installation of apps from “unknown sources”. I’ve done that several times…directly from sites, like Zinio, and from other resources, like 1Mobile.

I’m careful only to do it with apps I trust, since, naturally, I take the responsibility when I install an app Amazon hasn’t tested for the Fire.

That, by the way, is going to be another major headache for Barnes & Noble with this move. They are going to get so many Customer Service contacts (which are quite expensive) about things people have downloaded from Google Play that don’t work right on their NOOK tablets (or even just about how to play them). If B&N just keeps directing them somewhere else, that’s going to be a turn off.

Back to Amazon and competitors…Amazon has apps for competitors in their Amazon Appstore. For example, they have the Netflix app: a direct competitor for Amazon Instant Video.

Does every single flavor and variety of SmartPhone that wants to be listed as compatible on Google Play pay licensing fees? They might, certainly, but I don’t know that.

I think it’s quite possible that it has been Google that has not listed the Fire, rather than the Fire which has not been made compatible in some way with Google Play.

Being compatible would be different from having the Play store natively on your device (which is what I think the NOOK tablets will have)…the latter likely would require a fee.

Will we some day have access to Google Play on our Kindle Fires? I think that’s possible. I do think a key purpose of the Fire is to get people signed up for Prime, where they will then buy profitable physical products (“diapers and windshield wipers”). Having people buy from Google Play wouldn’t necessarily impact that. I also think it’s important to note that Amazon is a producer and supplier of video in a way that Barnes & Noble isn’t…however, I suppose they could make those things available in Google Play if they had the Play store on Fires.

I don’t think that’s going to happen right away in response to this move from Barnes & Noble.

If you are losing a hot air balloon race, you might start throwing everything over board to lighten the load…in this case, B&N is throwing over their own content provision for the tablets.

If you are in the lead, like Amazon, you can afford to keep those items on board…for now.

One other quick note: this does not impact the NOOK reflective screen devices (non-tablets). You don’t install apps on those, just as you don’t install apps on RSKs (Reflective Screen Kindles).

===

Bonus tip: I’m trying not to write just about the Fire in a post, when I can avoid it. 🙂

For those of you who have missed having the free Kindle store book listings at eReaderIQ.com, try

http://www.freereadfeed.com/

I’m hoping to give you a bit more information about it soon.

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

100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less each:May 2013

100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less each:May 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.

They’ve also been doing 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less each month.

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 44% of the books in the USA Kindle store are $3.99 or less (856,777 of 1,935,499). 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.

One other thing…I think this is a particularly good list! I think we are starting to see the benefit of more publishers not being under the Agency Model, which gives Amazon a wider variety of books to discount, especially well-known ones.

The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home
by Dan Ariely

Oh, I’m definitely buying this one for $1.99! Ariely is a behavioral economist, and I’ve read this author before. This will be non-fiction, explaining that people behave irrationally…but that doesn’t mean that it is just wild, unpredictable behavior. For example, and many e-book readers will know this one, we are overly attracted to something being free. We are much more likely to take a free thing than something that costs one penny…the difference is much greater than between one penny and two pennies, even though the actual difference is the same.

Slaughterhouse-Five
by Kurt Vonnegut

This one is a modern classic, and often gets assigned to reading lists. If you buy it now, you won’t be knocking on a brick-and-mortar bookstore’s door at 9:00 at night the day before it is due. 😉 Although that sounds random, I had that happen when I managed one. The book is arguably a dark humor science fiction book, and it does frequently get challenged in libraries (it has sexual content, for one thing, but it is also…I guess “irreverent” might be best).

Bitter Lemons of Cyprus: Life on a Mediterranean Island
by Lawrence Durrell

Non-fiction travel writing from the author of The Alexandria Quartet.

Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership with a Search-and-Rescue Dog
by Susannah Charleston

4.5 stars with 199 reviews is impressive! Mothers’ Day, maybe?

The Emperor’s Soul
by Brandon Sanderson

This is a novella (shorter than a novel, longer than a short story) from the popular writer (Mistborn)…with an even better rating of 4.6 for 335 reviews…and no review under a three! This one has magic…

Map of Bones: A Sigma Force Novel
by James Rollins

It’s a thriller, and in fact, uses a label I didn’t even think was around any more: “Men’s Adventure”. Rollins is a New York Times bestselling author. This one involves an artifact, and the reviews compare it to Dan Brown.

A Soldier of the Great War
by Mark Helprin

Helprin (Winter’s Tale) writes a well-reviewed historical novel of World War I. I was just having a conversation about “World War I” the other day. Of course, they didn’t call it that at the time…how pessimistic would that have been? 😉 It was “The Great War” or “The War to End All Wars”, or, yes, “The World War”. I heard Christopher Clark, the author of The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 interviewed, and that one sounded like a fascinating book…it’s not part of this deal, though.

The Namesake
by Jhumpa Lahiri

You have to give serious consideration to a book that is listed as both “literary fiction” and a children’s book…and is by a Pulitzer Prize winner!

The Magician’s Assistant
by Ann Patchett

There are some mixed reviews on this one, but I suspect that might be about how the book makes you feel more than the quality of the writing (although I haven’t read it yet myself). Patchett is also the author of State of Wonder and Bel Canto.

Ham On Rye
by Charles Bukowski

Bukowski may be best known as a poet, but has written quite a few novels…this is supposed to be one of the best.

Well, those are a few of the ones that caught my eye…enjoy!

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

Round up #165: Amazon adds TTS to iOS, Anne Frank pornographic?

Round up #165: Amazon adds TTS to iOS, Anne Frank pornographic? 

The ILMK Round ups are short pieces which may or may not be expanded later.
Amazon adds text-to-speech to iOS app, coming to others

This one is near and dear to my heart, and I’m so pleased that Amazon has done it!

In this announcement in the Amazon Kindle Forum

New Accessibility Features to Free Kindle Reading iOS Apps

they are announcing new accessibility features for their free iOS Kindle reading apps (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch…I assume it works on all of them).

I’m going to go ahead and reproduce what they listed:

New accessibility features of the Kindle app enable blind and visually impaired customers to:
– Read aloud over 1.5 million titles available in the Kindle Store using Apple’s VoiceOver technology. Over 300,000 of these books are exclusive to the Kindle Store. Over 700,000 books are less than $4.99; over a million are less than $9.99.
– Seamlessly navigate within their library or within a book, with consistent title, menu and button names; navigate to a specific page within a book and sort books in the library by author or title.
– Read character-by-character, word-by-word, line-by-line, or continuously, as well as move forward or backward in the text.
– Search for a book within their library or search within their book and navigate to specific text.
– Add and delete notes, bookmarks, and highlights.
– Use customer-favorite features like X-Ray, End Actions and sharing on Facebook and Twitter.
– Look up words in the dictionary and Wikipedia.
– Customize the reading experience including changing the font, text size, background color, margin, and brightness.
– Use iOS accessibility features like Zoom, Assistive Touch, and Stereo to Mono, as well as peripheral braille displays.

Other new features include:
– Easily rate and review books by accessing `Before you go…’ directly from The `Go to’ menu
– Enhancements to `Before you go…’ including the ability to download a free sample and email yourself a reminder about recommended books.
– Additional Font Selection for Japan – Hiragino Mincho ProN (Serif)

I think these are huge improvements! As regular readers know, I use text-to-speech myself (especially in the car), but I’m more concerned with it being available to those with print challenges. This is going to be really helpful for them.

They say it will becoming to other reader apps, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be implemented the same way for Android, since the iOS ones are using Apple’s VoiceOver. If they use Ivona for the Android app, that will convert quite a few people to TTS.

I’m hoping this accelerates publishers deciding not to block text-to-speech access for their books…it gives TTS more market power, certainly.

Kudos, Amazon!

A great ad from Kobo

Even though this blog is called I Love My Kindle, I also write some about other devices, and the world of e-books generally.

This commercial is, in my opinion, one of the best ads for an EBR (E-Book Reader) to date:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALJgdKP4pTY

It really captures the magic of reading and what it means to families.

I recommend you take a look…well done, Kobo!

HuffPo: “Anne Frank’s Diary Too ‘Pornographic’ For 7th-Grade”

This

Huffington Post article

is going to raise some ire right off.

It’s about a parent filing a formal complaint that The Diary of Anne Frank is inappropriate for a school to use.

This is about the “definitive edition”, which may have a passage in it you don’t remember from reading it when you were young.

What’s appropriate for children is always a sensitive issue, but it’s worth reading the article to see what you think about it.

My gut reaction is always towards openness as far as books are concerned, but it’s possible they could have selected a different version and still had it have the value.

By the way, it always jars me when I hear people pronounced it the American way in news stories. For whatever reason, I learned the name the way it was probably originally pronounced…with the “a”s sounding like the vowel in “John”, not the way Americans usually say “can”. For me, it’s “Ahnna Frahnk”. I know that’s unusual, though.

Paperwhite update moves us towards “one book”

I recently wrote briefly about a Kindle Paperwhite update, and I’ve had a chance to play with it today. It brings an astonishingly good new feature to the device.

Interestingly, it moves us closer to something that came up in Burning the Page by Jason Merkoski (you can read my review of the book).

Merkoski talks about all books eventually being connected…being networked so you can jump from a reference in one book to that same topic in another book…sort of like surfing the web.

Well, this new feature moves us much closer to that reality.

They are just treating it like an enhancement to search, but that’s minimizing the impact.

You can highlight a word, or a phrase (a Paperwhite is a touchscreen, so you just do it with your finger or stylus).

For example, you could highlight a person’s first and last name.

I tested it with Alice in Wonderland. I highlighted “March Hare”, then hit “More” in the box that appeared.

I got another menu, including a choice to Search with an arrow…that gave me the following:

• This Book
• My Items
• Kindle Store

Being able to search the current book isn’t new.

Here was a fascinating thing with “My Items”…it includes your archived/Cloud items. That wasn’t obvious to me with “March Hare”, because, well, the term probably doesn’t occur in any of my other books. However, when I did “Alice”,  I definitely got results from books which weren’t currently on my device (I was connected to wi-fi at the time).

It also found things in My Clippings.

I should be clear: it looked inside the books, although it might have only done that with a book on my device.

The “Kindle Store” choice is even more interesting, though.

That found me a number of things, which would let me read more about the March Hare. For instance, it found me Gears of Wonderland, which presumably mentions the March Hare.

It wasn’t perfect…there appeared to be false positives, with books that had the word “March”, without necessarily having “Hare” next to it. It showed me this one as a result: The March Madness of Billy Hare. Perhaps “March Hare” appears inside the book…

Oh, and I noticed that the search results included a comment to tell me when a book was available through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library! Nice touch!

Amazon just keeps improving things, but they aren’t always great at tooting their own horn. I suppose that they might be worried that this would be seen as advertising in an e-book (which, in a way, it is), but I think it’s a very welcome feature.

What do you think? Does the social value of Anne Frank override any concerns about content within it? Are you excited about TTS on your Kindle apps? I was so excited I sent this post out early to include it…I wanted to be the first to tell you. 😉 Actually, I wanted to make sure people could use it as soon as possible…I’m usually not big on being first, unless I feel I have the story down. What do you think of the Kobo ad? 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: May 1 2013

Snapshot: May 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

Titles in Kindle Store

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:

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:

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:

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:

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

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 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)

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

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

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

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)

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)

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*

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)

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%

—

Summary

Just as we did last month, we have that weird drop in net titles added. I still don’t know what the cause is on that…it’s better this month than it was last, but still down considerably. Speaking of down, the New York Times bestselling hardback equivalents have dropped in price…and I think there are more that are cheaper (it’s just that we had two $14.99 titles this month, or it would have been even lower). I do think this is a result of the Agency Model losing power…the sub $12.99 prices generally weren’t set by the publisher. We have more subscription items available, in all three categories (magazines, newspapers, blogs). I’m starting to get a little concerned about the drop in the percentage of books in the one penny to fifty dollar range that are under $10…this is the second straight month, and that’s been unusual. There are also fewer free books…but more free to borrow in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. The price point shifts were towards $2.99 and away from $7.99. Overall, things look good.

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 #164: free word game app, Paperwhite update

Round up #164: free word game app, Paperwhite update

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

Kindle Paperwhite update 5.3.5

There is a recent update rolling out for the Kindle Paperwhite. You can wait for it to show up, or download it here:

Kindle Paperwhite Software Update

It brings two significant new features:

• The full definition of a word can now be viewed in the results window
• You can now highlight a word or phrase and search for it not just in the book, but in all of your items, or the Kindle store

I haven’t had a chance to really play with it yet, but that last feature sounds like a big improvement! I can certainly see running across a phrase in one e-book, and wanting to see what else was available about it in the Kindle store. I’ve also used the feature of searching my entire Kindle on older models…but I only tend to keep ten or so Kindle store books on any of my devices at any given time.

One tip: after you get the update, I’m hearing that your Kindle will re-index your books. You can see comments about the update in this

Announcement thread

The index is how your Kindle is able to look up things in a book…it has to basically “read” each book, and identify where the  occurrences  of the words are (“cat” is at location 223, 497, 1012, and so on).

As you can imagine, that takes a lot of power. Generally, your RSKs (Reflective Screen Kindles…anything but a Kindle Fire)don’t use much of your battery charge doing much, but indexing is an exception.

So, when you get the update (whether you do it manually or wait for it to be delivered), I’d leave the Kindle plugged in and asleep (not turned off) overnight. That should give it enough time to index without draining your battery charge too far.

My understanding is that you don’t want to let the kind of lithium-ion battery that is in a Kindle discharge all the way. I tend to charge them in the “middle half”: not in the first quarter, not in the last quarter.

Oh, one other warning, which I’ve given you before, but now is a good time to repeat it. Don’t let your Kindle get too hot or too cold. As we head into warmer days (I saw the temperature at 30 for the first time recently in AccuWeather on my Fire. That’s 30 degrees Celsius, of course…about 86 Fahrenheit. For many people using Celsius, zero is cold (literally freezing), 10 is cool, the 20s are comfortable, and the thirties are hot.

For your Kindle, you could actually damage it and have it explode if it gets too hot. How hot is too hot?

Well, according to this

CTIA 1725 Battery Safety Statements Amazon Help Page

you should only charge them between 0 and 35 Celsius (32 to 95 Fahrenheit). The storage temperature is more flexible…this is what I found a while back:

Operating temperature — 32°F to 95°F (0°C to 35°C).
Storage temperature — 14°F to 113°F (-10°C to 45°C)

Still, if you leave your Kindle in a car on a hot day, it could easily get over 45C (113F)…and could be irreparably damaged and possible explode, from what I’ve heard.

You’ve been warned…

Free Word Games app…and $1 for MP3s

I was asked to take a look at this free app by the publisher (we have some correspondence, but have never met IRL…In Real Life).

Word Search, Kriss Kross, Quote Falls, Hangman, Speed Words – Word Games Pack FREE! (Kindle Tablet Edition)

It’s a collection of five word games:

• Word Search
• Hangman
• Quotefalls
• Kriss Kross
• Speed Words

The publisher nicely alerted me to the fact that there are in-app purchases possible with this app…you could spend money within the app to buy “stars”. I believe the stars enable you to unlock more levels.

So, before I get into the app itself, let me mention how to block in-app purchasing.

This is a game played on the Kindle Fire (it was compatible with both our 1st generation devices, and our HD ones), but wasn’t compatible with my Android SmartPhone.

To turn off in-app purchasing (IAP) on the current generation Kindle Fires, it’s

Swipe down from the top – More – Applications – Apps – In-App Purchasing

There. Now you can give the Kindle to your kids to play with the app. 🙂

Will you want to do that?

I would say yes, these games are fun. They aren’t simple enough for beginning readers, but I do like that you can set the levels to make it hard enough for adults.

For example, Word Search is not that hard a game, right? You look for words in a grid of letters. Well, this app lets you make the list of words invisible…instead of seeing the letters in the words, you just see asterisks. That makes it much harder, but not impossible.

The games are visually interesting: Hangman isn’t just a stick figure, but a little cartoon. The introductory screen to Quotefalls (which may be my favorite game) was a nicely done graphic of a physical desktop, with a number of things on it (including a quill pen).

The instructions were reasonably well done.

My one quibble is that I would prefer a “home” button on some screens, rather than having to push “back” buttons repeatedly.

Still, it’s free and pleasant enough. 🙂

Right now, at least in the USA store, you also get a $1 credit for MP3s when you download it…so they are practically paying you to get the game. 😉

Reuters: “Macmillan to pay $26 million to settle antitrust class action”

In this

Reuters article

they announce that Macmillan has agreed to pay over $20 million dollars in settling some suits over e-book pricing. This is another quick result from Judge Denise Cote (gotta love that judge). That doesn’t mean it happens right away (the next step is May 24th), and nobody is likely to see much money, but it is a step in that direction.

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