After 2 years on the market, the Kindle Paperwhite 3 is still the most popular and best selling Kindle that Amazon sells.
So logically that also means it’s the best selling ereader overall because there’s no way any other company is selling more ebook readers than Amazon sells Kindles.
It’s kind of interesting when you think about it.
At two years old the Kindle Paperwhite is the oldest Kindle model that Amazon currently offers, and it’s still the most popular.
It currently sits at #10 on Amazon’s best sellers list in electronics, and at #13 for the white version.
It was ranked even higher before Prime Day, ahead of the Fire tablets, and it’s still ranked ahead of the Kids Edition Fire tablets.
A lot of people would like to see a new Kindle in 2017, but it’s kind of concerning when the past three new Kindles still can’t come close to outselling the Kindle Paperwhite.
Granted a lot of it has to do with the fact that the Kindle Oasis and Kindle Voyage are priced higher, but the entry-level Kindle on sale for $49 can’t overcome the Paperwhite either.
The Kindle Paperwhite clearly offers the most bang for the buck, and it makes sense for Amazon not to want to rush out a new model when it’s still selling as well as it is, better than the other newer Kindles.
Amazon should probably just keep the Kindle Paperwhite around for awhile longer and come out with a larger version instead of trying to replace their most popular model. Create a new product instead of replacing an existing successful one.
A 13″ paperwhite would be awesome because it would actually have semi decent software unlike the other pathetic excuses in that space right now.
Amazon needs to come out with a larger e-ink device. After reading on Kobo’s larger than six inch devices, it is hard and I hate going back to the six inch Paperwhite. I just don’t understand why Amazon has not done this. Maybe the DX wasn’t considered popular but look at what the price was set at. If Kobo can put out a great, reasonably priced larger device why can’t/won’t Amazon? From Chapters you can get two Kobo devices for the price of one Oasis with the Kobo devices being far more superior than the Amazon product. Amazon needs to step up to the plate.
Best selling but not the best. Sales are strictly due to Amazons platform and a lack of competition. When you have no competition you’re most certainly going to be the best seller that’s obvious. People are completely in aware.People are completely unaware of options because they spend 5 hours glued on Amazon
Why would anyone want to buy a kindle when amazon will only let you buy ebooks off them and will not support any other form
Kobo on the other hand lets you get books from wh smith or the kobo store as well as epub, and many others. You can also botrow books from your local libary if it supports overdrive. As well as being water proof and up to 6.8 ” and much cheaper. Sure they are not quite as sharp on tx but again they offer more tx styles as well as more tx adjustment for weight etc. Its a no brainer. Kobo all the way.
Your point would make a lot more sense if there were actually a number of good ebook stores to buy from but there’s not. Amazon is the only company that takes​ ebooks seriously in the US. Apple and Google act like they could care less, and Kobo wants nothing to do with the US market. It’s not like there are a lot of options in the UK either. WHsmith doesn’t even sell ebooks anymore; it’s just a front that redirects to Kobo.
Nathan has a good point. Because of Amazon’s dominance in the U.S. I actually have two e-readers. A Sony PRS-T1 that I use with my Kobo books (and my public domain epub books), and two years ago I bought a Basic Kindle (6th Generation I think) to read my Amazon books (got tired of using a tablet for this — to big and heavy and got tired of having to remember to charge the tablet.)
About 40% of my books are from Amazon, 30% are public domain in epub format, 10% are indie books that are DRM-free, and 10% are Kobo, and then I have a ton of reference PDFs.
I still use the Sony PRS-T1 for all the non-Amazon books I own because I prefer that e-reader slightly over the Kindle reader (although the Kindle e-reader is very nice.)
Point is I have a lot of Amazon books. I try to buy elsewhere (and will buy from Indies if I can), but a good 40% of the time Amazon is the least expensive source.
Because they are too big so they can
Lee, I’ve never seen a Kobo but have heard good things about it. But as a long time Kindle owner, I wanted to point out that I can and do get books from lots of other sites other than Amazon. Also, I regularly download ebooks in Kindle supported format from several local libraries. I sometimes use a terrific free program on my computer called Calibre to convert books from one format to another, amongst other things. So while I’ve purchased or borrowed many ebooks from Amazon using the Kindle Unlimited subscription service over the years, my options have hardly been limited to Amazon.
Yes
I think it’s good to know that
It is not mentioned enough that the Kindle is a closed eco-system. Kindle owners live in a walled-garden and a fool’s paradise. They think the Amazon shopping mall they live in is the whole universe.
Yikes, chill out on the excess drama. I have an old Paperwhite because it was cheap and works reliably. When I want a book from outside Amazon’s store, I just have to convert it to use it on my Kindle.
I think publishers should do a combined Book + eBook option for those that collect books themselves and have eBook version for holidays etc.They missed a trick.
Also for those “coffee table reference books” which have colour illustrations having a word reference on reader.
Some Indie publishers do this. I agree I think it’s a great idea.
There is certainly a huge lack of innovation in the e-reader market. Part of it is because Amazon really doesn’t have any significant competition, and the other piece is because of competition from tablets.
Still e-books are the best for reading. They are lighter and smaller than tablets (if you care about that — which I do), battery life is incredible, and you can read in direct sunlight.
I’d like to see the next Paperwhite a little bigger with waterproofing. One thing that I really like about Kindle books is the x-ray feature. I’d be lost without it with so many books.
I think it will always be a bestseller no? It is mid-range and appeals to the most common ebook reader.