Kindle Singles, Which Can Be Twice the Length of a New Yorker Feature
or as Much as a Few Chapters of a Typical Book, Coming Soon to the
Kindle Store
SEATTLE, Oct 12, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --(NASDAQ:AMZN)--Less than 10,000 words or more than 50,000: that is the
choice writers have generally faced for more than a century--works either
had to be short enough for a magazine article or long enough to deliver
the "heft" required for book marketing and distribution. But in many
cases, 10,000 to 30,000 words (roughly 30 to 90 pages) might be the
perfect, natural length to lay out a single killer idea, well
researched, well argued and well illustrated--whether it's a business
lesson, a political point of view, a scientific argument, or a
beautifully crafted essay on a current event.
Today, Amazon is announcing that it will launch "Kindle Singles"--Kindle
books that are twice the length of a New Yorker feature or as
much as a few chapters of a typical book. Kindle Singles will have their
own section in the Kindle Store and be priced much less than a typical
book. Today's announcement is a call to serious writers, thinkers,
scientists, business leaders, historians, politicians and publishers to
join Amazon in making such works available to readers around the world.
"Ideas and the words to deliver them should be crafted to their natural
length, not to an artificial marketing length that justifies a
particular price or a certain format," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice
President, Kindle Content. "With Kindle Singles, we're reaching out to
publishers and accomplished writers and we're excited to see what they
create."
Like all Kindle content, Kindle Singles will be "Buy Once, Read
Everywhere"--customers will be able to read them on Kindle, Kindle 3G,
Kindle DX, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry, and
Android-based devices. Amazon's Whispersync technology syncs your place
across devices, so you can pick up where you left off. In addition, with
the Kindle Worry-Free Archive, Kindle Singles will be automatically
backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon where they can be
re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime.
To be considered for Kindle Singles, interested parties should contact digital-publications@amazon.com.
About Amazon
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle,
opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's
Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most
customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything
they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the
lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of
unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books;
Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home
& Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health &
Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web
Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to
in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end
technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any
type of business. Kindle, Kindle 3G and Kindle DX are the revolutionary
portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers,
blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink
display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle 3G and Kindle DX
utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones, so
users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1
bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com,
www.amazon.co.uk,
www.amazon.de,
www.amazon.co.jp,
www.amazon.fr,
www.amazon.ca,
and www.amazon.cn.
As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include
Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates
otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly
from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to
competition, management of growth, new products, services and
technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international
expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center
optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and
strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption,
inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More
information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's
financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
SOURCE: Amazon.com, Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc.
Media Hotline, 206-266-7180
www.amazon.com/pr
