Jeff Bezos Interviewed About Kindle’s Success

Newsweek has an interesting interview with Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos discussing the popularity of the Kindle and how much of a surprise it has been for Amazon.

Have you been surprised by the Kindle’s success?

Astonished. Two years ago, none of us expected what has happened so far. It is [our] No. 1 bestselling product. It’s the No. 1 most-wished-for product as measured by people putting it on their wish list. It’s the No. 1 most-gifted item on Amazon. And I’m not just talking in electronics—that’s true across all product categories

Do you think that the ink-on-paper book will eventually go away?

I do. I don’t know how long it will take. You know, we love stories and we love narrative; we love to get lost in an author’s world.
That’s not going to go away; that’s going to thrive. But the physical book really has had a 500-year run. It’s probably the most successful technology ever. It’s hard to come up with things that have had a longer run. If Gutenberg were alive today, he would recognize the physical book and know how to operate it immediately. Given how much change there has been everywhere else, what’s remarkable is how stable the book has been for so long. But no technology, not even one as elegant as the book, lasts forever.

What do you think?

Is the Kindle and the new products like Apples iSlate/iTablet going to make the book as we know it obsolete? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Also, make sure you read our Kindle Buyers Guide, the Kindle Video review and our Top Accessories for your Australian Kindle.

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