The Amazon Kindle ebook reader series has attracted a enormous amount of publicity over the last few months. The Kindle 2 was launched in February 2009, to replace the original Kindle. Soon after, in June 2009, the new bigger Kindle DX was launched – specifically aimed at readers of newspapers, magazines and textbooks.

Sales of the Kindle readers, books from the Kindle bookstore and Kindle accessories are reportedly extremely good. Despite the fact that many industry watchers have suggested that the Kindle price is too high consumers seem more than willing to pay for Amazon’s high tech gizmo. It’s interesting to note that, where a Kindle version of a book coexists alongside the conventional paperback or hardback offering, the sales of the Kindle version make up 35% of sales.

That’s a very high number given that the Kindle has been on sale for a mere eighteen months. As impressive as the sales figures are, there are still many more sales opportunities for the traditional formats. Possibly it shouldn’t be too surprising – someone prepared to pay between $359 and $489 for an electronic book reader is probably going to be an avid reader after all.

It really is easy to believe the predictions that the Kindle is going to alter the way we read books, and probably in the relatively near future. However, it’s also worth considering the other side of the coin – the Kindle is going to change the way books are published and delivered to the public.

We can probably expect the traditional publishing pattern – hardback release with subsequent paperback release a few months later – to change. After all, why not release the electronic version first and hold back on expensive print runs until the probable level of interest has been confirmed? And considering the reduced financial risk to publishing houses, and the somewhat reduced time needed to get a new book onto Amazon’s virtual shelves, might we see an increased willingness to profile new, untried authors?

We could even see a marked increase in authors who choose to self publish rather than follow the more traditional route.

In years to come, the Kindle will be replaced by ebook readers considerably more sophisticated. These will address the frequently cited shortcomings of the current Kindle readers – lack of color, high device cost, less than satisfactory contrast etc. The Kindle will no doubt seem primitive in comparison – but it is the Kindle that is revolutionising the way we read and, equally, the way books are published.