Kindle Book Sales Overtake Hardcovers: Amazon

Even with iPad competition, sales of devices rise

By Marie Morris

Posted Jul 19, 2010 5:39 PM CDT

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Kindle Book Sales Overtake Hardcovers: Amazon — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos displays a Kindle during an interview in Cupertino, Calif., Oct. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, file)

Amazon is selling more books as Kindle downloads than as hardcovers, CNET reports. In the past month, the website sold 180 Kindle books for each 100 hardbacks. CEO Jeff Bezos calls the shift "astonishing, when you consider that we've been selling hardcover books for 15 years and Kindle books for 33 months."

Price cuts are driving increased sales of the reading devices, which are up despite competition from the popular but more expensive iPad. Left unanswered is the longstanding question of exactly how many Kindles Amazon has sold. The company has never released sales figures, the AP notes.

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