The Amazon Kindle changed the way one looked at books and made reading on digital devices easier.
Russell Grandinetti, Senior Vice President, Kindle Content, says, “When we set out to create the kindle, we were aiming to create something very similar to a physical book. We wanted something that is durable, does not get damaged easily and will be easy to carry. We are thrilled that the Kindle has managed to get almost all these criterion right. It was humbling to create a device that would give a physical book competition.”
He adds, “I do not agree with the physical books versus digital books battles. People talk about the crack of the spine and smell of the book. I think it is more a behavioural associations that we connect with books that have changed our lives. If you get good content on board, the medium will not matter much. In India, the E-Ink devices are becoming more and more popular.”
Graphic novels are an area where Russell feels the Kindle experience can be improved.
“The panel sizes of many comics in the United States and India do fit the E-Ink panels. Most users prefer reading graphic novels on their laptops or tablets, rather than the Kindle. We are looking to incorporate changes and make it easier to read comic books. However, Japanese Manga works perfectly for the Kindle and is very popular in Japan.”
He adds, “People choose to read text heavy novels and books on the Kindle, while using their other devices to read graphic novels and picture heavy books.”
Kindle singles, essentially long essays on varied topics that can be penned by anyone from renowned authors to laymen is also becoming extremely popular.
“We wanted to ensure that stories that are bigger than conventional news reports, but smaller than novels can be published in the singles format. All ideas need not fit into these two buckets. This ensures that a long analysis piece on current affairs can hit the market as soon as possible instead of waiting endlessly for publication. For instance, Christopher Hitchens wrote a piece on the capture of Osama Bin Laden and we published it 48 hours after the incident.”
He contends, “Self help books, diet books are also prime examples of working well as singles. You do not need 30 odd chapters to tell me I am not eating right or that I should change my lifestyle to ensure success. Such books suit the singles category best.”
Indian languages are a key area that Amazon is working on. “We started the ebook business with an aim to get any book in any language to the user in 60 seconds. We are working towards that goal. We are making efforts to get more and more ebook formats in Indian languages.”
