Amazon Now Do Books and eBooks

Amazon.com has launched its ebook store with more than 1000 titles being sold exclusively in the Microsoft Reader (.LIT) format.

The reason for the release seems strategic, if nothing else, as earlier this year Amazon's head, Jeff Bezos, expressed a reservation and belief that ebooks were not ready for prime-time, and that there were major issues such as the quality of display devices, and copyright and intellectual property, each of which would take time to work themselves out.

An accompanying announcement stated that Lightning Source was the preferred and primary eBook fulfillment provider for Amazon.com

Seybold Reports reported on comments from Bezos during Book Expo America 2000 earlier this year, quoting him thus:

    "I think there are a lot of misconceptions about E-books." said Jeff Bezos. "I definitely think this (ebooks) is a big deal. But it's not going to happen in the next two to three years; not in a big way. The reasons are many. There are huge piracy issues, there are significant intellectual property and copyright issues that need to be worked out, and I think most fundamentally, the quality of the display devices still isn't good enough." Bezos added, "I want to be realistic about E-books, and I think it's possible to invest too early in industries and have it be a disaster. I love E-books because I think there's a big advantage in being able to deliver these to customers instantly, but I just genuinely don't believe that the technology is ready for prime-time."

Less significant but still relevant to the big launch was the fact that Amazon is distributing an Amazon.com branded version of Microsoft Reader, which will likely tie into the Bookstore Directory built into the Microsoft software.

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