All the fuss about the launch of the Kindle 2, the second version of the popular e-book reader from Amazon, wasn’t about nothing. The sales of the e-reader exceeded the expectations of the company. 

 

Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said in a letter to shareholders that the sales of Kindle are already ahead of projections. These are great news for the company, especially because they come amid widespread concern caused by the poor economic climate. However, two months since its release, the Kindle is selling like crazy. 

 

"We're grateful and excited that Kindle sales have exceeded our most optimistic expectations," the CEO wrote in the letter posted to Amazon Investor Relations home page. "If you haven't seen it, Kindle 2 is everything customers loved about the original Kindle, only thinner, faster, with a crisper display, and longer battery life, and capable of holding 1,500 books."

 

The company did not give details about the number of Kindles 2 sold in these two months, but, according to The Washington Post (which quoted an “extremely reliable” source close to the company), approximately 300,000 Kindle 2s have been sold so far, which translates into earnings of about $107 million. a Kindle 2 sells for $359 and Amazon expects to sell about 800,000 of them, but the company’s CEO now said he wouldn’t be surprised if the number of shipped Kindle 2s surpass 1 million. 

 

If you do not have a Kindle 2, there are a number of sites where you can purchase or download books free of charge. Here are three of the most important e-book sites: 
-    Project Gutenberg
-    Fictionwise
-    Google Book Search.