Ever since Amazon.com launched its Kindle e-Reader device it has lead the way in sales compared to other e-Reader devices. But that has now changed, at least according to one report. According to a story at Venture Beat, the Nook Color, the rival e-Reader device from book seller Barnes and Noble, outsold the Kindle from Amazon in the first quarter of 2011. The report comes from the IDC firm; neither Barnes and Noble nor Amazon officially talk about the sales of their e-Readers.
The 7 inch screen based Nook Color costs $250 and in addition to being an e-Reader with access to purchase lots of books it also can access some apps and also has a Flash ready web browser. While Amazon"s three Kindle e-Readers are all cheaper than Barnes and Noble"s device, none of them are in color. Amazon has always contended that color e-Readers don"t have as good of a contrast on the screen as the black and white screens used on the Kindle. Overall sales of e-Readers came in at 3.3 million units, according to IDC, in the first quarter, a 105 percent increase from the sale period a year ago.
IDC also reports on overall tablet sales. They state that worldwide tablet sales were 7.2 million units in the first quarter, down 28 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. The report claims that tablet demand may not be as big as some would like to believe. However it adds that in 2011 it expects that 53.5 million tablet units will ship, up from a previous prediction of 50.4 million units.