The Kindle 2 week - part 3: How much moeny it will make?

The Kindle 2 is not only an updated version of the Kindle, but also a money-making machine for Amazon according to analysts' estimates.

How much money? well, it depends which analysis you read. Greg Sandoval reports on CNET news ("More heady Wall Street predictions for Kindle 2") on all the figures that have thrown up in recent days:

Citigroup: Analyst Mark Mahaney published a report that predicted the Kindle 2, which he refers to as the “iPod of the Book World,” would generate $1.2 billion in revenue by 2010 (4.4% of Amazon's revenues). How did he reached $1.2 billion? check out his calculations (published on MediaMemo).

Collins Stewart LLC: analyst Sandeep Aggarwal said Amazon will generate US$1.4 billion from Kindle sales and book downloads by 2010. Collins, according to Sandoval, also compared the Kindle 2 to the Sony eBook Reader in 13 different parameters and concluded that "Except for (the) touch-screen and built-in reading light offered by Sony, the Kindle is a much better device."

And one more - Barclays Capital: Analyst Douglas Anmuth estimated more than 1 million Kindles may be on college campuses by 2012, generating an additional $700 million in revenue for Amazon. Total revenue from Kindle sales and downloads may reach $3.7 billion by that time, he said.

If you're wondering how many Kindle devices were sold so far, you won't find the reply on Amazon, but Citigrouop Analyst Mark Mahaney estimated Amazon sold 500,000 devices last year.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Mixed news about the Amazon Rainforest

We have both good and bad news about the Amazon Rainforest this week.

Let's start with the good news: The World Bank approved last Thursday $1.3 billion loan to help Brazil's environmental management and climate change efforts, with a focus on fighting deterioration of the Amazon rain forest and renewable energy sources.

The World Bank told Reuters that "the loan will support Brazil's ongoing efforts to improve its environmental management system and integrate sustainability concerns in the development agenda of key sectors such as forest management, water and renewable energy."

The loan is going to be disbursed in two parts: a first tranche of $800 million that will be provided immediately and a second tranche of $500 million upon fulfillment of the projects goals.

This loan is provided despite appeals of several Brazilian organizations and social networks to the World Bank to postpone the decision on the loan. Their argue was that prior loans have not adequately addressed environmental concerns and that this loan has the potential to continue this trend.

Well, I hope these groups are wrong, but at the same time I wish their concerns will be taken seriously as it seems the money is needed to be allocated in the best way possible given the other news about the implications of drought on the Amazon rain forest.

On the same day (last Thursday) a new study was published in the journal Science. This 30-year study, a global collaboration between more than 40 institutions, has found that the Amazon rain forest is surprisingly sensitive to drought and even a moderate drought can cause it to release massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. You can read further details about this study about it on the Science Daily's report.

We'll keep following and reporting on the status of the Amazon Rainforest, hoping to have more and more good news and less and less bad news.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net