Although Amazon are being unashamedly coy with regard to sales figures, there can be no doubt that they are pleased with the performance of their Kindle ebook reader family to date. The first Kindle went on sale in November 2007 and demand was so high that it sold out in under 6 hours. It stayed out of stock right up to April 2008.

The Kindle 2, widely considered to be an improvement to an already strong product, was released in February 2009 and was another great success with the Amazon customer base. In May of 2009 Amazon announced that its new, larger Kindle DX would be released and commenced taking pre-orders for shipping on June 10 2009.

All things considered, by the middle of 2009 the Kindle was the must have gadget and was frequently referred to as the “iPod of reading”. Meanwhile, in parallel with the development and marketing of the device itself, Amazon continued to add to its library of Kindle titles. By early June of 2009 there were more than 300,000 Kindle titles on offer and the collection was growing by, on average, 500 titles daily.

Fantastic business for Amazon and a huge driver for repeat sales. Sure, you can get books for your kindle elsewhere – but these might need translation, and why bother when the Kindle store has so many titles that you can download using 3G wireless connectivity in less than sixty seconds?

It’s also good news for all those third party manufacturers of kindle accessories – a rapidly expanding market. Amazon originally included a cover with the first Kindle, but discontinued this practice when the Kindle 2 was unveiled (no huge loss perhaps as many users didn’t like the cover and sought alternatives anyway). Customers who have just shelled out $359 for their Kindle 2 or $489 for their DX probably don’t think twice about spending another $20 – $40 on a protective sleeve for their expensive new toy. Like any portable kit, it’s sure to come in for a few bumps and scrapes in use – it makes sense to protect it doesn’t it?

Apart from the practical considerations, it seems that some Kindle owners are quite happy to pay more than $100 for a designer leather cover – which will not only afford some level of protection but will also make their high tech Kindle look more like a “proper” book. Since the Kindle is a pretty high ticket item most owners, will have some disposable income so it probably isn’t a huge surprise that they’re ready to pay for a few add-ons to customise it.

Kindle owners can also choose from a wide variety of other accessories – clip on lights, metal reading stands and extra chargers are currently popular. As the popularity of the Kindle continues to expand, and as further new models are introduced, it seems likely that more and more independent suppliers will profit from Amazon’s innovation.