Toys R Us joins Target, Staples, Best Buy, Radio Shack and AT&T in selling Kindles in their stores. So, from these stores, the e-reader reaches out to consumers in electronics, business, wireless, and now parents and children.
Why sell Kindles in a toy store? It sounded kind of farfetched to me at first. The e-reader has started to reach out to children as an educational tool. K-12 schools are starting to experiment with using e-readers for textbooks and for other educational needs. I’ve seen articles floating around that show that school libraries are testing e-readers and tablets for use.
Both Amazon and Barnes & Noble are targeting the back to school crowd this year. Office Max will be selling the Nook around the same time.
It also catches the eye of parents who shop at the toy store. Just puts the Kindle out there in yet another way. It will be well positioned for the holiday crowd on Black Friday.
The major shopping times are going to be overflowing with new gadgets this year. The thought is kind of overwhelming. But, the competition will be fierce, which means awesome prices.
Toys ‘R Us will offer the Kindle 3G and Wi-Fi, as well as the Kindle Wi-Fi with Special Offers. In addition to the device itself, there will be a good number of accessories available.
I remember, just a couple of years ago, the Kindle was only limited to online sales. It is now reaching out to brick and mortar consumers of all ages and interests. Those who were skittish about buying online have a lot of venues to choose from.
The popular e-reader can be used as an important tool for education in several ways. The lure of a cool new gadget gets kids excited about reading. Kindle games and applications have been developed to help kids with learning math and spelling. There are also interactive Kindle books available that are packed with adventure.
Lastly, the lightweight e-reader is portable and fits easily into a backpack. I think the Kindle can be used as an important tool in encouraging all children to enjoy reading. It offers so many types of reading material, from books to magazines, and even graphic novels. There is something for everyone.
I’m glad to see the move to toy stores. I’m in the process of Kindleizing my biology textbook in separate ebook chapters, and I’m hoping a trend to ebooks in education will continue.