Amazon claims big gains from Kindle

The Kindle Store now has more than 400,000 titles

Amazon has reported strong Kindle sales as contributing to a 42 per cent increase in overall sales over the fourth quarter of 2009 to $9.5bn (£5.87bn). Net income was listed as $384m (£237m), up 75 per cent from the same period in 2008.

Much of the fourth-quarter success was credited to the continued success of the Kindle. The company estimated that it now offers upwards of 400,000 books in the Kindle Store, and that the reader is available in more than 100 countries.

"Millions of people now own Kindles. And Kindle owners read. A lot," said Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos. "When we have both editions, we sell six Kindle books for every 10 physical books."

The report comes just one day after Apple released its challenger to the Kindle platform with its iPad tablet and iBooks online store. The much-hyped Apple device has dominated the headlines.

The report also comes shortly after Amazon agreed to take a smaller cut of Kindle Store sales, offering publishers up to 70 per cent of revenues.