Last week I blogged about how Segway and GM were taking all the wrong steps in launching the PUMA.  Today let me explain why Amazon is the mirror image – doing the launch of Kindle correctly.  Kindle is the new "electronic book" from Amazon which allows people to download whole books, or parts of books, onto a very small, light and thin device where they can read the material, notate it and even convert it to audio.  Even Marketwatch.com is bullish in its overview of the product "Amazon's Kindle, e-books are future of reading."

Firstly, Amazon recognized it had a Disruptive innovation and didn't pretend this was a small variation on printed material.  Perhaps "over the top" a bit with the PR, Mr. Bezos called Kindle the biggest revolution in reading since Gutenberg invented the printing press.  This bold claim causes people to realize that Kindle is something very different than anything prior.  Which it is.  Kindle is not like reading on a PC, nor is it like reading a book, nor is it like reading a magazine or newspaper (should you download those).  It's different, and it requires buyers change their habits.  By highlighting the uniqueness of the product Amazon doesn't undersell the fact that users really do have to change to enjoy the product.

Secondly, the product isn't being run through some high volume distribution that will struggle with the uniqueness and potentially low initial volumes.  Amazon isn't trying to sell the product today at Best Buy or Wal-Mart, which would demand instant volume in the millions supported by huge ad spending.  Something which would not only be expensive, but probably would not meet those retail expectations.  Instead, Amazon is selling the product itself and closely monitoring volumes.

Thirdly, Amazon isn't pushing Kindle as a product for everybody.  At least not yet.  Amazon isn't offering Kindle for $20, losing a huge amount of money, and saying everyone needs one – which would likely lead to many people buying a Kindle, deciding its not for them, and then throwing it away to wait a very long time before a repurchase – with lots of negative comments.  Instead, Amazon prices Kindle at $359 and targets the product at early users who will really benefit.  Like the heavy volume book reader.  This allows Amazon to build a base of initial users who will use the product and provide feedback to Amazon about how to modify the product to make it even more valuable.  Amazon can cycle through the learning experience with users to adapt and develop the product for a future mass market.

Fourthly, the Kindle doesn't come with 30 options to test.  It has just a few.  This allows Amazon to learn what works.  And add functionality in a way that tests the product.  Amazon can add features, but it can also drop them. 

Will Kindle be the next MP3 device.  Probably.  How long will it take?  Probably not as long as people think.  Because Amazon is introducing this innovation correctly.  Publishers, authors, book readers and other application users are all learning together.  And while traditional paper publishers (from books to newspapers) are waiting to see, Amazon is preparing its new products to "jump the curve" on these old publishers.  It's not hard to imagine in 3 or 4 years how authors might go straight to Amazon with their writing, for publication as a Kindle-only product.  This would be incredibly cheap, and open the market for many more authors (books or periodicals) than have access today.  Since the cost of reading drops precipitiously (due to no paper) the pricing of these new books and periodicals may well be a few dollars, or even less than a dollar.  Thus exploding the market for books the way the internet has exploded the market for short-form blog writers.

Even in a recession, people look for new solutions.  But capturing those new customers takes careful understanding of how to reach them.  You can't act like Segway and dump a strange new product onto users with mass distribution and a PR highlight reel.  You have to recognize that Disruptive innovations take better planning.  You have to find early customers who will enter White Space with you to test new products, and provide feedback so you both can learn.  You have to be honest about your Disruptive approach, and use it to figure out what the big value is – not guess.  And you have to be willing to take a few months (or years) to get it right before declaring your readiness for mass market techniques. 

Amazon did this when it launched on-line book selling.  It didn't sell all books initially, it mostly sold things not on retailers shelves.  It didn't sell to everyone, just those looking for certain books.  And it learned what people wanted, as well as how to supply, on its journey to Disrupt book retailling – later about all retailing – and build itself in to the model for on-line mass retail.  Following that same approach is serving Amazon well, and portends very good things for Kindle's success.