第十一封信中英文对照：

To our shareowners:

致我们的股东：

November 19, 2007, was a special day. After three years of work, we introduced Amazon Kindle to our customers.

2007年11月19日是一个特别的日子，在投入3年之后，我们终于可以向消费者正式介绍Amazon Kindle。

Many of you may already know something of Kindle—we’re fortunate (and grateful) that it has been broadly written and talked about. Briefly, Kindle is a purpose-built reading device with wireless access to more than 110,000 books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. The wireless connectivity isn’t WiFi—instead it uses the same wireless network as advanced cell phones, which means it works when you’re at home in bed or out and moving around. You can buy a book directly from the device, and the whole book will be downloaded wirelessly, ready for reading, in less than 60 seconds. There is no “wireless plan,” no year-long contract you must commit to, and no monthly service fee. It has a paper-like electronic-ink display that’s easy to read even in bright daylight. Folks who see the display for the first time do a double-take. It’s thinner and lighter than a paperback, and can hold 200 books. Take a look at the Kindle detail page on http://Amazon.com to see what customers think—Kindle has already been reviewed more than 2,000 times.

关于Kindle，你们也许知道一些事情。幸运的是Kindle早已被人们谈论，我们对此感到很感激。简而言之，Kindle是一个专用的电子书阅读器，可以使用无线网络存取超过11万本书、部落格、杂志和新闻。必须仔细说明的是，这里提到的无线网络指的并不是WiFi，而是跟手机一样的数据网络。意即，无论你待在家里还是出门在外，你都可以正常使用Kindle。你可以在一个装置中直接购买一本书，整本书从下载到阅读，整个过程不用60秒。没有商业上所谓的「无线方案」，也没有年约要求你遵守，更没有所谓的月费。Kindle拥有类似纸的屏幕，阅读起来十分舒适，甚至在大白天也能正常使用。第一次看到这个显示屏幕的人，往往会特别喜欢它。Kindle比平装书更轻、更薄，而且它能装载200本书。到Amazon官网上的Kindle页面，查看其他用户的想法吧！Kindle已经被评论超过2000次了！

As you might expect after three years of work, we had sincere hopes that Kindle would be well received, but we did not expect the level of demand that actually materialized. We sold out in the first 5 1⁄2 hours, and our supply chain and manufacturing teams have had to scramble to increase production capacity.

经过3年的努力，我们的确希望Kindle是一款正如你们所期待的产品，并且在消费者市场中受欢迎。然而，人们对Kindle的需求，远超我们的想象。第一批Kindle在5个半小时内就销售一空，因此我们的供应链和制造团队不得不增加产能。

We started by setting ourselves the admittedly audacious goal of improving upon the physical book. We did not choose that goal lightly. Anything that has persisted in roughly the same form and resisted change for 500 years is unlikely to be improved easily. At the beginning of our design process, we identified what we believe is the book’s most important feature. It disappears. When you read a book, you don’t notice the paper and the ink and the glue and the stitching. All of that dissolves, and what remains is the author’s world.

我们首先制定了一个公认十分大胆的目标，就是对实体书进行改造。我们并非随意选择这个目标。实体书以同一形式存在于世上500年都没有什么变化，这样的东西是很难轻易改进的。设计之初我们认知到一本书最重要的东西，是「这本书中让我们相信的事物」。于是，Kindle移除了实体书的几乎所有元素，无需纸、墨和胶水，也不需要装订。这一切都消失了，剩下的只有作者的世界。

We knew Kindle would have to get out of the way, just like a physical book, so readers could become engrossed in the words and forget they’re reading on a device. We also knew we shouldn’t try to copy every last feature of a book—we could never out-book the book. We’d have to add new capabilities—ones that could never be possible with a traditional book.

我们知道，Kindle这样的阅读装置，可能会让读者把注意力都放在单一的字词上，而非书的整体内容。我们必须要摆脱这样的困境。我们也知道，我们不应该试图复制实体书的每一项功能，因为我们无法用像实体书一样的东西去超越实体书。我们必须增加新功能，增加那些实体书永远无法做到的功能。

The early days of http://Amazon.com provide an analog. It was tempting back then to believe that an online bookstore should have all the features of a physical bookstore. I was asked about a particular feature dozens of times: “How are you going to do electronic book signings?” Thirteen years later, we still haven’t figured that one out! Instead of trying to duplicate physical bookstores, we’ve been inspired by them and worked to find things we could do in the new medium that could never be done in the old one. We don’t have electronic book signings, and similarly we can’t provide a comfortable spot to sip coffee and relax. However, we can offer literally millions of titles, help with purchase decisions through customer reviews, and provide discovery features like “customers who bought this item also bought.” The list of useful things that can be done only in the new medium is a long one.

Amazon早期做过一个类似实体书的东西。当时，人们认为在线书店需要具备实体书店所有特点。我曾不断被问到这个问题：「如何在电子书上签名？」然而，13年以后，这个问题还是没被解决。我们没有试图复制实体书店，而是受实体书店启发，并努力透过网络这个新媒介，达成实体书店做不到的事。我们的确没有办法让用户在电子书上签名，同样的，我们也无法提供舒适的空间给用户喝咖啡放松。然而，相对应的是，我们能做到实体书店做不到的事。我们可以提供数百万种品项，透过商品评论帮助用户进行购买决策，提供探索功能如「购买这件商品的消费者也购买了那个」。如果表列那些只有在线书店能做到的事，我想这个清单会很长。

I’ll highlight a few of the useful features we built into Kindle that go beyond what you could ever do with a physical book. If you come across a word you don’t recognize, you can look it up easily. You can search your books. Your margin notes and underlinings are stored on the server-side in the “cloud,” where they can’t be lost. Kindle keeps your place in each of the books you’re reading, automatically. If your eyes are tired, you can change the font size. Most important is the seamless, simple ability to find a book and have it in 60 seconds. When I’ve watched people do this for the first time, it’s clear the capability has a profound effect on them. Our vision for Kindle is every book ever printed in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds.

我将重点介绍一些Kindle的特色功能，这些功能不是实体书可以做到的。如果你遇到一个不认得的字，你可以很轻易地查找。你可以在你拥有的书籍中搜索。你的批注笔记和划线重点，将被储存在云端的服务器中，不会遗失。Kindle会自动记录你的阅读进度。如果你的眼睛很酸，你可以调整字体大小。最重要的是，从寻找一本书到拥有一本书，只需要花费60秒。当我看到其他人第一次使用Kindle时，我确信Kindle这样的阅读器，能对用户产生很深远的影响。我们的愿景是，在Kindle上找任何语言的书籍，都能在60秒之内完成。

Publishers—including all the major publishers—have embraced Kindle, and we’re thankful for that. From a publisher’s point of view, there are a lot of advantages to Kindle. Books never go out of print, and they never go out of stock. Nor is there ever waste from over-printing. Most important, Kindle makes it more convenient for readers to buy more books. Anytime you make something simpler and lower friction, you get more of it.

出版商们，包括很多大型出版商，都积极拥抱Kindle，我们对此感到很感激。从出版商的角度来说，Kindle具备很多优势。书籍永远不会绝版，也永远不会缺货，更不会有印多了滞销的问题。最重要的是，Kindle让用户可以更方便地购买书籍。一个行为的复杂度越低，用户就越容易做这个行为。

We humans co-evolve with our tools. We change our tools, and then our tools change us. Writing, invented thousands of years ago, is a grand whopper of a tool, and I have no doubt that it changed us dramatically. Five hundred years ago, Gutenberg’s invention led to a significant step-change in the cost of books. Physical books ushered in a new way of collaborating and learning. Lately, networked tools such as desktop computers, laptops, cell phones and PDAs have changed us too. They’ve shifted us more toward information snacking, and I would argue toward shorter attention spans. I value my BlackBerry—I’m convinced it makes me more productive—but I don’t want to read a three-hundred-page document on it. Nor do I want to read something hundreds of pages long on my desktop computer or my laptop. As I’ve already mentioned in this letter, people do more of what’s convenient and friction-free. If our tools make information snacking easier, we’ll shift more toward information snacking and away from long-form reading. Kindle is purpose-built for long-form reading. We hope Kindle and its successors may gradually and incrementally move us over years into a world with longer spans of attention, providing a counterbalance to the recent proliferation of info-snacking tools. I realize my tone here tends toward the missionary, and I can assure you it’s heartfelt. It’s also not unique to me but is shared by a large group of folks here. I’m glad about that because missionaries build better products. I’ll also point out that, while I’m convinced books are on the verge of being improved upon, Amazon has no sinecure as that agent. It will happen, but if we don’t execute well, it will be done by others.

工具和我们人类一起发展。过程中，我们改变了工具，工具改变了我们。数千年前，人们发明了写作这件事，它大大改变了我们。五百年前，古腾堡（Gutenberg）发明了活字印刷术，导致书籍的成本大幅下降。实体书开创了一种新的协作与学习的方式。近年来，桌机、笔电、手机、PDA这样的联网工具，也对我们人类有深刻的影响。他们促使我们把注意力不断放在碎片化信息上，而我认为这使人的注意力碎片化。我很喜欢我的黑莓机，我相信它能使我的生产力更高。然而，我不想在黑莓机上阅读长达300页的文件，也不想在计算机上阅读上百页的文件。正如我在这封信前面说到的，一个行为的复杂度越低，用户就越容易做这个行为。如果摄取碎片化信息比较容易，那么人们就倾向于摄取碎片化信息，而不是长篇阅读。Kindle专为长篇阅读设计，我们希望Kindle与其之后的产品，能帮助用户进行长篇阅读，减缓信息碎片化的趋势，将我们带入一个拥有更长注意力的世界。我知道自己讲话像个传教士，但我跟你保证，我所说的话都发自内心。在Amazon，我这样的想法并不是特例，很多人都拥有这样的信念。对此我感到非常开心，因为传教士总能打造出更好的产品。我还要指出，我认为书籍被改进的趋势是必然会发生的，如果我们的Kindle做的不够好，也会有别人来完成。

Your team of missionaries here is fervent about driving free cash flow per share and returns on capital. We know we can do that by putting customers first. I guarantee you there is more innovation ahead of us than behind us, and we do not expect the road to be an easy one. We’re hopeful, and I’d even say optimistic, that Kindle, true to its name, will “start a fire” and improve the world of reading.

我们，也就是你的传教士团队，热衷于推动每股现金流和资本回报。我们知道如何做到这件事，那就是把客户放在第一位。我跟你保证，虽然我们已经做了很多创新，但我们未来将做的创新一定比过去多，因此我们不会预期未来的路很轻松。我们对于Kindle的表现充满希望，甚至可以说是乐观。我们相信Kindle会正如其名「点燃火焰」，改善阅读世界。

As always, I attach our 1997 letter to shareholders. You’ll see that Kindle exemplifies our philosophy and longterm investment approach as discussed in that letter. Happy reading and many thanks!

如同往常，我把我们在1997年写的致股东信附在文末。在那封信里，你会看到Kindle体现了我们的价值观与长期投资策略。祝你阅读愉快，非常感谢！

Jeffrey P. Bezos

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Amazon.com, Inc.

April 2008

杰夫·贝索斯

Amazon创始人暨CEO

2008年4月

我的观点

kindle这个产品，确实牛逼。这是2007年的产品，当时我自己也买了2个kindle，还买了几个来送礼。

确实亚马逊在不断的革自己的命，自己卖纸质书，然后接着卖电子书，后面搞了一个电子书阅读器，这种不断的革自己命的产品出现，确实有魄力。

其实一个企业要不断的进化，才能更好的生存。不要依赖那些不能增长的业务，要去开辟新的战场，哪怕挡脚的是自己也要踢开。

最近好像亚马逊放弃了国内电子书的运营了，确实有点可惜。国内已经非常多做电子书和电子书阅读器的，亚马逊电子书的退出，可能是在中美两国之间选边了。亚马逊电商业务基本退完，AWS还在运营。