Amazon is launching the Kindle in the UK. It has been available from the USA website but there will be a UK store in September. It is interesting that both Printweek and the Guardian have commented on the news that Amazon sold more ebooks than hardbacks in a recent quarter. Jo Francis on the Printweek blog claims that the news is not really that surprising.

When e-books sales outstrip paperback sales it really will be a momentous day. But for hardbacks I think it's no surprise whatsoever - personally I actively avoid buying hardback fiction as I far prefer paperbacks, and a quick straw poll among chums reveals similar attitudes.

I think this is more of a shift than has been clear on the printed pages of Printweek. There has not been much about how people in prepress could work on e-books. There was no deep coverage of the Digital Zone at the London Book Fair. There seems to be more Haymarket activity online and it will be interesting to see how Printweek develops.

A Guardian editorial is partly about Penguin books and the paperback, described as a "disruptive technology" with a link on the web version to this site. The ebook is regarded as a similar disruption with a consequence for price levels and the expansion of the audience for reading.

A revolution for readers, then – but one that the giants of the publishing industry, just like their counterparts in music and, yes, newspapers have been slow to recognise. Mr Makinson is right to acknowledge the new and exciting possibilities for the book provided by digital publishing – hyperlinks, pictures, music – but his remarks reflect how late-developing all this thinking is.

There could be more to come about newspapers. So far the Sony Reader and other devices available in the UK have used memory cards rather than wifi or phone connections. The Kindle is part of the Cloud approach so this could be noticed in the months ahead.

The Guardian has reported the iPad and Apple promotions for music and video. So far the devices for text have had less attention. Sales of the Kindle in the USA have not been widely reported in UK media.Steve Jobs from Apple is at the top of the Guardian list for 2010 influence in media. Jeff Bezos is not on the list though I think this could change in 2011.