The representatives declined to discuss sales numbers of the Kindle, only saying that it's generally first or second on the list of best selling items in the retailer's electronics category. And there was no information about demographics — a critical piece of data to book marketers, where the sheer number and breadth of subject matter in published titles, combined with limited marketing budgets, mean that niche audience appeals are critical.

Publishers receive 35 percent of the list price they set for titles per sale. However, larger publishers who move lots of physical units can probably negotiate better deals, and even get physical books converted to e-book format for free. But the Amazonians declined to comment on specifics due to antitrust concerns — belying their role as price-setter for the entire publishing market in print and otherwise.

Later, I dropped by the Amazon booth to see the Kindle in the wild. There were maybe three or four units on display, each closely held by a spokesperson. Visitors weren't even allowed to handle one of the devices for themselves, presumably for fear they'd walk away with one.

But giving them away might have been a smart move. Nothing sells the Kindle like the Kindle, not even the price cut to $359 from $399 that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos touted in his speech Friday. A three-figure price point simply won't get the devices into the hands of readers fast enough to make the market for content worthwhile for publishers anytime soon.

• On former White House spokesmonkey Scott McClellan's new book, which won't be back in physical stock until June 9 but is still available on the Kindle for $9.99: "One of the great things about electronic books — they don't go out of stock."
• Regarding reading on a laptop, Bezos asserted, "You certainly can't curl up in bed with one." Actually, our laptop has been our most faithful sleeping partner in years.
• Playing up the Kindle's ability to look up definitions on the fly. "I have discovered my vocabulary is not nearly as good as I thought it was ... I was living in a nice fantasy world where my contextual guesses were accurate."
• Of the 125,000 titles available as both physical books and Kindle e-books, six percent of the sales go to Kindle. Some, including Bezos, buy both a physical copy and an electronic copy — presumably because a Kindle full of books doesn't telegraph just how smart you are.
• Anderson asked by what factor the number of titles available on Kindle would grow by next year in Bezos estimation. "I wouldn't be happy with 20 million. I'm hard to make happy. Bwahahahaha!" (Bezos' laugh is surprisingly deep and loud for such a small man).
• Like Amazon's offering of used copies alongside new copies, it didn't change the amount of original sales, only expanded, suggesting it's not a zero-sum game. "Most people bought as many books as they previously bought, and plus they buy Kindle books."
• Explaining Amazon's strategy of only offering print-on-demand titles printed through BookSurge in its shipping discounts, he said it's because it's cheaper to pack multiple purchases in one box — hence POD books must be printed at Amazon fulfillment centers to qualify.
• Early in the discussion with Bezos, Anderson kept turning the conversation towards his"long tail" theory. Eventually, Bezos caught on, expounding on how Amazon's whole business model was based on niche content availability being a differentiator — shrewdly buttering up Anderson while subtly claiming credit for the idea.