Amazon's Kindle for PC unveiled at Window 7 launch

Amazon.com, which a decade ago considered an overvalued dot-com stock, is set to climb to a record high in Nasdaq after third quarter earnings beat analysts' estimates.

The stock rose as much as 15 per cent to $107.90 in extended trading on Wednesday after the world's biggest online retailer posted a 69 per cent jump in profit with a 28 per cent gain in revenue. The shares which gained 82 per cent this year reached a split-adjusted record of $16.69 in December 1999.

Amazon's founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, a former hedge fund vice president, has expanded the site's range of products and has now launched the Kindle digital reader.

According to analysts the company's growth prospects remain excellent and it will continue to win over customers from rivals such as EBay Inc.

The company's third-quarter net income rose to $199 million or 45 cents a share from $118 million or 27 cents a year earlier. Sales surged to $5.45 billion as against analysts' projection of $5.04 billion. Analysts had estimated a profit of 33 cents a share on estimated sales.

Amazon which sold shares to the public in 1997 but first reported profit in 2003 said the Kindle electronic reader is now the most popular product with consumers. It says consumers are snapping up the electronic reader even in the worst recession since the 1930s as digital content proliferates on the net.