They might. Amazon’s hit e-book reader the Kindle has been steadily increasing sales for the online retailer not just by offering a large range of titles, but by offering free content as well. The idea is not new however.

For years, the music industry has given out free samples of singles in hopes that people would buy the full CD, or at the very least, be exposed to new acts they might not otherwise know about.

Amazon’s policy of offering free e-books with their top sellers has helped sales for those less-known writers as well. Consumers get the added value of a free title, while also being exposed to new works that they may not have heard of. Public domain content including classic titles has also been included for free.

This approach has helped Amazon build the Kindle into a publishing must-have in just under two years. The e-book market accounted for $113 million in sales last year, even though it’s a fraction of the $24.3 billion spent on all books. Still, the segment is up nearly 70% over last year.

As for the Kindle itself, estimates put sales of available titles for the reader on Amazon at 35% of the same ones available in paperback. Additional estimates see sales of the unit topping $1 billion in 2010 and accounting for 4% of Amazon’s overall sales.

While the Kindle is not the only e-book reader on the market, it does have first-mover advantage in the category.

Hoping to cut into that however, is rival Sony which just announced plans for an even smaller entry-level version of its own reader. Called the Reader Pocket Edition, it holds 350 books and has a $199 price tag, $100 less than the entry-level Kindle.

This price point is something analysts feel could help drive significant holiday sales for the electronics giant. Additionally, while Sony does not offer free content with its paid titles, it plans to cut the price of releases to $9.99, which is just under the $10 price for Kindle titles.

(Currently, the Kindle is not available in Canada.)