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By David Rothman

E-books in China is the topic of a forthcoming TeleRead post from our latest contributor, Tiffany Wong—cofounder of Aldiko, the developer of an e-reader app for Android smart phones. Is China the next big market for digital publishers? Quick preview:

imageThere were 79 million readers of digital books in 2008, a 34% growth compared to 2007. An interesting trend is how e-books appeal in particular to young people. Readers below 24 accounted for almost 50% of the group. Unlike reading printed books, reading e-books is seen by the younger generation as a modern and fashionable activity. In cities like Shanghai, wherever you go, you can see people reading with devices such as PSPs, mobile phones, portable media players (PMP), etc. In contrast, the proportion of older-ages is relatively small as this population of people are used to reading physical books.

Delay your comments until Tiffany’s actual post appears—but as you can see, there’s plenty to consider here. For years I’ve been saying that China is or will be E-Book Central. Here’s more evidence, as I see it, just going by sheer numbers.

 
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