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Some numbers on popularity of ereaders
August 7, 2009 | 11:04 am
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By Paul Biba
This is from Online Media Daily.
With the success of Amazon’s Kindle reigniting competition in the e-reader market, the question of when the devices might join cell phones and digital cameras as mainstream consumer gadgets is once again raised.Findings from a new NPD Group report suggest it won’t be overnight.
The study found that 40% of those surveyed were only “somewhat interested” or “not interested at all” in buying an e-reader. How come? Of those who don’t want one, 70% said it was because they prefer the feel of an actual book.
Among the 37% who were either “very” or “somewhat” interested in obtaining an e-reader, one of the main factors was the ability to buy and store multiple books, magazines, and newspapers. More than half of consumers were interested in features already offered in current devices like the Kindle’s wireless capability and the Sony’s Reader’s touchscreen.
“Today’s e-reader offerings are delivering capabilities that are in demand by consumers,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD, in a statement. “However, some features that could enhance the appeal of more popular content, such as color, remain on the drawing board.”
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Comments:
It sometimes surprises me that the makers of other devices, like UMPCs, cellphones, laptops, etc, haven’t stepped up and begun to advertise the ability of their own hardware to be e-book readers to capitalize on this growing market. Only the iPhone has done this to date, and that was specifically when Stanza was introduced (which immediately resulted in Amazon’s buying Lexcycle, as I recall. Either that, or the ads followed the Lexcycle acquisition, which further proves my point).
Much of these statistics are fairly empty, since most of the public hasn’t really been introduced to their e-book possibilities. Many of those who say they “prefer” paper haven’t even tried reading an e-book… how do they know what they prefer if they’ve never tried the alternative? Many others think you have to have a Kindle or Sony reader to read an e-book (“You mean, there are others?”). It’s like asking the average New York city ice cream fan whether they prefer chocolate or poi flavor…
So, instead of polls asking people if they prefer one thing over something they’ve never tried or even seen up-close, maybe more opportunities to see e-books in action, try hardware and do real-world evaluations are in order first.
Seriously…does anyone really expect that ereaders (of any stripe or form) will ever come anywhere close to the ubiquity of cell phones, ipods, digital cameras, etc.???
Most people don’t read books or don’t read books often enough to want to deal with a gizmo to read the one or two books they might read in a year.