Electronic book readers have been available for quite some time now. The Franklin eBookman is generally considered to have been the first and launched in 1999, over a decade ago. Other readers slowly appeared – the Sony PRS launched in 2006 and the first Amazon Kindle hit the streets in November of 2007.
However, it wasn’t until 2009 that the popularity of e-book readers really rocketed. Amazon were very instrumental in this – the February launch of the Kindle 2.0, followed shortly after by the launch of the larger DX version in June produced a storm of publicity around e-book readers in general and the Kindle in particular. E-book readers were in the news, they were the hot, “must have” gadget of 2009. The Kindle reader quickly became the top selling product on Amazon and, during the 2009 festive gift giving bonanza, became Amazon’s “most gifted” product ever. Both Sony and Barnes and Noble had a good tilt at the Xmas sales by releasing their own new readers – but an inability to guarantee delivery in time for the big day coupled with the Kindle’s well established brand presence, meant that Amazon cleaned up at Christmas.
There is no shortage of e-book readers to choose from right now. There is a long, and impressive list, of manufacturers who now have their readers on the market, or who are developing them for release in the very near future. Industry analysts are anticipating that 2010 will be a big year for e-book readers and the level of sales is expected to increase.
It is, to all intents and purposes, an entirely new market segment which, until very recently, simply didn’t exist. Aside from manufacturers of the e-book reader devices themselves, there are implications for book publishers, academic establishments, educational authorities, third party suppliers and, of course, the book reading public.
The sudden emergence of this market segment has been good news for companies such as M-Edge who manufacture a wide range of Kindle accessories including covers, reading lights, chargers and so on. There are plenty of other accessory suppliers who are also benefiting. At the moment, there is a strong focus on accessories for the Kindle, but as the market expands and other readers gain in popularity these will also offer good opportunities to the independents.
The e-book reader market is, even now, still in its infancy. It is developing and expanding at an astonishing rate. Up to now, Amazon has been a strong influence in the development of the market and currently claims a 60% slice of the e-book reader market in the U.S. In 2010, their dominance will be challenged – as will the second position currently held by Sony with a smaller, but nonetheless very respectable, 35% market share. This e-book reader gold rush still affords plenty of opportunities for companies with the innovative skills and vision to take advantage and establish themselves now whilst the market is in a period of rapid growth.
Check out the Amazon Kindle reader and learn how you can save money by downloading free Kindle books – straight from Amazon’s website.
