E-Readers out in the 'real world'

[ncguy68]

I've been at the beach on vacation for two weeks with people reading everywhere you turn and I have not seen a single person using any type of E-Reader. In fact over the last few years I have only seen two people using E-Readers out in public. If sales are really booming as they say I wonder why you see so few E-Readers out in public?

[gargoyle67]

At a guess I'd say most people do there reading at home, in bed, on couch e.c.t

[apeine]

Well, beaches is not the safest place for electronics: salinity, sand, heat, sweat, etc. But maybe on a more urban environment, it'd be easier to see it.

[kezza]

I see quite a few out in the world, but maybe that has something to do with living in Seattle, the Land of Amazon (and Microsoft, and Starbucks). I see many people sitting at cafes or walking down the street reading on e-ink devices, mostly Kindles but there are a healthy number of nooks out there. iPads are becoming very common, though, and I wonder if they'll overtake e-ink in terms of public reading visibility. Where I work there are at least 5 of us (in a department of less than 50) who bring e-ink devices to work (two kindles, three nooks).
Several years ago, when I bought my Sony 505 and before the Kindle was released they were a total rarity and I had many people on the train comment on it or ask me about it. Nowadays folks don't even blink when they see me with it.

[treetotree]

I have seen ereaders on the beach in Florida, and airplanes and airports.

[NickyWithNook]

I have young kids, and I often see parents reading ereaders when at places where you typically wait for young kids.

[iandix]

I keep seeing more and more of them on trains around Sydney.. very rare to go a day without seeing one or more

[Mel]

The only place I've seen an e-reader in use that gave me pause was on line for Splash Mountain at Disney World. Considering I ruined my watch by forgetting to take it off I hate to think of the condition of that poor Kindle.

[carld]

I see Kindles, and rarely an iPad, at the VA hospital pretty regularly. Back in my Kindle 1 days I was the only one with any sort of electronic reader.

Though, I did speak with one of the Doctors recently who told me she won a nook in a medical convention raffle. She was surprised when I told her she could borrow ebooks from the library free of charge.

[Marbles]

I read my Kobo everywhere, even walking the dog. I find it so easy to read compared to a paper back. Don't have to have a book mark or the chance of loosing your place as the ereader remembers where you were. Love it

[Apache]

Mine goes every where I go.
Apache

[cailín-dána]

My ereader is surgically attached to me! It's a 5" device so it fits in a handbag, I can't be without it! BUT...I am the only person I know with a dedicated ereader...I have a friend who uses her iPad, and loves it but that's it...I think it is because they are genuinely not widely available here (Ireland). I'm slowly converting people though - give me time!

[goodnerd]

this is an interesting observation.

For me personally i think i only see ipad's never seen an e-reader in the wild ever.

[Becky Morgan]

I carry my iPod Touch around and read on it. Since what reading time I have is in bits and pieces and mostly at bedtime, it's much more convenient than hauling the Nook around. I see a lot of people reading on phones but have yet to see anyone with a dedicated e-reader.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by ncguy68

I've been at the beach on vacation for two weeks with people reading everywhere you turn and I have not seen a single person using any type of E-Reader. In fact over the last few years I have only seen two people using E-Readers out in public. If sales are really booming as they say I wonder why you see so few E-Readers out in public?

I take the train everyday in the Boston area, nooks and kindles are very plentiful to be seen. Physical books still rule the roost big time, but I've seen ereaders grow at an amazing pace on my commute in and out of Boston.