The Death of Ereaders Is Because of...Death?

[tuskin]

Hi,

from the Register:

Don’t blame the tablet computer for the demise of the ebook reader. Instead, look no further than aged users who are inconveniently - for Amazon, Sony, Barnes & Noble, Kobo et al - kicking the bucket.

That’s the claim made by ABI Research, a market watcher which has been tracking the ereader business for more than 10 years. ABI’s argument, derived from examining various territories and the people within them who buy these devices, is that most of the world’s ereader shipments are going into the US, where many of the consumers buying them are of ever more advancing years.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01...reader_market/

tuskin

[graycyn]

I can see it. My library has had an e-reader "play day" a couple times now. In both instances, everyone there was older than I, and I am officially a senior citizen.

[Freeshadow]

That's a problem with reading as such; not especially reading devices. Less people read.

[Billi]

I must admit I don't see the connection. Why is it a demise? Have all the old readers suddenly died at once?

I would have thought that it is just the other way round. E-readers are great for seniors because otherwise they wouldn't buy any books at all because of fading eye-sight. And in the same sense seniors are good for ereader companies (ebooks and devices). They now have time and often the money to spend.

[fjtorres]

Riiighhttt!
A bit behind the curve, those folks.

Three years ago, the age distribution curve of ebook readers in the US did skew slightly towards the 45-65 demographic. But that skew ended a year later as prices dropped and working age adults adopted ebook readers. It even started skewing towards the young *female* working age demographic.

And, in case the boomers do die off at some point in the *future*:
http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...w-read-ebooks/

On the one side we have a report from Scholastic which say that 46% of kids are reading ebooks, while on the other side we have a new report being sold by Digital Book World which claims that 54% of kids in the US are reading ebooks.

With ~50% of *all* US children already exposed to ebooks, the next generation will have no shortage of customers to sell ebooks and ereaders to.

It's already been debated to death that ebook readers adoption is slowing because the darn things just keep on working and new models aren't compelling enough to get existing owners to upgrade. Those with the disposable income are instead looking to other devices to spend their toy money one. (There's a new XBOX due this year, for example.)

[din155]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

...debated to death that ebook readers adoption is slowing because the darn things just keep on working

Don't give them ideas man! They may just release an update to kill the processors of your ereader in a few months.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by din155

Don't give them ideas man! They may just release an update to kill the processors of your ereader in a few months.

Dunno 'bout you, but I never update until a few weeks after release.
(And only if the update does something I care about.)

[jgaiser]

And I'm running a DX that hasn't been updated for at least 2 years. Yeah, it's slower than those fancy new models, but it only has to turn a page with reasonable speed and store the books I want to read. I've already got two DX backups when or if this one dies.

[DuckieTigger]

The article contradicts itself. It starts by saying (emphasis mine):

Don’t blame the tablet computer for the demise of the ebook reader.

But finishes with:

Younger buyers in established ereader markets will eventually go grey, of course, but by the time they are of sufficiently mature years to find themselves in the demographic of consumer who might once have selected such a device, they will be so accustomed to using tablets not only for reading but also for a wide range of tasks and applications, it will never occur to them to use something else.

So it is not the fault of the tablets, but because the ones growing old with tablets will never consider anything else to read?
Sounds like a Catch-22.

It is quite possible that the dedicated ebook readers disappear instead as more and more people don't read paper books no more (or less and less so).

[forsooth]

5 ereaders are mine
1 dropped very far - can not retrieve
1 on loan permanent
2 in lockers in different places
1 in travel bag all time - kbk3 3g

1 day a thousand years from now dropped 1 will be found
cause excitement wonder

[kennyc]

Well I think it's because .......arrrrgggguuuuuhhh.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Well I think it's because .......arrrrgggguuuuuhhh.

Come, come on... Don't keep us waiting!
(I hate cliffhangers...)

[QuantumIguana]

The e-reader isn't dying. And even if all the people with e-readers were old people, they make more old people.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Three years ago, the age distribution curve of ebook readers in the US did skew slightly towards the 45-65 demographic. But that skew ended a year later as prices dropped and working age adults adopted ebook readers. It even started skewing towards the young *female* working age demographic.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by this, but at least in these parts, the 45-65 demographic consists of working age adults.

[kennyc]

What, Naptown?