The US eBook Market For 2010? $500 Million
"Before the Kindle launched, the eBook market was a running joke. Its fans were constantly proclaiming it to be the future, but that future never seemed to come."
I beg to disagree. The real turning point was Oprah.
Oprah Kuddles the Kindle
"The power of Oprah Winfrey’s book recommendations is well-known: if the wildly popular talk show host and business magnate selects a title for her book club, the tome is virtually guaranteed bestseller status "
Like her or not, I think that it was her promotion of the Kindle that really kicked started it all.
Yes, a great many of you were reading ebooks
long before her endorsement of the Kindle and ebooks. But as the article says;
"Historically, Winfrey’s endorsement of any product—particularly right before the holidays—has led to an enormous sales spike. If that holds true for the Kindle reader, it’s possible the tech industry will look back at Winfrey’s endorsement as the moment when electronic readers went from being a niche product for technically-savvy individuals to a mainstream product suitable for consumers. "