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I'm not particularly smart about this sort of thing, but it seems to me that there are many different kinds of reading going on these days. I know people who run, not walk, to buy the latest in Harlequin books when they come out and they know the release schedule for the various kinds of imprints for these books. It may be all they read, but read them they do. I know folks who seldom read anything not work related, but are reading all the time. I know folks who read all the best sellers and I know people who read only when they are on holiday, but may read a dozen books at that point. And then there are the library only folks.
Will they all want/need/buy the same eReader? Probably not, but more and more of them will take the plunge and buy *something*. I see an ever greater diversity in the kind of readers out there and would not be surprised to find something basic hanging by the till at Walmart, along with other impulse items at some point.
I live in a community of 100,000. We have two chain bookstores and a handful of used book shops. And although our library has not yet jumped on the ebook train, I'm finding people who said they would never find digital reading enjoyable six months ago buying their first ereader now--and in one case planning on buying them as xmas gifts for all of their kids.
This kind of reporting doesn't say very much of value, I suppose, but I bet that what I am seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg. It will take awhile for the media and formal analysis to catch up with these trends.
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