Thread: E-books are three years behind MP3s
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Old 06-20-2008, 01:08 PM   #1
Bob Russell
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E-books are three years behind MP3s
Book Business has an article about a presentation given at the London Book Fair. In it they did an interesting comparison between e-books and MP3s.
Quote:
First, Kent noted that a revolution is occurring:
  • Today, more people are reading on screen than on paper (not just books, but all types of reading);
  • 10 years ago, $0 was spent on MP3s;
  • 2007 e-book sales were greater than 2004 MP3 sales.
Kent noted, “I don’t think things will move as fast in digital books … but we’re really only three years behind in retail [sales].”
There are some other interesting observations on the difficulty of buying e-books the natural evolution from single-purpose e-book devices to multifunction platforms. Kent also says that "DRM that works" is needed. No mention of non-DRM alternatives, but he's right - DRM is a nightmare in its current form.

Check out the entire article for more, including why e-book devices as we know them will not survive long.
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