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That was a pretty bad article. It started out making assumptions and assumed that the assumptions are our rather than the author's. I often find it a chore to talk to people who don't read books, so call me an elite if you wish. But only a small number of people assume that those who read e-books are more literate than those who read paper books, or vice versa. It would be no surprise if Kindles are more in demand in cities with less bookstore options, because the harder it is to get to a bookstore, the more appealing an e-reader is.
If the study is only measuring sales in stores, then it is fatally flawed. It would then leave out those who buy their Kindles via the internet. Take a look at the caption of the graph: "Kindles for Sale as % of Total Items for Sale in That City". What sort of gibberish statistic is that? If there are more things to purchase in a city, the percentage of sales for Kindles would decrease without one less Kindle being sold. Ask instead what percentage of percentage of people have e-readers.
To compare the Kindle to the X-Box makes no sense, they aren't in the same market at all. Comparisons to the iPad don't matter either, because although you can read books on an iPad, few are going to get it just to read books. The decreasing price of e-readers isn't a sign of weakness, but of strength. The price decreases because with increasing demand, the product can be delivered more cheaply. The Kindle DX remains expensive, because the demand for that device is low. The iPad keeps the high price by adding power and functionality. An e-reader doesn't need that, it just reads books.
I've looked at the prices of used Kindles (and other e-readers) and they seem to retain their value. That is an indication of the strength of a product. If the price on the used market is low, that indictes people don't like their device as much.
The article doesn't look at the percentage of people who have Kindles and doesn't look at the e-book market. iPad sales aren't relevant, whis is relevant is the share of the e-book maket that each device has.
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