And so it goes: "Electronic books are becoming popular. Will newspapers follow?"
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More importantly, the Kindle and similar devices made by Sony and others represent only one side of the evolving e-reader market. They are for aficionados, since paying $359 for a device makes sense only if you read quite a lot of books, newspapers or magazines on it. For everybody else, such as infrequent readers and the young and cash-strapped, the mobile phone may become the preferred e-reader. ...
It is now only a matter of time until absolutely all books become available, and properly formatted, for mobile phones. Google, an internet giant that has been scanning and digitising books for inclusion in its search engine, now offers thousands of books that are in the public domain free on mobile phones. It seems likely that, eventually, only books that have value as souvenirs, gifts or artefacts will remain bound in paper. ...
Indeed, the Kindle and other e-readers could be a boon to newspapers. With rare exceptions, newspapers have accustomed their readers to expect digital editions to be free. As circulation revenue has declined, this made them dependent on advertising, just as the recession hit. On the Kindle, by contrast, the news has no ads. Instead, readers seem happy to pay for it—just as they pay for services in any other industry that offers something worthwhile.
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