Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonist
You guys keep saying this, but where do you get your information? From Steve Jobs? 
My inkling is, that there are probably more readers today, than at any other point in history.
Literacy was not that high until the 19th century (20th, in many places) and a simple view of demographics will tell you, that there are many more bodies on the planet. Even if most of them are drooling idiots, or read only holy books, a sizable number is still left to sell (cheap) e-readers to. |
I think the key word is 'avid'. Lots of people read, but not as many read avidly, as in more than a few books a year. Of course I have no solid data to back this up, but I point to anecdotal evidence. I knew lots of people who bought the DaVinci Code and read it, and picked up a bestseller on the way to a holiday, but they don't have bookshelves at home, they don't spend spare income on books over say, movies, video games and DVD. The dedicated e-reader is great if you read lots, but it's got nothing for those people who pick up a few paperbacks to read on holiday. Now if they had a multifunction device that could play music videos, surf the web etc as well as read ebooks, I think the adoption would be far greater.