Quote:
Originally Posted by BKeeper
Wired has an article questioning whether there is a market for the Kindle:
I think the author is totally missing the point:
Eventually the market for the kindle (or any other ebook) is as big (or small) as the pbook market itself.
And for Amazon I think the kindle is not so much about money and market potential, it is about vision, about (re)building the foundations of the publishing business.
Bezos cannot sit around waiting for the pbook market to stagnate, his choice is clearly to be an agent of change.
That is... to Kindle.
what do you think? |
Obviously, some of the companies that have introduced ereaders, or plan to introduce ereaders within the next 6 months, have completed some market research. They have decided that there is a market that justifies the development dollars to bring an ereader product to market. The validity and makeup of this forum also supports the theory that there is a wide and varied market available.
I agree that non-readers will not suddenly read because of ereaders, except perhaps for senior citizens and retirees who are now in a different place in their lives where they have more available time. I believe that this might, infact, become a very large market. Older people often have discretionary income that allows them to 1)fork out $350for an ereader and 2)fund ongoing ebook purchases.
The ease with which ebooks can be purchase has to apeal to a wide range of folk. Maybe not young people at this stage, but certainly for very busy people who travel a lot and for older people who have a more isolated lifestyle.
Would love to know what the real numbers are, but seems like we're only going to see speculation for the time being.
cheers