E-Reader Ownership Outpacing Tablets

[WalkingDistance]

Here is the original article:
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Desktops-an...Report-472278/

The article touches on a million different small points.
Some Quotes:

According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, the percentage of U.S. adults with an e-reader grew from 6 percent to 12 percent between November 2010 and May.

“Of the two, the tablet market is the stronger and more sustainable opportunity,” Stephanie Ethier, an In-Stat senior analyst, wrote in a June 20 research note. “In fact, e-reader manufacturers will soon begin adding tablet-like devices to their lineups in order to take advantage of the tablet frenzy. Barnes & Noble already offers the Color Nook, which is often compared with a tablet, and Amazon, the leader in the e-reader space with its Kindle, will likely launch a tablet device later this year in an effort to compete with the iPad.”

Meanwhile, there are indications that e-readers are having a negative effect on the traditional book-publishing industry. “The book publishing industry has entered a period of long-term decline because of the rising sales of e-book readers,” read an April 28 research note from IHS iSuppli...

EDIT::

I found the link to the survey that this article refers to:
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/...ts/Report.aspx

[spellbanisher]

deleted post

[spellbanisher]

There are about 235 million adults in the United States, which means there are about 28 million adult ereader owners, and 19 million tablet owners.

Another interesting nugget from the study: the demise of the laptop has been greatly exaggerated. Since the November 2010 the percentage of adults who owns laptops has increased from 53% to 57%, whereas the percentage of adults who own tablets has only increased from from 5 to 8%.

[Namekuseijin]

I believe laptop sales will greatly diminish once touch tablets also allows one to write with a stylus, either handwriting or swiping letters on a virtual keyboard. Typing on a virtual keyboard is not practical at all as you miss touch feedback (yes, despite the rumble).

Once you can input with much ease, the tablet will be seen less as a device for pure consumption of content, and more of a productivity tool.

[Hellmark]

for me, and many people, the problem with touch screens is the loss of tactile feel for WHERE you press, and not that you've pressed. Especially on smaller devices, with smaller widgets, did you press the button you wanted, or the one next to it? Hard to tell if your finger covers them.

[RainingLemur]

I didn't see that one coming, to be honest. I can see how it would be that way, but I figured that tablets would be more prevalent than dedicated e-readers.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

I didn't see that one coming, to be honest. I can see how it would be that way, but I figured that tablets would be more prevalent than dedicated e-readers.

They're more expensive, and other than the Nook, aren't nicely tied to an ebook store. (Well, the iPad is, but the price is so extreme that it's not selling to the ebook market; it's selling to the Malusaphiliacs.) They're also newer; dedicated ebook readers have been around 10 years, and serious market share kicked in about three years ago; tablets bigger than a phone are much younger.

Tablets will probably eventually outnumber dedicated ereaders, but unless tablet software/hardware developers put some serious thought into making them excellent for ebooks, the dedicated devices will continue to have a share of the market. Right now, AFAIK, none of the tablets has a good "all your ebooks go HERE" solution that shows all the ebooks it can read in one place (the app system conflicts with that), and their ebook functionality is dependent on 3rd-party apps and not integrated with the hardware.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by spellbanisher

There are about 235 million adults in the United States, which means there are about 28 million adult ereader owners, and 19 million tablet owners.

I agree with your math and that this is what the study says. I just find it hard to believe. I think the survey responders were not referring to dedicated ereaders but ereading on a gadget.

It is thought that the worldwide installed base of Kindles was 13 million last month which suggests the US base is something like 30% if there are 28 million adults who own one (assuming no one owns more than one). And that means 7 out of 10 ereaders owned by US adults is NOT a Kindle.

[jgaiser]

Meanwhile, there are indications that e-readers are having a negative effect on the traditional book-publishing industry. “The book publishing industry has entered a period of long-term decline because of the rising sales of e-book readers,” read an April 28 research note from IHS iSuppli...

Huh??? The book publishing industry is not selling ebooks? Where the heck are all these ebooks coming from that I buy from Amazon and B&N. Are they just appearing out of thin air.

If there is a decline in the industry, there is only one thing to blame and it isn't ebook reader sales.

[Fbone]

Hispanics own more tablets and ereaders than any other group? Did I read that correctly?

[sabredog]

Meanwhile, there are indications that e-readers are having a negative effect on the traditional book-publishing industry. “The book publishing industry has entered a period of long-term decline because of the rising sales of e-book readers,” read an April 28 research note from IHS

I am sure the cloistered handcrafted, handwritten book industry suffered from distribution loss once Gutenberg got his act together.

[pastanley]

First of all there is only a 4% gap between tablets and ereaders. Dedicated ereaders account for 8% while tablets account for 4%. This is mainly becasue tablets are priced much higher than ereaders. This is not earth shaking news. Ereaders are expected to hit the $99 mark very soon while the minimum tablet price is going for $500. The nook color is a hybrid of both which sells for $250.

[tubemonkey]

“In fact, e-reader manufacturers will soon begin adding tablet-like devices to their lineups in order to take advantage of the tablet frenzy. Barnes & Noble already offers the Color Nook, which is often compared with a tablet, and Amazon, the leader in the e-reader space with its Kindle, will likely launch a tablet device later this year in an effort to compete with the iPad.”

Compared??? ...it is a tablet! ...sheesh

[cfrizz]

I think there are several factors playing into this.

1. Ereaders are cheaper, and are a close to perfectly developed, easy to use machines. The software is integrated into the machines, no hacking, fiddling around with them.

2. Tablets are more expensive. They are also a jack of all trades, but master of none. You have to download your own software & hope that it works,

The Nook is only a tablet once you hack it to have full market access. I'm not interested in screwing around with something to get it to do what I want it to, neither is most of buying public. You gadget tweekers on here don't count.

3. Tablets are simply an after thought as readers, or anything else for that matter. Until they truly put out tablets, that are good to go right out of the box for reading and everything else without a lot of fuss, AND start dropping in price, I believe that ereaders will continue to outpace tablets.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by pastanley

Ereaders are expected to hit the $99 mark very soon while the minimum tablet price is going for $500. The nook color is a hybrid of both which sells for $250.

Actually there are quite a few tablets that sell for under $300. I think that you are referring to the lowest price on the iPad.