are eink devices a niche product?

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by John F

Are there any numbers available on ebook/readering habits that point to eink devices being niche?

Although it doesn't have detailed numbers, Kobo released a report that has some information suggesting that people with dedicated ereaders read faster, read more, and spend more on ebooks than those who read using apps on phones/tablets.

The article on Kobo's site has a link to the report.

From the section titled "What the device tells us" near the end of the report:

Customers who use a device spend about 30% more than those who are app customers. Their book libraries are bigger and they tend to read faster because they are already a person who is predisposed toward doing more reading.

(By "device" they mean a dedicated ereader, rather than a tabet or phone with other functions. There are some numbers, but they involve terms such as "good" customers or "best" booklovers and you need to read the rest of the report to work out exactly what they mean by those terms.)

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm on track to read about 130 books this year, every one of which is bought (I don't borrow books). And that's in a world in which the CEO of Britain's largest bookstore, Waterstone's, defines a "heavy reader" to be someone who reads a book a month. We here at MR are at the extreme end of the bell curve of readers. We shouldn't take our own reading experiences to be remotely representative of the "real world". We're freaks .

This is an inspired bit of writing. Never seen such sentiments expressed in this way here.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm on track to read about 130 books this year, every one of which is bought (I don't borrow books). And that's in a world in which the CEO of Britain's largest bookstore, Waterstone's, defines a "heavy reader" to be someone who reads a book a month. We here at MR are at the extreme end of the bell curve of readers. We shouldn't take our own reading experiences to be remotely representative of the "real world". We're freaks .

You're absolutely right, Harry. I'm at 95 now for the year, so I'm also heading for 130-odd books. Which is actually way, way lower than for 2014 & 2015 (the only other years for which I kept accurate counts) where I hit 298 and 317 respectively. I blame the far shorter commute this year

We're so far to the right end of the bell curve we're in danger of falling off People here tend to forget that, as we are among kindred spirits.

[Sweetpea]

How would you count people like me, who have multiple reading devices? I read both from a tablet and an e-ink device. Can even be the same book (start the book at night on the tablet, finish it during the day, reading in the hammock).

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

How would you count people like me, who have multiple reading devices? I read both from a tablet and an e-ink device. Can even be the same book (start the book at night on the tablet, finish it during the day, reading in the hammock).

That depends on how much you read on each device. Either way that you read some (part of) your books also on tablet means that you shift the ratio unfavorable for eink.

How would you count people with multiple unused devices (both eink and lcd/oled)? In my case we have a few registered and fully functional and unused Kindles, two broken ereaders, and maybe five tablets that never get used for reading (sometimes games and youtube when the grandkids show up). That leaves the great majority of reading on our Voyages, and very rarely on phones. I am probably (most likely) not the only one with multiple ereaders that also has multiple tablets all of which mostly don't get used (for reading).

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by John F

Are there any numbers available on ebook/readering habits that point to eink devices being niche?

Since the real figures are kept secret for reasons of commercial confidentiality, we can only make educated guesses. And world-wide figures are even more tricky. Perhaps we can have a go at USA figures.

Perhaps the best guessers, because they also use as much data that's available as possible, is the author earnings website.

According to Author Earnings, 12% of ebooks sold are from the Apple iBook Store. Apple don't do an eInk reader, so essentially all of those books will be read on on phones/tablets.

But 71% are sold by Amazon. Whether eInk is 'niche' for ebook reading really depends on the reading stats for books sold at Amazon.

And I don't think Amazon tells anyone. Although they almost certainly have a very good idea.

[Alohamora]

I don't even know anyone who uses an e-ink device.
My friends are all heavy readers, we read on paper, listen to audio books or use tablets.
Niche? Heck yes.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Totally agreeing with this.
I think I am on track for at least 50 books. Most people I know are on track for either 1 or 0.

I literally winced when reading your "most people" figures, though they are painfully familiar.

OT:

However, I am somewhat heartened by the fact that many people in the "1 or 0" category - headcount unknown, but certainly a non-trivial number - aren't "non-readers" but rather read, some voraciously, content not captured in your figures. Much has been written about why reading matters, and the people of whom I write - from various walks of life - read copious quantities of written content that's not counted as "books", such as case studies, financial reports, government/legal/regulatory documents, manuals, educational/training materials, periodicals (newspapers/magazines/journals), drafts/proposals/submissions of various kinds, and various other business-professional-academic-entertainment industry-and/or-technical publications. No doubt multiple parties make a pretty penny from producing/publishing/distributing/licensing/optioning such content, and counted among such parties are entities that produce/publish/sell books.

[Alpha o]

I do read, mostly while eating. But being a speed reader, I can cover a lot.
I will also re-read. If a book is fascinating to me, it will be read over and over.

While not an ebook, Owen Gingerich's book "The Book Nobody Read" chases down the early history of printing to figure out how many copies of Copernicus' "De Revolutionibus" were printed. Don't know how many times I've read that, along with the books on the Mars Rovers.

There's some old SF worth a read - "A Logic Named Joe" still can make you laugh.

I look for new and read the old. Sometimes an author review on PBS "News Hour" will make me buy a book - preferably ebook. I'm out of storage space.

I got the other half hooked on ebooks. He started really reading when I told him to go read a Tony Hillerman mystery on a boring cruise. Then I got him hooked on Ben Bova.
Gave him my old Kindle and he's been getting a couple of books a month. I prefer that since he can read the descriptions for himself and not ask me what it's about.

So between both, we do well over 50 books a year each. We also have some magazines.

We just don't post about it.

I have an Acer 10" tablet. It's simply too heavy to hold and bulky to deal with in a case. I have an inkBOOK reader. A lot of my books were downloaded to FB reader on the ext, SD card and I could just plug and play. All were EPUB.
Gutenberg Press and Smashwords had most.

The other half likes the 10" tablet for astronomy, but doesn't like the size and the glare to read on it. He prefers that old Kindle.

[PurpleStar]

I read a lot while on the bus. I never see anyone reading with an e-reader. They're either playing on their cell phones or reading a paper book. Maybe e-readers aren't that popular anymore.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

I read a lot while on the bus. I never see anyone reading with an e-reader. They're either playing on their cell phones or reading a paper book. Maybe e-readers aren't that popular anymore.

The numbers don't lie. Eink has been reported a shrinking niche for a while now, by the mods who should and are in the know.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

That depends on how much you read on each device. Either way that you read some (part of) your books also on tablet means that you shift the ratio unfavorable for eink.

How would you count people with multiple unused devices (both eink and lcd/oled)? In my case we have a few registered and fully functional and unused Kindles, two broken ereaders, and maybe five tablets that never get used for reading (sometimes games and youtube when the grandkids show up). That leaves the great majority of reading on our Voyages, and very rarely on phones. I am probably (most likely) not the only one with multiple ereaders that also has multiple tablets all of which mostly don't get used (for reading).

No you are not the only one.

[crossi]

I really hope eink doesn't disappear. I have a Fire and I hate using it. It is an exercise in frustration. Trying to follow a link you hit the wrong spot and have to go back. Open an app and how the hell do you close it without the little X in the corner. Try to scroll the page and keep selecting links by accident. And it's too heavy. I plug it in now and then to try it then go back to my kindle for reading and a real computer with a mouse and keyboard for browsing. I haven't tried a tablet yet I didn't hate using.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by crossi

I haven't tried a tablet yet I didn't hate using.

Have you tried an iPad? I read fiction on my Kindle, but love my iPad for reading PDFs and material which benefits from colour or a larger screen.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Luffy

The numbers don't lie. Eink has been reported a shrinking niche for a while now, by the mods who should and are in the know.

I don't imagine those (e-ink) numbers are that small, considering the New models being released by the likes of Kobo and Amazon.

R&D hits the bottom line The 'Kodak" model, only stretches so far , which may be why these are NOT priced under US$100 like some of the former models were