Facts and Figures about sales and usage of e-reader

[res-book]

Hi everybody
Internet search is driving me crazy today. I am searching for international facts and figures about (real/expected) sales and the usage of e-readers. Does anyone have sources or suggestions who knows more about this?
I would appreciate some help.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by res-book

Hi everybody
Internet search is driving me crazy today. I am searching for international facts and figures about (real/expected) sales and the usage of e-readers. Does anyone have sources or suggestions who knows more about this?
I would appreciate some help.

I wish we could. Reader vendors aren't releasing sales figures, and all guesses I've seen are just that -- guesses. I don't think anyone really knows the answers, save executives at places like Amazon and Sony, who know how many units they've sold and aren't telling...
______
Dennis

[wallcraft]

There is almost nothing that is reliable. Sony released (or perhaps someone senior in Sony mentioned in passing) actual sales figures a year or so ago, when they were in the several hundred thousand range (cumulative over several years).

The other source that is a good proxy is the number of EInk screens made by PVI, since 6" screens are all going into Readers. There is now a second source (LG) for the screens, but PVI's forecasts and reports of screen volume probably still provides an upper limit on the number of devices.

[carlobee]

i would want to see that one too.

[res-book]

By the end of 2010, industry experts predict, 10 million people will be carrying e-readers. As for the number of e-books that people have read, they've lost track. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...110404834.html

[jasonkchapman]

For the most part, the "industry experts" are just giving finger-in-the-wind guesstimates. They don't really know any better than anyone else. What I found most interesting was Forrester's demographic picture of (I'm assuming a US-centric) the reading device demographic:

Forrester's profile of the current e-reader enthusiast is a 47-year-old married man with a college degree and an average household income of $116,000. About 30 percent of e-reader owners use them on business trips, while about 17 percent rely on e-readers during commutes. They read about 3.5 books each month, more than the average Internet user. About 83 percent consider themselves "technology optimists."

This explains the disconnect between what the industry front-runners see as priorities and what so many individual device owners see as priorities.

[basschick]

regarding this quote:

Forrester's profile of the current e-reader enthusiast is a 47-year-old married man with a college degree and an average household income of $116,000. About 30 percent of e-reader owners use them on business trips, while about 17 percent rely on e-readers during commutes. They read about 3.5 books each month, more than the average Internet user. About 83 percent consider themselves "technology optimists."

this surely don't describe me, and i notice a lot of women on this board - and running a number of ebook-related blogs. we also have a lot of college students and grandparents drop in. and only 3.5 books a month?

is forrester just making this all up?

[wallcraft]

From Netronix developing e-book readers on Android platform:

Netronix is currently shipping e-book readers at a rate of 30,000-60,000 a month in the fourth quarter of 2009 and expects total shipments for the quarter to reach 140,000 units, Lu stated.

Netronix is probably the 4th largest producer of EInk Readers, after Amazon, Sony, and Jinke.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by basschick

regarding this quote:

this surely don't describe me, and i notice a lot of women on this board - and running a number of ebook-related blogs. we also have a lot of college students and grandparents drop in. and only 3.5 books a month?

is forrester just making this all up?

Seems pretty reasonable to me, but I also feel there is a strong contingent of female romance readers. Maybe they declined to participate in the poll?

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by basschick

regarding this quote:

this surely don't describe me, and i notice a lot of women on this board - and running a number of ebook-related blogs. we also have a lot of college students and grandparents drop in. and only 3.5 books a month?

is forrester just making this all up?

No, just using a restricted sample. The folks they survey are corporate types. They won't get the college students/grandparents/women like you.

And 3.5 books a month actually isn't bad for the market they survey. They are surveying busy executives who have limited time for reading, and what they do read is likely to be job related. I suspect a fair number haven't read a book for fun since college.
______
Dennis

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I suspect a fair number haven't read a book for fun since college.

My first reaction was that the 3.5 figure is high. But now I am thinking that not only are current eBook reader owners most likely to read much more than the average person, but in addition they are likely to heavily use their new toy (whatever it is) for a while.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

My first reaction was that the 3.5 figure is high. But now I am thinking that not only are current eBook reader owners most likely to read much more than the average person, but in addition they are likely to heavily use their new toy (whatever it is) for a while.

And having a reader makes it more convenient to read. You can carry it wherever you go, read whenever you have a spare moment, and have more than one book available without a weight penalty. The scarce resource for the folks surveyed is likely time to read, and a reader makes it easier to use those spare minutes scattered throughout the day.
______
Dennis