eReaders have been selling in the millions, and even became one of the most hot selling items of 2009 holiday season. The January 2010 unveiling of the iPad, however, spurred a series of grim forecast for eReaders in general. Many analysts see the coming of the iPad as a portent for the rise of the tables and, consequently, end of the reign of eReaders.
Is there any solid basis for this prediction?
Pro-tablet analysts argue that:
• People would rather spend on a device that can do a lot of things for them than on a device that specializes a single function.
• eReaders cater to a very small market; the eReader niche is not growing at all.
The tablet vs eReader issue is much more complex than meets the eye that the arguments above warrant some response.
1. eReaders bridges conservative book users to the future. – Craig Matthias
eReaders were designed as replacement for old-fashioned books – the black and white world of text with little or no illustration — and so they were built to mimic the look and feel of books. You can install the Kindle software into an existing Windows tablet and call it a multi-purpose “eReader” of the same caliber as the iPad. Their backlit screen, limited battery power, and lack of daylight viewability make them a bad choice for curling up with a novel. There are things that tablets and other active devices have yet to replicate: readability and the stellar battery life that have made eReaders a hit.
eReaders are par to old-fashioned books only when it comes to providing great reading experience. It’s not difficult to see why they have sold well.
2. The eReader market is burgeoning, not contracting.
The reported millions in sales of eBooks and the millions of actual eReader units sold give a hint into how vast the eReading market is and how many people value a good read. The announcement of dozens of new and upcoming eReaders in the past few months shows that manufacturers are seeing a large demand for eReaders.
3. Tablets have never really made any sizeable impact since they arrived in 1982.
Sure, tablets look good, are more portable than netbooks, and come with touch functions that make them seem more convenient to use. Still, tablets have never made any success in the horizontal market. It may be the ideal device from technology experts’ perspective, but tablets have yet to address an actual user need that computers, netbooks, smartphones, eReaders, or other portable devices have not yet answered. Unless users find a practical for tablets, they may not get the sizeable audience needed to upset eReaders.
4. The tablet vs ereaders debate is a zero-sum game.
eReaders are built for a single purpose: reading. It’s a book and a library, and you can take it anywhere. They are then targeted at avid book readers, those who buy 30 + books each year. eReaders will be retaining these types of customers who value books and who value reading.
On the one hand, there are people who like a device that lets them do a lot of things, who spend an hour or less on reading and 5 hours Googling or playing Farmville – a tablet is for this type of people.
The Bottom Line
When eReaders were still new in the market, some analysts predicted they will not do well, niche devices as they are. Well, eReaders proved them wrong. Will they also disprove analysts who want to kill them? That remains to be seen, but for now, the predictions seem to stand on shaky grounds.
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