There are currently a large number of manufacturers fighting it out in the nascent, but rapidly expanding, e-book reader marketplace. The high level of competition is a good indication that rapid growth is expected in this area. And this strong competition will be good news for consumers as manufacturers fight amongst themselves to enhance specifications and reduce prices.
There is an impressive list of major players who have e-book readers in various stages of development – and in some cases, ready for imminent release. Sony, Plastic Logic, Barnes and Noble, iRex, iRex, – not forgetting Microsoft and Apple – are all queuing up to grab their fair share of the market.
There’s not much doubt about the present market leader. Amazon’s Kindle reader has dominated the market, and has been instrumental in its development since its release in 2007. Now in its second generation with the Kindle 2 and the large format Kindle DX, Amazon has achieved a 60% share of the U.S. e-book reader market. The Kindle is now Amazon’s top selling product and, on October 19 this year, after a long wait, Amazon started shipping the Kindle 2 international version to more than 100 countries globally. It’s a compliment to Amazon that every new e-book reader announced (and there’s no lack of these, the list above is far from exhaustive) which displays any promise, is immediately named the “Kindle Killer”. At the moment, the Kindle reader sets the standard which must be met, and then surpassed, in order to achieve success.
Just in case anyone thinks that the Kindle’s current leadership position is bordering on unassailable, it’s probably worth remembering that Amazon were a late entrant to the market when the Kindle was launched. The original e-book reader is generally agreed to be the Franklin eBookMan which was launched in 1999 – a decade ago. The Sony PRS was also available prior to the Kindle’s 2007 launch.
The phenomenal success of the Kindle was due to a number of different factors. In the first place, Amazon had a strong association with books, being one of the largest online retailers. They were also able to offer a wide selection of books to download – at the moment they have over 300,000 titles at their Kindle store. The option of wireless connectivity – with no ongoing subscription- was another big plus point.
Just as Amazon came from nowhere to secure the top position, any one of the other competitors could do exactly the same – and probably faster than you might imagine. Barnes and Noble for example, have more than one million titles available for their new Nook e-book reader. They have also elected to use the ePub format – which most of the readers in development seem to be going for. The Kindle e-book format is proprietary. Purchase a Kindle book – read it on your Kindle (or maybe on your iPhone, but certainly not on any other reader).
The Nook will also permit you to “lend” books to your friends and family for a fortnight. During this time, the borrower can read it and the lender will be unable access to it on their Nook – exactly the same as lending a “real” book. The big advantage is that, unlike a dog eared paperback, you can be sure that you will get it back.
The next generation Sony reader – the Sony Daily Edition – will be a large display format, like the Kindle DX, but unlike the DX it will have touch screen control options. It will also allow users to download e-books from participating public libraries on loan. Again – just like a traditional book.
Many of the other readers in the pipeline have features that could well make them more appealing than the Kindle. Amazon definitely have a fight looming – but it seems sure that they won’t surrender their number one position without a struggle. They have played a pivotal role in the development of the market up to now, and bearing in mind the critical importance of the Kindle to their current business model, it seems reasonable to expect them to have a few new tricks up their corporate sleeve.
Considering the high level of activity amongst all of these top manufacturers, it seems reasonable to predict that the e-book reader market is about to start growing even more rapidly. In all probability, the fierce competition that about to be unleashed will create a downward pressure on prices and take e-book readers out of the high tech domain and firmly into the mainstream personal mobile tech market.
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categories: Amazon Kindle,e-book readers,ebooks,gadgets,technology,personal technology,computers,communications,reading,technology,mobile technology
