informationToys

Electronic book readers have been available for quite some time now. The first one, which is generally agreed to have been the Franklin eBookman, launched in 1999, more than ten years ago. Other readers subsequently hit the market, notably the original Amazon Kindle in 2007 which actually lagged behind the the PRS reader by Sony which had launched in 2006.

However, it wasn’t until 2009 that e-book readers really cauht the public imagination. Without ignoring the contribution of Sony in any way, a great deal of the credit for this has to go to Amazon. The launch of the Kindle 2.0 in February 2009 backed up by the release of the larger DX reader in June caused quite a stir and established e-book readers as the hot gadget of the year. The Kindle rapidly established itself as Amazon’s best selling product and was the most gifted Amazon item ever over the 2009 festive period. Both Sony and Barnes and Noble had launched new readers of their own in time for the Christmas season, but uncertainty about delivery in time for Xmas, coupled with the already established dominance of the Kindle reader meant that Amazon swept the boards.

At the moment there is a good selection of readers to choose from. The list of companies who are developing their own e-book readers is both long and impressive. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas in January 2010 had a separate zone for e-book readers for the first time ever. All the signs are there that 2010 is going to be an even more successful year for e-book readers and we can probably anticipate continuing growth in the rate of sales.

In effect, the e-book reader sector is a brand new market segment which didn’t exist, at least not in any meaningful way, until very recently. Over and above the companies who manufacture e-book readers, there are implications for publishers, educational institutions, independent suppliers and of course, the end users – book readers.

The sudden development of this market segment has been excellent news for suppliers like M-Edge who manufacture a wide range of Kindle accessories including reading lights, covers, chargers and so on. There are plenty of other accessory suppliers who are also benefiting. Currently, there is a strong focus on products aimed at the Kindle reader, but as the market grows and other devices increase in popularity these will also afford good opportunities to the independents.

The e-book reader market is still in its infancy. It is growing and developing at a rapid pace. Amazon was instrumental in the market’s development thus far and has a 60% share of the U.S. market as a result. Their dominance will be strongly challenged in 2010, as will Sony’s current second place (with a very healthy 35% market share). However, this new market offers plenty of opportunity for companies with the innovative skills and vision to establish a presnce for themselves at this early stage.