CES Has Special Zone for E-Book Readers For The First Time

In RC Planes of rcplanes (January 30, 2010 8:02 am)

The organisers of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, being held in Las Vegas have, for the first time ever set aside a dedicated area for e-book readers. It’s hardly surprising – there are a minimum of two dozen different companies displaying e-book readers at the show.

The increased level of awareness, both from the public and from electronics manufacturers is no big surprise. After all, 2009 was a bumper year for e-book readers. All the signs are that 2010 will be even better.

Of course, much of the credit for the huge buzz surrounding e-book readers in 2009 should be given to Amazon’s Kindle reader. The release of first the Kindle 2.0 in February, quickly followed by the Kindle DX launch in June, created a large amount of good press for e-book readers as a whole and for the Kindle in particular.

The Kindle quickly became the top selling product on Amazon and, over the 2009 Christmas period, the Kindle became the most gifted item on Amazon. Sales of Kindle books made up 35% of all book sales (where a Kindle edition existed). For the first time ever, on Xmas day 2009, Amazon sold more Kindle books than hardback and paperback conventional books.

The market for both e-book readers and e-books had been firmly established and now seems set to take off. At this time, Amazon has 60% of the American market and Sony has 35%. Clearly there are many of other manufacturers who want their slice of the pie. On the face of it, they will have a difficult time considering Amazon’s dominance – but the market is very new and changing and developing at breakneck speed. Exponential growth seems very likely in the near future and the right product at the right time could rewrite the rules overnight.

Electronics manufacturers are not the only businesses interested in the growth and development of the e-book reader market. Independent manufacturers who produce various accessories – reading lights (the displays of e-book readers are not back-lit), covers, chargers, screen protectors etc. – are also benefiting from a market that, until very recently, simply did not exist. At the moment, Kindle accessories are, understandably, the most common, but as other readers begin to make inroads in the market these will, almost certainly, also be catered for.

This is going to be a very successful year both for e-book readers and e-books. The 2011 Consumer Electronics shows will also have a dedicated e-book reader section – but it may be considerably larger in size compared with 2010.