January 30, 2010
E-Book Readers Given Separate Area At 2010 CES
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. Not without some justification – there are a minimum of two dozen different manufacturers showing off e-book readers at the event.
The increased level of awareness, both from the public and from electronics manufacturers is perfectly understandable. After all, 2009 was a bumper year for e-book readers. And there’s every indication that 2010 could be even bigger.
Of course, much of the credit for the huge buzz surrounding e-book readers in 2009 must go to the Amazon Kindle reader. The release of first the Kindle 2.0 in February, quickly followed by the launch of the larger DX version in June, generated a great deal of good press for e-book readers in general and for the Kindle in particular.
The Kindle quickly became Amazon’s number one selling product and, over the 2009 Christmas period, the Kindle became the most gifted item on Amazon. Kindle book sales had been running at 35% of all book sales (where a Kindle edition existed). On Christmas day 2009, for the first time ever, Amazon sold more Kindle books than hardback and paperback conventional books.
Public demand, both for e-book readers and the e-books to read on them had been clearly 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 plenty of other manufacturers who want a share of this new market. 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. Rapid expansion looks very likely in the near future and the right product at the right time could rewrite the rules in an instant.
Electronics manufacturers are not the only businesses interested in the growth and development of the e-book reader market. Third party manufacturers who make a variety of accessories – reading lights (the displays of e-book readers are not back-lit), covers, chargers, screen protectors etc. – also stand to benefit from a market that, until very recently, was simply not in existence. Currently, Kindle accessories are, predictably, dominant, but as new readers begin to increase their volume of sales these will, almost certainly, also be catered for.
This is going to be a very successful year for both e-book readers and e-books. The 2011 Consumer Electronics shows will certainly incorporate a separate e-book reader section – but it may be somewhat increased in size compared with 2010.