Will the dedicated e-reader die? Most likely, according to a research firm
By Jenny • May 28th, 2010 • Category: Industry News, eBook Readers
- Photo: Amazon
In many people’s minds the dedicated eBook reader (known as an e-reader in some circles) is a new market category, when in fact it is not. There are remnants of e-readers dating back more than 6 years. But this dedicated device only recently gained traction when Amazon launched its Amazon Kindle reader. Now UK market research firm Informa Telecoms & Media predicts that this category will soon die.
Multifunction devices over dedicated e-readers
Informa Telecoms & Media predicts that the e-reader market will peak in 2013, before declining 7 per cent the following year, and steadily declining from there on. The firm’s prediction is based on the thinking that users will opt for multifunction devices that have mobile broadband in lieu of getting a standalone eBook reader. Here, basically, they’re speaking of convergence devices like the iPad and the incoming Android tablet, as well as other devices that do more than just perform as an eBook reader.
Innovation bucking the trend
- Photo: Apple
It only takes Amazon Kindle reader joining the tablet market with a variable e-ink screen to shake these predictions a little. And while swapping out monitor technology – i.e. going from OLED to e-ink on the same device – is technology that does not presently exist, it isn’t inconceivable that it could. Perhaps, one may argue, that at that point, the dedicated e-reader would still be dead, considering the device would be perceived as a tablet first and an eBook reader second, but the competitive advantage being offered by a historically eBook feature (e-ink) means to not give credit where due would be a little unfair.
Thanks for stating the obvious
At first Informa Telecoms & Media’s prediction seem revelatory, in that it’s somewhat surprising that a category that’s only just gathered steam will begin declining in three years time. But when one gives it some thought, a convergence device is where we are inevitably headed. Just as smartphones are becoming GPS devices and so forth, technological convergence is an inevitably, meaning Informa Telecoms & Media’s predictions are inherently correct, with or without extrapolation.
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