Ownership of e-readers has doubled from 6% to %12 in the last six months according to a recent report issued by the Pew Research Center.
This jump in purchasing ebook readers is a stark contrast to the tablet PC segment which is around 8%.
The e-reader market is quickly growing due to recent new additions to the marketplace such as the Amazon Kindle Special Offers, Kobo Touch, and the Barnes and Noble Simple Touch. It is interesting to note that while e-reader sales continue to climb, tablet sales are relatively stable, even if they get more advertising.
“Tablet computers…have not seen the same level of growth in recent months,” writes Pew’s Kristen Purcell. “In May 2011, 8% of adults report owning a tablet computer…This is roughly the same percentage of adults who reported owning this kind of device in January 2011 (7%), and represents just a 3 percentage-point increase in ownership since November 2010. Prior to that, tablet ownership had been climbing relatively quickly.”
One of the more interesting aspects of the report was how people who own e-readers often do not purchase tablets. This is mainly due to e-readers’ increased ability to do more things that tablets can do. If you look at the Barnes and Noble Nook Color, it has the ability to surf the internet, check emails, enjoy Adobe Flash content, and a myriad of other activities. Why would you need a tablet if you can do that with your e-reader?
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Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
