There are two different kinds of companies that manufacture and sell e-readers. On one hand you have the ones that merely sell the hardware and leave it up to the users on purchasing their own e-books. The most successful have their own ecosystems and make it very easy to buy digital content right on the reader. Last month we asked the question “whats your favorite e-reader company” and over 310 people responded.
Amazon and Kobo were the runaway leaders of the poll and it demonstrates that the vast majority of digital readers are attracted to hardware, in which buying e-books is very simple. Amazon edged out Kobo with 109 votes to 105, this goes to show that these two companies are the most popular when it comes to solid hardware choices and catalog of e-books.
In a distinct 3rd place is the largest bookstore chain in the US, Barnes and Noble. The Nook e-reader managed to garner a paltry 23 votes, which leads me to believe that their best days are behind them.
The other notable company that still has users loyal to the brand is Sony. This is surprising because they haven’t released an e-reader since early 2013. 20 users claimed their favorite company was Sony.
Check out the full results on the image above for other notable companies, including Onyx, Pocketbook, Tolino and Bookeen.
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.