The list of major players who have e-book readers in various stages of development – and in some cases, ready for imminent release – is impressive. Asus, iRex, Sony, Plastic Logic, Barnes and Noble – not forgetting Microsoft and Apple – are all queuing up and fighting for their share of the market.
There’s not much doubt about the dominant player in the market at the moment. The Amazon Kindle reader has not only dominated the market, but has been pivotal in its development since it was launched in November 2007. Now into its second iteration with the Kindle 2 and the large screen Kindle DX, Amazon has secured a 60% share of the American e-book reader market. The Kindle reader is now their number one product and, on October 19 this year, after what seemed like a long wait, they started shipping the international Kindle 2 to over 100 countries worldwide. When you think about it, iIt’s a backhanded compliment to Amazon that every new e-book reader in development (and theres no shortage of these, the list above is hardly exhaustive) and which shows any promise whatsoever, is immediately dubbed the “Kindle Killer”. The Kindle is currently the standard which must be matched, and then bettered, in order to achieve success.
In case anyone feels that the Kindle’s current dominance is bordering on unassailable, it’s probably worth remembering that Amazon were a pretty late entrant to the market when they first launched the Kindle. The original e-book reader is generally agreed to be the Franklin eBookMan which was launched in 1999 – a decade ago. The Sony PRS was also available prior to the Kindle’s 2007 launch.
The Kindle was such a phenomenal success for Amazon due to a number of different factors. In the first place, Amazon had a strong association with books, being one of the biggest online retailers. They also had a huge selection of suitable books for download – currently you can choose from over 300,000 titles at the Kindle store. The wireless connectivity on offer – with no ongoing fees – was another major selling point.
However, in exactly the same way that Amazon came from nowhere to take the lead position, any one of the other manufacurers could easily do the same in the near future. Barnes and Noble, for example, have over one million titles which will be available for download to their new Nook e-book reader. They will also use the ePub format – which the majority of readers in development seem to be favoring. Kindle’s format is proprietary. Purchase a Kindle book – read it on your Kindle.
The Nook will also let you “lend” books to your family and friends for a fortnight. During this time, the borrower will be able to read it and the lender will no longer have access to it on their Nook – just like lending a “real” book in fact. The only difference is that you will be sure to get it back.
The next generation Sony reader – the Sony Daily Edition – will be a large display format, like the Kindle DX, but unlike the DX it will have touch screen control options. It will also let users download e-books from participating public libraries on loan. Again – just like a real book.
The other readers in development generally incorporate features that may well make them more appealing than the Kindle. Amazon certainly have a fight on their hands – and it seems certain that they won’t give up their number one position without a fight. Given their innovating role in the development of the market thus far, and considering the importance of the Kindle ebook reader to their business, it seems reasonable to expect them to have a few new ideas yet to be unleashed.
Given the high level of activity among the various manufacturers, it looks as if the e-book reader market is about to enter a period of rapid growth. Hopefully the fierce competition that seems about to unfold will drive prices low enough to take e-book readers out of the geek domain and into the mainstream personal mobile tech market.
