Good Business Prospects In E-Book Reader Market

E-book readers have been around for a long time now. The first one, which is generally agreed to have been the Franklin eBookman, was released in 1999, more than ten years ago. Other readers were released, notably the original Amazon Kindle in 2007 which actually lagged behind the Sony PRS reader which had launched in 2006.

2009 was however, the year that e-book readers seemed to really catch the public imagination. A great deal of the credit for this must go to Amazon. The Kindle 2.0 launch in February, rapidly followed by the launch of the large format Kindle DX in June created a real buzz around e-book readers and established them as the “must have” gadget of the year. Very rapidly, the Kindle became Amazon’s best selling product. Over the 2009 festive period it became Amazon’s “most gifted” product ever. On Christmas day, Amazon sold more Kindle books than they did hardbacks and paperbacks combined. Both Barnes and Noble and Sony had launched new readers in advance of the 2009 Xmas rush – but concerns over delivery combined with the fact that the Kindle was already so well recognised meant that Amazon’s dominance continued.

Currently there are plenty of readers to choose from. The list of companies who have, by now, released their own e-readers, or who have one in development, is lengthy and impressive. The Consumer electronics Show (CES), held in Las Vegas in January 2010, included a special zone just for e-book readers for the first time ever. Most industry watchers agree that 2010 is going to be, if anything, even more successful for e-book readers and sales are predicted to increase exponentially.

It is, to all intents and purposes, an entirely new market segment which, until very recently, simply didn’t exist. Aside from manufacturers of the e-book reader devices themselves, there are implications for book publishers, academic establishments, educational authorities, third party suppliers and, of course, the book reading public.

The sudden creation of this sector has been very good news for companies like M-Edge, who supply a wide range of accessories for the Kindle, including reading lights, covers, chargers and such. There are many other suppliers of this type of accessory who also stand to profit. Currently, much of the focus is, quite understandably, on the Kindle reader. However, as the market expands and other readers establish themselves there will be further opportunities for the third party accessory suppliers.

Still in its infancy, the e-book reader market is developing and expanding at an extremely rapid pace. Amazon has been hugely influential in the market’s development and growth up to now. 2010 will see their current dominance challenged. Sony’s second position – with a very healthy 35% market share – will also come under fire. There are plenty of opportunities for innovative companies to profit from the e-book reader gold rush in 2010.

Learn more about the Amazon Kindle reader and see the full range of Kindle accessories available to help you customise your Kindle.