It has been observed that the market for e-book readers has until now been largely restricted to the US, led by Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook and Sony's Reader. But, according to ABI Research, e-book reader markets will start to expand globally from 2013 onwards. The firm forecasts that more than 30 million readers will ship during that year, almost double the 2012 total.
ABI Research's 'eReader Evolution' examines the market opportunity and technical trends relevant to these devices, provides a granular segmented five-year forecast for shipment and revenue, and profiles the key market players. It is included in the firm's Netbooks, MIDs and Mobile CE Research Service.
North American e-book consumers are now observed to own more than one reader in order to ensure a wide selection of content. However, the majority of readers made worldwide are in fact designed and manufactured in China (although they have not had much market impact beyond its borders.) China faces three barriers to e-book adoption - the lack of digital content, relatively lower levels of literacy, and device cost. For market success, says principal analyst Jeff Orr, an e-book reader must be priced at less than $100 equivalent. Once these obstacles begin to come down, China has the potential to be a major e-book market in its own right.
Most e-book readers today are fairly similar in design and performance, and competition is fierce. This, along with the need to create an entirely new market, has been driving prices down sharply.
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