ABI Research's Media Tablets Research Service has released a report titled 'eReaders and the Digital Publishing Market'. The growing popularity of media tablets along with declining US baby boomer population and lack of organised digital bookstores outside of the US and Western Europe will reduce the e-reader opportunity over the next five years, according to the report.
It is estimated that 11 million e-readers will be shipped globally in 2012, down from a peak volume in 2011 of 15 million devices.
Regardless of the tremendous historical e-reader success, the market tides have already begun to turn, says senior mobile devices analyst Joshua Flood. Despite the average tablet selling for more than $465 as a result of Apple's dominant market position, tablets are expected to outsell e-readers 9 to 1 this year. Nevertheless, the e-reader market will not be totally cannibalised by media tablets, Flood notes. It is believed there will always be a niche market for the dedicated reading device for voracious readers, business travellers and educational segments, particularly ones that are low-priced.
Over the next five years, annual e-reader shipments are projected to drop by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1 percent. In contrast, global media tablet shipments are predicted to increase from approximately 102 million annual device shipments in 2012 to nearly 250 million in 2017.
However, e-readers are seen to maintain advantages over media tablets for reading purposes. Electronic paper displays are able to better replicate the print reading experience and are usable in direct sunlight conditions unlike LCD technologies. The e-reader battery life of weeks between charging is significantly greater than the media tablet. Also, e-readers are priced significantly lesser than entry-level tablets.
The decline of buying audiences for dedicated digital readers in the US is more rapid than the digital publishing ecosystems organising for growth in Asia or Eastern Europe, it is observed.
