The Changing Books Market

When the iPad was launched with aplomb accompanied by serious media reviews, some commentators suggested that it would probably displace the Amazon Kindle. At the time, my guess was that it was not possible for the iPad to fully supplant the Kindle largely because the latter was a highly specialized product while the former was a more general and flashy gadget. To be honest, that assessment was based on my experience with the Kindle and reading of reviews and Steve Jobs' presentation on the capabilities of the iPad.

My reasoning that the Kindle would not be wiped out completely by the iPad seems to be borne out by the fact that both have grown in sales over that time. NYT's Claire Cain Miller writes that Amazon has reported that the sales of books for the Kindle have outnumbered sales for hard back books. That seems to suggest that e-book readership is expanding at the same time as ownership of the gadgets is spreading.    Analysts quoted in the story are making the inference that this is an inflection point at which e-books are acquiring stature as an important market for literature. I think that its too soon to say that but the trends suggests that as the prices of e-readers continue fall, the place of hard back books and other printed material will change fundamentally. The gadget of choice for most people will be revealed but I do not expect a single dominant gadget for reading.