Price Holds Back Growth in Ebook Reader Market
By Anna Johnson on October 1st, 2009Research by In-Stat and Forrester respectively indicates that the market for ebook reading devices remains small, and will continue to remain small until and unless prices of the devices come way down.
In-Stat’s survey of 1,529 ‘high end’ consumers in July 2009 found that only 5.8 percent owned an ebook reader, while only 11 percent of those questioned said they planned to buy one in the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, research by Forrester indicates that consumers regard ebook readers as way too expensive.
Based on its survey of 4,706 U.S. consumers, Forrester found that almost 65 percent of U.S. adults would buy an ebook reader if it was $98 or less, but would still regard such a price as too expensive. Less than 20 percent would buy an ebook reader priced between $99 and $148, and only 14 percent would buy one in the $149 to $198 range.
Right now, Amazon’s least expensive Kindle ebook reader costs $299, while Sony’s competitive offering – its Pocket edition Reader – is $199. Both cost too much, it seems, to appeal to the mass market.
If most people can’t afford expensive ebook readers, they might consider a multi-function device i.e. one that lets you read ebooks, play music, surf the web, use applications, etc. Apple CEO Steve Jobs has voiced his opinion that “general-purpose devices will win the day because I think people just probably aren’t willing to pay for a dedicated device.”
If ebook readers don’t become cheap enough, a general device may well be the answer… with Apple a leading contender in building such a product. iTablet anyone?
Still, an iTablet or any other kind of tablet also has its own price challenges: it will need to be cheap enough to appeal to people who might otherwise consider buying a mini-PC…
Sources: Lance Whitney, “E-book readers still owned by small niche,” CNET, September 11, 2009, MG Siegler, “What Steve Jobs Actually Said About eBooks,” TechCrunch, September 11, 2009
