Is it time to say bye-bye to e-reader devices?

by Helen Johnson | February 26, 2018 11:08 am

Kobo, Nook, Kindle? Do you still use a e-reader device? In the majority of cases, the answer is “no”. But still, there are people who prefer e-reader devices instead of smartphones or tablets and even paper books. Nevertheless, e-reader devices seem to become less popular, and their sales fall. Let’s look at some statistics.

According to Statista, the peak sales of e-book readers was 2011. Only in the USA, 23.2 million units were sold worldwide. The first e-reader devices were introduced in 2008, and 1 million units were sold that year with the revenue of $158 million only in the USA. In 2016, around 7.1 million of e-readers were sold. According to the report on The Demographics of Device Ownership, in 2014, 32% of adults in the USA has a e-reader device, but in 2014 the number reduced to 19%.

Why do e-readers sales fall?

The matter is that since the first e-reader devices appeared, they have remained almost the same if to talk about technical aspect. The development of e-reader technologies is not so dynamic in comparison to smartphones because e-readers provide only specific features. The survey conducted by Statista in 2017 shows that 42% of respondents do not plan to buy a new e-reader within the next two years. Surely, it makes no sense to buy a modern e-reader as you already have almost the same one.

Besides, modern smartphones can perform the same functions as e-readers. By simply installing an application[1] for e-book reading, a user is able to read ebooks without buying a separate device. And if a smartphone screen is too small, then a table is a perfect solution. According to the survey conducted by PEW Research Center, a data-driven science researcher, in January 2018, 77% of adults in the USA have a smartphone, 73% – desktop / laptop computer, and 53% – tablet computer.

People use mobile devices and computers almost every day, and even owning a e-reader device, people do not necessarily use it, even despite the fact that e-readers are safer for users’ eyes.

Analysing the advantages of e-reader devices, the following ones can be distinguished: device portability, high capacity[2], opportunity to learn a foreign language, positive reading experience, a large number of free ebooks, opportunity to make notes, and many others.

Beside that, e-readers help to save space in your house in comparison to paper book and on your computer. But are the mentioned advantages relevant to smartphones?