Larry Dignan, Editor-in-chief at ZDNet gives a good overview of the e-reader/ebook market & it’s rosy future, basing the article on a Forrester research report:
Forrester outlines the following timeline:
*2007-2009: E-reader adoption is driven by early adopters.
*2009-2011: More mainstream folks buy e-readers as features like animation, content ports to other wireless devices and the $199 price point is breached.
*2011 and beyond: Video and color appear and the $99 price point becomes reality.
*2013-2020: The green movement drives e-reader usage.The key element player in the market—and driving down the price will be China. Consider the textbook tipping point:
The textbook tipping point won’t come from Harvard, MIT,or even Stanford: We think it will come from developing nations like China and India, whose universities will use technology to leapfrog ahead of Western counterparts. China especially is already a fast-growing market for eReaders like Jinke Electronics’ HanLin eBook, which sells for US$299 and includes 600 free books. We expect the textbook eReader market to start this year with modest sales of content through the Kindle DX, with greater adoption starting in 2011 and reaching more sizable numbers by 2013.
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