Can Amazon Retain Its Top Position In The E-Book Marketplace?
At the moment there are an incredible number of manufacturers fighting it out in the emerging, but rapidly growing, e-book reader market. The competition level is a clear signal that high growth is predicted in this sector. And this strong competition is going to be good for consumers as manufacturers fall over themselves to improve specifications and offer lower prices.
The list of major players who have e-book readers in various stages of development – and in some cases, ready for imminent release – is impressive. Sony, Asus, iRex, Plastic Logic, Barnes and Noble – not to mention Microsoft and Apple – are all lined up and jostling for their share of the market.
There’s no doubt about the present market leader of course. The Amazon Kindle reader has not only dominated the market, but has been pivotal in its development since it was launched in November 2007. Now into its second iteration with the Kindle 2 and the large screen Kindle DX, Amazon has secured a 60% share of the American e-book reader market. The Kindle reader is now their number one product and, on October 19 this year, after what seemed like a long wait, they started shipping the international Kindle 2 to over 100 countries worldwide. It’s a backhanded compliment to Amazon that every new e-book reader that is announced (and there are plenty, the list above is far from exhaustive) and which shows any promise whatsoever, is immediately dubbed the “Kindle Killer”. At the moment the Kindle is the standard which must first be matched, and then exceeded, in order to assure success.
Just in case anyone thinks that the Kindle’s current leadership position is bordering on unassailable, it’s probably worth remembering that Amazon were a late entrant to the market when the Kindle was launched. The first e-book reader is generally held to be the Franklin eBookMan which launched in 1999 – a decade ago. The Sony PRS was also available prior to the Kindle’s 2007 launch.
The Kindle was such a phenomenal success for Amazon due to a number of different factors. In the first place, Amazon had a strong association with books, being one of the biggest online retailers. They also had a huge selection of books available for download – they currently offer over 300,000 titles on their Kindle store. The option of wireless connectivity – with no ongoing fees – was another big selling point.
However, just as Amazon came from nowhere to take the lead position, some of the other contenders could just as easily do the same. For example, Barnes and Noble have more than one million titles available for download to their new Nook e-book reader. They will also adopt the ePub format – which most readers under development seem to be using. The Kindle format is proprietary. Pick a Kindle book – read it on your Kindle.
The Nook will also allow you to “lend” books to your friends and family for a fourteen day period. During this time, the borrower will be able to read it and the lender will no longer have access to it on their Nook – just like lending a “real” book in fact. The only difference is that you will be assured of getting it back.
The latest Sony reader – the Sony Daily Edition – is going to have a large display format, just like the Kindle DX, but unlike the DX it will have touch screen control functionality. It will also permit users to download e-books on loan from participating public libraries. Again – just like a real book.
The other readers in development all have a number of individual features that may make them more appealing to users than the Kindle. Amazon have a fight on their hands – and it seems sure that they won’t relinquish their top position without a fight. Given their innovating role in the development of the market thus far, and considering the importance of the Kindle ebook reader to their business, it seems reasonable to expect them to have a few new ideas yet to be unleashed.
Given the high level of activity among the various manufacturers, it looks as if the e-book reader market is about to enter a period of rapid growth. Let’s hope that the fierce competition that is currently unfolding will drive down far enough enough to move e-book readers out of the geek domain and into the mainstream personal mobile tech market.
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Tags: Amazon kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, Daily Edition Reader, e-book reader comparison, iRex, kindle 2, kindle DX, Plastic Logic