1/3 of iPad Owners Don't Use Device for Reading Books

Yahoo

STAMFORD, CT - Media and publishing market forecast firm Simba Information, publisher of the "Book Publishing Report" newsletter, has estimated about 35% of iPad owners haven't used the devices to read e-books. The estimate is based on the preliminary findings from a nationwide survey of over 1,800 respondents, who were selected on a nationally representative basis.

"The fact that over a million iPad buyers haven't used the gadget for e-books shows that not all new gadgets equate to a new e-reader," says Michael Norris, senior trade book analyst at Simba Information. "Research has already shown us that with multi-use devices, reading falls down on the list of things to do."

Ongoing proprietary surveys which feed into the "Book Publishing Report" have been amended over the years to include Barnes & Noble's Nook, Apple's iPad and other devices as they've been added to the landscape. With historical data available on some of the older devices like Amazon's Kindle and the PC, Simba has been able to track the changing popularity of e-readers.

"It isn't likely the U.S. market can support scores of dedicated e-book reading devices since so many consumers only buy a small number of books in a given year and the book buying public isn't turning toward e-books as rapidly as most think," said Norris. "However, the current crop of devices available (including the iPad and the iPhone) provides different types of value and trade-offs to diverse consumers; ongoing surveys show that the idea of there ultimately being 'one device to rule them all' is false."

"If you think of a consumer's path to content as a highway, you wouldn't expect everyone to drive the exact same kind of car," added Norris. "The iPad is only one of many vehicles on that road."

Continuous updates on e-books, and the trade publishing landscape as a whole, are available in Simba Information's "Book Publishing Report," an online newsletter which also offers fully searchable and indexed archives. It is available at: http://www.bookpublishingreport.com/content/bpr-exclusive-not-all-ipad-owners-are-e-book-users.