Asides - Written by Robert Ivan on Sunday, January 24, 2010 12:05 - 7 Comments

Who’s buying Amazon Kindles or any eReader for that matter?

Way back in November 2008 I wrote a brief article The Kindle Needs a Bellows about the disconnect between the number of Kindle users and the push from newspapers to move their content onto such devices.

It’s now January 2010, a little over a year later, and I still don’t know anyone who has purchased an Amazon Kindle or any eReader for that matter. So what’s the fuss? The big news at (consumer electronics show) CES this year was eReaders and Tablets, but aside from the push from magazine and newspaper publishers… where is the consumer demand? Are eReaders nothing more than Thneeds, a veiled attempt at “going green”, or am I missing something here?

Do you own an eReader? Why? How old are you?

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7 Comments

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Russell
Jan 25, 2010 5:34

I know only one person with a Kindle. He is in his twenties, works in IT and is a fairly well balanced techno-geek (i.e., he doesn’t shove IT at you all the time, but once you get him started … )

Denise
Jan 25, 2010 13:12

I ride the train to NYC once a week. There are a lot of readers on the train and subway and I’ve only seen two kindles. I also only know one person to buy one. What I do see is a lot of people checking the headlines on the iphones, laptops and blackberries.

I too would like to see the demographics to know who is really buying these things!

Stephan
Jan 25, 2010 14:17

I’m in my late twenties, ride the train and subway to NYC 3 days a week and usually spend the time reading a book or the NY Daily News. I personally do not know anyone who owns an ereader.

Jenny
Jan 25, 2010 16:47

I only know two other people that own a reader, but it was the highlight of my birthday when I received one. I still read paper, but the real benefit of a reader is that when you want a book, you can get it. The download is fast and the cost is minimal.

I do believe that the hype around readers is generated. Just like it was for Twitter. And like those two, I believe that they are not going away. As far as publishers talking about pushing their content off paper and onto readers — honestly– they just don’t know which way to turn and will say anything to sound progressive.

Mike
Jan 25, 2010 17:27

For some reason, there hasn’t been much of a marketing push around e-readers. But once readers discover they can purchase books for a fraction of the cost of the printed version and have their own library at their fingertips, their popularity will grow exponentially. Everybody I’ve shown the e-reader to gets this ‘Eureka’ look in their eyes when they see how it actually works.

Tessa
Jan 27, 2010 11:08

I’m in my mid-twenties and am a new Kindle owner. A journalist friend of mine around the same age bought one last year, and that confirmed my desire to own one. Now my mother owns one. I remember a few months ago chatting with an elderly couple on a train about the Kindle. One was a retired journalist. They seemed very interested in the idea, but said they liked the romance of the newspaper — the feeling of the paper in their hands, ink getting on their fingers, the sound of pages turning…

Jason
Jan 28, 2010 1:08

I don’t know, I consider myself technologically savvy and don’t own an eReader. I just don’t see the value. If I want a book, I can buy it for cheap online (can’t remember the last time i paid full price for a novel). I like buying tech books, but I use those while using my computer…