What do E-readers Mean for the Publishing Industry?

By Cara Brooke Schultz

Everyone wants to find the solution for the troubled publishing industry. Recently there has been a lot of hype around the e-reader phenomenon—Barnes and Noble released their version called the Nook, Amazon came out with a larger-screen version of the Kindle, and Sony has a touch screen edition. So what does this mean for the publishing industry—will people flock to the e-readers and begin paying for content again?

According to a recent article by AdWeek, “’There is an optimism among publishers,’ says Roger Fidler, program director for digital publishing at Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri. ‘But nobody is seriously saying this is going to save the industry.’”  

I personally bought my Kindle less than a year ago, shortly after Amazon released their second version, and I have to say I fell in love with my Kindle at first use. I am an avid reader, in fact I’ll read pretty much anything—from advertisements on the Subway to the NYTimes, so I think I fit Amazon’s target audience, however what about the main population? Will the e-reader trend catch on like the iPhone?

Here are a few of the reasons other people might find e-readers to be appealing:

1.    They are more environmentally friendly.

2.    No more lugging around multiple hard cover (or paperback) books. One e-reader can hold hundreds if not thousands of books, newspapers, magazines, even blogs—and e-readers usually weigh around 11 ounces.

3.    You can read multiple items at once. For example you can read the NYTimes on the train and then switch over to TIME magazine in seconds without elbowing the guy next to you.

4.     You can download new material in seconds, almost anywhere.

What do you think the benefits or disadvantages of e-readers are? Will you buy one?

 

Comments

[Dennis]

I wonder when cash poor students will be able to buy their text books at reasonable prices for an e-reader. Seems like a perfect market since most students can spend $1200 or more per year on text books.

[Richard]

I've been eyeing the Kindle for a while now. The only thing preventing me from jumping in and taking the plunge is the overpriced (and inconsistently priced) material. Common publishers! the costs of creating and distributing and ebook is SIGNIFICANTLY less then distributing a physical book, paper, or magazine...stop gouging!

The day publishers get their act together and appropriately price their content I will gladly trade in my books and paper subscriptions for the e-version on a reader!

I am glad the kindle has its competition in the nook and (rumored) apple reader. This will only benefit us, the consumers, as the companies try new and innovative ideas! Looks at what the iphone did to the cell phone industry!