While some people will always be partial to solid novels with real pages to turn, e-books are becoming more and more popular. Those of us who commute on trains and buses have surely spotted a growing number of the sleek, flat screen devices poking out of backpacks and in the hands of fellow travelers.
Skeptical about how many people really do use e-books? Amazon first released the Kindle in the United States in 2007 and by Q2 of 2010, e-book sales had outnumbered sales of hardcover books on Amazon.com. In May of this year Amazon announced that its e-book sales had actually exceeded all of its printed book sales. This is quite the feat since most of us are aware that millions of college students, professors, teachers constantly contribute to Amazon’s print sales.
Since the release of the Kindle, other e-book readers have hit the market from companies such as Apple, Sony, and Google. Notorious book seller Barnes and Noble also released their own device in 2009 called the Nook. Ranging in prices and capabilities, the array of e-books available today are what set some consumers apart from one another.
Apple, which released the iPad that has an e-book app called iBook, has sold millions of the device since its launch because of the many other features offered as well. Amazon has released several versions of the Kindle, the two most recent being Kindle DX International Edition (offered worldwide) and the third generation Kindle, available in 3G+Wi-Fi and solely Wi- Fi versions. Barnes and Noble’s Nook has also gone through several alterations since its launch, now offering color and touch screen which has become the norm for today’s consumers. Kobo Inc. has also updated its Kobo e-reader which now includes Wi-Fi.
E-book producers seem to have figured what customers like and need since the ones available today share some large similarities. They tend to offer the same services so perhaps e- book aesthetics are simply the deciding factor for many as well as the brand name, usually associated with a certain idea of quality. Regardless, book sellers and long time gadget developers alike are dueling to see where customer loyalties really lay.
