Kindle Fire users read, while iPad users surf the Web and catch up on email. Bowker (@Bowker & @DiscoverBowker) reports that “ebook consumers are decidedly shifting to multi-function tablets and away from dedicated e-readers, according to the Book Industry Study Group’s (@BISG) closely watched on-going Consumer Attitudes Toward Ebook Reading.”
...[T]ablets have risen by about 25% over the past year as the first choice for respondents’ e-reading device, while dedicated e-readers have fallen by the same amount. The rise of tablet popularity has been fueled largely by Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which increased over the past year from no use to be the first choice for more than 17% of ebook consumers. Other Android devices, such as Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Tablet, have also increased as the first choice for respondents’ e-reading device, from 2% in August 2011 to nearly 7% in August 2012, while Apple’s iPad has held steady around 10%.
“We’ve discovered throughout the course of this survey work that we can chart the future based on what is currently happening with ebook ‘Power Buyers.’ Their ebook purchasing and e-reader preferences have proven to be reliable predictors of market trends,” said Angela Bole, BISG’s Deputy Executive Director. “Based on this, the introduction of new tablet devices by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Microsoft is likely to continue the trend of preference for tablets over dedicated e-readers through the upcoming holiday season.”
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