Posted on 2012-Nov-14
E-reading Trend
If reading is one of your most favorite activities, you will second the infographic survey how eBook reading has become an increasingly relevant activity of Americans. Finding more about the reason why they read, the majority expresses that they need to learn (26%) and escape from reality (15%) respectively. Perhaps, it does not come as a surprise to learn that eBook readers are powerful buyers who wield the purchasing decision with finger swipes. The new generation of color Kindles breathes fire to defeat most competitors; yet, iPad (68%) still rules the market share among tablets. Some buyers are still hesitant to buy new tablets because they either do not want one or cannot afford one.
To Learn and Escape
These statistics, percentages, and nicely designed illustrated charts do remind us once again how consumers give a positive signal to accept reading as a part of their daily life. The increasing need to access an imaginary world tends to rationalize the massive availability of fiction. Apart from feeding your imaginative curiosity and entertaining your rigorous sense of observation, you can foresee a huge plus (sales surge) if your novel can teach readers with anything worthwhile for the brain. Winning the hearts of 41% of readers is hence significant. I wonder if anyone has ever tackled the educational fiction that might toy with academic subject matter. Sylvia Nasar’s A Beautiful Mind was successfully morphed into a critically acclaimed film. A friend of mine on Twitter also uses math as a key instrument of mystery to make his novel more compelling.
Tablet vs. eReader
It is also interesting to see how the tablet, Kindle Fire, is slowly catching up with fan-favorite iPad. Although Amazon’s tablet purchase (4%) is far from dethroning Apple’s long-lasting bestselling title, consumers start to look for cheaper alternatives to buy a tablet device rather than spending their fortune on the latest innovative slate. Considering the combination of tablet sales from January to February 2012 (4,089 units sold), readers are voicing their opinion to consume eBooks continually.
Grand Ambassador of Wireless Knowledge
Elsewhere in Dubai, the eBook serves as a grand ambassador of education solutions when it comes to cost-saving delivery in rural areas. Colin McElwee, Cofounder of Worldreader non-profit organization, says: “When there is no book, eBook is an ideal solution.” Their charitable project, Books for All, reach children no matter where they are. The project is currently based in Africa providing affordable education for those in need. The wide coverage of mobile phone usage makes it easier for them to access digital content and the localized eReading devices support the local languages: English, French, Swahili, and Rwandan.
Feasible Delivery to Promote Philanthropy
Referring back to the top reason why Americans read, learning is the main reason people turn to books. The feasibility of an eBook ecosystem in rural areas makes the electronic format transcend beyond profitability. The cost-effective aspect of content delivery can expand the philanthropic outreach to both entertain and educate fellow human beings. No matter what gadgets we are using, it is important to know eBooks have added value to reading and changed human’s perspective towards building a better global citizen little by little.
Label: eBook Industry News
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