Are Tablets Killing E-Readers? Um, No ….
E-reader ownership has doubled in less than a year, according to a recent Pew Internet Life study released Monday, while multi-purpose tablets like the iPad which sport apps to read digital books are leveling off.
In a poll conducted between April 26-May 22 among 2,277 adults ages 18 and over, 12% of respondents said they owned an e-reader, like the Kindle or nook — twice the percentage in a November 2010 survey, Pew said. In nearly the same period (from January 2011) tablet ownership edged up by one percentage point, to 8%.
Why is an appliance that costs about $140 trumping a mobile internet computer does a thousand more things, albeit it 3-4 times the price? Perhaps because the hardware nearly disappears and the experience of using one more closely resembles the analog reading experience.
For now, it seems those factors will push even further into the future their inevitable obsolescence …