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The e-reader market is set to see sales reach 6.6 million units in 2010, representing year-on-year growth of 79.8.
According to research from Gartner, the e-reader market is forecast to grow even further in 2011 with sales expected to surpass eleven million units.
“The connected e-reader market has grown dramatically during the past two years, driven by sales of Amazon’s e-readers, primarily in North America,” said Gartner’s principal research analyst, Hugues De La Vergne. “This is the dominant region for e-reader sales, and we predict that it will account for sales of just over four million units in 2010.”
However, the analyst warned of increased competition from media tablets like the iPad, which sees a significant overlap in functionality with dedicated e-readers.
“With media tablets offering more functionality, e-reader vendors need to target avid readers who may see the value of a stand-alone device that performs particularly well,” added Gartner’s research vice president, Allen Wiener.
“E-reader vendors will also need to offer lower prices than for more fully featured media tablets. This will entail smaller profit margins and potential hardware subsidies at retail, and/or the ability to obtain lower-priced components. We think few end users will buy both an e-reader and a media tablet, so it is important that e-readers retain a price advantage.”
