Wednesday, July 18, 2012

The Rise of E-Books


With the rise of Americans having their own tablet computers or e-book devices, the percentage of printed book readers have somewhat declined. In a research conducted by Pew Research, 21% of Americans said they have read an e-book and have somewhat increased their reading habits with the availability of electronic contents. E-book readers said that they have read 24 books on average in the past 12 months while non e-book readers read only 15 books on average. Those that have e-book compatible devices read an average of 24 books compared to the 16 books of those who don’t have the device.

The respondents cited different reasons for reading e-contents. 80% said they do it for pleasure, 78% said to keep up with current events, and 56% said for work or school. Different devices were used with 42% using the computer, 41% using e-book reader devices such as Kindles, 29% using cell phones, and 23% using tablet computer.


    

Electronic gadgets have truly dramatically changed the traditional method of book publishing and manufacturing. The shift from retail stores to online book purchases and e-books have caused the dramatic decline on the demand for offset printed books. Readers are now embracing a new format in book reading as more and more tech companies create e-book readers and e-book compatible devices.  

Nonetheless, print is still very much alive. In the same study by Pew Research, 88% of those who read e-books in the past twelve months also read printed books. They only use e-books for speedy access and portability, but favor printed books when reading to children and sharing books.

For the full report on this study, visit this site.

1 comment:

  1. That's true. It's easier to annotate with the printed copies. The other issue is on the reliability. Printed copies are likely to be legitimate than the electronic ones.

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