DailyTech - Report: E-Readers and Tablets Thriving

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Gadgets Report: E-Readers and Tablets Thriving
Mark Kurlyandchik - March 30, 2011 2:43 PM

19 comment(s) - last by GulWestfale.. on Mar 31 at 9:30 PM

E-reader and tablet shipments

Both types of devices made a killing during the holiday season

Consumers are bracing for an upcoming onslaught of tablets and e-readers being rolled out in the next few months -- from the likes of RIM, HTC, LG, and Samsung, to name a few. And these new devices aren't hitting the market without good reason -- the demand is there.

According to a report from market research company IMS Research, Q4 2010 e-reader shipments, which totaled 5.1 million units worldwide, were up 90 percent over the previous quarter -- a 116-percent increase over the same period of 2009. Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's NOOK performed particularly well, with B&N overtaking Sony at second place in the e-reader market.

While the numbers for e-readers are certainly impressive, they were overshadowed by tablets' worldwide performance. "Thanks to strong iPad holiday sales and significant sell-in of the Samsung Galaxy Tab," tablet sales rose 124 percent from quarter to quarter, to 9.4 million units in Q4 2010.

And the success of both types of devices is predicted to continue. IMS Research forecasts 146-percent growth for e-readers in 2011, thanks to falling prices and new features such as touch and color screens. Tablets, on the other hand, are expected to grow 242 percent, to 58 million units on the year.

As we reported previously, tablet growth has already begun to cut into demand for PCs. This trend is set to continue, with tablets representing 23 percent of the portable PC market, up from just 8 percent in 2010.

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other than reading...

By kleinma on 3/30/2011 3:56:35 PM , Rating: 2

Other than reading a magazine or book on them, I have not seen anyone do anything productive on a tablet yet. I have never seen anyone doing any actual work on one, and 99% of the time I see someone with an ipad or other tablet, they are browsing the web or playing angry birds...

RE: other than reading...

By edge929 on 3/30/2011 4:07:06 PM , Rating: 3

I've experienced the same watching others use their tablets. Normally being an early adopter myself, I just can't bring myself to buy a tablet, ipad or otherwise. I'm anti-Apple based solely on their closed nature and have been waiting for the Honeycomb legions but when the Xoom launched I found myself hesitating, asking myself "what will I actually DO with this besides surf the web for $600" I'm not a user of any social networking site and occasionally post on forums. I work as a programmer and I am 90% sure I won't be doing any development on a pad.

I looked at rooting the Nook color but really want a front-facing camera for video chat. All upcoming Honeycomb tablets are priced roughly the same so until they come down ~$200 I'll wait it out. $600 can build a really fast, SSD-equipped desktop machine let alone be a nice i5 laptop.

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RE: other than reading...

By quiksilvr on 3/30/2011 4:35:45 PM , Rating: 2

Completely agree. Tablets are by no means productive or worth its hefty price tag unless it looks like this:

http://dealzon.com/pictures/deals/9449/large/hp-tm...

Other than that, the only thing that would make sense is a Nook with two cameras on it running Honeycomb and a single core 1GHz for $199.

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RE: other than reading...

By Solandri on 3/31/2011 6:56:46 AM , Rating: 2

quote:
Completely agree. Tablets are by no means productive or worth its hefty price tag unless it looks like this:

That type of tablet barely managed to sell more than 1 million in a year. Apple sold nearly 15 million iPads in its first year, with total tablet sales for the year being close to 20 million.

Face it - the people like you and me who want a fully-functional PC tablet are a tiny minority. The people who are willing to pay $500 for a lightweight limited functionality tablet outnumber us some 15 to 1.

Like Celine Dion, we don't have to like it. But at least be honest enough to admit there's a huge number of people who do like it and find it worth the hefty price tag.

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RE: other than reading...

By GulWestfale on 3/31/2011 9:30:26 PM , Rating: 2

sales of my own books on amazon have tripled since last august, but on apple's ibookstore, the sony reader, the nook etc are flaaaaat.
that leads me to believe that
a) amazon kindle buyers outnumber nook buyers by a considerable margin;
b) people who buy tablets rather than e-readers are not really interested in reading all that much.

i am quite happy with the success of the kindle, and hope it continues to sell well.

http://www.amazon.com/Sascha-von-Bornheim/e/B003Z6...

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RE: other than reading...

By sprockkets on 3/30/2011 5:17:44 PM , Rating: 2

We don't need them, but the technically illiterate crowd that has no bleeping clue how to install programs, reinstall windows, install any form of drivers or anything even mildly technical likes them.

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RE: other than reading...

By B3an on 3/30/2011 8:19:18 PM , Rating: 2

People like us have to realise that most people just browse the net. They dont do anything productive or creative with computers. So a tablet of some sort is fine for most. Sad but true.

Having said that, even for browsing the net i think a laptop is better. Atleast you can rest it on things easier, like your lap or a table and adjust the screen to properly face you, plus theres the keyboard, better speed, and more connectivity that even the most computer illiterate idiot could make use of.

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RE: other than reading...

By slunkius on 3/31/2011 2:38:04 AM , Rating: 2

Why is it sad that

quote:
most people just browse the net

? I do the productive part on desktop at my work, so at my free time i just wish to do some internet consumption/read e-book. Tablet is just perfect for that.
Disclaimer: i dont own it yet, price is a bit too high at the moment, but moderate price decrease i'm on the bandwagon.

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RE: other than reading...

By Netscorer on 3/31/2011 2:35:45 PM , Rating: 2

Agree with you. I earn good money doing productive PC work during the day but what I do on my free time is my own business and if I want to read some news, exchange quick Email with my friends, listen to some music, watch an occasional humorous YouTube video or read the latest bestseller, it is all fine. Tablet does all of these better then laptop or PC. And it does not have to cost arm and a leg if you are bothered by price. I bought my Nook Color for $200 and for the functions above it is just as good as iPad or Xoom. And being 7" it is actually more comfortable to handle while still not too small.

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RE: other than reading...

By Motoman on 3/30/2011 4:42:20 PM , Rating: 2

Yup. "Thriving" in this case doesn't imply that there's any actual "need" for them, or any significant amount of value being gotten from them. It just means that people are buying lots of them.

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RE: other than reading...

By Da W on 3/30/2011 4:52:42 PM , Rating: 2

Although i will admit it's a well built device, i checked my friend's iPad last week-end and 90% of her apps were basicly iPad versions of already existing webpages.

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RE: other than reading...

By Breakfast Susej on 3/30/2011 5:20:16 PM , Rating: 2

Perhaps I've reached that point in my life where I have become a curmudgeon regarding certain pieces of technology. However I just don't see the point of the tablet in it's present form.

To me it seems so useless. To half this half size device that isn't quite portable enough while still not being quite big enough to be all that much more useful than a smartphone.

I mean to each their own, and clearly people are buying these things up. I just fail to see the attraction that they do. Myself I would rather have a 4" to 4.3" smartphone that fits in my pocket, has the same processing power, and runs all the same apps.

When it comes to reading on a device, I actually prefer something the size of an iPod touch. I have come to find that the smaller more packed together text, at least for myself, is quicker to read.

I don't think I will ever understand the tablet craze, It's just not for me.

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RE: other than reading...

By Netscorer on 3/31/2011 2:38:53 PM , Rating: 2

Wait until you grow older and your eyes are not perfect anymore. Then come back and tell us how you like to read from your cell phone.

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RE: other than reading...

By Capt Caveman on 3/31/2011 11:17:42 AM , Rating: 2

A little research would show that they are numerous business and people using them for business/productivity purposes. B/c you don't see a use for it, doesn't mean a doctor doesn't find it a great form factor to from room to room seeing patients and having access to their history, xrays/mri's, etc...

Or rental car companies using them to check in/out people from outside. Or this company.......

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asus eee slate ep121

By riottime on 3/31/2011 12:07:02 AM , Rating: 2

i would buy the ep121 but it's a bit pricey and the weight is a little too much for me at 2.5 lbs. the plus side is the wacom digitizer, capacitive touch, pen aware, full os, and comes with a blue tooth keyboard.

i'll wait until asus brings out the 2nd gen ep121. i don't want to be their beta testers. ;)

RE: asus eee slate ep121

By damianrobertjones on 3/31/2011 3:30:58 AM , Rating: 2

Seriously, I imported one from the U.S, clean installed after fitting an Intel 310 mSata SSD and managed a 16 second boot to desktop. The screen is amazingly clear and much better than other machines like the Latitude XT2, HP 2740p etc.

Touch is extra easy to use due to the screen estate and I installed the whole lot using Touch. I laugh at people that state, "Windows is not good for touch". yeah, ok, maybe you're holding it wrong :)

But as you said, the main failure and possibly the only one, is the battery life :( IF it had managed to stay on for 6 hours I would have been in heaven. As it stands a director now has the machine (also has an ipad) and loves the thing, especially the Stylus (So, Apple, the pen is dead?).

Asus EP121 v2 it is then.

P.s. Asus could have fixed the battery issue before the UK release but i bet they haven't.

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kinda useful

By vazili on 3/30/2011 11:27:16 PM , Rating: 2

I work for best buy and I know a few guys who use their tablets to reduce the amount of paperwork we have to process (which is becoming almost unbearable). One guy uses his Ipad 2 to fill out his paperwork then e-mails it to one of the printers we have. Works quite well

Samsung Galaxy Tab is a winner!

By chunkymonster on 3/31/2011 9:56:28 AM , Rating: 2

Picked up an off contract Galaxy Tab from eBay. Have been using it for 3 weeks now and it is an excellent device. the Android OS is light and flexible and the market has tons of apps. There is even an Android Citrix client which allows me to log into the company network. The ThinkFree Office app is compatible with MS Office and allows me attend meetings and take notes without having to lug my laptop. The Tab has also allowed me to ditch my stand alone GPS, mp3 player, portable DVD player, and comes in handy when I need to distract the kids while waiting for one thing or another. There is also a hacked Skype app that allows calls over 3G, not just WiFi only. The Tab is also slowly beginning to replace my personal cell phone. With all this functionality on one truly easy to carry device, it is easy to understand how and why eReaders and Tablets are gaining market share.