The e-reader market has essentially become a two-horse race between the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad, according to ChangeWave's latest survey of more than 2 800 consumers.
According to ChangeWave, the Kindle (47%; down 15 points) is hanging on to a rapidly diminishing lead over the iPad (32%; up 16 points) among existing e-reader owners.
However, the iPad's share of the overall market has doubled since the last time ChangeWave surveyed e-reader owners in August.
The rest of the market includes the SonyReader (5%) and the Barnes and Noble Nook (4%).
While both the Kindle and the iPad are highly rated, three-in-four iPad e-reader owners (75%) say they are very satisfied with their device compared to 54% of Kindle e-reader owners, says Paul Carton vice-president of research at ChangeWave.
“We also asked e-reader owners about the types of content they're reading on their devices, and found major differences between iPad and Kindle owners. Amazon Kindle owners are more likely to read books on their device (93%) than iPad owners (76%),” he says.
Carton, however, notes that iPad owners are nearly five times more likely to read newspapers and magazines than their Kindle counterparts, and 15 times more likely to read blogs and news feeds.
“Before the iPad launch, Steve Jobs promised that a major effort would be made to develop alternative types of media on the Apple tablet. The survey evidence suggests Apple has been highly successful in this regard to date.
“These results also lend credence to recent reports that News Corporation is developing a paid Apple iPad-centred newspaper, to be launched at the beginning of next year,” Carton says.
Going forward, ChangeWave discovered, e-reader demand remains strong for the holidays, with 5% of respondents saying they are very likely to buy an e-reader and 10% somewhat likely over the next 90 days.
“For Amazon, this is a clear positive that will help drive growth for the Kindle over the holidays. Moreover, Amazon is among the handful of key retailers in ChangeWave's latest Holiday Spending survey that are benefiting most from the overall increase in consumer spending,” it reveals.
ChangeWave concludes that the survey shows the Apple iPad will be the biggest beneficiary of the expanding e-reader market this holiday season.
SA's Apple supplier, Core Group, has not yet indicated when the iPad will be officially available in SA, and it is offered by grey stock supplier, have2have.co.za. The Kindle is not offered in SA.
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