A new survey conducted by ChangeWave claims that Apple’s iPad is likely to have a “major impact” on the e-Reader, laptop and home entertainment markets.
“We took a close-up look at the budding e-Reader market and found the iPad is all but certain to have a transformational impact on it going forward. While a handful of e-Reader manufacturers – most prominently Amazon – clearly have a major head start, the survey findings show the iPad is poised to profoundly shake up this market,” explained Paul Carton, Director of Research at ChangeWave.
“Among consumers who already own an eBook Reader, the Amazon Kindle (68%) towers over its closest rival, the Sony Reader (10%). But to gauge the potential impact of the iPad on this market, we asked eBook Reader owners whether they would have purchased their current e-Reader if the Apple iPad had also been available.
“While nearly half (45%) of current eBook Reader owners say they would have still bought their same device, better than one-in-four (27%) report they’d have bought the Apple iPad if it had been available at the time of purchase.”
Carton also noted that the iPad was “poised” to capture up to 40% of the e-Reader market going forward in the first 90 days after its launch.
“The Amazon Kindle ranks second in terms of future purchase share with 28%. Barnes and Noble Nook (6%) and Sony Reader (1%) are far back in third and fourth place respectively,” said Carton.
“In short, while the iPad launch is likely to strengthen overall e-Reader demand, the survey suggests Amazon and its competitors could well find themselves relegated to playing catch-up within just a few quarters if they don’t preemptively move quickly to upgrade their own e-Readers.”
