Apple last week launched its much hyped iPad tablet, selling approximately 300,000 units on the first day.  The company also announced that at least one book was downloaded within several hours of the purchase of each unit.  Several online blogs announced that the iPad would be the eReader market leader and called it the ‘Kindle Killer’.  The device may be cool (although I think it is a giant iPod Touch!) and should help people reduce the number of times they switch on their good ole’ PC or notebook for web browsing, the iPad is certainly not a ‘Kindle Killer’.  The technical reason for this is the iPad’s panel.  The iPad features a 9.7-inch IPS LED display versus the commonly used e-ink panel in most eReaders.  If you have not seen an eReader until now, an e-ink panel looks almost exactly the same as a printed page and has no backlight.  What this means is that the device does not produce any glare, allowing one to read even in bright sunlight and making the panel easy on their eyes.  However, unlike the backlit iPad, eReader users would still need to switch on their reading light if they were to read at night, which they would do anyway if they were reading an actual paper book.  The iPad also gains an upper-hand when it comes to reading color e-content.  e-ink panels currently lack support for color and only allow users to read in  black and white, thus not being the ideal choice for reading magazines.  The nascent e-ink technology also lacks the fast processing speed of the iPad.  However, companies are working towards developing much improved and faster e-ink panels and these disadvantages are expected to be minimalized by the end of the year.

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Other than the lack of an e-ink panel, there are certain other attributes of the iPad that make it less comparable to eReaders.  The 24 ounce iPad weighs a good six ounces more than the 9.7-inch Kindle or twice as much as Sony’s Daily Edition.  This could lead to increased strain when reading for long hours, while holding the iPad with one hand.  At the time of the iPad’s launch, Steve Jobs announced that consumers could take a flight to Japan and use the iPad without recharging it, so an iPad’s battery would last approximately ten hours.  Now ten hours sounds great in comparison to a netbook or a laptop, but it is less impressive when compared to 2 weeks or 336 hours of battery life provided by most standard eReaders.

Most recent surveys also confirm that a majority of expected iPad owners are mainly going to use the device for mobile productivity purposes.  According to separate surveys from Comscore and ChangeWave Research, only 37 percent of people are going to read books on the iPad, while surveys from CNET and PriceGrabber.com put that number at an even lower 20 and 13 percent, respectively.  Although the 300,000 users who have already bought the device and others who are going to buy it will surely help drive e-content, the iPad is expected to be mainly used for web browsing, checking emails, and entertainment purposes.  With that said, the ‘cool factor’ associated with the Apple brand, the device’s multifunctional capabilities, and the company’s loyal core consumer base will continue to drive sales for the iPad, while taking some business away from dedicated eReaders.

As mentioned, the iPad offers far more capabilities than a standard eReader and certainly brings diversity to the eReader shelf, thus increasing competition in the still relatively uncompetitive market.  Although Amazon has yet to officially release sales figures for its Kindles, the e-commerce giant is estimated to hold a majority share of the eReader market, which is likely to go down in several months due to the imminent diversification of the market.  It is difficult to imagine that many consumers who own an iPad, including the 300,000 that purchased the device on Saturday, would also invest in a dedicated ebook reading device.  The iPad will likely appeal more to the tech savvy population, people looking to replace netbooks, and the magazine and news reading population, while the ‘Kindle’ will continue to be used by reading enthusiasts.  The iPad is the jack of all trades, being able to offer a little bit of everything to consumers, but the Kindles of the world are still the masters for ebook reading.  I can best relate this to the cricket world (for those not familiar with cricket, it is similar to American Baseball!).  Chris Cairns was the best all-rounder, but batting is still synonymous with Sachin Tendulkar.

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During my store visits a couple of weeks ago, I came across a new highlighted product category that is available in most stores—yes, you guessed it right – eReaders.  eReaders are one of the hottest product categories this holiday season and promotional displays are currently seen at most consumer electronics and mass merchant stores.

One common theme across the channel is that Sony is heavily investing in eReaders as a future growth category.  The eReader display is the first thing that you notice when you are in Staples and the most prominent stand in Best Buy’s mobile device section.  Sony has placed so many eReader displays in retail that it is easier to count the chains that do not promote the technology.  Displays for Sony’s eBook reading devices feature informational videos and comparison charts highlighting the key differences between competing eReaders.

Following Amazon’s private label lead, Barnes & Noble also made a foray into the market with the ‘nook’.  The retailer has created a separate section in the middle of its stores managed by a dedicated in-store representative to educate people about the ‘nook’, provide a demo, answer any questions, and pre-order the device.  Yes, it is still only available for pre-order!!!  Let’s hope for Barnes & Noble’s sake that it gets the ‘nook’ out before President’s Day!

Sony and Amazon currently dominate the eReader market largely due to brand recognition as well as the availability of these products.  Out of the ten stores selling eReaders in gap intelligence’s retail panel, Sony is available at eight and enjoys a competition-free presence at seven of them.  Although the Kindle is limited to Amazon.com, given the ubiquitous reach of the internet and lack of holiday lines, customers would have no trouble ordering a Kindle.  Unfortunately for Barnes & Noble, pre-order sales of the ‘nook’ exceeded current production levels and the device has yet to be made available for an immediate purchase.  Barnes & Noble continues to change its shipping and in-store availability date (the last time I checked it was Feb 1st, phew!!).

Several companies are beginning to push their products including Astak’s jetbook, Bookeen’s Cybook Opus, and Foxit’s eSlick, with placements limited to Fry’s.  Amazon has already inked partnerships with major universities to test run the Kindle and also partnered with publishers to ensure text books are available in a compatible format.  Google on the other hand, is already working on building the ‘world’s largest’ ebook library and is unfortunately also quickly becoming a part of the ‘world’s largest’ and perhaps the biggest copyright battles.

According to estimates by Forrester Research, eReader sales are expected to double from 3 million units in 2009 to 6 million units by 2010, with almost one third of the sales taking place during the holiday season.  To capitalize on this expected growth, manufacturers must ensure that all production issues have been addressed sooner rather than later.

eReaders currently sell for over $150 and ebooks carry a $10 average price.  Due to lack of competition, pricing has been relatively stable in this small, but quickly expanding category.  Sony’s ‘Pocket’ and ‘Touch’ editions sell for $199 and $299, respectively, at all retailers except for Walmart where they are cheaper by a buck each, in line with Walmart’s lowest price guarantee.  eReaders are also finding more placements in retailers’ weekly circulars.  Although instant saving incentives are the most common promotion type ($40 average), the product sometimes also sells with a free leather case.

Vendors are positioning eReaders not only as a useful device for college students or business professionals, but also as ideal holiday gift items.  eReaders can prove to be exceptionally useful small devices to anyone who is an avid reader, has run out of space to store more books, or is tech savvy.

The eReader market is expected to go though a sea change in 2010 with a significant increase in the number of brands and product availability (both online and retail).  The category will also see aggressive price competition and possibly adaptations to its sales model and echo system.  Stay tuned for more on eReaders!

It all started exactly a year ago with a one liner email to Gary which said “Is there any email id wherein I could apply for a job position?” Batman & Robin buy Seed hd and an equal one liner response : “this is the one”. Beneath the Planet of the Apes video download Heavy Metal 2000 dvd .

I am Gurpreet Kaur and recently joined gap intelligence, moving from India. I first learned of gap when I was working with HP DSAS

(the analytics wing of HP!!!) out of Bangalore, India supporting the Imaging and Printing Group North American Marketing team.  As a client I would regularly refer to the weekly reports sent by analysts at gap and they did act as “eyes and ears” for us working out of a remote location.

So when my husband decided to pursue his Ph.D in Economics at UC-Irvine, I thought of trying my luck with gap and it all began there.  It took us almost a year to get me on board including numerous interviews, several writing samples, and not to mention getting my H1B visa (sponsored by gap)… But ahh now I am here and loving every moment!!!! gap may be a very small company compared to HP, but their screening processes is one of the toughest (best) that I ever came across: handpicking each person and investing a lot of time to make sure the best job gets done.  As an analyst at gap intelligence, I am still learning my way around.  Training with Jake, I am getting to know about several categories, building my industry knowledge, and of course trying to become a pro in excel.

On a personal front, I love cooking and gappers like Nicole have been daring enough to try home cooked Indian food!!!  Other than that, in my spare time I love to improve my singing skills and read books.  Just like any other girl, I enjoy shopping a lot and friends at HP called me the “Power Shopper”.

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I saw a lot of changes in the last one year of my life from my marital status, to my employer, to my country of residence, and much more.  I am still getting used to a new life in in a new land, and its been going great so far….

Thanks for getting me on-board ……..life would not have been so good without gap!