Kindle Review – Kindle Fire Review, Kindle 4 Review

2010 was supposed to be the Year of the eReader but it’s morphing into the Make or Break Year for the Dedicated eReader (and perhaps the make or break year for eBooks). Here are the top 50 eReader and eBook trends for 2010.

Top eReader + eBook Trends for 2010

1. iPad vs Kindle - There is a possibility that Apple steals away Kindle #1 market position. 
2. Multi Purpose Devices vs Dedicated eReaders - Will dedicated eReaders be able to survive the onslaught of do-everything devices? 
3. Color eReaders - By end 2010 we should have color screen eReaders. We get to find out whether color really does increase sales.  
4. Arrival of Flexible, unbreakable eInk screens - These eliminate the fragility of eReaders and make them much more usable for children. 
5. Arrival of the 3rd generation of eReaders - Kindle 3, Sony 606, and various other eReaders will try to prove that the third generation really does get things right.
6. Kindle Apps and their impact. It’ll be interesting to see if Kindle Apps can give Kindle a significant advantage and start a trend of eReader apps.  
7. Increase in eBook sales – eBooks could make up 10% of total book sales (up from 5% or less in 2009). 
8. Increase in eReader sales – eReaders could sell 6 million or more units (up from estimated sales of 3 million in 2009).
9. Brutal Competition amongst eReaders - There seems to be a new eReader announced every day and they are all gunning for the same customers. There’ll definitely be blood.  
10. The Transformation of Publishing – Barriers and Costs are going down and competition and confusion are increasing. It’s hard to predict what model of Publishing will make the most sense by the end of the year.

Top Publishing related eReader + eBook Trends for 2010

1. Publishers using iPad to fight $9.99. Competition isn’t always good for customers.
2. The Fight for $9.99. Will readers stick to their guns and keep up their boycott of books over $9.99?
3. Publishers delaying eBook release dates. Publishers are trying everything in their power to kill eBooks.
4. Amazon striking deals directly with authors. Amazon starts bypassing Publishers.
5. Expansion of Amazon Encore. Again, Amazon doing its level best to bypass Publishers.
6. Rise of Publishing upstarts like Open Road, Rosetta Books, and Smashwords. This is the perfect time to start a Publishing company.
7. Rise of Indie Authors. There’s never been a better time to self-publish – no barriers, 70% royalties, direct channels to customers, and readers willing to give indie authors a chance.
8. Published Authors vs Indie Authors – Published Authors flock to the defence of their Publishers and set up an interesting clash with indie authors.  
9. Experimentation - What model is going to work? What company is going to make it work? Who should authors and publishers choose to side with?
10. Rise of new Middlemen – There’s quite a high chance that we end up replacing one set of leeches with another.

Top Amazon and Kindle related Trends for 2010

1. Rumored free Kindles for Prime Members – Will Amazon really make such a bold move?  
2. New Kindles – Kindle 3, Kindle DX 2, and perhaps other new Kindle family members. 
3. Spread of Amazon’s reading apps to various devices. We have Kindle for Blackberry already. Kindle for Mac is next.  
4. Better accessibility – Kindle gets accessible menus and a super size font by summer.
5. The Holy Grail – Folders for Kindle to arrive by summer. Perhaps it’s all a dream.  
6. Kindle Store embracing new languages and going worldwide.  
7. Amazon expanding same day delivery to more cities and setting up shop in Canada (it may not get the Canadian government’s approval).

23 more eReader/eBook Trends for 2010

1. Rise of Android – eReader makers continue to adopt Android. Doesn’t make the Top 10 only because of the iPad.  
2. Rise of ePub - Expect ePub to continue to spread. Barely misses the Top 10.
3. DRM – Is it possible we are rid of it? Is it possible that it instead becomes more onerous and widespread?
4. eReaders in Retail Locations – Barnes & Noble has Nook in stores, Sony has its Reader in various chains, and KoboBooks will get retail presence all over the world. We get to find out just how much of an impact retail presence makes.
5. The iPad for consuming new forms of books. There may very well be enough successes for Vook and other companies to justify the hype. 
6. iPad for content subscriptions and newspapers. Could the iPad really be the savior of newspapers? 
7. iPad for magazines and comics.  No doubt that this will be big.
8. Rise of eTextbooks - We have companies like Dynamic Text and Flat World Books reinventing textbooks.
9. Arrival of Textbook Readers – The Entourage Edge makes a bold attempt to create an eReader dedicated to education. Will the Kindle DX 2 be able to match or exceed it?
10. Digital Books – Blio and Vook and other companies are changing the very definition of a book. Will they succeed?  
11. The Never ending story of Orphan Works - 2010 might see a resolution to the long-running court case. 
12. Libraries and the Kindle – Libraries are flocking to eReaders and eBooks in general and the Kindle in particular.  
13. eReader Apps - Will Android Apps or apps in the numerous forthcoming eReader app stores (Txtr, etc.) make an impact on eReaders and eBooks?
14. Mixed Screen eReaders - The dual eInk and LCD screens idea is a good one. We find out in 2010 whether it has staying power.
15. Crowding of the eReader market – Users have to figure out a way to pick between 1,000 eReaders that are not very different from each other.
16. eInk vs Mirasol vs Liquavista vs Pixel Qi – We will have color by end of the year. The question is – Which color ePaper technology will win out?  
17. Pixel Qi – Will multiple mode screens change everything?
18. Google Editions – Will this have as much impact as Apple’s iPad? Could this turn every eReader into dumb terminals?
19. Bundling – Hardcovers with exclusives. Books with eBooks.
20. The Backlist - Loads of backlist books will make their way to eBook stores. It’ll be Interesting to see which companies get the rights, what they give authors, and which ones find success.
21. The Secrecy – eReader numbers won’t be disclosed and the endless speculation will continue.
22. Rise of Sharing – Sharing is a key part of reading and various forms of sharing will become prevalent including snippets, recommendations, and to some extent entire books.  
23. Rise of Community - A site or a Kindle App ought to be able to unleash the power of the Kindle Community. We finally find out just how powerful and influential the Kindle’s owners are and will be.

Those are the big trends for 2010. eReaders, eBooks, and reading are all under threat and this year is going to dictate the future of books.

Filed under: eBook Reader Devices Tagged: | ereader sales trends, kindle trends