E-book readers, and the e-books to read on them, are a very recent phenomenon. However, the book buying public seems to have grown accustomed to e-books very quickly. A good deal of the credit for that must surely go to the Amazon Kindle reader – in particular the Kindle 2.0 which first appeared on the market in February of 2009. Amazon’s upgraded third generation Kindle was unveiled in August of 2010 and, despite doom laden predictions for the Kindle following the launch of Apple’s iPad, is selling more quickly than ever. There’s little doubt that it was the Kindle 2.0 that really raised the public profile of e-books.

Another key factor was the large number of Kindle books available. Amazon has always been well in front of the following pack when it comes to the number of titles available. Today they have over 750,000 Kindle books available on their Kindle store – and that’s just the paid titles. There are over 1.8 million books which are now out of copyright and con be downloaded for free direct from Amazon’s Kindle store.

However, whilst the public may have taken to e-books, the same cannot necessarily be said for the major publishing houses. E-books have completely revised the long established publishing cycle. Not only are e-books cheaper than printed books – due to the fact that they require no paper, ink or bindings – but there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be made available at the same time as the hardback. No need to wait months for the paperback, the e-book version is available from day one.

Obviously, having a cheaper version available at the same time as the hardback is something which could impact upon the sales of hardback books. According to Amazon, they are currently selling 180 Kindle books for every 100 hardbacks. This seems to have created a bit of a stir for many of the big publishing houses. They have already had several run ins with Amazon over the pricing of e-books.

Publishers like Harper Collins, Penguin and Hachette recently moved to the “agency model” for their e-books. In layman’s terms, the price is set by the publisher as opposed to the retailer (Amazon). This has seen e-book prices rise – in some cases to the point where they cost more than the hardback version.

Kindle owners quickly retaliated by awarding “one star” reviews to books where they felt that the Kindle book price was too high. Some fairly critical comments were left on the Amazon website – aimed at the publishers by and large – and it was suggested that potential customers boycott both the Kindle and the hardback versions until prices are set at more reasonable levels. Some prices have now been reduced.

The protectionist tactics of the publishers seems to be short sighted at best, and possibly verging on antagonistic. After all, it seems reasonable to assume that e-book readers owners read a good number of books. If you only read a book a month then you would hardly invest in an e-book reader would you? In other words, e-book reader users are the major publisher’s target audience.

It also seems apparent that e-books should sell for less than standard printed books. In addition to the lack of paper, ink and bindings, they have virtually no delivery fees associated with them. They are also more environmentally friendly – even allowing for the materials used in the e-book readers themselves. It seems likely that the owners of e-book readers could work this out and that they would, quite reasonably, expect prices to be set accordingly.

It could be that the publisher’s tactics will prove successful in the short term – however, they need to take care not to antagonise some of their best customers. Unjustified price levels seem likely to annoy the buying public and, after a few one star reviews and public calls for buying boycotts, authors would presumably also be somewhat disenchanted. The e-book revolution has just as much to offer publishers as it does the public. Publishers will also have reduced expenses when producing and selling e-book versions – and customers will expect the selling price of e-books to reflect these lower costs. If publishers can adapt to e-books, in the same way that readers have, they may continue to thrive. On the other hand, if their greed for short term profits blinds them to the possible opportunities afforded by this new medium, they will be rejected by both their readers and their authors.

E-book readers, and the e-books to read on them, are a very recent phenomenon. All the same, they seem to have been adopted very rapidly by the public. Much of the credit for that must surely be given to the Amazon Kindle reader – in particular the Kindle 2.0 which hit the market in February of 2009. Amazon’s upgraded third generation Kindle was unveiled in August of 2010 and, despite doom laden predictions for the Kindle following the launch of Apple’s iPad, is selling more quickly than ever. However, it was the Kindle 2.0 that helped e-books to really take off.

Equally important was the large selection of Kindle books available. Amazon has always had a lot more titles on offer than the chasing pack. Today they have over 750,000 Kindle books available on their Kindle store – and that’s just the paid titles. There are over 1.8 million out of copyright titles which can be downloaded free of charge.

However, whilst the public may have adapted to e-books very quickly, it remains to be seen if the main publishing companies have got their corporate heads around the concept yet. The traditional publishing cycle has been totally modified by the introduction of e-books. E-books are not only cheaper than traditional printed books – there’s no reason why they wouldn’t be released alongside the conventional printed hardback version. No need to wait months for the paperback, the e-book version is available from day one.

It seems obvious that hardback sales could be impacted by the fact that a cheaper version is available simultaneously with the hardback edition. According to Amazon, they are currently selling 180 Kindle books for every 100 hardbacks. This seems to have given many of the big publishers cause for concern. They have already had several run ins with Amazon over the pricing of e-books.

Publishers like Penguin, Hachette and Harper Collins recently switched to the “agency model” for their e-books. In layman’s terms, the price is set by the publisher as opposed to the retailer (Amazon). This has led to an increase in the price of some e-books – to the point where they are more expensive than the hardback edition in some cases.

Kindle owners quickly retaliated by awarding “one star” reviews to books where they felt that the Kindle book price was too high. Some fairly critical comments were left on the Amazon website – aimed at the publishers by and large – and it was suggested that potential customers boycott both the Kindle and the hardback versions until prices are set at more reasonable levels. Some prices have already come down.

The protectionist tactics of the publishers seems to be short sighted at best, and possibly verging on antagonistic. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to suppose that e-book readers owners read a good number of books. If you only read a book a month then you would hardly invest in an e-book reader would you? In other words, e-book reader owners are the target market for the major publishing houses.

It also seems apparent that e-books should sell for less than standard printed books. Apart from their lack of paper, ink and bindings, they have no delivery fee to speak of. They are also – even making allowances for the materials used in the e-book readers themselves – more environmentally friendly. It seems likely that the owners of e-book readers could work this out and that they would, quite reasonably, expect prices to be set accordingly.

It could be that the publisher’s tactics will prove successful in the short term – however, they need to take care not to antagonise some of their best customers. Unjustified price levels seem likely to annoy the buying public and, after a few one star reviews and public calls for buying boycotts, authors would presumably also be somewhat disenchanted. The e-book revolution has just as much to offer publishers as it does the public. There are savings to be had by all – publisher’s costs will also be reduced and customers will expect prices to reflect this fact. If publishers can modify their business model to accommodate e-books, then they will continue to enjoy success. On the other hand, if their desire for short term profits inures them to the possible opportunities offered by this new medium, they will be rejected by both their authors and their readers.

Amazon has had a fantastic year in 2009. Most of the credit for that must go to the Kindle ebook reader family. The Kindle 2.0 and its larger sibling, the DX, have been a runaway success for Amazon. The Kindle is now Amazon’s top selling product.

Right now the Kindle accounts for 60% of the US ebook reader market. The Kindle 2.0 recently launched internationally. Even if Amazon don’t achieve the same high level of success globally – although it’s difficult to see why they wouldn’t – the enlarged volume of the market is going to help Amazon to even better results in 2010.

Some industry watchers seem to feel that much of the Kindle’s success up to this point has been down to a dearth of genuine competition. Whilst it may be true that there weren’t many e-book readers around to go head to head with the Kindle in the early stages, it would perhaps be nearer the truth to say that the Kindle’s success was mainly due to the fact that it was an innovative, market changing product.

There are certainly enough alternative readers available today – or due for launch in the near future. The long list of companies which either already have their own readers on the market or planned for imminent release is a strong sign of the level of expansion which can be predicted in the e-book reader market. Whilst it is true that the market for ebook readers is still nascent, it has received support from a variety of different sources – including the world of academic publishing and various political bodies. Rapid growth looks inevitable.

A further strong indicator of the predicted level of growth in this sector is the high volume of third party goods on offer to customise, protect and accessorise ebook readers. Currently the majority of these items are intended for Amazon’s Kindle reader. If you need a Kindle cover, Kindle reading light or a spare charger then there are any number of independent manufacturers ready and willing to cater to your needs. The choice for alternative readers, such as Sony’s Daily Edition and the Nook reader from Barnes and Noble will begin to expand as their popularity increases.

Just as 2009 was a good year for Amazon, it seems reasonable to expect 2010 to see ebook readers become generally more popular. Amazon’s dominance will be challenged and higher levels of competition will tend to force prices downwards – quite possibly to the point where ebook readers are considered to be a mainstream consumer item rather than a high technology gadget.

Market analysts predict that a price of around $ 150 is what is required for this to happen. Bearing in mind the amount of competition in the sector, it’s not too fanciful to suppose that this price point may be reached during 2010.