Tablets Will Not Kill E-Book Readers

The huge increase in tablet sales during the past two years is practically changing the whole IT industry. Suddenly Intel and Microsoft are no longer monopolies gathering most of the profits in their respective markets and new important players step up to the table.

When all the PC sales during 2012 are projected to reach 390 million units and all tablet sales in 2018 are expected to reach 400 million units, it’s quite normal to see companies preparing for those tablet sales.

AMD and Intel are both introducing better low power processors such as Jaguar and Silvermont.

Microsoft has now introduced a touch-based UI as the default option and most distinctive feature of its new Windows 8.

Everything is changing and many believe there will be no room left for e-book readers.

Even so, ABI Research reportedly believes that e-book readers continue to sell quite good on the global market despite the fact that the 15 million unit boom from last year will not be reached this year.

In 2012, the company believes that there will be almost 11 million e-book readers sold.

We think that the sales could go up or down during the next year in a synchronized move with the global economy.

E-book readers are cheaper than tablets and have distinct functionality that will make them appealing to budget readers, but if there won’t be any new online e-book shops with increasing popularity in the following years, the sales will go down.

Western Europe and North America buyers are certainly moving towards advanced tablets instead of readers, but there is a chance these will become popular in other geographical areas.