14 DAY TRIAL // It appears that E-Ink is doing just as fine as ever as far as finances are concerned, as its revenues seem to have continued to grow even over the course of the past month, especially on an on-year basis.
Last year, even though some market segments did worse than others, the overall situation showed a vast improvement over that of 2009 and 2008, and it seems E Ink benefited and is still growing, as proven by the January finances.
E-book readers, when they first came out, went through much the same experience as low-end mobile PCs, otherwise known as netbooks.
Since they were affordable, single-purpose (and later more versatile) electronics in a time when consumers had to be careful of their spending, they sold massively, to the point where Amazon's Kindle became a best seller and B&N's supply of the Nook couldn't handle demand.
This, of course, meant that sales of electronic paper displays skyrocketed, and with E Ink being the major supplier of such screens, it rode the tide to new heights.
The company grew financially over the course of 2009 and especially 2010, and seems to be still growing, or so reports say (sales are expected to reach 13 million by year's end).
In January, its revenues grew by 5% sequentially and, compared to the same month of last year, by a solid 147%.
This means that the exact figure was of NT$3.88 billion, which corresponds to US $134.21 million.
It was originally feared that growing tablet sales would impact e-reader demand and, thus, e-paper sales, but it seems that, if such consequences are inbound, they have yet to make themselves felt.
This is all the more interesting knowing that the first quarter of any year is the so-called slow season, since consumers are taking it easy after the holiday shopping sprees.