Until I began EDRL 6004, I wasn't aware that ebooks existed, far less ebook readers. Today, I'm reading that in China according to a nationwide survey, 1 in 4 Chinese between the ages of 18 and 70 reads e-books. And for readers under the age of 29, the number of Chinese reading e-books is almost 1 in 2. Keeping in mind that the population of China is 1.3 billion, this is a very literate country.
I guess that is why last week, news broke that Amazon's Kindle is seeking to enter the Chinese ebook reader market. Already active in China's e-book market is Hanvon Technology, which, according to the South China Morning Post, currently dominates about 90 percent of China's e-book sales. Hanvon says it sold about 270,000 e-book readers in 2009 and expects to sell 2 million in 2010.
I guess with the competition, there will be a flurry of ads and the prices may go down, thus encouraging more readers to invest in the ebook readers. As for me, I'm still wondering how to get someone to buy me an ebook reader as a present.
To read more of this article, click here:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2010/0803/Will-Amazon-s-Kindle-catch-fire-in-China?sp_rid=NTI5OTY3MDEwNQS2&sp_mid=4528127
