Some interesting statistics from IDPF/BEA

Astak went under the name EZRead, Inc. This is our new name as we break off the eBook Readers and eBook Store (www.EZread.com) into a separate and much stronger company of its own. EZRead, Inc. is ramping up with a major push and this is the type of kick-off we needed.

The following statistics were announced at the conference and are a result of polling 40,000 eBook Reader owners. These statistics have a 95% confidence level:

eBook sales really started to take off in Q1 of 2009. eBooks have finally come into their own.

39% that own an eBook Reader said that they purchase just as many Printed Books (pBooks) as they did before they boought their device. eBooks are not hurting pBook sales like most thought they would do.

There is an average savings of $6.25 in purchasing eBooks over pBooks. This may drop some now that the Agency Model is in place by the publishers.

In Japan, 75% of middle school girls do all their reading of novels on their smart phone. This may be as a result that some Japanese books are horizomatal read or read right to left and EPUB is not yet set up for this.

51% of all eBook Buyers are now Male. This is a small change from 60% of sales were female in 2008.

The higher income segment (over $75,000 annual) is growing on eBook Readers.

48% are from the suburbs.

Why people buy eBooks instead of pBooks (in order):

1. Affordability
2. Ease of downloading
3. Readability
4. It helps the environment

37% of all eBook Reader buyers purchased in the last 2-6 months.

44% buyeBooks online.

Favorite vehicles for eBook Reading are:

Computer (37%)
Kindle (32%
iPhone (10%)
Sony (9%)
Nook (3%)
iPad (3%)
Astak (1.5%)

28% said they have a major issue with DRM
39% said they have a small issue with DRM
30% said they have no issue with DRM

Reasons why people buy eBook Readers in order:

1. Portability
2. Instant Access instead of driving
3. They can carry entire libraries with them.
4. There is a great availablity of FREE eBooks on the market.

Favorite Categories of eBooks:

1. General Fiction
2. Detective
3. How-To Guides
4. Science Fiction
5. Business/Finance
6. Romance

I hope you enjoyed finding out about these statistics. Astak (EZRead, Inc.) will be growing a lot this year so we are fine with 1.5% in 2009. We look to grow steadily in 2010!