The ebook application of the new iPad may not crush competition, market research firm In-Stat (News - Alert) reportedly found in a recent report.

 

The iPad’s ebook application has exceeded market expectations – being managed by the ‘iTunes’ platform, it seamlessly integrates with the other popular personal content, all iBooks are stored on your Bookshelf and all books are displayed on a sharp, color screen with many personalization options.

 

However, In-Stat said that all this is not enough to oust e-readers like the Amazon Kindle and the Sony E-Reader Daily Edition. The firmly established e-reader market in the US has enough room for growth given such new features such as e-mail and Web connectivity, according to a TMCnet report. The market will continue to grow on account of drivers such as international expansion of e-book availability, anticipated price declines, and the electronic distribution of newspapers. Sony and Amazon seem to be all geared to face competition.

 

“In the short term, though, I don’t see the iPad demolishing Kindle sales,” Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst, said. “Today’s e-reader customers are looking primarily for a seamless e-book discovery+purchase+download experience. In other words, they’re buying Kindles to read. Sure, the current generation of e-readers can support a number of other functions, like PIM and other computing functions, but fundamentally, customers are purchasing Kindles and Sony E-readers for a revolutionary reading experience.”

 

“Future generations of e-readers are expected to evolve in such a way that the line between e-readers and tablets will blur substantially. The immediate impact the iPad has on the Kindle is that the iPad is going to ignite the tablet market. Therefore, the blur between tablets and e-readers starts within the year, and will impact the outlook for future Kindle, and all e-reader, sales.”

 

In its recent research, In-Stat has revealed that Amazon leads the e-book market. The research also predicts that global e-reader shipments will touch 28.6 million units in 2013, up from 924,000 in 2008. A majority of e-book owners (45.5 percent) are spending between $9 and $20 a month on e-book content, the study said.