Kindle Dominates E-Reader Category

Some will not consider e-readers "tablets." But there now is little question about which device leads the e-reader category. Over the last two years, Amazon's Kindle has dominated the category. That has implications for e-reader manufacturers, content distributors and publishers. Amazon leads category

From a communications service provider perspective, e-readers and tablets constitute a major new potential market for "connected device" mobile broadband subscriptions, both indirectly, in the case of Wi-Fi devices,  and directly, in the case of devices that can connect directly to either 3G or 4G mobile networks.

Nor is the trend necessarily restricted to e-readers or tablets. Since  Amazon's Kindle reader software can be used on a variety of devices, including smart phones and PCs of various types, the potential change in consumer behavior exceeds what one might assume from sales figures for e-readers.

In fact, the growing base of Wi-Fi-only tablets and e-readers creates a new market for personal hotspot devices and features to support user tablets and e-readers. In that sense, even the adoption of "Wi-Fi-only" devices contributes directly to demand for mobile broadband subscriptions.