New York
– The Apple iPad and Amazon Kindle are the two leading candidates for consumer
e-reader purchases in the next 12 months.
According to a consumer survey conducted in February by
PriceGrabber, 20 percent of the 1,631 online customers questioned intend to buy
an iPad, with the Kindle the next favorite with 12 percent.
The iPad is slated
April 3.
Ten percent of the potential iPad buyers said it would be used
primarily as an e-reader, but twice that many wanted it for mobile productivity
or as a laptop/netbook replacement. Another 10 percent consider it an
entertainment device and 3 percent would buy it for a child for educational and
entertainment purposes.
Price could be one factor inhibiting iPad sales as PriceGrabber
found that 80 percent of those surveyed are not willing to pay more then $250
for an e-reader. However, the company noted that the average price for the top
10 best-selling e-readers on Pricegrabber.com is $241 and the least expensive
Kindle sells for $260.
In addition, 41 percent of consumers would miss certain aspects
of paper books if they were to switch to an e-reader. Touch was the leading
characteristic to be missed, said 36 percent of the group; portability and the
ability to take notes were tied for second, with 13 percent each.
About 5 percent of those polled by PriceGrabber already owned an
e-reader.
