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Ranking of Popular Electronic Readers: Top 10 Brands According to a Survey

Conducted a survey in December 2010 and January 2011 to determine the most preferred e-reader brand among our frequent site visitors, during the vital holiday season and the subsequent month. We didn't inquire about specific models owned, but rather asked about the brand preference.

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E-Reader Brands: Rankings from a Recent Poll
E-Reader Brands: Rankings from a Recent Poll

In December 2010 and January 2011, a poll was conducted on various platforms to determine the most popular e-reader brand among its regular visitors. The results revealed that the Amazon Kindle was the clear favourite, with the Kindle Keyboard (also known as Kindle 3) being the most popular model.

The Kindle Keyboard, introduced in mid-2010, was noted for being the fastest-selling Kindle ever at the time. Its popularity was driven by key factors such as:

  • Availability in two versions: one with Wi-Fi only ($139) and one with Wi-Fi plus free 3G connectivity ($189), allowing users to download content almost anywhere with cell service.
  • A 6-inch E Ink "Pearl" display with higher contrast and faster refresh rates than previous models, improving readability.
  • Competitive pricing and Amazon’s extensive e-book ecosystem, which made purchasing and reading e-books seamless.
  • Introduction of an ad-supported, lower-cost version was shortly announced in mid-2011, indicating Amazon’s efforts to reach more users via pricing incentives.

Other e-reader brands like Kobo and Nook existed at the time but did not match Kindle’s market dominance or visibility among regular platform visitors in that period. The strong integration with Amazon's content store and wireless delivery was a critical factor for Kindle's popularity.

Barnes and Noble came in second place with 167 votes, and the Barnes and Noble Nook Color and the Barnes and Noble Nook WIFI were the big sellers during the poll. Kobo came in third place with 111 votes, and the Kobo Wireless was the main e-Reader people seemed to have from Kobo.

Pandigital came in fourth place with 90 votes and 14% of the overall vote. Sony and Pandigital did not have a strong presence in the e-reader market, with Sony requiring books to be purchased on a computer and transferred to the device, and Pandigital not having its own book store.

Ectaco and Astak received 11 votes and 9 votes respectively, rounding off the top 12. Beebook captured 13 votes to round off the top 10. iRex and Elonex received 2 votes and 1 vote respectively.

The poll suggests that the tech-savvy visitors to the platform are not all Amazon loyal, but have their preferred devices spread out among the top companies. It also indicates that people are attracted to e-readers that are available in a retail setting and have a low price, and having a dedicated ebook store builds better brand identity.

In summary:

| Brand | Popular Model | Key Popularity Factors | |----------------|---------------------|----------------------------------------------------| | Amazon Kindle | Kindle Keyboard (Kindle 3) | Free 3G connectivity, E Ink Pearl display, pricing options, Amazon ecosystem |

Later years saw increased competition from Kobo and others, but in late 2010 and early 2011, Kindle was the clear favourite due to these factors. Kobo is expected to continue app expansions in 2011, inking agreements with the Playbook by RIM, the HTC Tablet, and more.

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