Apple iPhones could become most popular e-reader

12 years ago

“Up to 50% of iPhone users read e-books on tiny screens, according to new research from e-book rental services Oyster Books and Scribd — a trend that suggests consumers might benefit from a larger iPhone,” Quentin Fottrell reports for MarketWatch. “The average customer on both Scribd and Oyster reads for 45 minutes a day, however they don’t necessarily read titles cover to cover. ‘For every four books they open on Oyster, they only end up finishing one of them,’ Stromberg says.”

“Why do people read books on their phones?” Fottrell reports. “It’s easier and safer for readers to catch up on their latest book using their smartphone when they’re stuck in the doctor’s waiting room or sitting on the subway, says Mark Coker, founder of e-book distributor Smashwords.com. ‘More reading is shifting from dedicated e-reading devices to multi-function tablets and smartphones,’ he says. ‘My iPhone is by my side 24 hours a day, whereas my Kindle is — well, I forget where it is right now.'”

“E-book readers also tend to be younger and female, according to research by Pew Research Center’s ‘Internet Omnibus Survey’ of over 1,000 Americans aged 18 and older,” Fottrell reports. “Among all adults surveyed in January 2014 who read a book in the last year, 28% read an e-book (versus 69% who said they read print books and 14% for audiobooks). However, almost half of readers under 30 years of age read an e-book in January 2014 compared with 31% in November 2012 and 25% in December 2011.”

Read more in the full article here.