eBooks ... By the Numbers

The Transition to Digital: A Smooth, Fast Ride?

In a summary of "Publishing in the Digital Era," a Bain & Co. study for the Forum d'Avignon released in late October 2010, authors Patrick Bêhar, Laurent Columbani and Sophie Krishman wrote: "At first glance, the publishing industry seems unlikely to suffer the same jolting upheaval as the music industry experienced when new technologies hit it. Several factors suggest a fairly smooth evolution toward the digital age, including most readers' continuing attachment to paper, the complementary nature of e-books and paper, and limited electronic piracy, at least to date."

However, the Bain & Co. study (of almost 3,000 consumers across six countries) found that readers "tend to read more when equipped with digital readers. And that's not the only encouraging news for publishers: The vast majority of those readers will pay for their e-books," according to the summary.

The study predicts that 15 percent to 25 percent of book sales will be from digital formats within about four years, indicating "the book industry is heading into wholly new territory," wrote Bêhar, Columbani and Krishman.

Google Dominating Apple: Mobile Advertising Projected to Reach $2 Billion in 2011

"Google dominates mobile advertising, with a market share of 59 percent of total spending, including search and display advertising, followed by Apple with 8.4 percent and Millennial Media at 6.8 percent, according to IDC [International Data Corporation, a global provider of market intelligence, advisory services and events on the mobile and wireless markets]," according to the article, "Apple beware: Google will rule the mobile industry in 2011, claims IDC," on MobileMarketer.com.

Google and Apple are running head-to-head for mobile Internet display ads, with both holding 19 percent of market share, the article reported. Millennial Media, an independent ad network, follows close behind with approximately 15 percent of market share for Internet display ads.