As iPad Sales Increase, So Do E-book Purchases

Today the news in the publishing world supports what I heard this weekend from self-publishing guru and publishing “futurist” Dan Poynter: Authors must be publishing ebooks.

Apple reported Tuesday afternoon that it sold 7.3 million iPads in the quarter ended December 25, up from 4.2 million in the previous quarter. “Since the company released the tablet in April, it has sold approximately 13.8 million devices. And, according to a survey conducted by the Codex Group, iPad owners use their devices to read. A consumer survey conducted in early November found the 67 percent of iPad owners used the device to read and another 19 percent said they expected to begin reading with the iPad,” according to Publisher’s Weekly.

To go with their iPads, these people are also buying e-books in growing numbers. Apple reports that 36 percent of books purchased by iPad owners in the month prior to the survey were e-books (compared to 46 percent for Kindle owners).  While Publisher’s Weekly claims Apple appears to be swamping the number of Kindles sold–Codex estimates that Amazon has sold 4.4 million Kindles–the Codex survey found that only 29.4 percent of e-books for the iPad were acquired through the iBookstore, while the Kindle store accounted for 40.3% of e-books acquired for use on the iPad.

I’ve got some e-books, but they are only available as pdfs. Time to change that…and fast.