EMEA sales of e-readers doubled last year

Shipments across the region tipped 4.8 million, says IDC

Nearly 4.8 million e-readers were sold in the EMEA region in 2011, more than twice the number sold in 2010.

Mario Lombardo, EMEA senior analyst at IDC, indicated the figures were from IDC's EMEA Media Tablet and E-reader Tracker for the year.

"The rapid fall in prices is making e-readers increasingly accessible to consumers, [and] transforming the way they access content," he said.

This year would be crucial for the market, he added. Prices are expected to continue to fall as major vendors increasingly count on a substantial content revenue stream.

"On the other hand, vendors mainly counting on sales of the mere hardware will face very challenging times, and some are likely to be forced out of the market," Lombardo warned.

The EMEA region comprises about 17 per cent of the worldwide e-reader market and sales of the devices are expected by IDC to exceed 24 million units by 2016, growing at a compounded 37 per cent a year until then.

Last year saw the average price for e-readers continue to slide as Amazon slashed Kindle prices to €99 (£89) in the eurozone. German, French, Italian and Spanish buyers seemed particularly keen, according to IDC. Sony took the number two vendor position for the year.

The end of 2011 also saw rapid uptake of Android TFT screen devices, the analyst added.