Is India ready for e-readers?

While a 2007 National Endowment for the Arts study reported that Americans were spending less time reading books, a Maryland-based market research firm recently found out that e-reader owners read more than they earlier did.

The Wink is expected to give owners
access to more than 500,000 books,
journals, newspapers and magazines

With last week’s release of “Wink,” Bangalore’s EC Media claims to have launched India’s first e-reader tailored to serve the local population. One can’t help but wonder, are e-books worth the money and will Indians take to them as eagerly as many have in the U.S.?

While techno geeks may like this new device, only 42% of the people that buy books in India are habitual readers, according to a survey in Tehelka Magazine early this year.

The survey, which asked 1,152 people across the country about their reading habits, found that while 20% of the respondents said they had read e-books, 92% of them were using PCs, not reading devices like Apple’s iPad, Amazon’s Kindle or Sony’s Daily Reader.

Full report here WSJ blogs