When eReaders nudge into bookshelves

It is a sunny afternoon, and Pradeep Palazhi the COO of Bangalore-based EC Media International P Ltd (http://bit.ly/F4TPradeepEC) is cheerful. Understandably so, because only a day ago his company’s Wink, the desi eReader, was out in New Delhi with a price tag of less than Rs 12,000.

“I foresee eReaders accelerating a larger trend towards electronic/ digital publishing,” he begins, without batting an eyelid, during our interaction in Business Line. “Digital media in publishing is not going to replace printed media. However, it is going to be growing in size and share of the publishing market. More and more content will be published in electronic and printed formats to start off and the balance will tilt towards electronic formats in the future.”

Another interesting aspect, in Pradeep’s view, is the way the whole eBook phenomenon is going to affect the traditional libraries. The jury is still out, but early trends indicate that the library model will have to undergo a significant makeover in the process, he avers.

A thought that Pradeep offers to the traditional bookshops is that they will have to come up with innovative models to adapt to the eBook revolution. “While eBooks are not going to replace printed books, they will definitely reduce their share of the market. Digital publishing or eBook publishing will result in increase of self-publishing market. It will be easier and cost effective for authors to publish their titles which may not be accepted by a traditional publisher. This market will see a huge growth over the next few years.”

Full report here Hindu