• Adweek, Sunday, October 25, 2009 9:45 PM

When, if ever, are people are going to ditch paper and read everything on some sort of digital device? Probably not in 2010, but the audience for e-readers will grow significantly in coming years. Most of those inside the publishing world see e-readers as a promising alternative distribution channel, which may actually bring publishers some needed revenue.

"There is an optimism among publishers, but nobody is saying this is going to save the industry," says Roger Fidler, researcher at the University of Missouri. Fidler believes that two powerful, institutional forces could spur adoption in coming years. "I wouldn't be surprised to see schools require e-readers at some point," he says, particularly if they can replace heavy textbooks. That would help draw in younger demographics to e-readers.

Fidler also predicts that cost and green-conscious companies may encourage employees to start using e-readers as document readers. That's one of Plastic Logic's targets with the Que, for instance. But skeptics are wary. "Remember that print is still the lion's share of our [circulation] revenue, I don't see that changing in the near term," says Raymond Pearce, vice president of circulation at The New York Times.

Read the whole story at Adweek »