20 Reasons Why 2009 Will Be the Year of the eBook

Why 2009 will be the "Year of the eBook:"

According to a California State Board of Education study, the average weight of a high school student’s backpack is 20 pounds and contains about 6 textbooks. In comparison, the average weight of an ebook reader, capable of holding hundreds of books and instantly accessing hundreds of thousands more, is less than a pound.

It doesn’t take a genius to see where this is all going.

Backpacks are not going to disappear in 2009, that may take a couple years because of the unique aspects of educational textbooks and the school system. However, this is one concrete example of why the book is on the way out, and the ebook is on the way in.

2009 is the "Year of the Ebook." Here in no particular order is why:

1. New eBook readers will make laptops and iPhones look old.
2. Critical Mass has been achieved, now it's about growth.
3. Millions of people will experience digital ink for the first time and they will love it.
4. If there's one thing everyone wants now, it's comfort.
5. What you want, when you want it? -- Now that's practical.
6. Do you want to dowload 1 movie of 1,000 eBooks?
7. The money people: Cost of entry is still low, potential high.
8. A million eBooks at your fingertips: it's the "other Internet".
9. The book is just a format, no different than a CD, VHS, or DVD.
10. One word: POWER.
11. Authors, publishers, and distributors benefit financially.
12. Playing around with books is ok, reading them is better.
13. A truly green technology -- without even trying.
14. With a challenging economy, companies will look to enter eBook business.
15. Try it once, you're hooked for good.
16. The iPhone, Nintendo DS will instantly expose and promot eBooks.
17. Rights fights: It's all-good with eBooks.
18. The huge number of free eBooks available.
19. A new generation of independent authors will now come forward.
20. It's the content, stupid.

That's it, I'm in. (Should that be #21?) Follow the link for more on each point.

Elsewhere, thoughts on how the Kindle adds to, but doesn't replace your book collection. I don't know -- I may end up buying a few eBooks and getting rid of my physical copies to free up some bookshelf space. Stay tuned.