I was an English Literature major and for years, I read a new book every two days. I can still envision the stacks of books I had to navigate around my house. These days, consumers are shunning paperbound books for their digital counterparts: eReaders, where they can download and store as many as 1500 books without batting an eye – or turning their room into a maze.
By the Consumer Electronics Association’s estimate, eReaders are topping everyone’s Holiday wish list, coming in at number three on a top ten list of electronics this season. To stay on top of the trends, I used ConsumerBase to check out the hottest eReaders this December: the Amazon Kindle, Apple iPad, BeBook, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Sony Reader.
The results surfaced by ConsumerBase were pretty surprising – hype does not equate to love. Despite being Steve Jobs’ latest gift to the technological world, the iPad polarized its consumers, while the Kindle and the Sony Reader left consumers passionately singing their praise.
In this graphic, the amount of chatter about a brand is indicated by the size of the bubble, while the placement of the bubble shows the intensity of passion.
eReaders loyal to the Kindle raved about its convenient size as well as its easy-on-the-eyes screen, comparing these features to those found on its clunkier, harsher competitor: the iPad.
I also have an iPad but I prefer the Kindle for reading, less glare and much lighter
The social media universe was tough on the iPad, openly criticizing Apple’s newest electronic toy, even suggesting that it was popular only because of its brand.
I don’t like the iPad because it is backlit
So who would you go for? The powerhouse who seems to fall a little short or the underdog who’s winning everyone’s hearts? Whatever you choose, happy reading and happy holidays from NetBase!
Lisa Joy Rosner
The Brand Passion Index, other cool ConsumerBase insights, and thoughts on understanding the social media universe from Lisa Joy Rosner, NetBase CMO.
Lisa Joy, looking at this graphic, I wonder, have you all considered finding ways to 1) illustrate distribution of opinion, especially variation, 2) filter for only category-relevant postings, and 3) normalize against objective measures such as sales volume (dollars and/or units)?
First, given that there are so many more postings for the iPad than for other products, it’s conceivable that a larger number people Love the iPad, intensely, than Love any other product, but their views are drowned out in the aggregate by a) people with negative views of the iPad and b) people with less passionate views.
On the second point, I’d characterize the iPad as a portable information-access device, not (just) as an eReader. How do we know that all the postings you’re evaluating are looking at the iPad (primarily) as an eReader?
Third, money talks. People are buying iPads, lots of them, and that’s what matters. (Especially if you could normalize against sales figures, it would be interesting to see change over time via an animated graphic.)
One other point. My mother used to say that Such-and-So University is the “Harvard of the South,” yet I’d never hear Harvard called the “Such-and-So of the North.” That the iPad, in your example, is used as a yardstick is an interesting indicator.
Seth
Hi Seth,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. There are a lot of potential ways to amplify the analysis, we are already using and/or exploring some that you propose and are definitely open to feedback on others that you have in mind. Let’s set up a briefing soon, things are changing lightning fast in this market. Also, what brands would you like to see in the Brand Passion Index next?
Cheers,
Lisa Joy
[...] is the Brand Passion Index, which recently inspired a flurry of emails and activity following last week’s installment, on eReaders. The BPI showed that while the iPad is clearly leading the pack when it comes to sales [...]