German readers yet to fully embrace e-Books

Although e-books have been much hyped as the striking point at the ongoing 63rd Frankfurt Book Fair, dominance of the traditional paper books means there is still a long way for the new gadget. This is particularly applicable to German readers, as it seems almost unimaginable for many to give up the comfortable habit of tipping over the pages and smelling its ink fragrance. According to the Gesellschaft fur Konsumforschung, a leading German investigation firm, the total turnover of eBook sales in Germany total up to 13 million euro (18 million U.S. dollars) for the first half of this year, accounting for only 0.7 percent of the general books sales value. "The e-Books will be gradually accepted by the German readers, though it could be far less than many people's expectations", according to Marthias Heinrich, a senior consultant with the German publisher of Langenscheidt. The slower acceptance of e-books in Germany could be attributed to the long tradition of German people who get habitual to enjoy reading newspaper and skipping over a book at breakfast or other idle time. 48-year-old Heinrich, who has been a frenetic bookworm for years, reminded the organizer they should not turn the book fair into a consumer electronic business trade, saying that booths have been fraught with exclusively of mobile phone, tablet PCs, electronic pens, etc. "Although the e-Book are very much hyped in its future trend, and potentially an increasing market share it will claim, not all press will shift to this trend," said Dr Michael Friedrichs, a staff worker with the German Wissner Press. Deif Wygas, a 40-year-old Canadian book salesman, claimed himself "dislike the e-Book", which he believed by no means could replace the paper books. Rebeccah Kellaway, a 22-year-old British student, said she is more inclined to choose paper book because of the cost concern on an electronic reader, other than the worries about it might break down. However, the electronic reading suppliers are very optimistic about the market prospect. Tan Yuting, chairwoman of board of the ONYX Information Science & Technology Co.Ltd, attributed the imbalance of e-Books development in different countries to the impacts by the difference of cultural backgrounds, laws and regulation, special tradition,etc. Mario Rezai, a legal consultant to the BITKOM, the German Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media, expressed his optimism for the e-Books, but at present, the paper books will maintain the dominant role in the publication.