Hanvon Technology Co (漢王科技), China’s largest e-reader brand, yesterday said it has accumulated more than 1 million users to date after it made a foray into the market segment in mid-2008.
“The user base in 2008 and 2009 was relatively small. This year alone, the base expanded by 700,000,” Hanvon’s chief strategist Ray Zhang (張磊) said in Taipei.
Efforts to bundle new content into its electronic bookstore and launches of newer models could see Hanvon’s user base experience “exponential growth” next year, he said, without revealing figures.
The company officially launched the Taiwanese section of its e-bookstore last week. There are 100,000 titles in English, traditional and simplified Chinese on offer.
Zhang said a color reader will debut in China by the second quarter next year at the latest.
In the third quarter, Hanvon commanded a 71.5 percent market share in China, compared with 6.5 percent for No. 2 brand Teclast Electronics Co (台電科技) and 3.8 percent for No. 3 brand Tianjin Jinke Electronics Co (天津津科), the company said.
While Hanvon is dominating the Chinese e-reader market, the firm is not yet betting on tablets for growth.
“There are too many big guys in the tablet market; the e-reader will still be our focus next year,” he said. “We still haven’t found a niche in terms of tablets.”
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