Christmas sales of e–readers top 1.3m

ONE in every 40 adults in Great Britain received an e-readerfor Christmas – either as a gift or as a present to themselves, research has revealed.

The Amazon Kindle was by far the most popular e-reader this Christmas, making up 92 per cent of the 1.33 million devices sold as gifts. More women than men became owners of a device, while people aged over 55 were twice as likely as 18 to 24-year-olds to receive one. The total number of the e-readers given as presents accounted for covered about 1.2 per cent of the population.

Marek Vaygelt, head of technology and telecoms consulting at YouGov, said: “This is finally the year when the late-medieval technology of the printing press was challenged by a 21st-century, digital alternative.”