The portable mp3 player is a revolution to the way that people access music. People are able to quickly access, and listen to, all of their music from a portable and low power device. The e-reader is analogous to the mp3 player in that a person can access all of their books in a similar fashion.

Why has the adoption of e-readers into the consumer market made so little an impact compared to mp3 players?

An environmental impact that might be associated with both mp3 players and e-readers is that a large number of CDs or books are replaced by a single device. In order to answer the central question, it is of use to know what types of impacts are made by these devices as opposed to books and CDs that they replace, and also, whether these differences are enough to persuade a person to choose one option over another.

Transferring a song from a CD to an mp3 player is easy since software exists and is readily available that will convert between different audio formats. It is more difficult to create an electronic copy of a book from a hard copy since analogous software is not readily available. As a result of this the cooperation of the author is necessary in order for an electronic version of the book to be created. There are several concerns that may face an author or publisher who considers making an electronic version of their book including their income, number of copies sold and the potential for piracy.

Most manufacturers are only interested in manufacturing their product if they are able to make a profit off of it. The willingness of a manufacturer to create an e-reader is likely to depend on the potential revenue that might be seen in both the long term and in the short term.