iPad Sales Paddle eBook Readers

"In its first quarter in the market, Apple's iPad shipments exceeded the combined volume of nearly 40 eBook reader suppliers with a 3.3 to 2.4M unit advantage," says IMS Research's Quarterly eBook and iPad Shipment and Forecast Service.

Their press release goes on to mention that eBook readers still made a good showing, with volume up 28 percent quarter over quarter; Amazon gained share in the market, along with Barnes & Noble, but still refuses to release sales figures on its Kindle.

You get a sense of the market differential, though, when IMS Research mentions they expect Apple to ship over 15 million iPads in 2010, and all eBook readers to total 13 million. Next year they predict greater separation, with over twice the iPads sold as eBook readers.

Expect to see touchscreens and color in eBooks sometime in 2011, as manufacturers try to counter iPad popularity.