Sony predicts E-books will replace paper for reading in five years

Steve Haber, president of Sony's digital-reading business department, said recently that E-books would replace traditional paper reading in five years.

"As early as three years ago, I predicted that e-books would replace traditional paper for reading in 10 years," he said. And now, I feel like it's not going to take that long and it'll be over in five years. Steve Haber believes that most consumers have accepted digital text reading this way. Therefore, it is normal to replace traditional paper for reading. The reading market will also move towards the digital age like music and photography.

Since traditional paper reading has been going on for a long time, many publishers may be less prepared for the impact of E-books. Steve Habe that this change is good for some people, but others feel bad.

Steve Haber that we are now in the era of consumer electronics, a shift that happens every two years.

Sony currently has three E-books listed in the U.S.: Reader touch, reader pocket and reader daily Edition. European markets have the top two sales, and 11% of ipad users use the tablet as an e-book reader, according to Sony's U.S. marketing and research Institute.