Global sales of e-readers totaled 4 million units in 2009. According to research from iSuppli Corp., this figure is expected to climb to 12 million in 2010, and 18 million in 2012.

Manufacturers have already rolled up their sleeves and are ready to compete for e-book market share. Compared to European, American and Japanese markets, the Chinese market is faced with more challenges.

The e-reader market thrived in 2009. Besides Hanvon, Hanlin, Dr. Yi and such e-reader originators, Founder and Datang have also jumped into the market. In addition, Baidu has queued up for e-reader (resources) The media has reported that Lenovo will place stress on this business sector as well. China Telecom released its G3 E-reader plan in May 2009 and would offer in-depth customization services Hanvon, Datang and Founder e-readers.

Realizing the massive market potential of China, manufacturers want their piece of this huge cake. Despite the bright prospect, people are widly aware of the obstacles in the road: electronic paper technology is a blank in China; electronic ink technology is highly monopolized; foreign manufacturers cast covetous eyes on China’s market; the copyright problem in China is still a bottleneck; and piracy and counterfeit products are disturbing the market.