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Dec. 7, 2009

Friday, the Taiwan government said it will spend 2 billion New Taiwan dollars (about US $65 million) to support its electronic-book industry and help eBook reader makers cash in on the rapidly growing global market of such devices.

For the past year, Taiwan has already been a major player in the digital book market, being the exclusive supplier of e-paper displays for Amazon's Kindle and Sony's eReader through collaboration programs with foreign companies that hold cutting-edge electronic ink technologies, Taiwan government officials said.

Companies can receive government subsidies of up to 40 percent of costs for programs developing related eBook reader technologies, according to an Industrial Development Bureau report released Dec. 3rd.

Currently, Prime View International supplies about 90 percent of the e-paper displays to the global market, with the balance coming mainly from Taiwanese maker AU Optronics, according to research firm Display Search.

Prime View has acquired Cambridge, Mass.-based E-Ink, and AU Optronics has an equity investment in SiPix Imaging, based in California's Silicon Valley. According to Austin, Texas-based Display Search, global e-book reader sales could surpass 4.1 million thie year, a number expected to at least double in 2010.

Some industry analysts warn that many e-reading market forecasts may be too optimistic. E-books might not become as popular as mobile phones or even laptops simply because the reading population has been shrinking in the Internet age, they warn.

But the Taiwan government report did say that mass production could help lower the 6-inch e-book retail prices from the current $300 to about $100, making them more affordable to consumers.

The Industrial Development Bureau report said at least ten other Taiwanese firms are making related chip sets or assembling the digital readers.

Overall, eBook readers are currently available only in black and white, but will be equipped with color and touch screens as early as next month, the report said.

Taiwan is already discussing with China about promoting a standard e-book format for the Chinese-language market, a step that could help Taiwanese makers sell their products to the mainland, the report said.

The Taiwan government will build one or two "smart towns" on the island, working with wireless and telecom carriers and content-providers to bring in easy and affordable digital reading, the report said.

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Source: Government of Taiwan.