By Edward Nawotka

In today’s lead story, research by Forrester revealed that more than half of publishing executives in the USA anticipate e-books will be the dominant format by 2014. While the exact meaning of the word “dominant” can be debated, it nevertheless suggests a radical shift in consumer habits away from print to digital. It also anticipates widespread use of digital reading devices by at least half of all readers.

Will this indeed be the case? Women buy far more books than men, but men tend to buy more gadgets. Will women convert wholeheartedly to e-readers? Perhaps . . . and it will be interesting to see if device manufacturers can make the industrial chic slate gray and aluminum devices more appealing to females. At the same time, we have a vast population of baby boomers who are reaching retirement age who are also likely to buy more books, particularly as they have more leisure time. Will this demographic — one that certainly likes to be thought of as younger than it is, but also one that has lived with print for most of its life — transition to e-reader? Again…perhaps, but there’s no guarantee.

Let us know what you think in the comments.