Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader to Sell 1 Million Units Combined in 2008?

Evan Schnittman over at the Oxford University Press blog has an interesting post from earlier today that estimates Amazon and Sony are on track to sell a combined one million ebook readers in 2008. If correct, or if even half-correct, Schnittman's calculations offer clear evidence that the ebook market has entered a hyperbolic growth phase.

Schnittman's estimates are based on quotes from executives from Prime View International, the Taiwanese manufacturer behind the 9 inch displays used by Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Reader.

What does the news mean for indie authors? Simply put, if you're not working today to build your digital publishing presence, you could be missing out on an important future sales channel for your works.

(Hat tip to Tim O'Reilly who wrote about this for O'Reilly Radar here)