Global shipments of e-book readers are expected to reach only two million units in the first quarter of 2012, down from nine million shipped the fourth quarter of 2011, according to Digitimes Research.

The launch of Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet PCs has resulted in a substitution effect for Kindle e-book readers, pushing Amazon to reduce its orders for e-book readers from upstream suppliers since the beginning of 2012, said Digitimes Research.

Overall, global shipments of e-book readers amounted to 22.82 million units in 2011, increasing 107% from a year earlier. Annual shipments of e-book readers are expected to top 60 million units by 2015, Digitimes Research estimated.