This time last year, the new market for e-book readers was really taking off – gold rush style. Following the stunning success which Amazon had achieved with its Kindle reader – firstly with the Kindle 2.0 in February of 2009 and then with the large format DX edition in the summer of the same year – a veritable host of personal electronics manufacturers were either developing, releasing or updating their own e-book readers so as to get their share of the nascent market.

Sony and Barnes and Noble were working feverishly to get their new readers to market in advance of the 2009 festive season and Plastic Logic, Asus and a number of others were rushing to get their readers released as quickly as they could manage. The Computer Electronics Show (CES), held in Las Vegas in early 2010, had a dedicated e-book reader section for the first time ever. E-book readers were a hot developing market.

Right now however, no more than a few months later, it’s an entirely different scenario. The price of e-book reader hardware has been in free fall. Amazon have now introduced an entry level, Wi-Fi only, Kindle priced at $ 139 – not much more than a third of the $ 359 price which the Kindle 2.0 launched. Barnes and Noble have also dropped the price of the Nook reader to S 149 – and this will probably be cut again before the festive season.

A number of e-book readers which were in development – including the Que from Plastic Logic – have been abandoned. The market seems to be entering a new stage in its development – and whether there is any place in it for pure electronics manufacturers or not is highly debatable. Amazon’s business model is very well suited to selling lower priced reader hardware and making a profit on the through life sales of Kindle books. A similar strategy would be available to Barnes and Noble of course, but it’s debatable as to whether or not they can benefit from the same types of economies of scale as Amazon.

Of course, it would be lunacy to suggest that the launch of the Apple iPad had not played a major part in this. It’s certain that the price of e-book readers would have trended downwards anyway – but the iPad’s launch certainly speeded things up a bit. However, based on the fact that the third generation Kindles sold out shortly after launch – even today customers are facing a three to four week wait before their Kindles will ship – it doesn’t look as if the iPad is the long awaited Kindle Killer that it was widely predicted to be.

Even disregarding the debate about e-ink displays being better for reading on than backlit screens, there is – currently at any rate – more than enough daylight between the Kindle price and the price of even the entry model of iPad to make the Kindle a very attractive option for prospective customers whose chief interest is reading books. The monthly connection fees for the iPad will also not be to everyone’s taste.

It does appear that there is ample room in the market for both the Amazon Kindle and the iPad to co-exist – for the short term future at least. Other manufacturers of e-book readers, including big players such as Barnes and Noble and Sony, may well find things tough as hardware prices keep dropping.

Since it was first released way back in November of 2007, the Amazon Kindle reader has consistently been the best e-book reader on the market. That is the secret behind its considerable success to date. Back in 2009, when almost all the electronics manufacturers was rushing to get an e-book reader of their own to market, any new reader which showed the slightest promise was instantly dubbed the “Kindle Killer”. The simple reason for this is that the Kindle was, and still is, the industry benchmark.

The recent release of the enhanced third generation Kindle reader has widened the gap between Amazon’s reader and the following pack even further. It’s worthy of note that the latest Kindle killer isn’t even an e-book reader at all, but Apple’s iPad. This is a very different device with a much higher price tag and, when looked at as an e-book reader, one which suffers in a number of areas in comparison with the Kindle.

The new enhancements include extended battery life, a doubling of memory capacity, quicker page turns, an enhanced PDF reader and a higher contrast display. The same 6″ display is now housed in a smaller, lighter case – which is now offered in a choice of graphite or white. Amazon has also unveiled a Wi-Fi only entry level Kindle for customers who don’t anticipate the need for a 3G connection. This is priced at just $ 139 – getting close to the $ 99 impulse buy threshold for personal electronic devices. The Wi-Fi plus 3G model is available for $ 189.

As well as these various technical improvements, and almost unnoticed by many, Amazon opened a separate Kindle store for the UK market. UK residents will now be able to purchase their readers locally instead of having an international version shipped from the States. This only took a few days to do – but some customers may have been put off by exchange rates and having to use a credit card (debit cards are more common in the UK). Amazon has just launched a major TV advertising campaign in the UK and it may be that this, combined with the “local” UK Kindle store could lead to a lot of sales for them. If the venture proves to be successful, further local stores could open for France, Germany and the other countries with local Amazon websites.

Shortly after the release of the third generation Kindle Amazon had, for the umpteenth time, sold out of the devices. Customers are waiting for three to four weeks before their Kindles can be shipped and readers are being despatched on a first come first served basis. All things considered, there’s absolutely no sign that demand for the Kindle is falling off – which is hardly surprising given the quality of the product.

Reports of the Kindle’s demise have proven to be premature in the past, and that is still the case. The Kindle and the iPad are completely different devices and there’s very little point in trying to compare them with each other. The Kindle is, by a long way, the best e-book reader available on the market. That’s why it will not only survive, but continue to sell very well – and it’s also why Amazon will remain an influential player in the future of the digital publishing market. some people who prefer to keep reading traditional printed books – both hardback and paperback editions}. Some people will transfer to an e-book reader, in which case the Amazon Kindle will be the most popular choice (as will Kindle books). Others will be primarily interested in surfing the net, watching videos and playing games when they’re out and about, reading only the occasional e-book from time to time – and they will most likely choose an iPad. You will be able to get your reading material from Amazon, whatever your personal preference is.

Amazon is having a busy time of it just at the moment. They have recently announced the upgrade of their tremendously successful Kindle 2.0 and Kindle DX readers and pre-order rates are very high at the moment. Stock levels of the third generation 6” Kindle are depleted and consumers are now pre-ordering to get their Kindle shipped, on a first-come-first-served basis, within four to five weeks.

This latest upgrade includes a higher contrast display, more memory, quicker page turns and color choice of graphite or white . The 6” display version also has 21% smaller body and is 15% lighter, at 8.7 oz. Amazon has also released an entry level Wi-Fi only model of the 6″ display Kindle for customers who do not have need of a 3G connection.

All of this is accompanied by a price drop. The 6” Kindle version Wi-Fi only model retails at $ 139, with the 3G plus Wi-Fi model on sale for $ 189. You can now get your hands on the large format Kindle DX for just $ 379. These represent significant price cuts when compared with the Kindle 2.0 launch $ 359 price and the previous DX price of $ 489.

A lot has been made of the potential impact of the Apple iPad on Kindle reader sales figures. In all probability the release of Apple’s iPad has prompted, or at least hastened, this latest round of e-book reader price cuts. However, the above prices are well below even the entry level iPad price and, for many customers, the fact that 3G is available with no monthly fee will be an attractive aspect of the Kindle pricing plan.

As well as the upgrades to the hardware and the price reductions, a dedicated UK Kindle store will be launched for the first time. Consumers in the UK will no longer require to have their Kindles shipped across the Atlantic. The UK Kindle store launches in August 2010 and will, in the first instance, have around 400,000 Kindle books to choose from. It seems reasonable to assume that other Amazon websites will soon have their own Kindle stores and that customers will be able to have their Kindles supplied locally.

The recent price drop in the e-book reader market may be an indication that the market, although still relatively young, is maturing. Reduced hardware prices will change the emphasis from hardware sales towards the sale of the e-books themselves. Amazon, who have an interest in both hardware and book sales may be better placed than companies who are chiefly concerned with hardware manufacture and sales. Whatever the future brings, and it seems likely that the future of reading will have a strong digital element, Amazon seem likely to remain a very influential player in the development of the market.

The Amazon Kindle reader has been instrumental in the development of the e-book reader and e-book market. The original Kindle was released in November, 2007. The Kindle 2.0 was released in February of 2009 and the large format Kindle DX followed in the summer of the same year.

The Kindle readers dominated the market and took a 60% share of all e-book reader sales in the USA. Sony’s PRS reader, which was released in 2006 in advance of the Kindle reader, was in second place with a smaller, but still respectable, 35% share. Other companies saw the potential of the e-book reader market and launched or updated their own readers to get a slice of the pie.

Companies such as Plastic Logic, Sony, Barnes and Noble, Bookeen and iRex fought to secure their share of the new and fast developing e-book market, but the Kindle’s dominant market position seemed to be impregnable. It wasn’t until the launch of the Apple iPad that the Kindle had any credible competition – even although the two devices were very different and would appeal, you would imagine, to different audiences.

Since the unveiling of the iPad, e-book reader prices have dropped quite some way. The Kindle 2.0 is currently selling for just $ 189, a huge reduction over the $ 359 launch price of February 2009. The large format Kindle DX has been upgraded, being fitted with a new improved screen, and has had a price reduction from $ 489 to just $ 379. The price of Barnes and Noble’s Nook reader also fell from $ 259 to $ 199.

Although the iPad seems to have provoked a round of price cuts among the manufacturers of e-book readers, the same cannot be said about the price of the e-books to read on these devices. Prior to the launch of the iPad, Apple had negotiated a deal with the major publishing houses which let them set the price of their e-book editions at pretty much whatever they wanted – as long as they did not allow the same e-book to be offered at a lower price on any other platform. This was seen as good news by the publishers, who had been unhappy with Amazon’s policy of selling all e-books for $ 9.99 or less.

Although Amazon may have had to rethink their e-book pricing policy, it’s not a major setback for them. Amazon has always appeared to be more interested in selling books – and e-books – rather than hardware. It’s difficult to see any other explanation for the fact that they have made Kindle books available on such a wide variety of different devices. Currently, you can read Kindle books on the PC, the Mac, your Blackberry, the iPod Touch, the iPad and any mobile device which runs Android. So companies like Amazon, Barnes and Noble and now Apple, who have a stake in the future sale of e-books over the life of a reader, can take the opportunity to sell the hardware for less and still make their profit over the lifetime of the device.

It may be that the future pricing of e-book readers and e-books will tend to favour such companies over manufacturers who are involved only in hardware production. Looking at the number of different devices which Kindle books can be read on, you would have to suspect that, whether or not the iPad becomes the reader of choice for many users, Amazon will continue to have a huge say in the future of books and e-books for the foreseeable future.

The popularity of e-book readers increased enormously during the course of 2009. The launch of the Amazon Kindle 2.0 and its larger sibling, the Kindle DX, followed up by competing readers such as the Nook from Barnes and Noble and the Sony Daily Edition reader in the last six months of the year, put both e-book readers and e-books firmly on the map. By the beginning of 2010 there was a good range of e-book readers for potential customers to pick from – including the Apple iPad, which includes e-book reader functionality amongst its many options.

Now that e-book readers have been taken up by “early adopters”, the next batch of potential customers will come from more conventional book readers. Although you can already find reviews of e-book readers online, and increasingly in newspapers and magazines, the present crop of customers are almost certainly more interested to discover how e-book readers measure up against “real” books and not just how they compare with different e-book readers. They want to know if they will miss the feel of a paper book.

Actually, the e-ink display technology which is used in the latest e-book readers is actually extremely good. It provides a reading experience which is nothing like reading on a computer monitor – it is much more akin to reading stock text printed on paper.

When you “turn the page” on an e-book reader, it flickers and goes dark just for an instant. However, these page turns are much faster now than they were as little as a year ago. After just a few reading sessions you won’t notice them at all. In truth, when you’re engrossed in a good book, you will be entirely unaware of the fact that you’re reading it on an electronic device rather than leafing through the pages of a more conventional paper edition.

Most e-book readers are very effortless to use. A recent survey of American e-book reader users found that 80% of them actually preferred using their e-book readers to reading a regular book. That’s a fairly solid endorsement – but in view of how simple e-book readers are to handle one-handed, on a crowded plane or bus, or sitting propped up on the sofa – it’s perhaps less surprising than it looks at first glance.

Over and above from the various advantages of the e-book reader hardware, the e-books to read on them are cheaper than traditional books. They don’t make use of paper, ink or bindings and there are no (or very small) delivery fees. They are also, for exactly the same reasons, much more environmentally friendly than paper books – even when the materials and energy used in the construction and delivery of the readers themselves are taken into account.

E-book readers, all things considered, have a lot to recommend them. They are the future of reading and, if you get through a book a week or so, could well prove to be cheaper than paper books. In the end, it’s a matter of personal preference – but an e-book reader may well be an option which you should give some thought to.

If your weakness for hard cover books is still leading you to resist a portable ebook reader like Amazon’s Kindle, you may reconsider when you take into account the ereader as a green gadget. Books, newspapers and magazines use a lot of paper for production, and the paper and ink process can impact the environment in such a negative way. So looking at it this way, an ebook is a choice to go green because this does away with tree cutting.

Ebook readers use rechargeable lithium polymer batteries which are another benefit to consider. Compared to their counterparts, nickel-based batteries, they are not as detrimental, and your wallet will thank you when you need not shell out every so often for batteries.

Unfortunately, it is the way it goes, and with these good features, a new set of problems follows. Our society depends heavily on technology, and to meet the needs, manufacturers are frantically coming up with new gizmos to offer geeks their much-desired tech fix. We acquire the latest gadget, and don’t conscientiously get rid of our “old” electronic devices. Electronic waste isn’t going to go away, and honestly, it is piling up. Recycling isn’t hard, and you can even donate your old gadgets to a non-profit organization or a school that has suffered from budget cuts. For as long as the device is still in decent working condition, you will be making a lot of other people happy.

As mentioned earlier, companies are determined to improve the ebook reader’s performance. At present, it’s a must to recharge an ebook using a computer or wall charger, depending on which one you have at hand. This does produce greenhouse gases, and as we are aware of, these gases are also affecting the environment negatively. Perhaps soon, a manufacturer will produce an ebook that could get its charge from the sun. What a fantastic excuse to be able to lay out by the pool and read because you need to charge your ereader!

It would simply be unwise for a company to ignore society’s demand for “green” products. With more attention to the situation, improvements on gadgets should also focus on environmental issues to safeguard our world and satisfy the market.

If you happen to be still unconvinced of the ebook reader, do some research. The mobility it offers and its user-friendliness  is simply wonderful, and reading a book electronically brings the story to life. In addition, you might wish to think about the simple fact that you’re contributing to saving trees. Most people agree that if you want to go green, using the ebook reader green gadget is a great way of doing so.

Presenting a side-by-side Kindle vs iPad review, which gadget will likely win hands down? No doubt about it, the Apple iPad, with its recent much talked about launch, is the “in” thing today. Hardcore Apple patrons can hardly wait to get their hands on one as the WiFi versions are expected to ship in late March, while the 3G units are to be delivered starting April. When that time comes, we will expect to see long lines in front of every Apple store just like what happened with the sale of the iPhone.

But what of the ereaders like the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader?  The ereader is fast becoming a mainstream consumer device, with the Kindle getting the lion’s share of the market. Seeing the promise of such a device however, many such ebook readers have also cropped up, with most of them having practically the same features as that of the Kindle. Now with the entry of tablet PCs like the iPad which can also ably perform as an ebook reader, the gadget demand may perhaps shift  to multi-functional devices. Can the iPad really make a significant dent on the ebook reader industry? Let’s weigh the significant factors.

First off, the negatives. The iPad will only be connected to Apple’s own ebook store. While this makes is sensible for those who are still thinking of buying an ebook reading gadget, if you already own a lot of digital books, you won’t be able to dump them in the iPad. Actual ebook prices are still to be confirmed, but there’s talk that purchasing iBooks in the Apple ebook store is going to cost you around 12.99 dollars and 14.99 dollars. This can be slightly steep if you have to start from scratch. Plus, Amazon’s ebooks continue to retail at 9.99 dollars apiece.

Nonetheless, buying an iPad has its own set of advantages, being a device that can perform many functions. You will be able to use this oversized iPhone lookalike, sans the “phone”, to view high-def movies, watch your favorite TV shows, browse the web, and play games on a 9.7 inch IPS touch screen. Sticking with Apple standards, the clarity and color is amazing, and it comes with your choice of 16-GB, 32-GB or 64-GB internal memory. With such storage capability, the Library can hold tons of books, which are ingeniously displayed on a “book shelf” design. With one simple tap, you may pick out your ebook, and read it on the high-resolution, LED back-lit screen. Depending on your memory and connectivity preferences, prices start out at 499 dollars and end at 829 dollars. It does have special apps developed specifically for the iPad, and you’ll have access to many of the 140,000 other apps at the App Store.

On the other hand, the Amazon Kindle is a device designed for the user’s most comfortable and convenient reading experience in mind. Unlike the LCD monitor of the iPad, the Kindle, like the current batch of ebook readers, utilizes e-ink display, which many say, is unarguably best for reading for longer periods of time. The Kindle’s battery can last as long as two weeks without recharging, so it could also make the ideal traveling companion. The 6-inch model is priced at 259 dollars, while the 9.7-inch Kindle DX costs 489 dollars.

So which gadget gets our nod in this Kindle vs iPad matchup? Certainly for the gadget geek, the iPad will fit perfectly alongside his MacBook Pro, AirPort Express, Magic Mouse and its smaller counterpart in looks, the iPhone. Jobs and his staff have created yet another brilliant product for the dedicated Apple user. But for the booklover just aiming to read in the most conjucive “environment” and have little need for all of the other extra features, the Kindle ebook reader is still your best option on the market today.

Participants were impressed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with the Plastic Logic Que (pronounced “Q”) digital ebook reader. In partnership with AT & T 3G network as the broadband provider, the Que has WiFi connectivity. With manufacturers claiming that it is a truly exceptional device, the Que is the first of its kind that is is said to be the perfect companion for the active professional. With its portability, users will certainly find it convenient to carry about

Some may have second thoughts about getting the Que due to its steep price tag. The WiFi 4GB model will dent the pocket by 650 bucks, while the WiFi 3G 8GB model will have you paying 150 bucks more. Why is it so dear? Following suit with other digital ereaders, the Que enables the users to read their preferred books, magazines, and newspapers, but in addition to these traditional features, they also can also use Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

The 4GB model can hold up to 35,000 documents and the 8GB model holds as many as 75,000. Finding reports, files and presentations is easy, and only calls for a few taps. With this technology, it’s possible bid goodbye to a briefcase bursting with documents. This function is truly the reason why it’s most effective for the traveling professional or businessman. It may even be appealing to students as well.

The Que is a sleek and fine gadget, equipped with a 10.7 monochrome screen built into a thin body. It measures 8.5 x 11 inches, similar in size as an ordinary piece of paper, and is light in weight. It is easy to bring anywhere, tucked in one’s briefcase or purse.

Stress-free on the eyes, the plastic display is very enticing and the e-ink provides pleasurable reading. The Plastic Logic Que doesn’t come with a stylus, but a sensitive virtual keyboard. The user can take notes and highlight crucial passage in any document for future reference. The Que has a built-in a USB port, SD card slot and speaker, and isn’t cluttered with excessive hardware. The sole button located on the front is the power button located at the bottom of the reader. In short, it looks good!

The reading enthusiast will have access to their favorite books, magazines and newspapers with the wide selection in the QUE Store. Users can enjoy as well their daily newspaper over breakfast, steal a quick glance at their presentation even in the middle of a meeting, and enjoy accessible information at all times. Consumers can get their hands on the Plastic Logic Que from local retailers in mid-March, or pre-order it at the Que site.

The popularity of e-book readers grew enormously during the course of 2009. The release of the Amazon Kindle 2.0 and its larger sibling, the Kindle DX, followed up by competing readers like the Nook by Barnes and Noble and the Sony Daily Edition reader in the last six months of the year, firmly established both e-books and e-book readers in the consumer market place. By early 2010 there was a wide variety of e-book readers for prospective customers to choose from – including the Apple iPad, which includes e-book reader functionality amongst its many options.

Now that the “early adopters” have picked up on e-book readers, the next wave of possible customers will come from more traditional book readers. Although it’s possible to find many (very many) reviews of e-book readers on-line, and increasingly in magazines and newspapers, the current crop of customers are possibly more interested to find out how e-book readers stack up against “real” books as opposed to how they compare with other e-book readers. They want to know if they will miss the feel of a conventional book.

Actually, the e-ink display technology which is used in the latest e-book readers is really very good. It provides a reading experience which is nothing like reading on a computer monitor – it is much more similar to reading standard text written on paper.

When you “turn the page” on an e-book reader, it flickers and goes dark just for an instant. However, these page turns are much faster now than they were as little as a year ago. After one or two reading sessions you won’t be aware of them at all. In fact, when you’re enjoying a good book, you will be completely unaware of the fact that you’re reading it on an electronic device rather than leafing through the pages of a more traditional paper edition.

The majority of e-book readers are very undemanding to use. A recent survey of American e-book reader owners found that 80% of them actually preferred using their e-book readers to reading a conventional book. That’s a fairly strong endorsement – but bearing in mind how comfortable e-book readers are to operate one-handed, on a busy train or bus, or sitting propped up in bed – it’s possibly less surprising than it appears at first glance.

Over and above from the numerous benefits of the e-book reader hardware, the e-books to read on them are less expensive than conventional books. They don’t consume paper, ink or bindings and there are no (or very small) delivery fees. They are also, for just the same reasons, much more environmentally friendly than “real” books – even when the materials and energy used in the manufacture and delivery of the readers themselves are taken into account.

E-book readers, all in all, have a good deal to recommend them. They are the future of reading and, if you read a book a week or so, could well be considerably cheaper than conventional books. In the end, it’s a matter of personal preference – but an e-book reader may well be an option which you should think about.

Are ebook readers about to be discarded in favor of the iPad? After the big launch of the Apple iPad, tech geeks are frantically pacing the floor, anxiously looking to the day when they can finally get their hands on this device. The iPad versions built with WiFi are expected to be shipped by late March and the 3G models are to be shipped starting April. It's no shocker actually; a person who uses Apple products are a different kind, loyal and have stayed devout to Apple.

It seems like Steve Jobs still got his touch, creating a product which will be flying off the shelves, no doubt. Perhaps hordes of Apple followers will meander in long lines at the nearby Apple Store, standing by for when the iPad will finally go on sale, harking back to the iPhone launch. But with all of the buildup surrounding the iPad, will it overshadow the popularity of other ereaders like the Kindle and Sony Readers? So we can come to a verdict, let's take a look at the iPad closely.

It's not cheap with prices starting at 499 dollars and topping out at 829 dollars, and why wouldn't it be more than a bit pricey? True, the iPad is an ebook reader but it does a lot more than that It looks like a huge version of the iPhone, minus the call capabilities. You'll be able to view high-def movies, stream TV shows, browse the web, and play games on it. The large 9.7-inch IPS touch screen is up to Apple's high resolution standards. It comes with a storage capacity of 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB flash drive.

With such storage capability, this gadget will obviously hold a library much larger than your typical ereader. Books are coolly arranged on a “book shelf”. You can just tap the book you would like, and enjoy reading it on a high-resolution, LED backlit screen. While most existing iPhone and iPod Touch apps will also run on the iPad, special apps purposely created for the iPad are expected to come out too.

Here's a problem, however. The iPad will only be associated to Apple's own ebook store, and these books are not compatible with the Kindle and other ebook reader market dominators. If you've got a wide collection of ebooks already on another ereader, you'll have trouble reading them on the iPad. While it is still not confirmed as yet, word has it that iBooks will sell for 12.99 dollars and 14.99 dollars.

The Apple iPad is portable, lightweight, and most likely really fun to tinker around with. But if you don't need all of the “other stuff”, the ereaders available now will suit you just as well. But if you are a hardcore Apple fanatic, then Jobs and his team have manufactured yet another brilliant product for consumers. With fantastic clarity and capabilities, you're going to “iLove” this multi-tasking gadget. The Apple iPad will match perfectly with your MacBook Pro, AirPort Express, Magic Mouse and iPhone.