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.

Amazon has had a fantastic year in 2009. Most of the credit for that must go to the Kindle ebook reader family. The Kindle 2.0 and its larger sibling, the DX, have been a runaway success for Amazon. The Kindle is now Amazon’s top selling product.

Right now the Kindle accounts for 60% of the US ebook reader market. The Kindle 2.0 recently launched internationally. Even if Amazon don’t achieve the same high level of success globally – although it’s difficult to see why they wouldn’t – the enlarged volume of the market is going to help Amazon to even better results in 2010.

Some industry watchers seem to feel that much of the Kindle’s success up to this point has been down to a dearth of genuine competition. Whilst it may be true that there weren’t many e-book readers around to go head to head with the Kindle in the early stages, it would perhaps be nearer the truth to say that the Kindle’s success was mainly due to the fact that it was an innovative, market changing product.

There are certainly enough alternative readers available today – or due for launch in the near future. The long list of companies which either already have their own readers on the market or planned for imminent release is a strong sign of the level of expansion which can be predicted in the e-book reader market. Whilst it is true that the market for ebook readers is still nascent, it has received support from a variety of different sources – including the world of academic publishing and various political bodies. Rapid growth looks inevitable.

A further strong indicator of the predicted level of growth in this sector is the high volume of third party goods on offer to customise, protect and accessorise ebook readers. Currently the majority of these items are intended for Amazon’s Kindle reader. If you need a Kindle cover, Kindle reading light or a spare charger then there are any number of independent manufacturers ready and willing to cater to your needs. The choice for alternative readers, such as Sony’s Daily Edition and the Nook reader from Barnes and Noble will begin to expand as their popularity increases.

Just as 2009 was a good year for Amazon, it seems reasonable to expect 2010 to see ebook readers become generally more popular. Amazon’s dominance will be challenged and higher levels of competition will tend to force prices downwards – quite possibly to the point where ebook readers are considered to be a mainstream consumer item rather than a high technology gadget.

Market analysts predict that a price of around $ 150 is what is required for this to happen. Bearing in mind the amount of competition in the sector, it’s not too fanciful to suppose that this price point may be reached during 2010.