An eReader is both an electronic book reader on which e-books can be physically downloaded and the eReader application that controls the reading experience. Most familiar to date is the Amazon Kindle e-reader where new releases of books could be downloaded starting at $9.99. Amazon sold more e-books on Christmas Day 2009 than paper books for the first time.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100108/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_gadget_show_e_books The Consumer Electronics Association says 2.2 million e-book readers were shipped in 2009 with over 5 million expected in 2010.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100108/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_gadget_show_e_books The Barnes & Noble Nook was backordered until February due to unprecedented demand during the holiday buying season.http://www.infoworld.com/t/consumer-electronics/nooks-delays-offer-business-lessons-106 The Nook had 53% of e-reader sales in first quarter of 2010 overtaking Amazon.http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/strong-amazon-quarter-but-nook-sells-more-e-readers/The latest news, ebook readers, and ebook applications can be found on this page.

The Apple iPad, whose US sales began April 3, is an eReader with a 9.7 inch IPS display and uses the Apple iBooks application connected to the Apple iBookstore online store. Over two million iPads were sold in the US by the end of May.

While e-books represent a very small fraction of sales, the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show set aside a special area for two dozen companies making an e reader or reading material.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100108/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_gadget_show_e_books The products displayed at CES include: Plastic Logic Que, Skiff Reader, EnTourage eDGe, Samsung eBook Reader (E6 and E101) and Blio.http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/08/ces.ereader/ More recent product announcements include the Asus DR-900.http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/02/asus-makes-dr-900-e-reader-official/

There were models introduced in 2009 as well including the Sony e-Reader intended to compete against the two Amazon Kindle products available.http://www.pcworld.com/article/170828/sonys_ereader_vs_kindle_5_reasons_amazon_should_worry.html Other choices last year were Barnes & Noble Nook, Hanvon N series, Bookeen Cybook Opus, Elonex eBook, Endless Ideas BeBook, Interead COOL-ER, Samsung Papyrus, Foxit Software eSlick, iRex Digital Reader, Jinke Hanlin and some others.http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141437/Elgan_7_reasons_why_e_book_readers_make_lousy_gifts_this_year http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_e-book_readers http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix

Most important for an eReader is the means to load an ebook and the formats supported. Simpler models use USB and the more advanced have wireless capability. There are many formats such as [[PDF], EPUB, and the usual document formats (TXT, RTF, DOC). The consumer should pay particular attention to which format is supported. The most common DRM protected format is the Adobe ADEPT (EPUB/PDF). At the moment, many publishers are delaying their e-book versions of bestsellers to drive hardcover sales.http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/technology/ebook_pricing.fortune/index.htm

Pricing of e-books was dominated by Amazon's $9.99 pricing for Kindle although this changed as the deals with booksellers for the Apple iSlate came to fruition.http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/technology/ebook_pricing.fortune/index.htm Kindle pricing will likely rise to the $12.99 - $14.99 range set for iBooks downloads for the Apple iPad.http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/02/16/publishers_skeptical_of_apple_ipad_business_model.html

Most eReaders have a diagonal of 5-6 inches although there are about a dozen models with larger screens. Almost all use the use the E Ink Vizplex grayscale screen technology with 4 to 16 levels. The typical operating system is Linux and a battery life that allows 7,500 to 10,000 pages to be read. Memory varies and many have an SD/MMC or MicroSD expansion slot. The eReaders are usually connected to the internet via USB and increasingly wireless or 3G.

Today's eReaders are designed for reading novels and non-fiction work in a sequential manner. Using reference e-books is a challenge due to the slow response of e-ink reader screen technology, lack of color, and poor navigation among pages of a book. http://www.pcworld.com/article/187511building_a_better_ereader_a_developers_daydream.html

Not all ebook readers are compatible with the popular ePub format (e.g., Kindle), so make sure you know which book formats you will be using before choosing an ebook reader. While an eBook might be using the ePub format, such as the Apple iPad, the choice of digital rights management software makes an eBook incompatible with other readers.http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14382854?nclick_check=1

Textbook e-readers are expected to be growing in popularity with the large screen format of touchscreen devices like the Apple iPad. Textbook eReaders include Coursesmart, ScrollMotionhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/02/major-textbook-pubs-partner-with-scrollmotion-for-ipad-developme/ and Inkling.http://venturebeat.com/2010/01/27/inkling-ipad/

Barnes & Noble lowered the price of the 3G Nook to $199 on June 21 and Amazon lowered the Kindle to $189.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/06/bns-nook-goes-down-to-149-amazon-cuts-kindle-price-too.html

Android

http://androinica.com/2010/05/11/aldiko-makes-every-android-device-an-ebook-reader-app-reviews/

iPhone

eReading apps for iPhone (ShinyShinyTV)http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2010/02/three_ereading.html - reviews of Kobo, Free Books and eReader

Many ebook reader designs are announced but never make it to market.http://www.devicemag.com/2010/04/14/spring-design-alex-e-book-reader-begins-shipping-tomorrow/ Here are some of these e-readers that have been reviewed:

The Aluratek Libre eBook Reader PRO available from Costco in US for those on a budget but buyer beware - you get what you pay for.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/personal-tech/gadgets/review-aluratek-libre-ebook-reader-pro/article1484935/

"The E-Reader Explosion: A Cheat Sheet (Technologizer) lists specifications of Amazon Kindle (and Kindle DX), Barnes & Noble Nook, iRex DR800SG, Plastic Logic Que, Sony Reader Daily Edition, Sony Reader Pocket Edition, Sony Reader Touch Edition, Spring Design Alex

E-Book Reader Roundup: Samsung’s Papyrus Joins the Crowd (Wiredhttp://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/03/samsungs-new-e/ brfiefly reviews the Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, iRex iLiad, Fujitsu Flepia, Hanlin eReader, Foxit eSlick Reader, Plastic Logic,

eBook Reader Reviewhttp://ebook-reader-review.toptenreviews.com/ has reader ratings for Kindle 2, Kindle DX, Sony Reader PRS-700, iRex Digital Reader, COOL-ER, Sony Reader PRS-505, Astak EZ REader, Cybook Gen3, iLiad 2e

EreaderChoice sitehttp://ereaderchoice.com/#books for reader reviews

News and views (Teleread)http://www.teleread.org/2009/12/10/ereaderchoice-site-opened-comparison-of-ereaders-and-books/

eBooks Reader Reviewshttp://www.ebookreadersreview.co.uk/ of Bebook Neo, iRiver Story, Kindle 2 International Version, COOL-ER (Cooler) eBook Reader, BeBook Two,Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS-600, and Elonex eBook Reader (Borders UK) including comparison of 5" and 6" models.http://www.ebookreadersreview.co.uk/guides/ebook-comparison-tables-added/

Kobo eReader available at Borders for pre-order.http://www.google.com.lb/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=2&ved=0CAsQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.koboereader.com%2Ffeatures.html&ei=ygThS__zCoH78AbJp5jwDA&usg=AFQjCNEBm8au3OCw10QQ45z684q_h2hxNQ Deliveries began June 17th.http://techland.com/2010/05/07/kobo-ereader-from-borders-now-available-for-preorder-at-150/ The price was slashed to $149.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/06/bns-nook-goes-down-to-149-amazon-cuts-kindle-price-too.html

Nook 2 and Nook Lite (WiFi only) coming later this year?http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20002754-1.html

Pandigital Novel partnering with Barnes & Noble has 7 inch screen and runs Android - $199http://www.linuxinsider.com/edpick/70064.html

Rather than compete with other hardware providers of eReaders, the large content providers are moving towards multi-platform applications.

Amazon introduced the Kindle eReader and its associated content to a number of platforms including Kindle for PC, Kindle for iPhone, Blackberry and the newest version for the Android OS. The [[Dell Streak 5] (formerly the Mini 5) running Android 1.6 OS will have access to Amazon content via the Kindle Android ereader.http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100310/tc_pcworld/rumordellmini5totakeonipadwithamazonandkindleintegration

Barnes & Noble will introduce an eReader iPad application in May.http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20003085-1.html B&N now allows one hour of free reading of select titles within the store.

The ebook reader market is expected to evolve in two directions so that the current crop of ebook readers and tablet computers won't compete directly against each other.http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/e-readers-future/ An older demographic prefers the traditional grayscale ebook reader (at the moment) while those younger prefer the color tablets. Analysts expect the grayscale ebook reader to eventually be replaced by color screens. Whether the single function of current ebook readers like the Kindle will remain is unclear.

Coursesmart

Inklinghttp://venturebeat.com/2010/01/27/inkling-ipad/ a highly interactive textbook ereader for Apple iPad

Opera has an eReader widget for non-DRM ePub format ebookshttp://widgets.opera.com/widget/15552/

Skiff Readerhttp://www.crunchgear.com/2010/06/15/the-skiff-she-is-dead/ - June 2010 - not in News Corp purchase of Skiff Company.