Among E-Readers, Competition Heats Up
By Joanna Stern in The New York Times
Published: June 9, 2010

WHEN Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, introduced the iPad, he bluntly took aim at the rapidly emerging e-reader market.
“Amazon has done a great job” with the Kindle, he said. “We’re going to stand on their shoulders and go a little bit further.”
The iPad’s full-color screen and its ability to browse the Web and run thousands of applications certainly make it more versatile than the Kindle, but Apple is not the only company bringing more than just black-on-white text to readers.

AsusTek, Dell and Hewlett-Packard will soon be following Apple’s lead, bringing to market large-screen tablets that are ideal for reading books and newly formatted digital magazines and newspapers. And unlike Amazon’s and Sony’s stand-alone e-readers, which are limited by monochrome E Ink screens, the new multipurpose devices provide access to the Web and other applications.

Does this mean dedicated digital reader devices will be landing in the grave? Not quite. While the price of many basic e-readers has been cut to stimulate sales, companies like Barnes & Noble and Spring Design have melded those E Ink screens with secondary color displays to add some Web functionality to primarily single-function e-readers.

The result includes smarter devices and more choices. Here’s a roundup of products to consider in choosing a digital reader now.

APPLE IPAD The iPad, starting at $499, is often described as an enlarged iPhone, but with a 9.7-inch, multitouch display, it offers a lot more. In addition to being a video player and Internet device, it can be instantly transformed into an e-reader by downloading the iBooks app from the App Store. Any of the 1.5 million-plus books in the store can be downloaded to the device when connected to Wi-Fi or a 3G network.

Paging through an e-book is as simple as swiping a finger across the screen, and thanks to animation, it appears as if a real paper page has been turned. Unlike the black-and-white-only experience of other e-readers, the iPad is the way to enjoy color-filled children’s, art and comic books. Other applications in the App Store, like the Kindle app, provide access to additional books and magazines. At 1.5 pounds, though, the iPad is heavier than other e-readers like the Kindle.
The full piece at NYT.