Gadgets - >5 Things That Will Make E-Readers Better in 2010

[wired] Apple has put the pressure on e-book readers with its forthcoming iPad tablet. But Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Sony aren’t taking it lying down. Color, touchscreens and improved black-and-white displays are some of the innovations that consumers can expect to see in electronic-reading gadgets this year.

“E-readers today are where the pre-iPod MP3 players were,” says Robert Brunner, founder of Ammunition, a design firm that worked on Barnes & Noble’s Nook. “It’s still very early and development is just beginning to ramp up.”

Since the launch of Amazon’s Kindle in 2007, e-readers have become a fast-growing category of consumer electronics products. But with the entry of the iPad, the e-reader market is at a crossroads. With its 9.7-inch color LCD screen, the iPad supports not just movies and web surfing, but also has an e-reading feature. Apple will also begin selling e-books for the iPad through its iTunes store.

But e-reader enthusiasts say that dedicated digital reading devices will continue to thrive despite competition from Apple.

Let’s take a look at five technologies that e-reader makers are betting on to keep their products relevant:

• touch
  
• colour
  
• flexibility
  
• better software
  
• more contrast
  

5 Things That Will Make E-Readers Better in 2010