Yankee Group: eReader sales to reach $8.2 billion by 2014

Boston Globe: "Global sales of e-readers such as the Kindle are projected to reach $8.2 billion by 2014, according to a new report from Yankee Group, a Boston-based market research firm. That's up from 2010 sales of nearly $1.9 billion, or from about 11 million units last year to a projected 72 million in unit sales in 2014, Yankee Group said. And by 2014, the average retail price for an e-reader device should be $114, down from a 2010 average of $182, Yankee Group said. ... "

Android Powered Archos 70 Joins eReader Market

At $149, serious competition for the Nook. EverythingUSB: "Archos will begin shipping a new Android device which will undercut every other 7 inch tablet available now. The Archos 70 tablet unassumingly sports the usual feature set of lower end tablets. Marketed as an eReader, the Archos 70 is an a capable tablet that ‘should’ come with all the abilities of any Android device. In the past, Archos has chosen to disable some of the Android features in order to focus users on their intended features; Music,Video and eBooks. These lockouts are usually quickly undone by the modding community. ... "

Kindle Forces Budget e-Reader Price Chops

David Crave - CNET: "When it comes to e-readers these days, most of the action here in the U.S. seems to be concentrated around the Kindle, Nook, and iPad. But every week or so, we'll notice a traffic spike on CNET for an e-reader that isn't from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Inevitably, this is due to a special discount that some store is running on the product or perhaps even an appearance in a Best Buy circular."

Nook Color Debuts - Early Reviews are Mixed

DailyTech delivers a good rundown on all the late-breaking Nook Color reviews. " ... problems ... abound. The music player is reportedly hard to use and doesn't automatically recognize newly added songs until you reset. The web browser doesn't support pinch-zoom and breaks on many sites (including those that use Flash). Supported audio and video formats are limited. The device can play movies on YouTube -- but only at the lowest resolution. Reviewers praised the inclusion of an Microsoft Office-document viewer (.ppt, .doc), which was a bit slow but got the job done. They also said the PDF reader was superb. Despite being an Android tablet, the Nook Color does not support the Android Market. Reviewers were baffled by this. Engadget recalls playing Angry Birds seamlessly on a demo unit. Clearly this would have multiplied the value of the tablet greatly, but perhaps Barnes & Noble was afraid of muddling a cohesive e-book reader experience. Whatever the justification, the reviews agree that the lack of apps greatly hurt the device."

Galaxy Tab More Expensive at Home Than U.S.

"Verizon Communications Inc., the U.S. carrier, offers Galaxy Tab with no wireless contract at $599, or about 676,000 won at today’s exchange rate." - WSJ. "SKT in South Korea sells Galaxy Tab at 995,500 won, or about $884, without the contract. That means Galaxy Tab is 47% more expensive in the country where it is made."

Digital Readers: A Guide

PW: "Reading in the digital era means picking the right reading device as much as picking the right book. So we’ve prepared a very selective chart listing some of the e-reading devices—from tablet computers to dedicated e-readers and smartphones—likely to be popular during the holiday season. ... "

What the Next Kindle Might Look Like

Fully Equipped - CNET Reviews: "After Barnes & Noble unveiled its Nook Color e-reader recently, I got a few e-mails from folks asking me what I thought Amazon.com was up to and whether Jeff Bezos had some sort of color device up his sleeve. I'd written an article a few months back about a possible Amazon Android tablet and they wanted to know whether they should opt for the Nook Color or wait for an Amazon tablet. Did I know if a Kindle Color was coming soon? Well, for starters, I don't think we'll see a color e-reader from Amazon this year--or probably anytime soon. I think Amazon really sees the iPad as its color e-reader of the moment. A lot of people are using the Kindle app on the iPad (and iPhone), even though Apple has iBooks. ... "

Wi-Fi iPad Available in China and 5 More Countries Starting Friday

Of course, the iPads are assembled in China, but have not up to now been available as a product there. No word about 3G availability. Mobiles DNA: "Apple has officially announced the availability of Wi-Fi models of magical iPad in China from September 17 from Apple retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers from 10 AM. The price for the 16 GB model will be CNY3988 ($590), 32 GB model price will be CNY4788 ($708) and 64 GB model price will be CNY5588 ($827). According to Apple’s Latin American site, iPad will also be launching in 5 more countries including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru on Friday. ... However, there is no information when will the 3G iPad models will be available in China."

Sony’s New Readers: Price & Connectivity are Problems

Technologizer: "While Sony has cut prices compared to the ones its last-generation Readers started at, they’re still high: The Daily Edition is $299, the Touch Edition is $229, and the Pocket Edition is $179. True, the Readers have some of the nicest industrial designs of any e-readers, with aluminum cases rather than plasticky shells on the Kindle and Nook. Some folks might be willing to pay a premium for touch screens. And the Daily Edition’s 7″ screen is a plus compared to the 6″ Kindle and Nook. But the Touch and Pocket Editions’ reliance on USB transfers is anachronistic in an era in which the 3G Kindle and Nook are $189 and $199 respectively and the Wi-Fi-only versions are $139 and $149. In order to get a Reader with a built-in wireless bookstore you need to spend more than twice the price of the Wi-Fi Kindle."

Borders Lowers Prices on Kobo and Aluratek Libre e-Readers/Target to Begin Selling Kindle

TheStreet: "After a brief cessation of hostilities, Borders(BGP) is again reigniting the e-reader price wars, lowering the cost on two of its devices. Borders announced Tuesday that it will lower the price on its Kobo e-reader to $129.99 from $149.99, while its Aluratek Libre reader will now be sold for $99.99 from $119.99. ... Elsewhere in the e-reader world, Staples (SPLS) announced today that it will begin selling Amazon's Kindle in stores this fall. Currently, Target (TGT) also carries the device."

MerchSource Literati - Color Comes to an E-Reader

$20 more than Wifi Kindle with no web site access & no games? Just for color display in a dedicated eReader? I don't think so. Gadgetwise Blog - NYTimes.com: "MerchSource thinks it has a shot at grabbing some e-reader market share. The company announced today its full-color e-Reader, the Literati: a low-cost dedicated e-reader with a full-color screen. The Literati by The Sharper Image sells for about $159 including a case, $20 more than Amazon’s 6-inch Kindle Wi-Fi model. It’s designed to display books and other printed materials, and nothing more. No Web site access and no games."

Samsung E60 eBook Reader Goes on Sale at W.H. Smith Later This Week

But it doesn't stand a chance. Which? News: "According to Samsung the E60 is compatible with major ebook formats including ePub, PDF and TXT. The Samsung E60 can also playback MP3 music and audiobooks, and has a text-to-speech feature that can read out ebooks. ... The Samsung E60 doesn't have a 3G connection but instead connects via wi-fi for users to download ebooks from the WHSmith ebook store. Samsung's new eReader will cost £200 when launched - £90 more than the wi-fi-only version of its high-profile rival, the Amazon Kindle."

Aluratek's Libre eBook Reader Pro Falls Below $100 Retail

There are hardware price drops, and then there are irrelevant hardware price drops on stuff no-one wants to buy. This is the latter. PCWorld: "The price of an e-reader from Aluratek dropped to under $100 over the weekend, which could escalate a price war that broke out between device makers in June. The US$99 Libre eBook Reader Pro ... was previously priced at $169. Pitched to be 'small enough to fit into your pocket,' the device has a 5-inch black-and-white LCD screen and offers 24 hours of battery life. But prices are just one determinant of success for e-readers, said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at the NPD Group. Products like the Libre have significantly lower distribution and consumer presence and so are not nearly as meaningful or competitive as the Kindle or Nook. 'I don't think at this point either Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Sony really needs to respond to these lower-profile competitors,' Baker said."

Pandigital Novel Hampered by Poor Display, Unresponsive Interface

 Whoops. Washington Post: "The Pandigital Novel makes a valiant attempt at being a value-priced, full-color, Android-based e-reader that also doubles as a general-use tablet. Unfortunately, it falls short of its mark. At $175 (price as of August 10, 2010), the Novel is expensive compared with Amazon's newest, $139, single-purpose, E-Ink-based Kindle e-reader. And as a tablet/e-reader combo that tries to compete with Apple's iPad, the Novel is slow and inelegant, and lacks the full versatility that a true tablet user expects."

Notion Ink Adam: Pricing, Specs, Video

SlashGear: "Four versions of Adam will be launched: each will use NVIDIA’s Tegra 2, but there will be Pixel Qi and LCD models and a choice of WiFi-only or WiFi and 3G. The company has confirmed that all will come in under the cost of a basic iPad; our source tells us that the LCD version will cost $399 for the WiFi-only and $449 for the 3G model, while the Pixel Qi version will cost $449 for the WiFi-only and $498 for the 3G model." Go to Slashgear from complete specs and a video demo. Release likely in the November 2010 to January 2011 window, assuming fairly prompt FCC approval.

Poor Timing Dooms Asus Eee Pads Before They Launch

PCWorld Business Center: "The price of the Asus tablets, combined with coming late to the party, and poorly timed product releases virtually guarantee the Asus devices will stumble--if not fail completely."

Plastic Logic's Que e-reader Goes South

But of course. The folks at Asus should take this as a sign. Stop the madness.

CNET News: "In a move that will probably surprise few, Plastic Logic announced Tuesday that it's canceling plans for its pricey Que e-reader. Plastic Logic had already delayed the Que several times after showing early versions of the product for years. Starting at $649, the Que was priced well above the iPad and many notebook computers, not to mention all other e-readers on the market. And that was before a recent spate of price cuts that has pushed the price of the Kindle, Nook, and many other devices below $200."

Waterstone's Slashes Price of Pocket e-Reader to 99.99 pounds | theBookseller.com

Waterstone's slashes price of pocket e-reader to 99.99 pounds | theBookseller.com: "Waterstone's has slashed the price of its Sony Pocket Edition eBook reader to 99.99 pounds, making it the cheapest on the market. The price change was made in store and online yesterday (9th August). When it first went on sale in September last year, it was priced at 179 pounds. The price of the Sony Touch Edition, 199 pounds, has not changed. The move could be seen as a direct riposte to Amazon.co.uk, which two weeks ago announced it would sell the wi-fi Kindle reader to UK customers for 109 pounds."

Asus eBook Reader Priced at “Only” $599 - Release Date: October 2010

Can you say Dead on Arrival?

Free PC Guides: "We don’t actually know if there’s only going to be one reader, or an entire series of them, but judging by the announced price, we shouldn’t hold our breaths. Yes, the title reads correctly: $599 for the Asus eBook Readers, while your usual one costs around $100, maybe $200 if you’re keen on getting the best in the league. Moreover, the Asus product doesn’t come with any breath-taking features: it doesn’t do your hair and there’s no massage included. Instead, it has an 8 inch Chimei innolux LCD display (which should improve the response time a notch), and a couple of other common add-ons, like web-browsing."

Copia's Crappy New eReaders for Fall - No WiFi

The Digital Reader's Nate the Great Cuts to the Chase: " ... a pair of LCD e-readers (no Wifi or touch screen) called the Wave5 and Wave7 for $99 and $129. I showed you the 5″ e-reader before; the 7″ model is equally pathetic. Do they really think they can sell either device when you can get a 7″ Android tablet for $149? or the Kindle Wifi for $139? Who do they think they are kidding? Hell, I thought the whole idea of Copia was social media. How exactly am I supposed to share with my friends if these e-readers don’t have Wifi?" There's also a 10" tablet ($299) with WiFi which seems to suck a bit less, but still ...