So you have spent your hard-earned money on an Apple iPad to use it as an e-book reader? Holding an iPad with hands for too long can get inconvenient. That’s why you are going to need a decent reading stand. iPad stands make it much easier to read on your tablet no matter where you are.

For those of you who do like to read a lot (on the contrary to what Steve Jobs believes), these 7 iPad stands can be quite helpful:

Tuff-Luv Bi-Axis Napa Leather case: an attractive hybrid protective case / stand for iPad that supports multiple reading angles.

Adjustable Multimedia Multi-Purpose Wood Stand: a pretty attractive and handy stand that works with most e-book readers including your Kindle or iPad.

Stabile iPad Stand: a very solid iPad stand that you can use to keep your iPad in landscape or portrait positions. It weighs 4 pounds and won’t tip over.

Mivizu Primo iPad leather case cover with rotating stand: another hybrid iPad case that can be used as a reading stand for your tablet too.

The e-reader market has become quite crowded in the past few months. That trend is expected to continue as more companies go for their piece of the pie. Kindle, Sony Reader, and iPad are all great devices. But more e-reader makers are realizing the true power of Android platform. It is growing very fast and has a ton of apps available for download. Best of all, it’s an open source platform. In a matter of few months, there are going to be a whole lot of Android e-readers/tablets available on the market. For now, there are 3 Android e-book readers that are worth picking up:

Nook eBook Reader: needs no introduction. B&N has done a great job promoting nook and getting people interested in this device. nook Lite is cheaper and should get some more attention for the nook family.

Kobo eReader may not be the best e-book reader around, but it has made a lot of players in the e-reader market nervous. The device is priced low and offers almost everything one would need to read books (without the unnecessary bells and whistles). Just like Amazon Kindle and Nook, Kobo has gotten its own apps for mobile devices. Kobo apps for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry let Kobo e-Reader owners to purchase, bookmark, and read their books on the go.

Amazon has sent the tech world buzzing with its latest Kindle price drop. B&N was the first company to get aggressive and drop nook’s price (taking out 3G feature in the process). Amazon Kindle is now being sold for $189, and it will still offer the 3G wireless feature that Kindle fans have come to love. We know Kindle 3 is coming in August, but that should not excuse Amazon’s flawed Kindle strategy. The company has gone from a proactive company to a reactive one over the past two years. Not the best way to compete.

Many Kindle fans will appreciate the latest price drop. It’s a major discount any way you look at it. What’s alarming with Amazon’s approach is the passive strategy Amazon has adopted in the past few months. The company needs to be much more aggressive if it wants to protect its position in the e-book reader market. Innovation and price-leadership are two ways to compete in highly competitive markets. In the case of Amazon, the company should go with both. It just needs to be more aggressive with both.

We have been waiting for quite a while for Amazon and Barnes & Noble to drop their e-readers’ prices. While B&N is still selling Nook for $259, BestBuy has started taking pre-orders for a $149 Nook. The specifications of this device are very identical to the original Nook but only WiFi functionality is offered. This move seems to be a response to Kobo Reader, which is being offered for only $120 at Borders [Update: Amazon has responded by dropping Kindle's price to $189]

This is good move by B&N to stay competitive while putting the final touches to Nook 2. Amazon is likely to follow suit and offer a cheaper model of Kindle in a short while [Update: for now Amazon has dropped Kindle's price by $70]. Let’s face it. A lot of e-book reader fans will be satisfied with a device that does not come with a 3G connection as long as it delivers in other areas. nook Lite certainly does.

Nintendo has manufactured some of the most innovative products in the past few years. The company is not expected to stop anytime soon. The new Wii and Nintendo 3DS are two exciting devices that should give gamers plenty to be excited about. But is the company really interested in getting in the e-reader business? While that is highly doubtful, Nintendo is toying with the idea of adding e-reader functionality to its gaming devices such as Nintendo 3DS.

Nintendo 3DS is a smart Wi-Fi device. It automatically connects with Wi-Fi hotspots and downloads information. Technically, Nintendo can use this capability to provide 3DS owners with the latest newspapers or local information. But do not expect this device to challenge Kindle or iPad anytime soon.

I am a Kindle case junkie. Even though I have tried almost any case one can find on the market, I do not hesitate to pick up new cases for my e-reader. Moleskine® Kindle Cover is a new protective case worth looking at. It not only aims to protect Kindle, it also includes a reporter-style notebook for those who intend to take notes on the road (e.g. reporters, bloggers, …). It’s a very interesting concept. Moleskine realizes that while some people may be ready to read their books in digital format, there is still a need for paper notebooks. Or is there?

Our team has not reviewed Moleskine’s case, but it is not too hard to figure out what Amazon Kindle is missing just by looking at this case. If a company wants its customers to go digital, it should provide them with the tools to make the transition much easier. People can read e-books on a Kindle. However, since Kindle is not a touch-screen device, one can’t take hand-written notes on it (something that is very much possible using an iPad).