CES 2010 was always going to be the event to participate for companies who were hoping to enter the e-reader market. While many have been excited by the prospect of Plastic Logic reader finally being released to the market, there are other companies that are introducing their own e-readers to the market at this event. Samsung is one of those companies. The company has announced E6 and E101 (10.1 screen) in an attempt to capture a bit more market-share in the e-book industry.

Both devices allow users to take notes with a stylus on their devices, and they come with WiFi capability as well. While there are no earth-shattering features in any of these devices, Samsung seems to be hopeful:

Samsung is addressing a common frustration that users experience with many of today’s digital readers with a stylus that allows them to annotate their favorite works or take notes. Coupled with wireless functionality that enables sharing of content, this is truly a multi-faceted device.

These units both come equipped with WiFi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 as well as fairly long battery life. But here is the catch. E6 will cost you $399, and if that’s not enough, you can always pay $699 for Samsung E101. All I have to say is ouch!

Your turn: what CES e-book reader are you most excited about?

Kindle DX has finally gone international too. We did know a while ago that Amazon had plans to take Kindle DX global as well. I also went on to claim that Amazon will pick the right time to make the move to take some eyes off of what others are doing in this space. CES 2010 is only a day away and Plastic Logic e-reader and many other innovative gadgets are expected to be announced at the event. So Amazon gets to put Kindle back in people’s minds just before the event. It’s a nice move by Amazon to remind others who’s boss. Of course, we hope Amazon has more exciting news for us (in regards to Kindle 3) in the near future.

It would have been really surprising to see any other device top the electronics category on Amazon in the company’s best of 2009 list. Amazon Kindle may not be as “cool” or impressive as some other electronic gadgets on the market, but it has been topping the bestsellers list on Amazon for months. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find the few weeks that the Kindle didn’t top the charts. Not surprisingly, a netbook topped the charts in Computers category.

Nook may be one of the hottest gadgets around, but you are going to find it difficult to get your hands on one anytime soon if you didn’t order yours weeks ago. The current estimate shipping date for Nook is February 2010, and that could move as B&N gets more orders for the device. As it’s the case with all top gadgets, when they go out of stock, people who have bought multiple of them put their gadgets up for sale for a nice premium. You can always try eBay to get your hands on a Nook, but that could cost you close to $600. It seems Amazon is no different either.

The case with Amazon is even more interesting. Amazon usually doesn’t create a product page for a device that it doesn’t intend to sell. So could we really see Amazon start selling Nook units in the future? We do know that Jeff Bezos has been somewhat critical of Nook in the past. But Amazon is not a company that is afraid of competition. The company has sold Sony Reader in the past, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it started selling Nook as well. Of course, before Amazon does anything, Nook needs to come back in stock. Buying a Nook for $600 is not fun whether you are buying it from Amazon or eBay. For that price, you are better off picking up a Kindle DX or Sony Reader Daily Edition. If we are lucky, Apple tablet may go for that price.

I don’t consider Nook to be a Kindle killer. Not yet anyway. Amazon has given us enough hints about Kindle 3 to suggest that the new device will be much more powerful than what we have seen so far on the market. Nook on the other hand is a first generation device and will have its buggy features. But still, it’d be nice to be able to pick the device up on from Amazon and other e-retailers. We will have to wait and see how B&N plans this out.

Your take: do you want Nook to be sold on Amazon.com as well as through other e-retailers?

2010 is finally here. From all of us at Exxponent and K.indled, happy new year and may 2010 be a great year for everyone. 2009 was one eventful year for e-book reader fans. Not only we got to see the best Amazon had to offer (maybe it wasn’t the best effort by Amazon but I digress), we also finally saw the rise of another legitimate challenger to Kindle. Let’s not forget about Sony who quietly expanded its e-reader product offerings with Reader Daily, Touch, and Pocket editions.

The new year is going to be even more exciting as Apple is expected to target the reader market with iTablet. Microsoft and Google are also very interested in this market, so there will be more challengers to Amazon Kindle’s throne. Regardless, lets hope e-reader makers keep innovating as the industry still has a long way to go to reach its full potential.

Time for 2010 wish-list. While we got to see some decent innovative e-readers in 2009, here are a few things I would like to see in 2010:

• Color screen Kindle: it’s really about time. Amazon was testing color screen Kindles months ago. Can 2010 be finally the year we get to see those prototypes made into real products?
• Lend Me Enhancements: Nook’s Lend Me feature is truly innovative. While we can forgive some of the small issues with the service, it’d be nice to see other e-book reader makers introduce such a feature.

There are many experts who blame Amazon for not putting a better effort forward to improve Kindle and take it to the next level. The company has been a bit slow in listening to Kindle owners and implementing the features they are looking to see on their Kindles. But make no mistake about it. Kindle is still the top dog in the e-reader market, and that will remain the case for a while. After all, if other companies are cloning your device, you must be doing something right.

Credit: SlashGear

Insdream SX601 Reader is a new e-reader that has surfaced in China and has almost the same look as Amazon Kindle 2. But there is a big difference between the two. While Amazon takes advantage of E-ink technology to display e-books on Kindle, Insdream SX601 Reader relies on a 16-greyscale-level DSTN display. According to the manufacturer, the refresh rate is much better on the device and the battery life is long.

2009 is quickly coming to an end with exciting battles ahead of e-book reader manufacturers in 2010. We already know that Barnes & Nobles is serious about beating Amazon in its own game. Sony has also introduced a couple of new readers, and the company is expected to hang around. In a matter of weeks, we are finally going to see what Plastic Logic has been up to for these past few months. The company was expected to release its e-book reader in 2009, but the release date was pushed to 2010. But can any of these devices stand a chance against Apple tablet?

Apple tablet rumors have been around for the past few months. We have heard all kinds of stories about what the device will be capable of and what gadgets it’s expected to “kill.” We do know that Apple won’t introduce an e-book reader. Apple tablet is going to be a multi-dimensional device to allow Apple to compete against the netbooks, e-book readers, and mobile entertainment systems. A lot will come down to how Apple goes about pricing such a device. e-book readers’ prices have been falling in the last year, and with the competition intensifying among the players in the market, you can expect more price drops in the future.