The year 2010 was dubbed as the year of tablets by experts months ago, but we have not seen too much activity in that front (except of course the giant success that the iPad has been for Apple). Many analysts estimated that the rise of the tablets could spell doom for devices such as Kindle. So far, the Kindle is going strong and holding its own against challengers. Amazon has sold a ton of e-books by bringing its e-book platform to most handheld devices. The company may not be winning on the hardware side of things, but its dominating in the content distribution department.

Kindle 3 is expected to be another successful device for Amazon. It’s already dominating the bestsellers and Hot New Releases lists on Amazon.com. While we still don’t have too many Kindle numbers, Amazon is doing well enough for its management to justify developing future Kindle generations.

E-book readers such as Kindle and iPad are not that hard to use. They are designed in a way that almost anyone can use them. Of course, not everyone finds using these devices easy. Knowing a few tips and tricks to get more out of these devices never hurts either. If you are a proud iPad or Kindle owner and want to learn a few tips and tricks, these e-reader guides are worth a look:

iPad For Dummies: the title of this book may not be that tempting, but this book does cover a lot of things on iPad. It shows you how to get the most out of your iPad (reading, playing with apps, …).

Kindle DX For Dummies: a practical book that shows you how to use your Kindle DX, create content for it, access e-mail, use its Internet connection, and do all kinds of other things with it.

Kindle Shortcuts: a handy e-book that covers a lot of Kindle-related information. It shows you how to get more out of your Kindle and lets you know where to get content for your device. May not be for advanced Kindle users though.

Amazon has already shown that it is dedicated to keeping Kindle among the top e-readers on the market. But it has not forgotten about the software side of things. Amazon has just released an update for Kindle app for iOS that makes it work like a charm on iPhone 4 and improves its performance in search, switching, and other areas (keeping it among the best e-reader apps on iPhone/iPad).

For starters, Kindle for iPhone and iPad is still a free application (not suggesting that Amazon planned to make it a paid app). The iPhone version has been updated to work fast on new iPhones (support for fast-switching). The search functionality has been improved too. Users can now search for things using Google, Wikipedia, or the app’s built-in dictionary. It may not be perfect (in-app browser would be much better), but it’s a start.

The release of Kindle 3 has given Kindle fans a lot to be happy about (even though we find the device to be disappointing on paper). Instead of trying to innovate and look for outside-the-box ideas, Amazon has decided to choose a conservative approach with its Kindle family of products. The new Kindles may not have too many bells and whistles like the iPad and some of those upcoming Android tablets, but they do aim to offer a better reading experience to e-book fans.

One can’t always fight fire with fire, and that’s what Amazon seems to have realized at this point. Jeff Bezos has talked about his company’s inability to manufacture a color-screen Kindle that meets his high standards. Those who have listened to the man should have already known what he had in mind for Kindle family months ago. Amazon is focusing on price and Kindle reading experience for now instead of trying to out-Apple Apple. That’s a very smart strategy, considering that Amazon’s competitors such as B&N and Borders are going to make even more price cuts just to compete with Amazon. But why hasn’t the company released a Kindle DX WiFi yet?

It was so obvious, Amazon could not hold its little secret any longer. Amazon has just announced new additions to Kindle family. Kindle 3 will come in two flavors (WiFi or 3G) and is priced aggressively to give Amazon the boost it needs to keep up with other top players in the market. Kindle “Shasta” may not have a color display and won’t be touch-capable either. But it does look sleek and has a longer battery life. Here is a summary of what advantages Kindle 3 has got over Kindle 2:

• 50% etter contrast
• Higher quality fonts
• Storage – up to 3,500 Books
• WiFi capability
• An improved browser
• Battery life – charge once a month
• Text-to-speech enabled menus
• Graphite color option

Credit: Apple

We did not know people judge others over devices they carry around. Apparently, some do. According to an interesting study by MyType, iPad owners are not your average Joe folks. MyType which specializes in helping people finding their personality type has determined that iPad owners are just a bunch of selfish elites who are power hungry, unkind, and wealthy. If you feel offended by this study already, take a look at this gem:

iPad Owners are an elite bunch.  They’re wealthy, highly educated and sophisticated.  They value power and achievement much more than others.  They’re also selfish, scoring low on measures of kindness and altruism.  As can be seen in the chart below, we found that people with all or most of these qualities, whom we call selfish elites, are roughly 6 times more likely to be an iPad Owner than the average person.

Amazon Kindle 2 has gone out of stock. Amazon promises this to be a temporary issue, but we are getting awfully close to Kindle 3′s alleged announcement date (early August). Unless Amazon is planning to keep Kindle 2 around and offer it as a budget option to e-reader fans, there is no reason for the company to keep selling Kindle 2 units if Kindle 3 is ready to go.