Kindle, Nook and Other E-Readers to Take Off in 2010

Of course, vendor interest doesn't always translate into consumer demand. So why will e-readers take off in 2010 Here are a few good reasons:

The price is right--finally. When the original Kindle debuted two years ago, it cost $400. Its successor, the Kindle 2, now costs $259, as does the Nook. One Sony Reader, the Pocket Edition, is a relatively cheap $200, although most users would likely prefer the $300 Touch Edition (touchscreen) or $400 Reader Daily Edition (wireless). As e-reader prices continue to fall, their appeal as gifts will grow too. And unlike a mobile phone, the e-reader doesn't saddle the recipient (or giver) with a monthly fee. You pay only for the content you want.

They're really easy to use. Even technophobes can use an e-reader. The controls are simple, and the single-use nature of these devices eliminates much of the complexity of smartphones and other multi-function gadgetry.

The technology is improving. This year brought a lot of essential enhancements to e-readers, including touchscreens (Sony), bigger screens (Sony Reader and Kindle DX), longer battery life (Kindle 2), a color LCD (Nook), and PDF support. Storage is plentiful too. With its SD card slot, the Nook can hold more than 17,000 books--more than anyone would read in a lifetime.

Google's free books: Book authors and publishers may see Google as a threat to their very existence, but there's little doubt the two sides will ultimately reach a settlement in their ongoing copyright infringement battle. In the meantime, Google's effort to digitize public-domain books has produced thousands of free literary classics. Free content makes the e-reader value proposition much more appealing.