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Apple’s iPad looks set to be a huge success, and this has competing companies worried. If competing companies do not improve their products that are meant to compete with the iPad, these products simply won’t sell and will be overshadowed by the iPad. Obviously they do not want this to happen, so companies such as Amazon, HP, and Microsoft are hard at work creating products that will be able to compete with the iPad.

Amazon wants to hire a software developer to improve its Kindle by adding web browsing capabilities to it. HP has been heavily promoting its Slate tablet, especially the fact that it will support Adobe Flash (Apple’s mobile devices famously do not support Flash). Even Microsoft has said it intends to make a tablet called the Courier.

This has all happened before the iPad has even been released. After April 3, once we know definitely what the iPad is really like, more companies will offer iPad competitors.

Via ZDNet, image via Apple.

The Associated Press (AP) has said that it will charge iPad users for access to its stories with an app.

There has been a trend for news websites to offer subscription plans for their content. The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times both offer premium access to their news stories to paying subscribers, both on the Internet and through iPhone apps. Reuters and the New York Times are both planning to introduce paid access to their websites in the next year.

The chief executive of AP, Tom Curley, said that he wants his company to “seize this opportunity to reinvigorate our business models as well as our journalism.” Apparently, this new business model involves charging for access to its stories.

Will iPad users embrace paid subscriptions for news? The iPad itself is not cheap, but if enough news companies offer paid subscriptions, many people probably will.

Via AppleInsider.

The introduction of the iPad may turn out to hurt consumers; in a rather strange and ironic turn of events, e-book prices could be going up.

Amazon, the maker of the Kindle e-reader, has been fighting with publishers over e-book prices. Amazon wants to keep them at around $10 per book; the leading publishers want to raise prices to around $15 per book. Apple has entered the fray, saying it will let publishers set prices for e-books on the iPad.

There does not seem to be a valid reason for raising e-book prices. E-books are vastly different than traditional printed books: you cannot lend an e-book to a friend, or sell it to someone else, or even put it on a shelf in your home. There are no printing costs associated with e-books, either. Logically the price of e-books should remain lower than that of printed books. Amazon understands this, but publishers seem to have a more shortsighted view of the situation.

Publishers should be focusing on getting more e-book customers. Instead, they may be alienating current and potential future customers with this price increase.

Via PC World.

Acer, already the second largest computer maker in the world, has ambitious plans for the future. According to Bloomberg, Acer is tossing its hat into the already over-saturated yet underdeveloped market of eReaders, facing off with the likes of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, and others. No specifics have been announced other than it will have a 6-inch, monochrome (assume E-Ink) screen and ship in Europe.

More surprisingly, Acer is announcing an online apps store. Jim Wong, president of the Acer IT product division, has stated it would contain hundreds of applications, “otherwise you can’t call it an app store.” It will likely be a cross-platform marketplace for Android, Windows Mobile, and ChromeOS.

However, Acer’s most stunning announcement is the fact it has announced plans to rush forward with a ChromeOS netbook to provide a “a change to the Microsoft-Intel environment,” according to Wong. The mention of Intel hints that this new product line might be ARM powered as an alternative to the standard Atom on-board most mainstream netbooks. Acer plans to release the netbook sometime around Q3 2010, on schedule with Google’s release date for ChromeOS.

Via Bloomberg, image via Wikipedia.

Amazon has announced a new option for authors and publishers, which will enable them to receive seventy percent of the royalties of sales for Kindle editions of books. Amazon is trying to make the Kindle more attractive than other e-readers, including Apple’s tablet (which, according to speculation, may have e-reader options). The new royalty option will be available on June 30.

Currently authors get between seven and fifteen percent of the list price of printed books and twenty-five percent of net for digital books. The new seventy percent option sounds good, but there are some catches to the policy. To get the seventy percent royalty, the list price of the book must be between $2.99 and $9.99. The title also needs to have Kindle features like text-to-speech.

Amazon is getting worried about the hordes of e-readers introduced lately, especially those seen at CES 2010. Apple’s upcoming device could be their biggest worry yet, if it comes through as expected at the end of the month.

Via ZDNet, image via Amazon.

The rumors about Apple’s new device, expected this coming January, continue to abound. The latest rumor  says that Apple’s device will not be a simple tablet–rather, it will be an e-reader designed to compete with the likes of Amazon’s Kindle.

The rumor (derived from ‘insider sources’) says the iSlate, as it may be called, is going to be an eBook reader that will be a competitor to the Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, and other e-readers. It will run iPhone 4.0 software (which is not currently available) and will have an App store for eBooks.

E-readers have been doing very well on the market. Amazon sold more e-books than regular paper books this Christmas season, and Apple is sure to have taken notice.

I love Apple products, but in  all honesty, I am not crazy about the whole e-reader idea. When I read books, I like to have the book physically in my hands, and I think most consumers agree. As of now, I remain unconvinced about the virtues of e-readers, but if Apple delivers one this January it will definitely be something to pay attention to.

Via VentureBeat.

A study by investment firm Morgan Stanley has said that mobile Internet is growing very quickly, and within five years there could be more users going online with mobile devices than with laptops or desktops.

This news really isn’t surprising, considering how ubiquitous Apple’s iPhone has become, as well as smartphones with Internet capabilities. We also should not neglect Amazon’s popular wireless reading device, Kindle.

The study also says that this is worldwide phenomenon, not confined to the developed world. Yet, the leaders in this phenomenon are American companies such as Apple, Google, and Amazon.

There are five key trends that are converging to encourage the growth of the mobile Internet, including 3G (and upcoming 4G) broadband, the popularity of social networking, online video, VOIP services, and mobile devices (like the iPhone) that do things that could previously only be done with desktops or laptops.

The reports predicts that the next two years will be good for Apple. But after that, Google’s Android and future competing products could pose a threat to Apple.

The report may be speculative, but so far the evidence backs it up. Just think about how far mobile Internet has come since the iPhone’s introduction in June 2007–it’s come a long way in a very short period of time.

Via PC World.

The beta application for Amazon’s Kindle for PC is ready to be tested out. It currently supports Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, and the Mac version is reported to be coming soon.

The selling point of this Amazon creation is that you can read Amazon Kindle books without buying the actual Kindle e-reader. Amazon’s trying to target roughly 85% of the computer-using population with this new application. Although reading on your netbook may not be as great as reading on an e-reader, at least they are around the same (convenient) size as a book.

To access and navigate Kindle for PC, you need to first download and install it. You can then sign into your Amazon account, where you will see your previous book purchases. Books can be sorted by title or author. Double-clicking on the book downloads it. You can navigate the pages of the book by using the mouse, arrow keys, or page up/down keys. There are 10 font sizes to choose from and Whispersync allows you to pick up from where you last left off when switching devices (from a Kindle to a netbook or vice versa).

Via JKOnTheRun.

Microsoft has recently been cooking up some designs for a potential e-reader device. The production date for this new device, nicknamed Courier, is still uncertain but we can be sure that when these devices start materializing, Apple will be scrambling to push its tablet/netbook device…if it isn’t already out yet.

Microsoft’s new booklet could potentially be a hinged device with two touch-sensitive color screens. Stylus capabilities are also a possibility. The image shown below is only a graphic representation of what the Microsoft Booklet would actually look like, rather than a physical device.

The device is still in the works and Microsoft might not even develop it at all. We’ll keep you posted on the developments.

Via TheWallStreetJournal.

Breast Cancer Awareness month is just around the corner and manufacturers like Sony are adamantly showing their support by introducing pink netbooks and Readers.

One of the special Breast Awareness bundles is the Sony Vaio W Series netbook bundle, which includes a pink mouse, a pink netbook case, and a two-tone pink netbook. The specs of the Vaio W netbook have not changed from before.

The second of two pink bundles is the Sony Reader Pock Edition bundle (as pictured above).

According to Sony, the company is planning on donating $110,000 to breast cancer research.

Via SlashGear.

With more news about e-reader devices than ever, you’d think it has become the new netbook.

Yet another netbook and notebook manufacturer – Toshiba – has decided to enter the e-reader market. The company currently has plans to produce and sell its own e-reader device in mid 2010.

Two models are currently being evaluated, a 7-inch model that has already been approved for production and a 9-inch model that is still being considered. Toshiba considers touchscreen capabilities to be unnecessary so the new e-readers would not be touchscreens. No other details have been released about these e-readers.

With the Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, and ASUS Eee Reader, to name a few, the competition for the e-reader market segment is getting tougher and tougher. We’ll keep you posted on any developments.

Via JKOnTheRun.

Image via OECanada.

We recently heard that ASUS is planning on releasing their own e-reader device, which we just found out would have two screens on a hinged spine, unlike previously released devices by Amazon and Sony. This would make the ASUS e-reader look and feel more like an actual book.

Also unlike the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader, ASUS’ new e-reader would have full color “pages” and touchscreen capabilities, as well as offer online connectivity. It’s also possible that the ASUS e-reader’s second screen could function as a keyboard. A webcam, speakers, and a microphone for Skype may also potentially be part of this package.

Are you currently cringing at the thought of the potential price tag on this super e-reader? If so, don’t. According to an ASUS spokesperson, “Any such product – including an e-reader – has to have the right combination of functionality and price.”

The company is planning on releasing two version of e-readers. The “premium” version would be something similar to what was described above, while the “budget” version (the Eee Reader) would be something more traditional, possibly carrying a price tag of 100 British Pounds (roughly $164).

Via EWeek.

E-reader image via PocketLint.