Barnes & Noble is trying to shake up the tablet world with their latest offering: A $199 8GB Nook Tablet. It seems that the world’s largest bookseller is trying to stay one step ahead of Amazon. Or, at the very least, B&N just wants to keep up.

To sweeten the pot even more, they reduced the price of their Nook Color to $169, down from $199. I’m guessing we’ll see further price drops, and even new products, hit the market between now and Christmas.

Here’s the press release Barnes & Noble published on their website:

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Oh Canada, you sure love your technology, including ebooks. Our neighbors to the north are adopting ebooks at a good clip. An article from the website Goodreader says that ebooks are quickly gaining ground, and surging as a percentage of all ebooks sold:

Canadians are very connected with the internet and do not shy away from new gadgets or technological innovations. This holds true with the rising success of e-readers and tablets available in this country and carries over to the purchasing of digital content. A recent report by the National Book Count claims that e-books now account for over 10% of all books sold in Canada! Meanwhile, Public Libraries in this country have mentioned that 3% of all book checkouts are eBooks as well, which puts Canada near the very top of all modern countries adopting the new digital format.

It should be noted that these sales figures only cover a week’s worth of sales, providing a “snapshot of the tremendous growth of digital books in this country.”

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Publishers Weekly is reporting that Penguin is severing ties with OverDrive, the service that provides digital content to libraries, as of February 10. Penguin’s reasons for such a move aren’t all that clear because they issued such a nonsensical, vague statement, it sounds like they just don’t like ebooks. Period:

“Looking ahead, we are continuing to talk about our future plans for eBook and digital audiobook availability for library lending with a number of partners providing these services. Because of these discussions, as of February 10, 2012, Penguin will no longer offer additional copies of eBooks and audiobooks for purchase via OverDrive. Physical editions of Penguin’s new and backlist titles will continue to be available in libraries everywhere.”

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If you’re a parent with a toddler or older, you know that a tablet can be a lifesaver when it comes to keeping your kid occupied. There’s nothing easier than sitting your kid on the couch, handing them your Kindle Fire and letting them play with it for several hours while you take a much-deserved nap. That’s just good parenting.

However, a tablet like the Kindle Fire is tied to your Amazon account, which is also tied to your credit card. It’s important to child-proof your Kindle Fire before handing it over to your kid’s grubby little hands. This means preventing him/her from watching your NC-17 movies and keeping your kid away from the dark side of the internet.

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This past holiday season saw the sales of eReaders and tablets “soar,” according to the New York Times. I remember many Christmases where big-screen televisions were the big seller, and even talking stuffed animals for kids sent parents into a buying frenzy (who can forget the loveable Teddy Ruxpin?). Times have changed.

But is the popularity of these devices really that surprising? I say no. Ebooks have entered into mainstream culture and ebook sales increase by the month. Further, there are more choices in tablet computers that can act as an ebook reader and give the some of the same functionality as a laptop.

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There’s an exciting new product at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that will have ebook fans drooling: An eReader that has a color e-ink display. Before you get too excited, there are a few details you should know.

The eReader is called the Ectaco Jetbook Color eReader. Ectacto is a Russian company, and the device is already available for sale in Russia (no word on it will be available in the US).

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Barnes & Noble is sweetening the pot on their Nook Tablet by offering it for $99…with strings attached, of course. To get that juicy price you need purchase a 1-year subscription to the New York Times Nook Edition.

Or, if you don’t want the tablet, you can get a Nook Simple Touch for free. A subscription to the New York Times will set you back $19.99/month for one year.

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Sometimes it’s easy to forget that there are other eReaders on the market than just the Kindle, Nook and even the iPad (even though it’s way more than just an eReader). There are other options out there for consumers looking for something different.

Earlier today I was thinking about Russia. Don’t ask why. I decided to see what Russians are using to read ebooks. With no large chain bookstores in Russia, ebooks are perfect for a country with such a rich literary history.

A quick Google search gave me my answer.

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I was pleased to see that my dad took the plunge and got my mom a Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch for Christmas. It’s a cool eReader: A crisp display and very responsive to your finger gestures.

The big disappointment, however, came when we realized that an outlet charger was an extra accessory that had to be purchased separately. The only way to charge the Nook is by plugging it into a computer.

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I’m guessing that there will be many shiny eReaders wrapped up and placed under the Christmas tree this year. Given that the price of eReaders has dropped to below $100, they are becoming more affordable to more people.

When you go to buy ebooks though, the books might not be as cheap as they used to be. Over the last year or so the price of ebooks has been slowly creeping upwards.

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