I hear a lot of people say they will forgo dedicated e-readers, such as the Kindle and Nook, in favor of the more expensive Apple iPad. I think this is a bad idea. While I love the iPad (I don’t own one, but I’d gladly buy one if my wallet would only let me) and think it is useful in a lot of ways, I don’t think reading ebooks is one of them.

A recent post from my favorite ebook blog, Teleread, summed up pretty well why the iPad makes a horrible ebook reader:

The machine is far too heavy to hold for any length of time. It is also very slippery which means that you have to read with it in a case, which, in turn, just adds to its bulk and weight. Also, while I have no trouble reading for extended periods from my iPhone, the iPad has just too much glare for prolonged use. I get sick of reading black text on a white background to cut the glare. More: its pretty much useless outside (I use my Kindle there); I’ll never buy books from the iBookstore and I rarely read comics – at least electronically.

The glare issue alone is a big one. Many of use already strain our eyes too much sitting in front of our computers. Why add the extra strain to your eyes? Dedicated e-readers are designed to read like a print book with minimal strain on the eyes. I can read for extended periods on my Sony Reader with no problems.

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When I first saw the tweet that laptop computers and other digital devices (including the Amazon Kindle, and I’m assuming the B&N Nook) are banned from some coffee shops, I had to read the tweet twice. Then I read this NYT blog post in which the author described his experience at one coffee shop:

After placing my order I sat down at a table and pulled out my Amazon Kindle.

I barely made it a sentence into the e-book I was reading before an employee of the coffee shop came by, stood over me and said, “Excuse me sir, but we don’t allow computers in the coffee shop.”

I looked up at him with an incredulous look and replied, “This isn’t a computer, it’s an e-book reader.”

Surprisingly, the employee makes this argument:

He then told me that the “device” in my hand had a screen and required batteries, so it was obviously “some variation of a computer.” The coffee shop, I was told, did not allow the use of computers.

The basic argument these coffee shops make is that people buy a latte, then sit at a large table with their entire “office” spread out and sit there for 5 hours doing work.

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I’ve always guessed that the main demographic for those who read ebooks would be the younger crowd. You know, those who are tech-savvy, have a lot of disposable income and like to have the latest and greatest of all the gadgets out there.

Well, I’m wrong. It appears that ebook readers are a little older, at least according to one article.

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The day after Father’s Day, Barnes & Noble drops the price of their Nook to $199 and releases a WiFi-only Nook for $149. Likewise, Amazon dropped the price on their Kindle to $189. I suspect that Amazon lowered their Kindle price in response to B&N’s own Nook price decrease.

Of course, I find it strange both decided to lower their prices after Father’s Day, especially considering how both Amazon and B&N went on an advertising blitz that marketed their respective e-readers as the perfect gift for dads. I wonder how many of these dads who did receive an e-reader will be slightly annoyed that their loved ones overpaid for their new toy.

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I happened to stop by my local Borders store today while running some errands and saw their display for their upcoming selection of ebook readers. Borders already sells the Sony family of e-readers (although the display was quite small and they didn’t have any demo units out).

On July 2 Borders will begin selling 2 more ebook readers. I grabbed some information from the small display and decided to present it here to compare both readers and what they off to you.

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A new post on the Ars Technica blog is making waves around the ‘net today among us ebook enthusiasts. The post, Whatever happened to the e-reader tsunami of 2010? asks where some of these new devices are – most notably the Plastic Logic Que and the Sprint/Hearst Skiff. The post floats one theory, that the iconic iPad has forced new devices from entering the market.

Ars Technica points out that this is only a theory, and there is no way to tell for sure what is responsible for keeping the the Que and Skiff from entering the market.

It was always going to be very difficult for these commoditized products to differentiate themselves from each other, and the fact that they’ll now be competing for whatever is left of the e-reader market after Apple takes its chunk may have been the last straw for some would-be entrants.

No one can deny that Apple’s iPad has had a huge impact in many areas of the tech market, with ebooks being one of them. But as Ars says, we can’t say for sure whether or not the iPad derailed these other products.

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Literature doesn’t have to be just words on a page (or screen). One literary publication is taking literature out of the confines of words and turning it into visual art. Electric Literature, a website I have already profiled here, does just that. They not only publish short fiction in both print and digital form, they visualize the literature they produce.

One of my favorite parts of what Electric Literature does is taking a single sentence from a short story they publish, and then animating it. The result is an illuminating visual interpretation of that one sentence. In a way, the short cartoons (often less than a minute long) represent how one’s imagination would perceive a particular literary “bit.”

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There’s been a lot of excitement for Apple fans this week. With the release of the iPhone 4, Apple has garnered a lot of media attention in the tech world. But another story also got a lot of attention and scrutiny from Apple: CEO Steve Jobs’ assertion that because of the iPad, Apple has eaten up 22% of the ebook market.

That’s a very large chunk. When I see numbers that big I become skeptical. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t doubt that Apple is now cutting a large slice of the ebook market pie. Just how much, though, is up for debate.

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The highly anticipated iPhone 4 was unveiled today. Apple’s newest smartphone is packed with new features, over 100 of them, according to Steve Jobs at this year’s WWDC. When I look at my first generation 2G iPhone and compare it to the features found on the iPhone 4, there really is no comparison. My iPhone feels sluggish. But enough about me, let’s dig into what the iPhone 4 has to offer.

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I’ve always maintained that ebooks and digital publishing will bring the short story back to the mainstream. For over half a century now, short fiction has taken a back seat to novels.

There used to be a time when writers could make a living writing short stories that they sold to magazines (who paid a healthy sum for quality work). F. Scott Fitzgerald financed his novels by writing short fiction, as have other writers.

Today, I think it’d be nearly impossible for a writer to make a living solely on short fiction. But with ebooks now in the mainstream, it’s a lot easier for writers to publish their short stories and for readers to consume them. And publishers are taking notice.

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