Even some e-reader owners regret getting an e-reader

Thank you ChangeWave Research’s e-reader study. According to a survey 27 percent of e-reader owners wish they had just waited for the iPad (which in a few months could probably be any tablet) and 30 percent don’t know (they’ll probably want to see the tablet in action for themselves). The rest would have purchased the e-reader they have.

Another survey shows that of people planning to buy an e-reader, 40 percent will get the iPad. Then the Kindle has 28 percent with the Nook and Sony Reader trailing.

Unfortunately, I like to gloat. I didn’t think e-readers had a very long life. Judith Regan said it best in Adam Penenberg’s article when she questioned “‘how many people want another thing to carry? Kindle, plus iPod, plus iPhone, plus laptop, plus BlackBerry, plus wallet, hairbrush, and lipstick — and my shoulder is sore.’”

The iPad, and other tablets fix this problem. You can get away with the tablet and your phone. And Amazon is no dummy. The company is slowly making the Kindle into a tablet.

Now all consumers need is a genius to make the tablet a phone that syncs with a bluetooth earpiece. Then anytime you get a call, you press a button on the earpiece to pick it up and you don’t have to take the computer out of your case if you’re walking. Figure out how to dial a number without pulling out the tablet and I think you’ve just created the ultimate device.

At this rate, Kindle will be a tablet too

Apple may have stepped on Amazon’s turf when Steve Jobs announced the iBookstore for the iPad, but Amazon was immediately, and pre-emptively, on the offensive. In response, Amazon announced that the Kindle will be open for apps. Sure, the idea has been in development for a while, but the timing of the announcement (the official press release went out just a week before the iPad was unveiled) was what made it important.

Now Amazon has taken it further by purchasing Touchco, a company that makes flexible touchscreens. With this touchscreen, expect to see color, because Amazon will make sure that, with the iPad shipping in March and April, the Kindle is ready to do combat.

However, all these changes raise a point I’ve made before: E-readers are becoming obsolete. The way they are now e-readers won’t be able to compete with the iPad. These changes Amazon is making to the Kindle, the touchscreen, the apps and who knows what’s next (MP3 player?) are making the device less an e-reader and more a tablet. Soon there will be no such thing as a device used solely for reading e-books. And why should there be? That’s a one-trick pony in an industry that values gadgets with multiple functions.

Another shake up for Amazon following the iPad’s announcement has been the price of e-books. Publishers, now that Jobs announced books around $12.99-$14.99, are clamoring for Amazon to also increase prices. MacMillan was the first to successfully get book prices increased and Rupert Murdoch with HarperCollins followed suit. Two days ago, Hachette Book Group entered the fray. With two publishing companies left, Penguin and Simon & Schuster, it is looking more likely that Amazon will have to match Apple’s prices.

iBooks may damage Kindle’s book prices

Rupert Murdoch, the chief of News Corp., which oversees HarperCollins, has expressed displeasure at Amazon’s (AMZN) low $9.99 price for electronic books. Another publisher, MacMillan, insisted that prices change to more reasonable (for the company) prices of $12.99  to $14.99.

Enter Apple (AAPL): Murdoch now has some bite to back up his bark. In fact, HarperCollins has already made a deal with Apple that Murdoch likes more. I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon is suddenly more interested in negotiating prices.After all, the prices MacMillan secured with Amazon are right in line with what Apple plans to charge for its iBooks.

Apple and Steve Jobs clearly like to change the status quo whenever possible. After all, Jobs decided he didn’t like Flash and wouldn’t allow Flash to run on his products because it was “buggy” and soon to be obsolete. Initially people thought Jobs was off his rocker (myself included). After all, many Web sites use Flash for key components; however, these sites also want to be on the iPhone and iPad and therefore make compatible sites.

With the lure of a new, hyped up device Web sites might forsake Flash for the new HTML5, which Jobs believes will replace Adobe’s software.

Apple’s first great unveiling of the new decade

At 1 p.m. EST on Jan. 27, technophiles and members of the media tuned in for confirmation about the long-rumored Apple tablet, the iPad. Those lucky enough to be at the event in Cupertino, Ca. were positively giddy with delight. Yet, a friend said it best when she asked, “What is it?”

The iPad is a new category. It’s the bridge between iPhone and netbook. Simply put, it’s a large iTouch. And there’s the crux of the matter. What are we going to use it for? I don’t have the cash to drop $499 (for the cheapest version) plus, added costs with AT&T if I actually want to get online, plus any other fees that will undoubtedly pop up when people start using it a realize they need to buy more accessories for it.

What are the positives of the iPad? As I said, it’s a new category. Don’t feel like lugging your 5 lb. laptop to work or school, especially when all you really do are simple tasks? Pick up an iPad, which is only 1.5 lbs, and which has a slate format making it incredibly thin.

The iPad is 1.5 lbs and only .5 inches.

The iPad has a multitouch screen and, like the iTouch and iPhone, can be held vertically or horizontally.

Just like Kindle and nook and whatever other e-reader you can name, the iPad will have iBooks, which can read books and magazine and newspapers (oh my) available for download from iBookstore. And the iPad has a slight edge over the two heavy-hitting e-readers: with a 9.7 inch screen, the iPad is larger than the nook and the same size as the more expensive Kindle DX.

The Kindle is the same size as the iPad, but lacks the extra features that the tablet offers.

While the Kindle DX might be $10 less and thinner at .38″ vs. the iPad’s .5″ that extra $10 and .12″ will get you Internet access, movies, music, video games and a color screen. Although, right now Apple is expecting books from the iBookstore to be $12.99-$14.99. Books through Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Nobles’ nook are mostly $9.99. Depending on how much you read, that $3 to $5 gap between book prices can become $300 to $500 if you purchase 100 books. At the high end, that’s enough to buy another iPad. But you won’t be able to get a connection without paying more for AT&T.

All three use AT&T for wireless connectivity. I’m, unfortunately, a Verizon girl.

The iPad will be simple enough to use being apps based. Meaning you want to be able to do something, you just download the app which shows up on the home screen and click on the app you want to use it. There’s no going through documents folders to find anything.

However, this leaves little to no customization. And Apple controls what apps you can and cannot download. And Steve Jobs, himself, demonstrated one of the downfalls when he accessed NYTimes.com only to see a white space with a blue Lego-looking figure: and indication that Flash was required to show the video. As on the iPhone, there will be no way to run Adobe Flash, something a large number of Web sites run, on the iPad.

Stay tuned for why the “magical and revolutionary device” (according to the iPad homepage) has such a ridiculous name.

Kindle, Nook useful for how long?

E-readers are sort of amazing. Hundreds of books are at a user’s fingertips making long trips or vacations. However, much like other devices I don’t think e-readers are long for this world.

Kindle, Amazon’s widely popular e-reader, and Nook, Barnes and Noble’s new and highly sought after one, both cost $259. That’s a lot of cash to drop for a digital book. The e-reader is enjoying popularity now because of its size and weight. They are incredibly thin and about twice the size of your hand. Sure you could download books onto your laptop or your smartphone but this is just like the story of Goldilocks. A laptop or netbook can be too big and a smartphone too small. The e-reader is just about perfect.

This is a device that can easily slip into your briefcase or purse. However, this is also a device that lacks the ability to do multiple things. You buy one of these and all you can do is read books. You buy a tablet and you’ll also be able to surf the Web, watch movies and send e-mails. I’ve mentioned tablets before. Slate tablets are essentially an e-reader crossed with a netbook and since some e-readers (like the Kindle DX) can cost you up to $489, perhaps that money would be better spent getting you access to more than just books.

Saving trees, cutting publishers

Just as people are turning away from hard copies of newspapers in favor of going online, electronic books have been growing in popularity, according to CNN. Whether you have a Mac or a PC, a Sony Reader or an Amazon Kindle, people are opting to forgo an actual book and instead are turning to the thinner e-book reader, which can hold multiple books instead of just one.

According to the International Digital Publishing Forum, wholesale ebook sales jumped a huge amount in the second quarter of 2009, approximately $10 million more than the quarter before. That is only counting the revenue from the U.S. It seems that for a lot of people, ebooks are convenient.

However, along with the success there should be some equal concern. The Kindle DX, the newest version at a retail price of $489, has not been ideal for some readers. The new font was fuzzy and gave readers headaches, causing them to downgrade to the Kindle 1, according to Wired.com. Staring at a screen for extended periods of time is going to have some sort of damage on the eyes.

Right now, the price tags and the discomfort of ebook devices are a little too high for the average person. Even though sales have gone up and will probably continue to climb, they will eventually plateau if the price of Kindle and the Sony Reader go down. At their current prices you might as well get an iPhone and enjoy all the cool free apps in addition to the ebook app.