Conclusion

The year has just begun, so there will be more and more models of e-book readers. There will be a clash between 9-inch products from Hanlin and PocketBook. There will appear inexpensive and functional 6-inch e-readers with SiPix displays – the Plastic Logic QUE and the Skiff are going to cost two or three times as that. Anyway, the choice will be much broader than just a year ago.

As for the perspectives of these e-readers against the iPad, the upcoming tablet from Apple, the e-readers can win due to a long battery life. They can last days, not hours as tablets with LCD screens, on a single battery charge. They also have a lower weight (about 150-250 grams for 5-6-inch models as opposed to tablets that weigh almost 1 kilo at a screen diagonal of 10-11 inches) and can work in reflected light. However glamorous a colorful LCD screen can be, it can hardly be read in sunlight whereas electronic-ink displays work perfectly under bright ambient lighting.