All the speculation concerning Amazon.com (AMZN) revealing their e-book reader is about to end, as sources aware of the company plans for the device say they'll introduce the reader in New York on Monday.
No one from Amazon was made available to confirm the event, but the W Hotel in Union Square area has confirmed the company is hosting a Monday event there.
The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), which used to go by the name Open eBook Forum, estimates that sales of e-books should reach about $30 million this year. That's a big jump from the $20 million in 2006; although still very small.
While e-books have been touted as the savior of the book industry in the past, they haven't come close to meeting expectations over the years. Many are hoping Amazon's foray into the field will give an overall boost to the industry and wider acceptance from consumers.
The company website has started to include inactive links to digital books named "Kindle" editions on some of their product pages for certain books.
It has been rumored that the device will retail for about $399, and will connect users via Wi-Fi, which will be built into the device, to the Amazon e-book store.
These e-book readers and e-books have been around for some time now; while the industry will grow some over the years, it still seems some time before it could become a mass item - if ever.
Consumers still don't like how bulky the readers have been, and find it hard to read on the screens. Price has been another issue that hasn't been able to be resolved.
This is an interesting development, and will give the industry a boost, but it's going to be a long road for this specific market.
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