E-ink e-book readers are really taking off. E Ink Holdings, the manufacturer of the screens used by most e-ink readers today, has just adjusted its production estimates upward. The company now estimates that by the end of 2011, it will have shipped 25 to 30 million screens this year. Can you imagine that? Potentially 30 million new e-ink e-book readers could be manufactures by the end of the year using screens from just this one company. Hard to believe that just a few years ago we were all wondering if e-readers would ever take off. (Found via eBookNewser.)...

I’m not sure if I buy this, but Dave Zatz of “Zatz Not Funny” is reporting a rumor that suggests Amazon’s upcoming Android tablet could have a very interesting, idiosyncratic screen display format. According to a friend of Zatz’s who was seated on a flight next to someone who claimed to be a highly-placed Amazon exec, the tablet will feature both a color LCD and an e-ink screen—but unlike the Nook and the Alex, these screens will not be on the same surface. Instead, they will be on opposite sides of the device, like the faces of a coin. ...

TechCrunch reports that Kobo is introducing a new model touchscreen e-reader priced at $129, dropping the price of its earlier model to $99. This new model has the same ultra-sharp Pearl e-ink display as the current generation of Kindle, a better processor, a touch-sensitive screen (with gestures such as swiping and zooming), and a built-in dictionary. The touchscreen is neither capacitive nor resistive, but uses zForce infrared, so it shouldn’t suffer from the hazy look common to prior touchscreen readers. This looks like it could be a very useful alternative to the Kobo or Kindle for people who don’t...

A recently-discovered Apple patent application offers an intriguing look at a possible future for the iPad (and perhaps iPhone/iPod touch as well). AppleInsider reports that Apple is looking at placing a translucent e-ink display between the LCD display and the touch-sensitive interface layer allowing for selective display of content by regions. E-books could be displayed in the ink format, while pictures and video could use the full-color LCD-screen. While a similar duality of purpose can be found in switchable displays like the Pixel Qi screens we’ve mentioned a few times, this Apple-patented system would go one better in...

Not all Borders bankruptcy bargains are bogus. We actually mentioned this earlier, but I thought it worth mentioning again for personal considerations relating to me: Borders has Kobo Wireless e-readers on sale for $60, 57% off its original asking price of $140. The Sony Reader is marked down to $108 from $180—not quite as good a deal. Also worth noting is that the 2-year e-reader protection plan package is marked down from $50 to $20. Ordinarily I wouldn’t buy those on anything less than a HDTV (and after having worked tech support for HDTVs, I definitely would recommend...

And now, may I present the lucky winners of the Read an E-Book Week 2011 Win an E Ink Watch promotion!  The winners are: Glory H from Dubuque, IA; and Paul Milke from Uxbridge, MA! E Ink has been notified, and the watches will be winging their way to you guys! Everyone join me in Congratulations to our winners! The watch contest did well! Most interestingly, I've gotten some very interesting responses for the write-in portion of the contest, asking what people would like to see in the sequel to Verdant Skies. I plan to respond to many of...

Yes, Rita Toews has obtained a Nook, donated by the E-Ink Corporation, that Read an E-Book Week would like to put in a lucky person's hands! Just go to REBW's contest page, send in your response to the ebook-related question, and on March 13, Rita will announce the winner of the Nook!  Details are on the contest page.  Go and enter now!...

To support and promote Read an E-Book Week, I have obtained two E-Ink watches, which I'll be giving away to two lucky winners from my site! To be entered in the drawing for the watches, Do one of two things between now and March 11, 2011: Purchase a book from my site. You can also purchase a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, etc, but you'll have to email me a copy of your online purchase receipt (because the retailers don't tell me who purchases my books, just that they've been purchased). Send me an email...

Those of you in the UK can find a great bargain on an e-ink e-reader. Normally listed at £139 (currently $225.64), the Binatone ReadMe Classic is on sale for £29.99 ($48.69) at UK electronics chain Makro. That’s the cheapest any e-ink e-book reader has been that I can think of, especially in the UK where things tend to cost more than in the US. This 6″ e-reader from Binatone has 2GB Flash storage, a SD card slot, speakers, and comes with a case and headphones. Ebook support includes TXT, PDF, HTML, CHM, RTF, FB2, EPUB, TCR,...

Engadget has an exclusive report indicating that Barnes & Noble is phasing out the Nook 3G. The company is encouraging retail partners not to send bulk orders, noting that the supply is dwindling to the point where there will not be sufficient supplies to fill them. This is more than likely the first sign that a next-generation Nook is on its way, and will feature the clearer Pearl e-ink display found in the latest version of the Kindle. On a related note, David Carnoy at CNet reports on a Barnes & Noble press release noting that more than...

Back in November we reported that Plastic Logic was raising money from Russian investors to build a factory in Russia to produce the next generation of business-oriented e-ink readers (after the first generation Que failed entirely to get off the ground). Now PaidContent is carrying more specific details about the investment from the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (Rusnano).  Rusnano is investing $150 million and Plastic Logic’s existing backer Oak Investment Partners is putting in another $100 million. Rusnano is going to help raise an additional $100 million with “partial guarantees” for financing, and the company plans to raise $400...

Nate the Great at The Digital Reader notes that one of his readers reported that Barnes and Noble listed refurbished Wi-Fi Nooks on eBay for $79.99 today; it sold 3,590 of them at that price before the listing ended, but has relisted them for $99.99 (and the 3G + WiFi Nook for $119.99) for the next 26 days (or, presumably, until they run out). The $79.99 price went Amazon’s Black Friday $89.99 2G Kindle refurb deal one better, and the entire-holiday-season length of the deal certainly beats Amazon’s one-day-only offer. Take that, Jeff Bezos! I wonder if Amazon will...