The Wall Street Journal notes Sony has dropped the price of its entry-level e-book reader to US$169 just in time for the arrival of Apple's US$499 iPad.

The story quotes an analyst predicting a US$99 e-book reader by next year, pointing out it costs more than $99 to build the devices.

I can see the arrival of free e-book readers linked to online book shops. There's no reason e-books can't follow the razor and blade business model used by game console makers (like Sony) to its logical extreme and give away the hardware to customers willing to commit to so-many purchases over the course of a year.

Let the E-Reader Price War Begin? Sony Drops to $169 – Digits – WSJ.

Updated

You can read opinions about Apple's iPad elsewhere. Here I ask if it is the eBook reader to lead the way from print to a brighter, possibly greener, maybe paperless digital future.

It's a serious contender and likely to displace Amazon's Kindle from pole position. While the iPad in its current form is still short of ideal, it nudges ebooks nearer the goal.

Of course, this barely matters. Consumers will buy the device regardless of its suitability as an ebook reader. So the iPad could be the breakthrough ebook. My comments relate only to Apple's iPad as an ebook reader.

How I rate the iPad as an eBook reader:

Its size is about right. The iPad is lightweight, slim and big enough for comfortable reading.

I've some doubts over the way Apple will sell ebooks – in my view the company clips the ticket too hard. Publishers will feel they have little choice but to conform. It's an ironic lock-in given Apple's historic market strategy of being the anti-Big Brother computer maker.

Ten hours battery life is at the low-end of acceptability. It may handle a long-distance flight, but other readers do better.

At 9.7 inches, the display size is right. Colour is good. The screen resolution at 1024-by-768-pixel is less than ideal for long-term text reading - I've seen reports of either 100 or 115 dots per inch (dpi). I'm indebted to Bruce Hoult (@brucehoult) who twitters a simple calculation sqrt(1024^2+768^)/9.7 shows it's 132 DPI.

While this is way better than the 72 dpi on a standard PC display, it's going to mean tired eyes. Likewise the LED-backlit display is less than ideal.

Apple's price is respectable for a multi-function device able to handle many applications, but at US$499 plus, it's a hefty tag for an eBook reader.

My first impression is it needs a lower price, better display and improved battery life if the iPad is to become a serious threat to the printed book – these are all matters Apple may address in coming months.

Scorecard (out of ten):

Finally

These opinions are based on media reports – I haven't yet touched the device.

Writing in APC (Australian Personal Computer) David Flynn asks Will 2010 be ‘The Year of the e-Book’?. His report looks at material from tech analyst firm Gartner which says ebooks will boom next year so long as they; "overcome hurdles in price, availability and lack of popular mainstream content".

All these points are valid, but there also needs to be a great leap forward in display technology for ebooks to displace printed books. The current crop of electronic books are tiring to read when compared with print.

Higher resolution, large format, non-flickering, non-backlit displays are available, but not in the numbers needed and not, yet, at a realistic price. After years of looking at other forms of electronic books, I'd say once ebook makers overcome this hurdle, they'll be mainstream.

Barnes and Noble’s says internal sales data shows the Nook e-reader is already a hit. The company says the device is now its fastest selling item. Not bad considering the Nook doesn't officially go on sale until November 30.

While the Nook, like Amazon's Kindle, pushes e-book technology further into the mainstream, neither is yet the killer product able to do for books what Apple's iPod did for music. Mind you, Apple has a tablet waiting in the wings which could be the breakthrough reader.

For my money, ebook readers still need to be kinder on the eyes. All the technology is now in place except good, readable, high resolution screens that don't tire the eyes. Early adopters won't care about this, but most book lovers won't switch to digital until the experience is as good as reading old fashioned ink squirted onto mashed-up trees.

Meanwhile, Creative Technologies has entered the ebook market.

Acknowledgement to Mark Fletcher at Australian Newsagency Blog who had both stories earlier today.