eReader

Kindle, iPad, Nook and Streak are some of the names that come to mind when electronic readers and textbooks are mentioned.

Amazon's Kindle is intended for reading and does not have color, touchscreen, e-mail and other capabilities as does Apple's iPad. G3 downloads are free with the Kindle but not the iPad which doesn't play Flash files.

Although digital textbook sales are slow when compared with electronic books - Amazon says it sells more eBooks than printed ones - several publishers are creating textbooks for a range of college subjects.

Estimates for electronic textbook sales in 2009 are around $40 million, with some predicting that amount could double to $80 million in 2010. A Wall Street Journal article estimated that amount to be about one percent of the total high education textbook market.