Chances are, you've been hearing a lot about E-Readers these days. They're devices designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital publications (books, newspapers, magazines, etc).

As discussed in this episode, E-Readers vary in design and presentation. Perhaps the most popular permutation of the E-Reader comes in a tablet form factor with an E-Ink screen.

E-Ink is a revolutionary display method based on electronic paper. The technology revolves around charging transparent microcapsules suspended in a clear fluid. These capsules contain negatively charged black and positive charged white particles. When positive electricity is applied, the white particles move to the top, when negative electricity is applied, the black particles move to the top. To put it simply, these capsules can be "turned on or off" to display shapes on the screen such as text or a grayscale image.
However, the rise of tablet computers has created a new kind of LCD (liquid crystal display) based E-Readers as well – such as the Apple iPad or the Barnes & Noble Nook Color.
While each device has its pros and cons, the biggest negative against LCD based E-Readers is eye fatigue due to their backlit screens. By contrast, E-Ink closely recreates the experience of reading ink on regular paper, which lessens eyestrain.

Matt hits the Lab Rats set to see what scoops he can find. He learns about upcoming Lab Rats episodes on the best e-reader device as well as an upcoming episode dedicated to the BlackBerry PlayBook. Also, he previews 60-Second App on butterscotch.com, the show that brings weekly reviews of the best Android, iPhone and iPad apps going. Finally, he hints at an upcoming episode of Android Weekly looking at the top five apps for Android tablets.

On this weeks show, the ASUS Eee Pad we're dubbing the Transformer-top, hints at what may be next for PCs, Samsung and Amazon sitting in a tree and Skype gets an update but isn't quite what we were hoping for. Also, the lovely Kate Abraham offers up a killer Android time waster with Slice It!.

It's that time of the year again! Sean and Andy show off some of their favourite gift suggestions for the season, including an e-book reader, a turbocharged clock radio, a 3D camera, and a jacket that holds all your gadgets...and much more!

Perhaps you're not interested in shelling out for a Kindle, a Kobo, a Sony Reader, a Nook or other dedicated eBook reader. Perhaps you still want to read a few eBooks though. For you, there's Adobe Digital Editions. With many libraries now offering eBooks, maybe it's time to start paying attention to these pulpless wonders. If you're a proud eReader owner, Adobe Digital Editions is still very helpful in helping to manage your eBook collection, including books on loan from the library.

Feature bloat is the bane of the less technical technophile. The Kobo eBook reader does not fall victim. It's a single-purpose device and in so being, it's easy to use, easy to hold, easy to afford and easy to like. It doesn't play MP3s, it doesn't have a touch screen, it's got but a few buttons and it can be a little slow in booting up, but it does it's job well.

More than page turners, these eBooks are a real turn-on for bookworms with a sexy streak. Kate Abraham takes a look at a few eBook titles that are sure to heat things up. From the venerable Kama Sutra to erotic short stories to an exploration of different sexual practices, these

top three erotic eBooks for Kindle

have it covered.

Andy and Sean finally get their hands on the new Apple iPad and put it through its paces. What's the hardware like? Is it good for games and productivity? And ultimately, is it worth the hype?

Andy and Sean get their hands on Apple's new tablet, the iPad...
well, kinda. They talk about what it's designed to do, what it won't do, and whether or not it's going to be worth waiting for its spring 2010 launch date.

The Amazon Kindle 2 does much more than just display pages for you to read. As it's a smart device, you can get dictionary definitions of words, place virtual dog-ears on pages you want to refer back to, search for instances of a word or phrase, highlight text and write your own notes.

While the Amazon Kindle store has nearly 400,000 books available for download along with tons of blogs, newspapers and magazines for delivery to your Kindle, there are some fantastic

free eBooks

that are available. In this

video how-to

, we show you

where to download public domain and free eBooks

and

how to transfer PDFs to your Kindle

.

The Amazon Kindle store has approaching 400,000 books available for download straight to your Kindle device. The store is free to browse and the cost of data delivery over Amazon's "WhisperNet is built in to the cost of the

Kindle books, magazines, newspapers and blog subscriptions

you buy.

If our time looking at gadgets and gear have taught us anything, it's that hardware is only as good as the software that runs it. We continue our

Kindle 2 video tutorial series

by taking a look at the software that powers the

eBook reader from Amazon

.

The second generation Kindle

eBook reader

lets you carry your

Kindle library

wherever you may roam. We kick off our

using Kindle video tutorial series

by taking a

video tour of the Kindle hardware

.

Andy and Sean take a look at their top gift-giving picks for the holiday season, including robot vacuums, a USB turntable and many, many flying things.

You've been thinking of buying a Kindle or a Sony eBook reader with an e-Ink screen but you're wondering: why not just read eBooks on your laptop or large-screen smartphone's LCD screen? The reasons are many but the biggest one is how each of these display technologies push pixels. Andy and Sean explain how e-Ink works using eggs, salt and shoe polish.

If you've wanted to get a Kindle for reading books, but haven't had the funds, check out this interim step: Free Kindle software for your PC with a Mac version coming soon. Kindle for PC give Kindle non-owners

access to read the library of 360,000 plus Kindle ebooks

on a Windows PC. Blogs, magazines and newspapers are currently not supported.

Andy and Sean look at new electronic book devices including the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader.

In this

Amazon Kindle 2 video tutorial series

we run through our

top five Amazon Kindle tips

. Starting with a

video tour of the Amazon Kindle 2

hardware and software, we move to

buying books and periodicals in the Amazon Kindle store

. We also offer some handy

Amazon Kindle 2 power reading tips

and show you

where to find free eBooks

without falling afoul of the law. To top it off, we show you

how to transfer a PDF eBook to the Amazon Kindle

.