July 9 - 4:55pm EDT   Amazon's price cut of its Kindle 2 e-book reader have prompted some in the publishing industry to worry that the online retailer, which is far and away the leading provider of e-books, may put pressure on them to drop the prices for electronic versions of their books for the device, according to a Bloomberg report. Amazon reportedly pays between $12 and $13 to publishers for Kindle editions of books that are on the New York Times bestseller list and sells them for about $10 to customers. Many publishing houses are concerned the giant online vendor will put price pressure on them in order to bump its own profit margins. [full story]

September 8 - 8:30am EDT   Plastic Logic this morning launched an e-book reader it hopes will tackle the Amazon Kindle and other high-profile readers. The device is one of the few to have a letter-sized, 8.5- by 11-inch display but uses the company's unique plastic screen backing to generate a much thinner and sturdier design than most readers, which need a toughened shell to protect a glass back. This produces a device with the shape of a magazine or small newspaper but the changeability of an e-ink device. [full story]