That the price war in the emerging e-reader market is full on is evident from the fact that Amazon recently announced a drop in the price of its new Wi-Fi-only Kindle e- reader to $139, in an attempt to not only make the device more affordable, but also to offer stiffer competition to Barnes and Noble's Nook and the Apple iPad.

In fact, there might be a further price-reduction on the cards for the Kindle and the Nook, thanks to the increasing popularity of the iPad, as well as reports of a $99-priced e- reader being in the works of release from a small manufacturer named Copia.

With the recent drop in the price of the Kindle, which was originally introduced with a $399 price-tag, there are speculations galore that other e-reader-manufacturing companies - like Sony and Borders - will follow suit.

The Kobo e-reader from Borders and the Sony Reader are both presently priced at $150 - a comparatively higher cost, given the fact that both the devices lack wireless connectivity.

With the notable enhancements that are being brought to the smartphones and tablet computers, it is imperative that the e-reader put up a better fight to retain their market share. As such, market watchers are of the opinion that most e-reader manufacturers will have to slash the prices of their devices in the face of the increasing competition that they are facing by the day.