Very little attention was paid to last week’s acquisition of E Ink by Prime View International. E Ink, based in Cambridge, MA, develops display technology that is used in both the Amazon Kindle and Sony ebook readers. The company was acquired by Prime View International, a Taiwanese company that makes both products. In doing so, Prime View no doubt intends to dominate the market for ebook readers. As the market heats up for ebooks and electronic news sources, it is likely that other manufacturers will enter the fray. The question is will they be able to make their mark without licensing E Ink.

While electronic books can be downloaded to virtually any type of computer device, the Kindle and Sony ebook reader feature an unusual display technology developed by E Ink that allows a lower level of power consumption, yet provides extremely crisp text on a computer screen—even when lighting conditions for reading are suboptimal.

To be sure, the Kindle and the Sony eBook reader are only the first dedicated devices in what is likely to be a long list of ebook options. Even now, Kindle-formatted books can be read on an Apple iPhone, and it is likely that Apple will feature some type of ebook reading capability in its next generation, top secret computing device, which some suspect may have more of the look and feel of an ebook reader than a traditional notebook PC.

As consumers continue to seek digital rather than paper-based reading content, the market for digital reading technology will continue to advance. Faster, lighter, more powerful and more affordable ebook readers featuring enhanced color graphics and low power consumption ought to make for an extremely dynamic market.