MEET ALEX ... ANOTHER AWESOME E-READER (find out why)

While most are touting the Apple iTab, iSlab, iPad or whatever-the-frig they're calling that thing a game-changer, I believe the real game changer in publishing will be the advent of all these new nifty e-readers coming out.

Spring Design's Alex eReader is one of the most impressive little readers on the block. The $399 Android-powered device boasts both a 6-inch e-ink display and a 3.5-inch, 16-bit color touch-screen LCD.

It's set to ship in the middle of this month but will undoubtebly get overshadowed by the iPad.
The Alex is long and narrow, weighs 11-ounces and measures 4.7 inches wide and 8.9 inches high. It's less than a half inch thick.

Users can download Google Books and it's compatible with other bookstores that support Adobe DRM (you can read e-books in EPUB, PDF, HTML, and TXT formats).

If the Alex seems Nook-like, don't be surprised. The Spring e-reader shares similar traits to Barnes & Noble's dual-screen reader. Interestingly, Spring actually sued Barnes & Noble for similarities it saw in the Nook.

Selling points of the Alex are built-in Wi-Fi, the ability to stream video and surf the Web (on the smaller color screen) and it can utilize certain Android applications. It also comes with a 2GB removable memory card and the microSD expansion slot supports cards up to an impressive 32GB. Earphones, an AC/USB power connector, and a padded cover ship with the unit.

An impressive machine, indeed. The unit I have my eyes peeled for, though, is the HP Slate, the only real iPad competitor that I can see at this point.

Check out a commercial for the Slate, also set to debut within weeks: