Last month, iRex Technologies announced that it will partner with Barnes & Noble online bookstore when it releases its first e-reader in the U.S. next month and now it appears the company will also partner with Verizon and Best Buy. According to an article from the New York Times, the e-readers will be available in Best Buy stores and will utilize Verizon’s 3G wireless network. The e-reader will feature a black and white 8.1 inch touch screen and will support the ePub format to allow users to buy books from other sources.
The article also includes a prediction from market research firm iSuppli which says that 5.2 million e-readers will be sold across the world this year and half of the sales will occur in North America. This prediction is line with one from Sarah Rotman Epps of Forrester Research who estimates that three million e-readers will be sold in the U.S. this year. In 2008, there were about one million e-reader devices sold.
