For the last few days, a “Pottermore” website by J K Rowling has been the subject of scrutiny, with speculation that a Harry Potter smartphone was coming. Well, Pottermore is actually a website set up by J K Rowling and Sony, where the author will put up some ebooks (DRM free) of the Harry Potter series for sale as well as audiobooks, which will be available in several languages.

The website will be launched in October, with registrations starting on the 31st of July.

The handheld Wikireader eBook device has just gotten a bit more attractive to buyers as it has received 33,000 books to add to its library thanks to Project Gutenberg which is now available for the Wikireader.

All 33,000 books can fit onto a 4GB micro SD card that the Wikireader accepts, which means you get to carry them around without a forklift. It works similarly to Wikipedia already on the devices, allowing you to search for titles by keyword.

In addition to announcing their new Amazon app for the new BlackBerry PlayBook, Amazon has also announced a new way to read its electronic books, Amazon Kindle for the Web.

Amazon Kindle for the Web lets you read samples of books online in your web browser, without having to download or install anything extra. You can also share samples of books with your friends through a variety of social networks as well. Amazon Kindle for the Web has been released in beta.

Whether you own an ereader or not, chances are you’ve heard all about how self-publishing is easier today than it has ever been before, allowing authors to quickly and easily publish their work. And I’m here to tell you that it’s true. However many authors out there still haven’t taken advantage of it.

Maybe you don’t have the time to look into it, maybe you’re still getting over the sting from all of the rejection letters you got in the old days, with the old way of publishing. Whatever the reason, many times we hear about new and great ways to do things and it just goes in one ear and out the other. Probably because we think there has to be a catch.

Kindle for Android is coming. But hold your horses. It isn’t ready to download just yet. Amazon’s free Kindle ebook reader for Android won’t launch until this summer. When it does, devices with Android 1.6 and above (with an SD card) will let you search, browse, and purchase the books in the Kindle Store without exiting the app.

Kindle for Android features Whispersync, which will keep your bookmarks, last page read, notes, and highlights all synchronized across all your Kindle-enabled devices. You still have a wait, but it will be here soon.

If you’ve been waiting, the color version of the Cybook Opus is now upon you. The device will come in seven new colors with a May 7 release date. The freshly updated Cybook Opus features instant-on functionality, a new Boo Reader software to help optimize battery life, and 12 font sizes.

It’s still a monochrome E Ink display at 800 x 600 pixels and memory is still 1GB, but the price has gone down to £149 ($199 in USA). 150 books come preloaded on the device, so that price is pretty awesome.

Kobo has unveiled their own eBook reader and it looks like a good affordable option for those who don’t want to buy a Kindle or Nook. The Kobo eReader lacks 3G, but there is a lot to like here. Just look at that quilted, vinyl back and you can skin the face with a cloth or leather facade. Most of the buttons are on the side because you have a blue navigational pad in front. It comes equipped with 1GB of storage, but will handle a 4GB SD card.

The device supports EPUB or PDF transfered over USB, and you can sync via Bluetooth across devices loaded with Kobo’s app. This one should be pretty popular.

Amazon’s Kindle has released apps for both the iPhone and the PC. And now its arriving on the Mac. The Kindle app is free, and hooks you up with Amazon’s bookstore where you can buy books or check out previews of books.

With these apps, Amazon has done the smart thing and taken the ebook store as far as it will go, which is a good thing since the iPad will shake things up. I wonder what the ereader market will look like in one year.

Looks like the ASUS DR-950, the company’s newest 9-inch E Ink, touchscreen reading device will be arriving in April. ASUS has confirmed that it’s currently looking for content partners, but plans to have the e-reader in consumer’s hands by spring.

The price will be about £250 (or $354). We like it, with it’s 2 or 4GB or internal storage, Wi-Fi and 3G. But we are more excited about the OLED color DR-570 which is coming soon.

I hear ya, Amazon’s Kindle DX is big. It is, but it’s not the biggest any more. The Skiff Reader is the biggest in town now at just a quarter inch thick. It features a 1600 x 1200 11.5-inch touchscreen (finger and stylus) that should be much better for magazine and newspaper layouts.

Skiff also has 4GB of on-board storage (with over 3GB available for content), SD card expansion, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Content can be loaded via a mini USB jack or through WiFi and 3G is also an option thanks to Sprint, who will sell the Skiff this year for an unknown price.

Amazon’s Kindle broke an important record on Xmas. On Christmas, the company sold more Kindle books than physical books. Yes, they did have a huge push for the holiday. Many people got a Kindle for Christmas and ordered a bunch of eBooks. But it’s still impressive.

The question is can they maintain this momentum? Were it not for a huge banner on their front page for the last week, begging you to buy the Kindle in time for Christmas, sales would not have been so sweet. So we aren’t sure that they can maintain strong sales, but who knows.

We’ve been waiting for more info about Barnes and Noble’s new color e-book reader and it looks like we have some. According to the Wall Street Journal, they’ve seen an upcoming ad for Barnes & Noble’s e-book reader.

It’s called the Nook. And according to the article, you can expect it to be out on Tuesday, when it will retail for $259. Interestingly, the device will let users “lend e-books to friends.” That last bit is intriguing. More tomorrow.

IREX is introducing its DR800SG e-reader. It may look like the Kindle, but it isn’t. The screen measures 8.1 inches diagonal and the controls are a stylus/touchscreen combo along with a control bar on the side that works sort of like a joystick. Also, the IREX renders newspapers with page layout intact, allowing readers to zoom in on articles.

The device has an always-on 3G connection via Verizon (Don’t worry. No subscription fees). The company has also partnered with Barnes & Noble for their e-book store, selling most new books at $9.99. No PC is required, but the syncing software is Windows only. The DR800SG should be available at Best Buy stores in October for $399.

It hasn’t really been a secret that Google wants into the ebook market. Now it’s happening. Tom Turvey (Google’s director of strategic partnerships) says that the program will be ready by the end of 2009. Details are still a bit scarce, but according to The New York Times, the plan involves selling the books at prices set by the publisher.

This is a departure to the rather strict Amazon pricing guidelines that sees most Kindle titles selling for $9.99 (Many publishers don’t like that). Also, the company will be selling readers online access to the titles. This means that access to your books won’t be limited just to a specific device, but it will require Internet access and some sort of off-line caching.