Who knew that the book publishing industry would turn out to be a driver for technological development in the electronics industry?

Of course the book industry can’t claim all the credit. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo have been joined by tech giants like Apple and Microsoft in developing tablets and e-reading devices for consumers that are getting better and cheaper all the time. Among other factors, the combination of lower prices and better selection led market research firm Gartner to project a 54% growth in tablet sales worldwide in 2013, to more than 184 million units, with sales of more than 263 million tablets anticipated for 2014. Gartner’s research also shows that consumers want smaller and cheaper tablets; it points to a continuing drop in prices for 7-inch devices. Of the 21,500 consumers (located in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., and the U.S.) Gartner surveyed, 47% owned a tablet that was 8 inches or smaller. And a separate Gartner survey of 726 tablet owners shows that tablets are used primarily for entertainment: respondents spend more than 50% of their time on their tablets reading books, listening to music, or playing games, on average.

Gartner’s research also shows that consumers who are late tablet adopters are looking beyond premium tablet brands (that means you, Apple) and are willing to buy cheaper, basic tablets. The research firm expects basic tablets to account for 47% of new tablet shipments by the end of 2013. So, welcome to the tablet (and dedicated e-reader) development wars. Here’s a short and selective listing of newly upgraded, reading-friendly tablets and e-readers available for purchase this holiday season.

Apple iPad Air

Price: $500 (16 GB)

Screen: 9.7-in., high-res. retina display

OS/Processor: iOS7/A7 processor chip and M7 Motion coprocessor

Titles/Apps: 1.5 million free and for-pay books/1 million apps

Storage: 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB

Camera: Front- and rear-facing

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, cellular

Battery: Up to 10 hours

Hype: Lighter, thinner, and upgraded, with a faster processor, retina display screen, and better Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as better sound. Apple even gave its game-changing device a new name: all hail the iPad Air, king of the tablet realm.

Apple iPad Mini

Price: $400 (16 GB)

Screen: 7.9-in., high-res. retina display

OS/Processor: iOS7/A7 processor chip and M7 Motion coprocessor

Titles/Apps: 1.5 million free and for-pay books/1 million apps

Storage: 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB

Camera: Front-facing

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, cellular

Battery: Up to 10 hours

Hype: Ditto for the iPad Mini—it’s been upgraded with a retina display and a faster processor; it’s also lighter, thinner, and better.

Microsoft Surface Pro 2

Price: $900

Screen: 10.6-in. HD touchscreen

OS/Processor: Windows 8.1 Pro/4th-gen. Intel Core i5 processor

Titles/Apps: Millions of for-pay & free books via retailer apps, about 120,000 apps via the Windows Store

Storage: 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB

Camera: Front- and rear-facing cameras

Connectivity: Wi-Fi

Battery: More than 10 hours

Hype: MS has upgraded the device with a faster processor, longer battery life, and a new kickstand with better viewing angles; and, unlike the Surface 2, it runs the full-on Windows 8 system—but at a hefty price tag for a tablet.

Microsoft Surface 2

Price: $450

Screen: 10.6-in. touchscreen

OS/Processor: Windows 8.1 RT/NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor

Titles/Apps: Millions of for-pay and free books via retailer apps and more than 120,000 apps via the Windows Store

Storage: 32 GB, 64 GB

Camera: Front- and rear-facing cameras

Connectivity: Wi-Fi

Battery: Up to 10 hours

Hype: Like the Surface Pro 2, Microsoft has upgraded this device, making it lighter, and added a faster processor, as well as thousands of apps; the price has also come down by $50.

Amazon Kindle HDX

Price: $379 (8.9-in. HDX, 16 GB); $229 (7-in.HDX, 16 GB)

Screen: 8.9-in. HDX (339 ppi), 7-in. HDX (323 ppi)

OS/Processor: Customized Android OS/Quad-Core 2.2 GHz processor

Titles/Apps: More than 1.7 million for-pay books, millions of free books, hundreds of thousands of audiobooks/hundreds of thousands of apps

Storage: 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB

Camera: Front- (HD) and rear-facing cameras.

Connectivity: Wi-Fi

Battery: Up to 18 hours (reading)

Hype: Upgraded hardware, new super-high-resolution screens, better battery life, upgraded Fire OS, “Mayday” button for free instant tech help, upgraded browser, and more—all for a really good price.

Amazon Kindle HD

Price: $139 (8 GB)

Screen: 7-in. HD touchscreen

OS/Processor: Customized Android OS/Dual-Core 1.5 GHz processor

Titles/Apps: More than 1.7 million for-pay books, millions of free books, hundreds of thousands of audiobooks/hundreds of thousands of apps

Storage: 8 GB, 16 GB

Camera: None

Connectivity: Wi-Fi

Battery: 10 hours

Hype: Amazon has upgraded the original Kindle Fire HD, and while it still lacks the features offered in the HDX models, you can’t beat the price.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

Price: $119 (with ads)

Screen: 6-in., high-res., 16-level grayscale, e-ink touchscreen with built-in lighting

Titles/Apps: Nearly 2 million for-pay books and millions of free books

Storage: 2 GB (holds up to 1,100 books)

Camera: None

Connectivity: Wi-Fi

Battery: As much as 8 weeks, reading 30 mins. per day

Hype: The recently upgraded Kindle Papewhite features a high-contrast e-ink screen with better lighting, a faster processor, and a more responsive touchscreen; it also offers the first integration of content from the GoodReads recommendation site, which was recently acquired by Amazon, into the Amazon platform.

B&N GlowLight

Price: $119

Screen: 6-in., high-res., e-ink touchscreen with adjustable GlowLight read-in-the-dark technology

Titles/Apps: Millions of for-pay and free books

Storage: 4 GB (holds up to 2,000 books)

Camera: None

Connectivity: Wi-Fi

Battery: As much as 8 weeks, reading 30 mins. per day

Hype: Despite the growing popularity of tablets and calls for B&N to get out of the device manufacturing business, B&N has upgraded the GlowLight reader with better lighting tech, higher-resolution screens, a faster processor, and increased storage.

Kobo Arc 10HD

Price: $400 (16 GB)

Screen: 10.1-in. HD touchscreen; 7-in. HD touchscreen

OS/Processor: Android 4.2 OS/Nvidia Tegra 4 Quad-Core, 1.8 GHz.

Titles/Apps: 2 million for-pay books, 1 million free books/more than 1 million apps

Storage: 16 GB

Camera: Front-facing camera

Connectivity: Wi-Fi

Battery: 9.5 Hours

Hype: Kobo has upgraded its original Kobo Arc and developed two HD tablet devices. It’s also added new features like Reading Mode, which saves battery life; Beyond the Book, a new social reading feature; and a new recommendation engine, in addition to new content offerings.

Kobo Arc 7HD

Price: $200 (16 GB)

Screen: 7-in. HD touchscreen

OS/Processor: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS/Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad-Core, 1.7 GHz.

Titles/Apps: 2 million for-pay books, 1 million free books/more than 1 million apps

Storage: 16 GB, 32 GB

Camera: Front-facing camera

Connectivity: Wi-Fi

Battery: 8 hours

Hype: Kobo has upgraded the device’s battery life, as well as adding the new features mentioned above—all in a compact device offered at an attractive price.

Kobo Arc 7

Price: $150 (8 GB)

Screen: 7-in. touchscreen

OS/Processor: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean/MTK Quad-Core, 1.2 GHz.

Titles/Apps: 2 million for-pay books, 1 million free books/more than 1 million apps

Storage: 8 GB (expandable)

Camera: Front-facing

Connectivity: Wi-Fi

Battery: 9 hours

Hype: The original Kobo tablet has been upgraded with a faster processor, as well as the new features mentioned above and direct access to the Google Play store.

Kobo Aura HD

Price: $150

Screen: 6-in., high-res., 16-level grayscale, Pearl e-ink touchscreen

Titles/Apps: 2 million for-pay books, 1 million free books

Storage: 4 GB (expandable)

Camera: None

Connectivity: Wi-Fi

Battery: 2 months

Hype: Designed for the hardcore e-book reader, the Aura HD offers a high-res, e-ink touchscreen with a fast processor; it has become one of Kobo’s bestselling devices, and the price has been reduced by $20 since launch.