The Saturday morning serial model of the 1950s may be long dead in the film world, but a new eBook publisher is looking to bring it back in a more modern form.

Backlit is producing a string of Young Adult fiction in eBook form, recruiting Hollywood writers to pen the tales, which invariably end with a cliffhanger. It's a model that, if it works, not only guarantees a fairly predictable revenue stream, but has caught the eye of producers.

Jack Giarraputo of Happy Madison has secured a first look film and television deal with the company, which currently offers two series - Borrowing Abby Grace and The Start-Up – and has two more queued up.

Prices are kept low intentionally. Borrowing Abby Grace and The Start-Up cost $2.99 per 'episode' with a word count of 20,000-30,000 words. That's about 1/5 the size of a Twilight novel. (One upcoming series, entitled, The Dig, will charge $6.99 for a 60,000-80,000 word episode.) To ensure the material connects with its audience, Backlit has recruited Hollywood writers who have a track record of appeal to the demographic. (All authors write under pseudonyms to protect their day jobs.)

"There's kind of a renaissance in reading these days," says founder Panio Gianopoulos. "Teenagers today read more words per day than any generation before them. Of course, they're reading Facebook and Twiter and text messages, but they're not opposed to reading books."

The serial formula is no stranger to print, either, but hasn't seen a lot of success since Steven King revived it with The Green Mile.

The goal, of course, is to see these series expand to other mediums, but Gianopoulos declined to discuss whether Giarraputo has picked up any options yet. However, he said, "We think the eBook is the perfect way to create a television model for our series."

It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Kindle would be a hot seller in the fourth quarter. The combination of the holiday season and a new, lower priced device made it a certain hit.

But no one was expecting it to be this hot.

Amazon reports the latest incarnation of the eReader has already surpassed total fourth quarter 2009 sales. That’s astonishing, since the Kindle was one of last year’s hottest gifts – and it underscores exactly how hot the device has become.

“It’s still October and we’ve already sold more Kindle devices since launch than we did during the entire fourth quarter of last year - astonishing because the fourth quarter is the busiest time of year on Amazon,” said Steve Kessel, SVP of Amazon Kindle.

Not surprisingly, eBooks continue to be big sellers for the company as well. Over the past 30 days, sales of titles for the Kindle have topped the number of hardcover and paperback books Amazon has sold – combined. In the first three quarters, eBooks have sold three times more than they did during the same period in 2009

The advent of the app era has certainly changed how people view their phones, but its real impact has been less on telecommunications – and more on the electronics industry.  

A new study by Deloitte, released today, finds that mobile apps actually aren’t a key driver on smartphone sales, but they do play a big role in people’s decision-making when they’re looking for something like a gaming console or GPS.

Deloitte found that nearly 42 percent of app users have reduced or completely eliminated their use of MP3 players, choosing instead to focus on smartphones or tablets (such as the iPhone and iPad). One-third of those same users say they have also stopped using AM/FM radios, handheld gaming systems (like the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP) and stand-alone GPS devices.

Despite the huge impact on other technologies, apps are top of mind for just 18 percent of the people looking at smartphones. The majority (some 58 percent) say price, camera, size and keyboard style are what influence them.

eReaders, meanwhile, are starting to expand their footprint. Deloitte’s study found 10 percent of the country has bought an e-book. Of those, more than half say they’re reading more now than when they strictly bought bound books – and 61 percent prefer eBooks to the traditional format. 

Amazon may be riding high in the eReader rodeo these days with the release of the new Kindle, but it doesn’t own the market – and it’s feeling pressure from the competition once again.  

Effective Wednesday, Borders will lower the price of its two eReaders, the Kobo and the Aluratek. The Kobo is falling from $149 to $129. The Aluratek will drop from $129 to $100, putting it in the sweet spot for consumers.

Borders is leading the price war because its readers fall short on some major features – specifically, they lack both WiFi and 3G and need to be docked to a PC to download books. But in the current economy, price alone could turn some consumer’s heads.

Barnes & Noble’s nook device kicked off the price wars, when the bookseller unveiled a wifi only version in June that prompted Amazon to slash prices on the Kindle. Amazon upped the stakes last month with the new version of its device, which sells for $139 and is presently back-ordered through mid-September.

So far, neither Barnes & Noble nor Amazon has reacted to the price cuts.

Overshadowing all of these, of course, is the iPad, which continues to be a retail darling and whose iBooks offering is spreading fast to other Apple devices, including the iPhone and iPod Touch. While Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders all have apps for the iDevices, letting them make money on book sales, each is still betting significantly on their own device. 

Although some parties thought the eReader would fall by the wayside when the iPad hit shelves, Amazon is making an emphatic statement to the contrary. The online retailer has unveiled a new, upgraded Kindle device as well as a new lower-priced model.  

The new Kindle, like the old one, boasts a 6-inch screen, but uses a newer type of e-Ink – the same that’s used in the high-end Kindle DX device. It’s also 21 percent smaller, has twice as much storage (4 GB) and Amazon says it has an improved battery life as well.

The 3G version, which has been the standard for Kindles, will sell for $189 – but Amazon also unveiled a Wi-Fi only version of the device, which costs just $139 – further escalating the price wars started by Barnes & Noble in the eReader space.

Most observers expected something new from Amazon when the Kindle “sold out” on the company’s home page earlier this week. The device has been an unmitigated hit for Amazon – and eBooks have helped rejuvenate the publishing industry recently.

Author Stieg Larsson’s books have topped 1 million sold on Amazon – and the company claims that it sells more Kindle versions of books than it does hardcovers. CEO Jeff Bezos told USA Today in an interview that he expects the format to top paperback sales in 9-12 months. 

The price war in the eReader space is getting more aggressive.  

Amazon has launched a revamped Kindle DX – the high end version of its eReader – with a marked 50 percent improvement in its display contracts and a significantly lower price - $379. That’s a $110 drop.

It’s the latest move in the growing battle for consumer's attention. Barnes & Noble kicked things off last week with the introduction of a $149 WiFi only nook. Amazon quickly responded, dropping the price of the original Kindle (which retains its 3G capabilities) from $259 to $189.

The DX is a large screen reader – boasting a 9.7 inch viewing area, versus the 6 inch screen on other readers and an expanded memory capacity, allowing it to hold more than twice as many eBooks.

The revised DX will begin shipping July 7, with pre-orders beginning immediately. (Older models of the DX have also had their price reduced to $379, which is a bit surprising as you’d expect Amazon to offer those for a bit less to clear the channel.)

The price cuts will put the various Kindle versions (as well as the nook) in a sweet spot for consumers and will likely make them even more of a must-have this holiday season. But both products remain under significant pressure from Apple, whose iPad (and included free iBooks app) is a retail smash and proving to be a viable threat to the eReader marketplace. 

The middle of the 2010 is not a good time for struggling gadgets. Both Microsoft and Plastic Logic have put in doubt the future of two highly touted devices – one that’s already on the market and one that hasn’t seen the light of day.  

Both the Microsoft Kin phone and the Que ProReader device are on shaky ground. The Kin was launched just six weeks ago by the Redmond-based company and hoped to blend social networking with cell phones. The Que ProReader was (or is) an intriguing eReader introduced at CES this year that was specifically tailored to the business audience.

Neither company, it should be noted, has made a formal announcement specifically about their respective products' fate. Microsoft issued a statement that it had decided to focus exclusively on the upcoming Windows Phone 7 and would not be launching Kin in Europe this fall as planned. The Kin team was being integrated with the Windows Phone 7 team.

The company plans to keep working with Verizon with current phones, but it doesn’t sound like many (or any) updates are coming – and new models aren’t likely either.

It’s not a completely shocking move. The Kin has struggled to find an audience since launch, in large part due to price.

The Que’s fate came into doubt when Plastic Logic delayed it for the second time this year – declining to give a new target ship date and canceling all pre-orders. (It was originally scheduled to ship in mid-April.)  

The eReader had many intriguing qualities, including an 8.5x11 inch touchscreen and the ability to read Word and PowerPoint presentations, as well as digital books and PDFs. It could also sync with Outlook, giving users access to email and their calendar.

The hurdle – and it was a big one – was price. The device cost a whopping $650 to $800, more than five times more expensive than current eReaders – and more than many iPad models. 

Barnes & Noble’s nook eReader has hardly been struggling, but the company’s device hasn’t exactly been top of mind for most shoppers. The iPad and Amazon Kindle tend to leap to most people’s minds first. Today, the company is taking steps to change that.  

It’s doing so in a way that makes a lot of sense: Cost. Barnes & Noble has announced a new version of the nook that eschews the 3G connection and only uses Wi-Fi. They’ve smartly priced it at $149.

To make itself more competitive in the broader market, the company has also cut the price of its Wi-Fi/3G model from $149 to $199. That’s $40 cheaper than the primary Kindle. The 3G/Wi-Fi version, which is a better apples-to-apples comparison, remains $10 more, but with the nook’s extra features (such as eBook lending to friends), it’s still a big step.

The Kindle DX remains at an astonishingly expensive $489.

This isn’t going to be enough to derail the iPad’s momentum, but let’s face it – the eReader market is quickly becoming a battle for second place. It will, however, keep Barnes & Noble in the race – and should really begin to show significant benefits around the holiday season.

(Edit: The original post should have pointed out that Amazon's $189 price for the Kindle was in reaction to Barnes & Noble's move. The device was selling for $259 as early as yesterday.)

Amazon has one. Barnes & Noble has one. Now it’s Borders’ turn.  

The Kobo eReader, which has the full backing of the Borders book chain, has set a release date. The device will go on sale June 17, entering a market that was already crowded before Apple put itself in the ring a month ago. 

Kobo’s device comes with a pricing advantage, though. At only $149, it is the least expensive of the major eReaders. On the other hand, it’s a relatively bare-bones device, lacking several of the features that the nook or Kindle offer. It sports a six-inch screen, but doesn’t have a 3G connection, letting you download books on the fly, or WiFi. That could hurt it significantly. Audio playback, a less compelling feature, is also missing.

The device does come with 100 classic books preloaded, however. And it uses E Ink, which has generally been a much easier format with which to read eBooks, especially if you’re outside. (The iPad, for all its admirable qualities, is not a device that does well in non-shaded environments. And, technically, it's not exactly an eReader, despite the iBooks app.)

It’s a stab in the dark for Borders, but one that’s not likely to boost its customer base.

With the holiday shopping season about to “officially” kick off – and strong competition looming from both Sony and Barnes & Noble, Amazon has announced some drastic improvements for the Kindle.

The online retailer says it has found a way to increase battery life by 85 percent. This is for both new and existing models (a firmware update is available now). With this, you’ll be able to leave your Kindle on for seven full days (with WiFi activated) before you’ll need to recharge.

All Kindles will also now be able to read Adobe PDF files natively (as opposed to the conversion process they currently undergo). And users will be able to manually control screen rotation – a small, but very welcome change. Full details about the upgrade are available from Amazon.

The Kindle has a big leadership position in the eReader space, but it will face its biggest competition in the coming months. The category is expected to continue growing at a fast pace next year as prices start to fall. Barring something unforeseen, analysts say, eReaders will be the ‘must have’ gift of holiday 2010.