"My daughter is deployed to Iraq right now. She loves to read but, as you can imagine, she has no space for books. Would you compare the Kindle, Sony reader, the Barnes & Noble reader and whatever else is out there so that I can make a decent decision on what to send to Iraq." -- Cheryl Williams

The electronic book reader, or "e-book reader," just might become next year's hottest new electronic gadget.

As Cheryl mentioned, there are three main devices on the market, and a fourth from Apple is possibly on its way sometime next year.

While I'll soon be writing a more in-depth look at the three main e-book readers, here are my initial thoughts:

The Kindle from Amazon.com (6-inch screen, $259, and 9-inch screen, $489) is the most popular of the three, and is tied to a vast library of books on Amazon.

The Sony reader ($199 to $399) uses either a 5- or 6-inch screen, while the Barnes & Noble reader called Nook, ($259) also has a 6-inch screen.

All of the readers use what's called E-Ink technology, with black-and-white screens that only use power to draw the text. Once the text is on, no more power is used, which is why these devices can last days or weeks before recharging. In addition to the Nook's regular black-and-white screen for the text, there's a smaller color screen at the bottom of the device for its icons.

All of the readers have ample memory so a user can store hundreds of books in the device. They also have adjustable font sizes and screens that allow you to read in the dark.

But how do they differ? The Kindle and Nook allow people to download from Amazon or the Barnes & Noble site, respectively, via Wi-Fi or 3G networks without tethering to a home computer. Sony's most affordable models can't download books wirelessly, but its newest and most expensive reader now can.

If I wanted to get an e-reader right now, my preference would be the Kindle. It's the most popular, is connected to the biggest online book retailer in the country, and I can purchase books for it wherever I'm at.

I'm also dying to know if Apple's rumored tablet will be out soon. It's expected to display books, as well as play movies, music and run applications. It's just likely that all of this won't come cheap.