By RACHEL METZ

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- When most people think of electronic book readers, Amazon's thin, white Kindle probably springs to mind. But that could be about to change.

A cascade of e-readers will hit the market this year, taking the devices far beyond gray-scale screens with features like touch navigation and video chatting -- and probably lowering prices, too.

It's happening as other gadgets, such as mobile phones and tablet computers, give people even more choices for diving into their favorite books. Perhaps the only downside is worrying you might buy an e-reader from a company that won't stick around.

This week, nearly two dozen companies that make the devices or deliver reading material to them are showing products at the International Consumer Electronics Show, the first time it has devoted a section to e-books. And Amazon isn't even at the exhibition.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, which organizes the trade show, 2.2 million e-readers were shipped to stores in 2009, nearly four times as many as the year before. This year, the group expects 5 million will be shipped.

Since the Kindle debuted in 2007 at $399, Amazon has lowered the price to $259 and lured buyers with new releases of books for about $10 each. On Christmas Day, Amazon sold more e-books than physical copies for the first time. To keep up, Barnes Noble has come out with its $259 Nook, and Sony Corp. has stayed in the game with its Readers, with an entry-level model at $200. Each offers relatively few exclusives -- publishers have shown little interest in favoring one device over another.

Other companies are jumping in. Samsung Electronics Co., the leading maker of phones and TVs in the U.S., will launch an e-reader this year. Interead Ltd. already sells a $249 device called the COOL-ER and has two new models at the show: Compact, a smaller, lighter version, and Connect, a touch-screen model that can download books from Interead's online store if the user is in a Wi-Fi hot spot.