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Electronics giant Sony has joined the fray in the e-reader war by cutting the cost of its digital reading gadgets.

This comes just one week after book seller Barnes and Noble and online retailer Amazon slashed the cost of their e-readers.

The move comes as the iPad, Apple’s new tablet computing device, is taking the market by storm. This year, the number of e-readers that are expected to be sold is 5 million – more than double last year’s 2.2 million.

The Japanese firm has reduced the price of the most costly version of the Daily Edition, its e-reader, from $349.99 to $299.99 – that’s around £197.00.The price of its other models has also been lowered – the Touch Edition now comes in at $169.99 (£112.00) and the most basic model, the Pocket Edition, is now available for $149.99 (£99.00)

Online retailer Amazon also cut the price of the entry level version of its own e-reader, the Kindle, to $189 (£125.00).

These price cuts come amid concerns that the iPad, which can also be used to read books, newspapers and magazines, will take the lion’s share of the e-reader market which is currently lead by Amazon, with roughly 60% to 65% of the market. Sony comes in second with a 35% share.

Even though the iPad costs a lot more than other e-readers as it is able to browse the internet, play video and has a colour screen, sales have been very high for Apple since it was launched earlier this year. Many people have purchased one even though they may already own a laptop and an iPhone; they are becoming an ever more common sight in coffee shops, as an e-reader such as the iPad should be covered by whatever gadget insurance the owner has – or specific iPad insurance can be taken out.

Sony has poured cold water on the notion that it was worried about opposition in the market from Apple, and a spokesman said that reducing the price on the high street for consumer electronics was the usual thing to do when the device had been on the market for a while.