By Edward Nawotka

Today’s feature story discusses the Tools of Change conference at the Bologna Book Fair, where nearly all the talk developing apps and e-books for the iPad. The simple fact is, up until now, nothing has been able to compete with the iPad when it comes to the readability of children’s books. Barnes & Noble touted their new-ish Nook Color as the perfect e-reader for children, but as owner of one — and father of a 3.5 year old — I can verify that the 7-inch screen renders picture book images that are far too small for children. Secondly, with only 321 “children’s picture books” available in B&N’s store, it’s hardly the thousands of titles that were initially promised.

Other devices — like the Android-powered Motorola Xoom and the forthcoming HP TouchPad Tablet — may have the screen real estate, but they also don’t yet have the selection of apps and/or books. Plus, the price is several hundred dollars more than an iPad, making them that much more of a liability when you put it into a child’s hands. So, for the time being, it looks like iPad is king when it comes to children’s e-books.

The risk to potential competitors is that Apple may be on the road to cornering the market. When will a viable competitor emerge?

Let us know what you think in the comments.