Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo are in the race to the bottom. The lack of audio in modern e-readers prevent them from being rolled out into schools and institutions of learning. The race to the bottom has not only limited consumer options, but it has effectively edged out smaller companies that offer alternative e-readers. I have been following the e-reader industry since the first generation Sony and Kindle e-readers. Michael Kozlowski Michael Kozlowski has written about audiobooks, e-books and e-readers for the past eighteen years.