There are several very exciting promises that devices like the iPad and Kindle make to us.

As eBook readers the promise is we can carry a large library with us anywhere, and we can add books and content to our library anytime, not having to go into a bookstore to acquire new titles.

Additionally, the book we want is never out of stock; the rarest of tomes should be a piece of cake to download and enjoy.

Electronic books deliver on these features; however, there are a few others where the concept seems to come up woefully short. And unfortunately, try as I may, I am having trouble coming up with any reason except greed for the shortcomings of the technology.

We should also be enjoying a cost savings from choosing the electronic path. After all, publishers need not print and manufacture books if we read them electronically, nor need they transport them from press to warehouse to store. Without question publishers pay far less to get an electronic book into our hands than they do a paperback or hardcover.

Yet prices for eBooks are exceedingly high, beyond what anyone who looks into the story in any detail can accept. Unless, of course, you are a publisher bound and determined to extract every cent from the marketplace.

Common sense dictates that eBooks should cost a minimum less than hard copy.

Everyone I talk to feels an average price of around $4.99 to a high of $9.99 would be a fair price to pay, yet few titles are in this range. I think a discount of 45 per cent on hardcover and 35 to 40 per cent on paperback would be a good starting point, yet I often find the eBook version at a higher price.

We can buy music at a discount over the old cost of CDs and we can buy individual songs when we don't want a whole collection -- the price for singles ranging form a practical $.99 to $1.39 or so, and whole albums from $7.99 to $11.99. Surprise, surprise. The music industry is adjusting to the new revenue streams and consumers are supporting it.

But books seem to be another matter, and publishers are digging in their heels and refusing to budge on pricing.

I have three main concerns over this stance.

Firstly, environmental responsibility: the impact on the environment of an eBook is minimal. A traditional book cannot make that claim. We need to move people to this new model, it is good green stewardship, but people are less likely to take the eBook plunge at these prices.

Secondly, piracy: people are far more likely to balk at paying $16 for an eBook when the hard copy is $14.99, and far more likely to decide to download it from one of the endless torrent or pirate sites. Once you download your first pirate copy, the second is a far less difficult moral step to take.

Lastly, economy: I have a profound hope that in a few years first-year university students will be given a tablet of some sort on enrolment at school, containing all sorts of wonderful tools, including all their textbooks. Imagine, actually having all your books the first week of class, and not spending whole days standing in lines at the bookstore. This should also be a concept that reduces the cost of education. But this will not occur if we don't have widespread acceptance of the technology, and the cost savings will be far less if all publishers do not get on the program, reducing the cost of school for students.

eBooks have come a long way, technically. The computer industry is doing its part. It is time the publishers followed suit.

Steve Dotto hosted and produced the TV show Dotto Tech for 15 years. He is a sought-after speaker and writer who focuses on the social impact of technology. Visit his website at www.dottotech.com.