My goal with the blog is to bring current information about ereaders to those who are interested in evaluating the different models available today.
At this time only two mainstream brands of ereaders are available for immediate purchase:
Amazon’s Kindle with two models, and Sony’s Reader Editions with three models.
Amazon’s Kindle
Kindle & Kindle DX
The 6” Kindle sells at $259 at Amazon, and the 9.7” DX for $489
The smaller Kindle is the mainstay of Amazon’ stable. The major features of this device is its relative small size, 3G wireless connectivity (AT&T), , 10.2 oz, storage for up to 1500 ebooks, and large selection of electronic books, magazines and newspapers from Amazon’s library.
The display is easily read, with good definition and high contrast, using E Ink technology. The Kindle also has an internet browser, and it works quite well for Amazon’s shopping site. It is not suitable for browsing a conventional PC website, with its color and graphics content. But it is adequate for shopping for most ebook sites.
The screen orientation and font size are controllable from a menu, and the design is well tested for easy reading. An alphabetic and numeric keypad at the bottom of the device allow for easy note insertion and other typing chores associated with browsing.
The Kindle’s will also read the texts aloud with a masculine voice if you choose that option.
The DX, with its much larger screen, has an auto-rotating display turns to a horizontal or vertical oriented screen depending on which way the device is turned. The DX also has about twice the memory of the Kindle.
Video of Kindle Review: The reviewer made this video at the time when Kindle used Sprint 3G network for wireless connections. The Kindle now uses AT&T
Sony’s Readers
The Sony Readers
All the Sony Readers feature touch-screens, meaning you can turn pages and navigate both the menus and reading screen with your finger. The smaller two models, the Touch Edition and the Pocket Edition, are both smaller in overall dimensions that the Kindle because they omit the physical keyboard and replace it with a graphic touch keyboard that is displayed on the screen when called for.
Neither of the smaller models have wireless connectivity, so ebooks and other reading materials are first downloaded to your PC and then transferred with a USB cable to the Reader.
Storage capacity is 440 megabytes for the Pocket Edition and 380 MB for the larger Touch Edition. The memory is expandable on the Touch, however, with a memory stick Pro or SD card for up to 1.6 GB of total capacity. The Pocket Edition is not expandable.
To their great advantage, all the Sony Readers recognize a wide range of file formats, including the Sony proprietary format as well as ePub, Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF) ,and documents from a PC. This features opens up a wide range of free books that are available only in the public formats, including freedom from the Digital Rights Management locks that most books for sale are saddled with.
Sony has an eBook store on its website, with fewer titles than Amazon, but the ePub and PDF abilities open up a much wider range of reading material for these devices.
The Daily Edition of the Sony Reader line has wireless internet capabilities using the cell-phone 3G capabilities that the Kindles use. The Daily also sports a 7” screen, similar to the Kindle DX, but with the addition of a touch screen and wider range of file formats.
Video of Sony Touch Edition
Comparing the Kindle and Sony Touch Edition
The following Video CNET compares the two most popular ereaders:
B&N Nook
Barnes and Noble Nook
The Nook is not yet available for sale, so its specification and features will be reviewed when it becomes available for sale. Preliminary features, though, look good. It has 3G and WiFi connectivity, a definite plus for mobility, and it sports a second, color screen used for navigating the reading material and, presumably the web. There is a video, however, that provides a good look at the Nook.
Video of Nook
The next generation of ereaders previewed at the Consumer Electronics show look great. They all will have 3G and WiFi capabilities, and some have features of dual screens, with touch and stylus writing abilities. The good news is that several new ereaders are coming in April. One will have a second screen at 31/2” that is internally illuminated and quite suitable for browsing.
The last video is a good review of all three major ereaders provided by Consumer Reports:
Video Comparing All The Majors:
I will be posting pictures and specifications on the new devices soon. The next few months promise to be very exciting. I’ll also post some of the first impressions expressed by those in the industry who have had a chance to see them in action.
I will also be providing links to other reviewers of ereading devices
Check out the video below by clicking on the link headline. The video will start in a new browser. Good videos of some of the new devices coming later this year.
NY Times Video of eReaders shown at Consumer Electronics Show
Expect the addition of links next week, and a more thorough review of the Nook by mid February. Other posts coming include interviews with some of the executives responsible for the new products, and previews of the new generation of readers before April.
