Electronic Book Readers

Electronic Book Readers

By Anne Ahira

Reading is an age old past time that has recently gotten a technological advance. Several companies have developed what are known as electronic book readers.

These handheld devices hold electronic books, or ebooks. At this point in time there are two major competitors providing these electronic book readers, Amazon and Sony, though there are a couple of other choices available such as the Hanlin or the Bookeen Cybook.

Kindle

The Kindle is Amazon’s version of electronic book readers. It is the first generation release and many customers were very happy with the technology.

Seeing the response to the first Kindle Amazon went to work developing the Kindle 2, and here is where the problems began. What was meant to be an upgrade to the first device has in some peoples mind actually been a downgrade.

Kindle 1 had several features that consumers loved:

• Removable / replaceable battery
• SD card slot for expanded memory
• Cover included
• Jump back and forward function

Unfortunately, these favored features are sadly lacking on the Kindle 2. In addition to losing these features, you could also encounter problems with the content you purchased for your Kindle 1.

Some books may not be available for the second-generation electronic book readers or you will have to take all from the first put it on your computer and then redownload it to the second. Sounds like a lot of hassle.

Kindle 2 Features

• Wireless connection
• Cheap downloads
• Sleeker
• Lighter
• Play mp3 files
• Text to speech (The Kindle 2 will read to you)
• Holds 1500 books
• Compatible with audibles

Overall many people are very happy with the Kindle 2, over 2700 have been sold on Amazon and 2200 of these customers have been more than satisfied.

Cons

The Kindle 2 electronic book readers are expensive. They will run you nearly $400 dollars on Amazon, which is the only place you can purchase them new. This is a significant investment in a piece of equipment you cannot hold in your hand before buying.

Sony

The Sony electronic book readers on the other hand are available for sale at local retailers. You can actually handle one and see the features first hand.

This is a major plus given the amount of money, you will be expected to pay for these devices. Like the Kindle, this device is also in its second generation.

Features

• $100 cheaper than the Kindle
• Easier on eyes than first generation
• Adobe PDFs, plus TXT, RTF, BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG and Microsoft Word files
• Plays mp3 and AAC music files (not protected)
• 2 GB memory card slot
• 192MB internal memory

Pros

The Sony electronic book readers are much cheaper than the comparable Kindle. You will save about $100 and be able to view a wider variety of file formats.

Cons

Sony has failed to provide as many titles as Amazon and they are typically much higher priced. This is one area that may sink the Sony electronic book reader’s popularity.

Bottom Line

Electronic book readers are a futuristic device that still may have some room for improvement. Users of both the models listed above have been happy with their purchase, it will come down to personal preference and price in the end.

It appears that the Kindle will be the IPod of the electronic book readers in that they are more widely known and will be loved by some and hated by others.

Here's Electronic Book Readers Selections:

Sony Digital Reader Pocket Edition - Silver (PRS30...	Customer Review: I bought this Sony PRS300 a couple of months ago, and now it started to act up. It keeps on freezing. And most of the time, both the reset button and the power button won't unfreeze the screen. Tried customer support today but were on hold for about... Read More	(84)
Sony Digital Reader Touch Edition - Black (PRS600B...	Customer Review: This is my first ereader and I am totally hooked, it is a valuable product. The Customer Service however is not. Upon receipt of the device it would provide only 4 hours of battery charge. After a month of emails and phone calls it was replaced and t... Read More	$169.99 (103)
Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, U.S. W...	Customer Review: I love love love my Kindle! I bought it last year and I have loved it since then. I recently had a problem with my Kindle, and I called the service support. AMAZING! I have never left a review before but after reading some of the horror stories I ju... Read More	$259.00 (17386)
Sony Digital Reader Touch Edition - Red (PRS600RC)...	Customer Review: I've been waiting for a product like this to come out for some time. I love to highlight and write my own notes as I go along through books for later review. I loved the Irex Iliad when I read about it, but it was far too expensive and even a bit big... Read More	(42)
Sony Digital Reader Touch Edition - Silver (PRS600...	Customer Review: I have a small experience with this e-book but i already have see a few problems:1. The battery time is very short.2.The instructions is bad -it miss a lot of important information.3.Reader cannot read a lot of fonts and doesn't recognize some forma... Read More	(34)