Best ebook readers offers – reviews and comparisons
The smart way to read books
I used to be a fierce reader when i was younger. Things changed now as i don’t have the time to read as much. But I still enjoy books when commuting or when in vacations (especially during summer, when I’m a beach worm: books and beers 
) ) .
But, there are a couple of problems when trying to read on the road, far away from the comfort of your couch: ordinary books are heavy and big. And also expensive and non ecological (they have to cut down trees for them, you know). These things always bothered me until i discovered there’s a way to go around them: a device called ebook reader.
Actually this one has been around for quite a couple of years now and is a device that loads electronic documents and tries to give you a reading experience as similar as possible to that of reading a normal paper book.
The technology behind ebook readers
Ebook readers have screens, but not like the LCD displays. These screens are made with a technology called e-ink (electronic ink). To explain it simply, this technology uses micro-capsules suspended in a fluid between sheets of glass (or something similar). Each micro-capsule has a positive charged part (white) and a negative one (black). According to the image that needs to be displayed, an electric charge is used to arrange the capsules as needed. Thus, the technology uses very little power and only when you have to change the content displayed .
This way, ebook readers don’t have any negative effects on your eyes and can be easily used in direct sun light. They are not self lit though, so if you want to read at night, you’ll have to use a different light source. Like i said, the technology tries to simulate a book.
The advantages of ebook readers
There are many actually:
- they are compact and easy
- they can store many books
- they have good autonomy (can be used for days or even weeks between recharges)
- they can store other kind of materials: pictures, audio, etc
- they provide the user a easy way to access new materials, as some of them have Wi-fi And 3G connectivity so you can buy content directly from the device
And there are two main disadvantages too. First of all, the price, which is pretty high. You then still have to buy the electronic books, but those are usually 3-4 times cheaper than the usual books. So, if you’re a ferocious reader, you can deduct the price of the reader from the ones of the books you’ll buy.
The second one is more a mental problem: an ebook won’t give you the same psychological experience you get when browsing a paper book and you won’t be able to build a physical library back home with electronic books. But you can live with that 
.
The best ebook readers offer on the market right now
There aren’t many actually and i decided it would be easier to put the most important ones in a table. You can see it below, with the main specs for each of them.
| Amazon Kindle DX | Amazon Kindle 2 | Sony PRS-505 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen size | 9.7″ | 6″ | 6″ |
| Screen resolution | 1200 x 824 px resolution – 150ppi | 800 x 600 px resolution – 167dpi | 800 x 600 px resolution – 170ppi |
| Levels of grey | 16 | 16 | 8 |
| Battery | up to 2 weeks | up to 2 weeks | up to 2 weeks |
| Height | 10.4″ | 8″ | 6.9″ |
| Width | 7.2″ | 5.3″ | 4.8″ |
| Depth | 0.38″ | 0.36″ | 0.3″ |
| Weight | 18.9 ounces | 10.2 ounces | 9 ounces |
| Connectivity | 3G Whispernet | 3G Whispernet | No |
| Internal Memory | 4 GB | 2 GB | 192 MB |
| Memory card | No | No | SD and MSD |
| USB | 2.0 (micro USB connector) | 2.0 (micro-B connector) | 2.0 |
| Supported formats | HMTL, PDF (native), TXT, RTF, DOC, JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG, AAC, MP3 | AZW, TXT, MP3 natively, PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion | PDF, TXT, RTF, BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG and Microsoft® Word files, AAC and MP3 |
| Other features | 3.5 mm jack , rotating display , stereo speakers, keyboard , gets books from the Amazon store | 3.5 mm jack , stereo speakers on the back, small keyboard , gets books from the Amazon store | uses book from the CONNECT eBook online store |
| Best Price | $489 | $299 | $268 |
| Check Availability | See more details or buy | See more details or buy | See more details or buy |
Of course there are other ebook readers on the market too. Unfortunately, they are either to poor equiped or too expensive. I could enumerate the following: The Sony ebook reader PRS-700 (similar in specs to the 505, but more extensive and with a new look) , th Franklin EBM-900 eBookman (decent reader that works with AAA beteries and cost around $280) or the iRex Digital Reader 1000S (this one has 10″ screen an anything you would ever want from a e-reader, bust costs around $750 ?!? )
Ebook readers are the best travel partners
I for one am a big fan of the Amazon Kindle’s, especially of the bigger Kindle DX. It has lots of extra features other readers lack. And especially if you live in the US they are the best, cause offer access pretty easy (via the 3G Whispernet AT&T network) to the biggest collection of electronic books and materials (magazines, papers, etc). Also, they have a good price tag and are made by Amazon, an this alone should inspire you a great deal of trust in the product.
Of course, the other options are OK too, each of these ebook readers having their own pros and cons after all. So, if you’re into acquiring such a device, i hope I’ve provided a helping hand with this article. If you have any other questions regarding these devices, reviews or comparisons between them, don’t hesitate to ask and I’ll try to help you.
If not, happy ebook readers hunting and remember: reading must be a part of your everyday life.
Experts overwhelmingly select Amazon’s Kindle 2 as the best ebook reader on the market. A crisp, detailed display and ergonomic navigation controls mean the Kindle 2 is comfortable to use, and 3G wireless connectivity makes it simple to download eBooks on the go; it’s simply the most convenient, easy-to-use eBook device available.
thanks for the review. One problem though, whispernet is actually on sprint, not at&t.
I read somewhere that “Text-to-Voice” technology is in experimental stage with Amazon’s Kindle DX.
Can you tell me more about “Text-To-Voice”? Will virtually ANY Amazon e-book, newspaper, magazine, etc be “convertible” to Voice?
I would like to simulate “Books-On-Tape” for my mother, whose eyesight is failing. She subscribes to books-on-tape, but there are portability issues, and lack of preferred content.
I would definitely go for Amazon Kindle DX. Are the prices expected to fall?
Based on what happened with Kindle 2, they will once a new Kindle gets on the market, with improved features.
Can the print be magnified or enlarged like one does with their fingers on an iPhone? My mother is visually impaired and needs very large print or a magnifying glass.
No, not at the moment. These screens aren’t touch-sensitive, so you can only control them via the buttons. It might take a couple of years before we see touch-e-paper .
I want to buy a ereader for my teenage son (13), for christmas. He is a good reader and a technological boy, you know the new generation. The information that you bring in this section was very helpful for me, but I need to Know that if I do it the best purchase. I think the Kindle 2, is good for him, for the price, features, connectivity, etc. but really I want the support of my choose, from an expert in technology, my son is very update and dont want to loose my money. Also he read some nocels from Japan,like Kinfdon Hearts, Shugo Chara, etc. Can we found this in de amazon ebooks stores for the ereader? Thanks a lot for your help and forget about my english, that is not good.
Hey, sry for the late answer. I too would pick the Kindle right now, it is the best in terms of price/features and allows you to access content from Amazon’s library internationally. So, if i were you, i would go for this one. However, i cannot give you any answer regarding the last part of you questions, i really don’t know if Amazon offers such content. Perhaps you can try sending their support a mail.
Aug 2nd, 2009 at 6:48 pm
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