(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
Posted on 09/05/2010 8:41:08 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
Editors' note (September 3, 2010): This story has been updated to reflect the release of the new third-generation Kindle models and the announcement of new Sony Readers, among other new details.
Yes, it's true: now is a better time than ever to be in the market for an e-book reader. Hardware prices are more affordable than ever, and more titles are available electronically--anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions, depending on whether you include the huge library of free public-domain titles--than at any point in history.
The market has consolidated around a handful of major players: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, and Apple. Recently updated products from the first three include excellent options in the sub-$200 (and even sub-$150) price ranges. Also, a flood of new reading-centric apps continues to solidify the
Apple iPad's position as the premium media tablet of choice.
With these new variables, now is a perfect time to re-evaluate the e-book reader landscape and figure out which product is best for you. If you're an experienced shopper, you can jump straight to our list of top e-book readers; however, everyone else can consult this quick guide, which boils the purchase decision down to six questions:
(Excerpt) Read more at news.cnet.com ...
It doesn’t replace the dog-eared paperback, but it’s becoming more of an inevitability every day. I’ve resisted for as long as I can, but as of this month, I’m going to go ahead and get a reader.
I need to read a tall pile of books for research. Most of them were written in the mid-19th through the mid-20th centuries. All of them are in the public domain.
Some are difficult and/or very expensive to find in print, but easy to find in pdf form. I have the pdfs for all but one in a folder on my laptop. I’d use the laptop, but the screen display means I can’t read from it for very long due to glare. I can’t take it everywhere due to weight and power issues. It would cost a mint to print thousands of pages and take forever to collate them.
It is going to be cheaper and easier to buy a reading device to read through everything, even if I toss the reader in the trash when I’m done. I won’t, of course. When I’m done, I’ll either keep it or give it to one of the kids.
I am an avid Apple fan but I would buy a Kindle in this case.
I still prefer hardbacks.
Isn’t Barnes and Nobel going belly up? I like their stores but ...
Thanks. FR continues to be the best research tool on the net.
Launch the Reader Library software and connect your Reader to your PC or Mac computer using the USB cable included with your Reader.
I like my Sony e-book reader because I can fit the entire science fiction collection of the Library of Congress onto an 8GB SD card and then take it with me on a trip/move/whatever.
I’d need a few semi’s to do that if they were actual books.
Yeah, right.....now is the time. Just like when VHS and Beta were neck and neck and they said now is the time....suddenly, oops, dead meat. I would say now is NOT the time to buy a reader. Wait till it shakes out. Someone is going to combine ALL the features that each of them are shy of, making a truly useful device. Also, like nothing else, it is content driven. Soon they will be give-aways. Besides, exactly how many gadgets do you want to lug around with you?
These are all undeniably cool, but I haven’t quite convinced myself that I need one. I do travel several times a year, but one or two dead-tree books have always been more than enough to keep me occupied during plane flights/airport waits/etc. For those of you who have a reader, what sold you?
I don’t know anything at all but I would want one I can either use in full daylight or total darkness, what if I had my very life depending upon an electrical schematic in a total blackout?
And I would want the ability to carry as much “books” as possible or to be able to have some sort of portable storage capability, it should have solar cell recharging capability and be moderately weatherproof.
I may have the need of a complete medical library, and I want it portable.
When all of these specs are met then I’ll go shopping.
No I do not want a laptop, just something to display condensed content, especially technical repair manuals.
iPad or 0bamaPad?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3qiSXc1g3M
I think the dowload process of first downloading the book to your PC and then transfer to the Reader is the way to Go...
Unless you really want wireless...
which has implications for battery life.
Deciding which device is not a trivial decision...lots to consider...
If you plan to do research with it...you really got to think thru your particular habits....
Reputedly (I haven't tried it yet, my first Kindle having just been ordered) the free app Calibre will convert EPUB to native Kindle format for you, or handle about any other conversion you may need, depending on your device. It also performs many other functions in the context of an integrated e-book manager.
Boy ...a demanding consumer....you need a professional all weather device...
Yes, backlighting would reduce battery life considerably, and also defeat the purpose of the e-ink display (low eye strain simulating real paper).
However there are solutions at the Kindle store. They have clip on lights (which of course you can also get in generic versions elsewhere). A bit more handy, there is also a leather case which has lights built in, in the corners I believe. The reviewers at Amazon all seem to say it works well, but as I recall it runs over $50.
I’m reading Atlas Shrugged tonight on my Nook.
My Wife is happy because I buy a lot of books that tend to clutter the house.
The Nook is Android based and you can get support at any Barnes & Noble. That was why I chose it over Kindle. But they really seem like pretty equal products.
That day may come....but not for some years yet...I think.
Love iPhone Kindle and Nook, and am happy with the new Kindle 3G (especially free 3G if traveling worldwide). If FR is possible on it, that’s even greater. Either way I do like having a library of books in my purse, or having guidebooks literally at hand on a trip. I love my paper books at home for special items though.
I’ve been looking at the Spring Design’s Alex eReader. it’s just all types of awesome and runs Android 2.2....
The upcoming HTC EReader also has promise.
I’m trying to wait until the holiday shopping season and have repurposed an 6 year old laptop as my portable reader...
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