Publishing ereader comparisons or eReader reviews is getting more and more complex. When Amazon released the Kindle ebook reader in 2007, they created a new market , and have continued to be the primary brand and market leader in ebook readers. But the market and the competition are hotting up.
Sony have just introduced the PRS-T1, replacing a number of previous models. Barnes and Noble promote their Nook ereader, and Borders their Kobo ereader. Then there is the Samsung Papyrus, the BeBook Neo from Endless Ideas, and the Pandigital Novel eReader. And the mighty iPad 2 is touted as a versatile ereader, as are many other tablet computers, including the Kindle Fire.
What is the best ereader? Will Amazon retain their lead over the pursuing pack with the new aggressively-priced Kindles? Read our eReader comparisons and reviews, based on extensive research and consumer feedback – and check out our recommendations before making your choice.
Amazon Kindle
 Price: $109 or $79(ads) Rating:  Size: 6.5″ x 4.5″ Weight: 5.98 oz Like: Great display. Offers Wi-Fi and 2GB capacity. Great bookstore. Dislike: No support for EPub format. No touchscreen at this price. Summary: The Special Offer deal at $79 is a great entry point. Decent battery life. CLICK for Full Amazon Kindle Review |
Amazon Kindle Touch
 Price: $139 or $99(ads) Rating: Size: 6.8″ x 4.7″ Weight: 7.5 oz Like: Great display. Touchscreen. Offers Wi-Fi and 4GB capacity. Great bookstore. Dislike: Still no support for EPub format. Summary: The Special Offer deal at $99 is almost irresistible.Good battery life. CLICK for Full Amazon Kindle Touch Review |
Amazon Kindle Keyboard
 Price: $139 or $99(ads) Rating:  Size: 7.5″ x 4.8″ Weight: 8.7 oz Like: Improved design and screen display. Offers Wi-Fi and 4GB capacity. Great bookstore. Dislike: No support for EPub format. No touchscreen. Summary: The top-selling ereader on Amazon.com. Much improved over previous models, at a cheaper price. Good battery life. CLICK for Full Amazon Kindle Keyboard Review |
Amazon Kindle Keyboard(3G + Wi-Fi)
 Price: $189 or $139(ads) Rating: Size: 7.5″ x 4.8″ Weight: 8.7 oz Like: Great design. Lightweight with clear screen. Wi-Fi and G3 enables downloading wherever you are. Dislike: No touchscreen, and no support for EPub format. Summary: If you travel a lot, even internationally, you can download ebooks, journals, and magazines wherever you find a phone signal. CLICK for Full Amazon Kindle Keyboard 3G review |
Amazon Kindle DX
 Price: $379 Rating:  Size: 10.4″ x 7.2″ Weight: 18.9oz Like: Bigger, clear screen. 4GB, Wi-Fi. Text to speech. Dislike: Expensive for just an eReader. No touch screen. Not the most intuitive interface. Summary: If you read mostly at home and struggle with the smaller ereaders because of eyesight, the DX is a good but pricey option from Amazon Kindle. CLICK for Full Amazon Kindle DX review |
NOOK Simple Touch Reader (Barnes & Noble)
 Price: $99 Rating: Rating: 6.5″ x 5″ Weight: 7.48 oz Like: Compact – good price with excellent touch-screen. Great battery, great bookstore. Dislike: No support for audio – no 3G option. Summary: A very popular ereader, with excellent touchscreen navigation, and easy access to newspapers, magazines, and over 1 million ebooks. CLICK for Full NOOK Simple Touch Reader Review |
NOOK Reader – Color(Barnes & Noble)
 Price: $199 Rating: Size: 8.1″ x 5″ Weight: 15.8 ounces Like: Vibrant 7-inch touch screen and good performance. B&N NewsStand and Bookstore. Dislike: Wi-Fi only, no 3G. Battery life is short for an ebook reader. Summary: The Nook Color is perfect if you are a magazine reader and would enjoy great color. Very popular with women. Somewhere between a ebook reader and a full-blown tablet, the Nook Color is bigger,heavier and more expensive than the basic ereaders. CLICK for Full NOOK Color Review |
Amazon Kindle Fire
 Price: $199 Rating: Size: 7.5? x 4.7? Weight: 14.6 ounces Like: Stunning LCD 7-inch touch screen for good media viewing. Access to all of Amazon’s treasures. Good adaptation of Android for this tablet. Dislike: Wi-Fi only, no 3G or Bluetooth. Battery life is short compared to basic ebook reader. Offers relatively poor reading experience compared to new Kindle. Summary: The Amazon Kindle Fire is really a tablet with ereader facilities. Hooks into Amazon’s huge library of media content, which you access seamlessly. A direct competitor for the Nook Color. LCD screen disappointing for ebook reading. The Kindle Fire is bigger, heavier and more expensive than the basic ereaders. CLICK for Full Kindle Fire Review |
Sony PRS-T1
 Price: $149 Rating: Size: 6.8″ x 4.3″ Weight: 5.9 oz Like: Touchscreen. Lightweight. Wi-Fi. Great display. Multi-language. Good dictionaries. Dislike: Touchscreen a little sluggish. Not a lot to dislike. Summary: A direct challenger for the new Kindle. A good ereader, but faces tough competition. CLICK for Full Sony PRS-T1 Review |
The Kobo eReader Touch Edition
 Price: $129 Rating: Size: 6.5″ x 4.5″ Weight: 7.1 oz Like: Compact, lightweight, with touchcscreen navigation, Wi-Fi, and good battery life. Dislike: Interface and performance below the competition. Summary: A respectable and affordable ereader in a very competitive market. Will struggle in ereader comparison against the market leaders. CLICK for Full Kobo Ereader Reviews |
Pandigital Novel
 Price: $169 – down to $80 Rating:  Size: 7.5″ x 5.5″ Weight: 12 oz Like: More than a reader,really a cheap tablet computer. Dislike: Not the best screen – nor the easiest browsing experience. Summary: For many users, the Novel falls between the two stools of ereader and tablet. A decent price. CLICK for Full Pandigital Novel eReader Review |
BeBook Neo
 Price: $249 Rating: Size: 7.7″ x 4.8″ Weight: 10.5 oz Like: ePaper technology offers good reading experience. Powerful processor for browsing. Dislike: Browser not always stable. Battery life good when reading, less so when browsing. Summary: The Neo aims high, and is priced accordingly, but user experience seems to be mixed. Read detailed review … |
Apple Ipad 2
 Price: $499 Rating: Size: 9.5″ x 7.3″ Weight: 1.3 pounds Like: Offers a good ereader experience amongst all the iPad goodies. Dislike: A costly ereader, short battery life compared to Kindle. Summary: Expensive, but you get a multi-talented tablet as well as an ereader. The iPad LCD screen might be more tiring on the eye than the e-Ink screens of other ereaders, and reflection is a problem. Read detailed review … |
eReader Comparisons – Main Features To Consider
Some of the most important features to consider when doing your eReader comparisons are display type, size and weight, and how easy it is to access and download ebooks. This is a brief guide to the most important features to look out for.
What Do You Want From Your Ebook Reader?
First of all, you should know that there are now a growing number of different types of ereaders, also known as ebook readers or electronic book readers, available. Is a dedicated eBook reader best for you? Or maybe a tablet computer would be more useful for a greater range of applications on the go? If you want something that looks as much like a real book as possible, an eReader is the correct choice for a number of reasons.
Screen Type (Color or e-Ink)
The screen on the earliest eReaders were all in monochrome (e-Ink). e-Ink uses real ink particles to create crisp, print-like text just like you see in a physical book. For its e-Ink Kindles, Amazon uses its own specially designed fonts to take advantage of the special characteristics of the ink to create crisp, clear text. The e-ink displays were designed to replicate the appearance of real paper. More modern ereaders, however, may also offer color, which means that they feature an LCD screen(like your pc monitor). Choose color if you want to read a lot of magazines – with the LCD screen devices, you will get full color and fast page turns, but probably suffer more eyestrain and will struggle to read in sunlight. Choose e-Ink if you want to read outdoors, even in bright sunlight, and avoid eyestrain.
Size and Weight
The size and weight are important factors in any ereader comparison, as they affect how big the display will be. Most eReaders allow you to adjust font size to suit the screen display and your eyesight, so that can be comfortable reading screens of all sizes. If you want to read on-the-go, the weight should be about the same as a real-life paperback, so you are comfortable holding it for 30-60 minutes at a time.
The Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-350 is probably the smallest and lightest dedicated eReader, with a 5-inch touch screen and weight of 5.5 ounces.
The 6-inch screen readers like the Kindle, Nook(not color) and Kobo weigh from 7 to 8.7 ounces, whereas the Nook Color with its 7-inch screen is 15.8 ounces.
The larger 10-inch screen readers like the Kindle DX, iPad 2, Samsung Galaxy and other Android tablets will typically weigh around 1.2-1.4 pounds.
Internet Access
Assuming you have opted to buy an eBook reader, it’s time to look at internet options. In your research and ereader comparison you will find ereaders with no ability to connect to the internet, those that connect to Wi-Fi hotspots, and those that can connect via 3G no matter where you are. Wi-Fi is the most common, and you’ll have to pay extra for a 3G device. Wi-Fi enables you to connect to your ebook store or the internet wherever there is a Wi-Fi hotspot, whereas 3G allows you to do the same wherever there is a phone signal. Amazon do not charge for connecting to 3G on the Kindle, which is a nice bonus for many users.
Storage Space
Storage space is not as big an issue on an eBook reader as it would be on a tablet computer, since books are very small files. Most eBook readers can store a minimum of around 1500 books, which is more than enough for most of us. However, if you’re planning on storing other files, or book with largely graphic content (images, illustrations, charts etc), then storage space becomes more significant. If you are in this category, you should opt for an ereader that offers an SD memory card slot.
Battery Life
EBook readers generally have an impressive battery life, lasting as long as a month, assuming a reading time of 30-60 minutes a day. But do remember that the battery life is severely reduced whenever you’re connected to the internet.
File Formats
Because there is no universal format across all the book readers, you will find that your ereader may not be able to display content in certain file formats, which may limit your ability to move your content(ebooks etc) between different devices. Kindle, the most popular ereader, uses its own proprietory format, whereas the most popular format for ereaders is ePub. There are always workarounds to convert files between formats if you want to buy from different stores.
eBook Stores
Many of the popular ereaders are associated with a particular ebook store. The popular Kindles are tied-in with Amazon’s huge book store, and the Nook ereaders with the Barnes and Noble online book store. It seems obvious that you should check that you have easy access to the reading material you want before buying an ereader. Click ereader store for an in-depth look at the various ebook stores.
The eBook Reader/Other Devices
Buying an ereader represents a one-off investment of around $100, and many of the ebooks you might choose to download may not be much less than their paper equivalent, so why would you choose to go for ebooks and an ereader?
eBook reader Vs. Real Book Reading
One of the main benefits of an ereader is the fact that you can carry around thousands of books on this one, small, device. Most ereaders weigh no more than a standard paperback book, so it is easy to carry your books around when you travel , and it eliminates clutter in your home – if, indeed, you consider bookshelves laden with a goodly selection of popular works of fact and fiction to be “clutter”.
I do believe that many people are still proud to display evidence of their erudition and wide reading by way of their well-stocked bookshelves.
One of the downsides, of course, is that eBook readers are electronic gadgets, so are more difficult to operate, can malfunction, are more expensive than a paperback book, and it can be difficult to compare ereaders. Many readers just love the simplicity, the smell and tactile experience of real paper, and don’t believe they will be satisfied with an electronic eBook reading device.
Are eBooks Cheaper Than Paper Books?
Although an eReader will mean an initial investment of around $100, regular readers could still save money on books if they stick to the digital format, because eBooks are often cheaper than paper books, and, if you like to read a lot of classics, many are completely free.
On the other hand, some eBooks are more expensive than real books, so it is well worth having a look at some of the popular eBook stores, such as the Kindle Store, and getting an idea for how much they cost before you buy your new eBook reading device.
Benefits Of eBook Readers For The Visually Impaired
eBook readers offer certain advantages for visually impaired people. Most eBooks are far easier to read than traditional print books, because the ereader allows you to alter the font styles and size. Some ereaders, such as the Kindle Touch and Kindle Keyboard, have a text-to-voice feature that will read the content of the book out loud to you. The technology is far from perfect, and the voice is rather mechanical, but it still a very useful option.
eBook Reader Vs. Smartphone Apps
Continuing our ereader comparison,if you already own a smartphone, you will probably know that there are many eBook reading apps available. Using one of these apps, you do not have to pay out for a separate eBook reading device. You can also download apps from a range of ebook providers, such as Kindle, Nook, Apple, Sony etc. to take advantage of the best book prices.
But smartphone screens are small, and not nearly as easy to read from as a dedicated eBook reader – no one in their right mind would enjoy reading a novel on the screen of a smartphone.
eBook Reader Vs. Tablet Computer
Another possibility for your digital reading is to use apps on tablet computers, such as the Apple iPad, Kindle Fire or Samsung Galaxy. This solves the problem of the small screen, as tablet screens are often bigger than most Readers. Tablets are also able to handle newspapers, blogs, magazines and PDF files better than eBook reading devices – one of their most attractive benefits is the provision of full color.
When you are comparing ereaders and tablets, you have to choose whether you’d prefer the LCD screen of the tablet computer vs. the e-Ink screen that replicates a real paper book (see the details above about screens if you’re unsure), remembering that the LCD screens cause far more eyestrain than the e-Ink screens.
Tablet computers are typically more expensive than eBook readers since they offer far more features. So the question is: Do you want a basic ereader for its simplicity and portability, or do you really want many of the tablet features with basic ebook reading options?
eReader Comparisons – Final Word
Many avid readers may be reluctant to purchase an ereader in case they lose the original experience of reading a paper book. Most ebook reader users have found the contrary, that the ereader device makes the reading experience more enjoyable, as they now have access to all of their books wherever they go.
Check out our review pages for the low-down on specific ereaders, or to continue your own ereader comparison research, browse our Top Articles listed in the sidebar.
