Like every shrewd on-the-ball consumer, I compare, compare, compare! It’s only natural to want the best for your hard-earned cash. So if you’re about to fork out almost $200 for a Kindle 3, the Sony Touch or the Barnes & Nobles Nook, you’ll want to compare ebook readers before you select which one suits your needs best. Am I right? Absolutely.
Here’s our list of the best three eReaders available today UPDATED.
| WOW….The NEW Kindle 3 IS THE BEST EBOOK READER | |||
Our Rating
| Amazon Kindle 3 |  | |
| Dimensions: 4.8 by 7.5 by 0.33 inches; Weight: 8.5 ounces; Display: 6.0 inches; Resolution: 800 by 600; Display type: E Ink, 16 grayscale; Commercial e-book formats: Amazon AZW; Wireless: Yes; MP3 Player: Yes; Touchscreen: No | |||
VERDICT: It´s thinner, lighter and easier to reader. That´s all you need to know. It reads even better than the Kindle 2 with a 50% improved contrast. You can get the latest newspaper issues and magazines before they hit the news stands. Access more than 9000 blogs or browse the huge Amazon library with the build-in wireless and download your material within 60 seconds. The kindle 3 holds up-to 3500 books. It really looks sleek, it navigates the pages much better and has the perfect screen for reading. | |||
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| BEST TOUCH SCREEN EREADER | |||
 Our Rating
| Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS 650 | | |
| Dimensions: 6.6 by 4.7 by 0.4 inches; Weight: 7.6 ounces; Display: 6.0 inches Display type: E Ink, 8 grayscale; Commercial e-book formats: Adobe ePub, Sony BBeb; Wireless: No; MP3 Player: Yes; Touch Screen: Yes | |||
| VERDICT: With the addition of ePub support, the NEW Sony Reader Touch Edition shapes up as a formidable competitor to Amazon’s Kindles. The slim, all-metal Sony has a touchscreen, letting you flip pages naturally and add handwritten notes to books with a small stylus. The screen is easy (enough) to read, with attractive fonts and the ability to resize images. It works well with PDF files, and playback of MP3 tunes is slick. You can’t download books direct to the device, but must connect it to a PC, which is fiddly. Full Review • Video Review • Specs | |||
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| BEST USER EXPERIENCE EREADER | |||
 Our Rating
| Barnes and Nobles NOOK | | |
| Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.50 inches; Weight: 12.1 ounces; Display: 6.0 inches; Resolution: 800 by 600; Display type: E Ink, 16 grayscale and 3.5″ capacitive color touch screen for control and navigation; Commercial e-book formats: ePUB (DRM and non-DRM), PDF (DRM and non-DRM), PDB eReader format. Graphics formats: JPG, PNG, GIF and BMP. Wireless: Yes; MP3 Player: Yes; Touchscreen: Yes, | |||
| VERDICT:The Barnes & Noble nook is the perfect companion to those who like to read books and periodicals for pleasure: it’s fun and easy to use and the display is eInk at its best. The nook is less suited to those who need an eBook reader for business or academic purposes It works with ePUB format books: hello library books, Google free books, Sony Reader Books and more. The shopping experience is as good as Kindle’s and you’re less hobbled by DRM since you can loan books. Full Review • Video Review • Specs | |||
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The Screen
For all four models the screen size and pixel resolution is identical and they all use the same e-ink technology that has revolutionized the online look of text.
When you compare ebook readers, you´ll see that the Nook, like the Sony Touch, has a touch screen interface, however it’s not quite as responsive as the touch screen on the Sony or on that of the iPhone. Also your touch is limited to the lower part of the e-reader rather the entire screen. The Nook also has a nifty little color screen under its reader e-Ink screen that allows you to browse your collection in color so you have a copy of the front cover illustration in all its rich multi-colored glory.
When you compare ebook readers, the Sony Touch PRS-650admittedly lags behind Kindle 3 when it comes to screen contrast as Kindle 3 has effectively eliminated glare. The upgraded Kindle 3 even has a 50% improved contrast versus the Kindle 2 and actually beats them all. Text is still clear and crisp and the glare is minimal.
Battery Life
Comparing the ebook readers, the Kindle 3 and Sony Touch PRS-650 take the same amount of time to recharge. Battery life lasts up to two weeks on the Sony and the Nook. However, the improved Kindle 3 beats all the other contenders with a battery life of over 4 weeks. Outstanding! However unlike the other batteries, the Nook’s battery is removable therefore in case of battery malfunction you don’t have to return the entire device to the product manufacturer to replace the battery as you do with Kindle or Sony for example.
The Nook also has a nifty little color screen under its reader e-Ink screen that allows you to browse your collection in color so you have a copy of the front cover illustration in all its rich multi-colored glory. However, whilst all Kindle 2 and Kindle 3 reviews appreciate all e-readers´ ability to right justify the text onscreen, the Nook’ s justification of text before the last firmware upgrade wasn´t up to par as it didn´t hyphenate well leading to very wide spacing between the words. Fortunately with last December´s firmware upgrade, this has been completely offset and the lines are perfectly outlined across the screen.
The differences & benefits
Wireless Connectivity
First of all Amazon has thoughtfully incorporated cellular 3G technology into its product, which means you and I can effortlessly download ebooks directly onto your Kindle 3 within 60 seconds, whether we’re sitting on a beach or in-transit on a train or bus or car.
Nook also allows you to download books over a wireless 3G connection as well as WiFi at Barnes & Noble bookstores (though they plan to offer it on other systems too eventually). So if spontaneous, immediate access is what you need seriously consider Nook or the Kindle 3.
Whilst Sony doesn’t have wireless technology, it does have expandable memory. Unlike the Kindle 3, the Sony comes with a SD Card slot that supports up to 16GB of memory. It also comes with a USB cable. With these two additions, you and I can easily transfer downloaded content from our PC onto our Sony Touch. It may not be direct but it’s definitely not convoluted. All e-book readers provide users with remote storage alternatives.
Multiple Format Compatibility
The advantage of the Sony Touch when you compare ebook readers is Sony’s multiple format compatibility. Unlike other e-readers it provides users with additional format compatibility. It supports BBeB (LRF/LRX), PDF, ePUB, TEXT and RTF. With the Sony electronic reader the hassle of having to convert a PDF document for example, is eliminated. Kindle 3 on the other hand, needs to convert these files first and increasing text size to read graphics may distort the picture (however this disadvantage has improved on the Kindle 3 versus the Kindle 2). The touch screen lets me zoom in and out without disrupting the PDF layout and I can add my own footnotes.
When you compare ebook readers, the Nook too supports ePUB and PDF books and documents, including those protected by Adobe ADEPT DRM. That means that you can read books with the Nook purchased from the Sony eBookstore, Kobo Books, digital library eBooks, Google’s public domain classics in ePUB and other sites that sell ePUB books with Adobe DRM. Take that, Amazon. No, you can’t read Amazon Kindle books because Amazon uses a proprietary format and that means only Kindles can read Kindle books.
Can it add annotations?
It may pay to appreciate Sony’s superior note-taking capabilities when you compare ebook readers. Sony allows you to type or use a stylus or your index finger to write notes and add annotations to PDF files. The Sony electronic reader stores typed content as actual text and handwritten content as graphic, though they both appear under “Notepad” in the desktop software. Whilst you can’t edit, export or print, you can transfer or copy the text in a text note and paste it into another document on your computer.
Can I share my books with others?
Nook is the first e-book read that allows you to lend your books to your friends and family. You can lend a book for two weeks, during which time it’s no longer accessible to you on your Nook. After the two weeks is up, it restores back to your Nook. Your family and friends can access the e-book through a computer or smart phone not just another Nook. When you compare ebook readers, the ability to lend books is a great feature of the Nook vs the others.
So which device suits your needs best?
To recap, these are essentially the differences between Kindle 3, Sony Touch and B&N Nook when you compare ebook readers:
Kindle 3 provides you with superior screen contrast and wireless connectivity.
Sony Touch provides you with superior format compatibility and note-taking capabilities.
The Nook gives you both color and wireless connectivity.
The Nook allows you to lend books to others, like in a library.
All have 2GB of memory (Kindle 3 has 4GB), but the Nook and Sony have microSD slots so they can have more than 1,500 books or newspapers—or whatever else—on it. The Kindle does not have the option of expandable memory.
The Kindle isn’t compatible with ePub and doesn’t have as many free options as the Nook nor a full flash touch screen of the Sony.
The Kindle 2 and the Kindle 3 are reviewed and revered to as a more reliable e-reader. Its international wireless capability is also quite the perk, along with its simplistic and utilitarian format.
All are great devices, with different characteristics, so our final preference for the Kindle is absolutely debatable.
| The Best Ereader |
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| Best Touch Screen Ereader | Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS 650 | |
| Best User Interface Ereader | Barnes and Nobles NOOK
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