New Syndication – There are numerous e-Readers available on the market today, with new ones coming out every month. But which ones are best and what one is right for you (see our comparison chart below).
Some people call them e-Readers, while others may call them slates or tablets, but they all are meant to display books, newspapers and magazines. They are portable and different from computers. Some have a color screen while others have a gray-scale screen similar to newspapers.
Right now, Sony and Kindle are the big names while Apple is expected to move up the ranks later this month. But there are many other manufactures too.
Sony:
Sony is a pioneer in the business. They have a couple models to choose from including the Touch, Daily and Pocket readers.
The Touch – The Sony Touch retails for $299 and includes a 6-inch gray screen. From the Sony website:
Providing more than just a superior reading experience, the Reader Touch Edition, supports Adobe® PDF5, Microsoft® Word, BBeB Book® and other text file formats, as well as EPUB/ACS4 and connection with Adobe Digital Editions4. In addition to being PC and Mac® compatible10, you can even play back unsecured MP3 and AAC audio files9.
You can buy books from Google books or their Reader Store. The device uses SD Cards to transfer media.
While most portable electronics lose power after only a few hours, the Reader Touch Edition provides up to two full weeks of reading (7,500 continuous page turns) on a single battery charge1.
The Daily Edition – The Sony Daily Edition retails for $399 and includes 7-inch screen. Like Touch, the Daily Edition supports a wide variety of formats and books and other content are available through Google Books or the Reader Store.
Use the included stylus to take freehand notes and highlight sections of text you want to revisit later, or bring up the virtual keyboard to enter quick notes or search eBooks. You can also look up words in The New Oxford American Dictionary, Second Edition, or export your notes to a computer using the Reader™ Library software.
The Pocket Edition – The Sony Pocket Edition retails for $199 and includes a small 5-inch display. This lightweight edition supports multiple formats like the other Sony offerings and content can be purchased from their Reader Store or Google. It can store up to 350 books.
While most portable electronics lose power after only a few hours, the Reader Pocket Edition provides up to two full weeks of reading (7,500 continuous page turns) on a single battery charge1.
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon has three basic models, the “Kindle,” “Kindle 2,” and “Kindle DX”. All three models support similar software and content can be purchased through Amazon.
The Kindle – The original Kindle came out in 2007 and used models can be purchase on their website for between $99 and $200. This first reader retailed for $359 and came with a 6 inch display. It included 250 MB of internal memory and used an SD card to transfer data from the computer. This model is no longer available new.
The Kindle 2 – The Amazon Kindle 2 came out in February 2009 and sells for $359. This new model touted a 6-inch 16 level gray scale display.
The Kindle DX – Finally Amazon made a Kindle with a larger display. This model retails for $489 and includes a 9.7 inch display (1200 x 824 pixel resolution). It includes 4 GB internal memory.
Other models have a battery life of up to 2 weeks, but this larger display will shorten the length between charges to one week with normal use. This new Kindle also has speaker.
Neither the Kindle 2 nor the Kindle DX uses SD cards.
By: New Syndication Staff
| Model | Reader Pocket Edition | Reader Touch Edition | Reader Daily Edition | Kindle DX | Kindle 2 |
| Price | MSRP: US$199 | MSRP: US$299 | MSRP: US$399 | MSRP: US $489 | MSRP: US $259 |
| Display Size | Display: 5 inch. | Display: 6 inch. touch-screen | Display: 7.1 inch. touch-screen | Display 9.7 “ diagonal | Display 6" diagonal |
| Resolution | Resolution: 800 x 600 pixels | Resolution: 800 x 600 pixels | Resolution: 600 x 1024 pixels | 1200 x 824 pixel resolution at 150 ppi |
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| Dimensions |
Dimensions LxWxD (Approx.): 6 1/4 x 4 1/4 x 13/32 inches (Approx. 159×108x10 mm) |
Size: 175.3 x 121.9 x 10.2 mm (6.9" x 4.8" x 0.4") | Size: 206.4 x 127 x 15.1 mm (8.1" x 5" x 0.6") | Size: 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38" | Size: 8" x 5.3" x 0.36" |
| Weight | Weight (Approx.): 220g (7.76 oz) | Weight: 286 g (10.1 oz) | Weight: 360 g (12.75 oz) | Weight: 18.9 ounces | Weight: 10.2 ounces |
| Display Color | Gray scale: 8-levels gray scale | Gray scale: 8-levels gray scale | Gray scale: 16-levels gray scale | 16 shades of gray | 16-level gray scale |
| Internal Memory | Internal Memory: 512MB, 440MB accessible | Internal Memory: 512MB, 380MB accessible | Internal Memory: 512MB, 380MB accessible | 4GB internal | 2GB internal |
| Memory Expansion |
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Expanded Memory: Support for Sony Memory Stick Pro DUO and SDHC | Expanded Memory: Support for Sony Memory Stick Pro DUO and SDHC | None | None |
| Font Size | Font Size: 3 adjustable font sizes | Font Size: 5 adjustable font sizes | Font Size: 5 adjustable font sizes | six adjustable font sizes | six adjustable font sizes |
| Battery |
Battery: Sealed internal, up to two weeks of reading on a single charge |
Battery: Sealed internal, up to two weeks of reading on a single charge |
Battery: Sealed internal, up to two weeks of reading on a single charge |
Battery life of 4 days with wireless on | single charge for up to 1 week with wireless on |
| Connectivity |
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Wireless: AT&T 3G wireless (free), access to eBook store only, no web browser |
3G with a fallback to EDGE/GPRS; utilizes AT&T’s 3G high-speed data network in the U.S. |
3G with a fallback to EDGE/GPRS; utilizes AT&T’s 3G high-speed data network in the U.S. |
| Supported Formats |
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Adobe® PDF5, Microsoft® Word, BBeB Book® and other text file formats, as well as EPUB/ACS4 and connection with Adobe Digital Editions4. In addition to being PC and Mac® compatible10, you can even play back unsecured MP3 and AAC audio files9. |
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Kindle (AZW), PDF, TXT, Audible (formats 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion. |
Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion. |
| Display Rotation |
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Automatic | Manual |
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Document Search Capability |
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USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 |
| Colors | Available case colors: | Available case colors: | Available case colors: |
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PRS-300BC: Navy Blue | PRS-600BC: Black | PRS-900: Black | White | White |
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PRS-300RC: Rose Pink | PRS-600SC: Silver |
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PRS-300SC: Silver | PRS-600RC: Red |
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