eReaders

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Navigating the eReader Labyrinth

By Meredith Greene

Just selecting an e-Reading device from among the horde of available gizmos appears to be a hotly contested debate by itself. The Kindle users wage verbal war against the Apple fans, while the Sony buyers throw a few left jabs at the Nook users. Around their knees, a myriad of other devices swim like a school of technological fish in a swirling, chaotic soup of information.

To make things a bit easier for our readers, we’ve compiled a chart for a little side-by-side comparison of the most popular eReaders, as well as a brief look at each device’s pros and cons, according to various consumer reports and blogs.

	iPad – The majority of commenting iPad buyers are awed by the large color screen, swift page-turning, easy navigation, the VoiceOver screen reader and large amount of storage capacity. Multi-tasking commentators also like the number of things one can do on it–besides reading millions of available eBooks–like write on a novel, You Tube videos, or edit photographs. The iPad’s cons appear to be relatively minor: no eInk, no dedicated DVD drive, no Flash support, lack of network file sharing and, if 3G is desired, one must upgrade from the basic model, which means shelling out an additional $129.
	Kindle 2 –at less than 1/3 of an inch thick, it weighs just a hair over 10 ounces (which is less than most paperbacks). It holds roughly 1500 books formatted in proprietary software, and the “pages” appear to “turn” with lightening speed. You don’t have to find a Wi-Fi spot to download books. Simply click on the free 3G to download from The Kindle Store. This model also has a voice-to-text feature. You can email Word files and PDFs to your Kindle to read; no zooming is allowed on the PDFs; however, they have to be converted before they can be read. Besides this, the major cons to Kindle 2 are: small screen, no color, and Internet browsing is limited to just a few sites.
	Kindle DX – A bigger version of the Kindle 2, the DX sports a large, non-touch eInk screen and twice the storage of its predecessor, along with the nifty auto-rotation feature (like the iPad), which allows a user to view the piece in “traditional” proportions or to tilt the reader on its side for a landscape view. The major downsides of this reader appears to be that it only connects to the Amazon eBook store, it’s heavy, you can’t replace the battery, and the screen has no color. The grayscale text and graphics are quite crisp, but don’t expect to be able to zoom in on the PDFs. College students appear to like this model for easy viewing of e-textbooks.
	Sony Reader Pocket Edition…sometimes referred to as the “barebones eReader” - This reading device is hailed for its low price, easy navigation, and status bar (which shows the page number and remaining battery life). The cons are mostly relegated to the rather obvious lack of more expensive features, the small screen, no HTML or Audio support, along with the complete absence of a dictionary; these complaints are somewhat tempered by the device’s very low price.
	Sony Reader Touch Edition – This reader harbors a slightly bigger screen than the Pocket and is further enhanced with touch technology. It reads Word and PDF files, supports most images and MP3 audio. The cons to this device appear to be mainly limited to the “reading” experience itself: little contrast control and the screen tends to reflect glare; also, one’s computer is imperative to using this device, not only for downloading eBooks, but also for charging the device.
	Sony Reader Daily Edition- at 7 inches, this eReader has the largest screen that Sony offers, and one can purchase eBooks without using a computer as the middleman. Unlike its predecessors, the Daily Edition also features EPUB support and a choice of 3G or Wi-Fi, depending on your budget. Some consumers report screen glare and contrast issues with this model; the high cost with limited features appears to be this device’s biggest con, along with limited initial storage capacity.
	Spring Design’s Alex – The first Android OS reader, it has the unique feature of having two screens, a large one with eInk for reading text and a smaller “browsing” full-color touch screen one can use for research or checking email; allows Wi-Fi, 3G, EVDO/CDMA and GSM. With access to more than 2 million book titles, the Alex uses dynamic links embedded in text, able to automatically pop up the related sites on the web screen. The Alex’s few cons (so far) are limited: the rather long proportions of the device, compared to others, and the Android software has been labeled “distracting” while ereading.
	Barnes & Noble Nook – Folks buying this device appear to like the weight, the design, and the large, color screen with eInk touch navigation. The text is clear, the images crisp, and the contrast comparable with other brands; although some consumers report that the page refresh speed is quite slow, at times even described as “sluggish.” This device can run on Google’s Android OS and has access to Google Books. The Nook’s cons, besides the slow page-turning, are daunting: the navigation software runs slower than comparable models, is apparently not easy to figure out; however, once consumers got the hang of it, they were able to search out the Nook’s crannies just fine.
	Fusion Garage JooJoo – at 12 inches, this eReader takes the prize for biggest screen, though it weighs almost 2.5 pounds. Consumers seem to like the big, color touch screen and the fluid, simple interface, along with its Flash support (and a 1.6 GHz Atom processor with 1 GB RAM), but some are wailing at the apparent lack of native apps, the relatively short battery life (5 hours), and no 3G, all at a hefty price tag.
	The Onyx – For world travelers, this is a handy, powerful device likened to the Kindle 2, but able to operate on Wi-Fi, 3G, CDMA, EVDO, and GSM. Besides text-to-speech, the onyx has a touch eInk screen interface with handwriting system, which lets you scribble notes on the margins as one would on a real book. There are three hardware options, as well as three screen sizes to choose from: 6”, 8”, and 9.7“.
	Recently Released eReaders
	Skiff Reader (skiff.com) - The Skiff possess a 11.5″ diagonal touch screen metal foil ePaper screen and is almost as thin as a manilla envelope, but what really sets this reader apart is its almost slinky-like flexibly (one can almost bend it into a half-circle). It’s backed by a thin sheet of stainless steel for “added durability” and as protection against being dropped. The Skiff has 3G networking–powered by Sprint–but also supports WiFi. Users thus far report easy, “natural navigation” of the viewed content; user cons appear limited to the non-color display and its portability-challenged size. The Skiff company is reportedly working on a color ePaper screen but quantifies this notion with fears that the supporting technology may not be available for some time. Content for the Skiff is available through the Skiff Store: newspapers, magazines, books, and blogs. Reportedly, the device has “one week” of “average reading” and “periodic wireless use” in between charges. No substantiated word yet on starting unit price or a release date.
	EnTourage eDGe (entourageedge.com) – This clamshell-style device might be a real boon to students, having an e-reader on its left side and a netbook on its right side. It comes in a variety of colors and has the feel of a real electronic ‘book’ in hand. EnTourage is calling the eDGe “the world’s first dualbook.” The two 10″ (diagonally) screens–while separate–are synchronized; in a video displaying the device’s various perks, the user highlighted a word on the eReader side and corresponding information automatically appeared on the netbook side. One can also flip back the eReader side to form a display stand and watch movies on the color display netbook portion in landscape mode; Google Android’s OS, WiFi enabled, virtual keyboard. The eDGe’s eBook store stocks New York Times’ bestsellers, a prominent ’search by price’ feature and runs using Adobe Digital Editions. Starting price: $490.00; reported 16 hours of reading time between charges.
	Plastic Logic Que (sold though Barnes & Noble): Touted as a “business professionals” reader, this 8.5″ X 10″ device appears custom- made for conference rooms and long flights with a svelte, elegant design, touchscreen, scads of business-orientated content available for purchase and is less than 1/3″ thick. It’s made of durable plastics, including a shatterproof screen. Black and white display for eReading, web browsing, markup annotations, calendar/scheduling integration and easy document transfer from other devices. So far users like the almost-instant page refresh, the intuitive navigation, the landscape-or-portrait display and “minimalist” design, but said users also indicated that the “glossy” screen is a bit hard for extended reading under lights, and that the high price should have included color. Starting price: $650 (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) and $800 (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G).

After slogging through the many consumer opinions of various eReaders, one thing rings true: the eReader must transcend the paper book in both form and function, doing more than offering digitized words upon e-paper. On the whole, consumers seem willing to pay for apps, Internet surfing, and multi-media options.

After considering all the devices above, in light of their various capabilities, I, personally, lean towards an Internet-ready, multi-tasking tablet like the iPad. After reading an eBook under the backyard garden pergola, I’d most appreciate being able to import my notes into Word, compile my review of said book, and then send it directly to the publication editor, all the while not missing a single email.

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