The Barnes & Noble Nook is the market's first Android-powered ebook reader and, at first glance, brings many key advantages over Amazon's market-defining Kindle.   While these extra features do make it an enticing alternative, the device brings along a few kinks that make it far from being a clear-cut choice.

Positives: While it brings the same 6-inch e-ink display as the Kindle, the Nook takes it up a notch by throwing in a small capacitive touchscreen below it.  That means, you can thumb through your list of books without having to put up with the slow e-ink screen, whose refresh rates are usually downright frustrating.

Like the Kindle, it comes with free 3G for downloading books.  Unlike it, though, it throws in Wi-Fi and microSD card expansion (up to 16GB), giving you more options for getting books (it supports the universal ePub format, PDB and PDF) onto your device.   It also comes with 2GB of internal storage, an onboard MP3 player and access to a huge library numbering in the tens of thousands.  Not bad, right?

Do you stay away from ebooks because you can't have friends borrow them like print copies?  Not so with this ebook reader, which lets you lend your digital books to other Nook owners for up to 14 days (you can't read them while they're on loaner, though).  Even better, Barnes & Noble allows you to read the full text of their books for free, provided you're inside one of their stores.  Yep, just like the way you can browse real books inside any bookstore.

Negatives: E-ink's problem is it's very slow. That doesn't change here. Flipping from page to page is no different from other e-ink readers. Fortunately, the LCD allows you to navigate your library faster. The tradeoff is it eats up battery in a bad way.

There's also no text-to-speech here, which is disappointing, considering how basic the feature is on a computer (plus, the Kindle has it).  Finally, it has some very real software bugs (such as the painfully slow boot-up and grating turtle-speed of opening of a book) that we're hoping Barnes & Noble can fix with an update.

Conclusion: Is the Barnes & Noble Nook better than the Kindle?  In terms of core features, it's about the same.  The software glitches and the lack of text-to-speech, in fact, make it even less in terms of base performance.  With a good price point, ePub support and some unique features, though, it's a solid contender that just might prove to be your cup of tea.

Several years ago, employees showed Steve Jobs a multi-touch tablet running a modified version of OS X.  According to the story, he asked "What would people do with this?"  When the question couldn't be answered, they put it in the backburner.

The success of both the iPhone and the iPod Touch as software ecosystems, however, showed the market's interest in a closed device with extensive developer support.  Given the buzz for anything Apple-related and the App Store surpassing expectations, it's not too far-fetched to imagine the iPad, Apple's upcoming closed-system tablet, receiving the same level of extensibility through third-party efforts.

One of the areas the company specifically targeted are eBooks, working closely with major book and magazine publishers to deliver content on the platform.   Surprisingly, they're expecting users to read their books on a multi-touch, led-backlit display, instead of the E-ink platform that other ebook readers have embraced before it.  Even more surprisingly, people seem to be amenable to the idea, given the mostly positive response during the reading app's demo.

In the current landscape, dipping your toes in ebooks means going up against Amazon's Kindle, widely believed to own between 80 and 90 percent of the existing market.  Funny enough, just the sheer announcement of the iPad is already affecting them adversely, with publishers using it to pressure Amazon into giving in to their pricing demands.

To go along with the tablet, Apple announced an iTunes-like service for selling ebooks called iBooks.  They will be selling them in the popular ePub format, although it isn't likely to be the variety that can work on other devices like the Sony Reader and Nook, since the company is expected to lace it with their own copy-protection scheme.

As of now, the jury is still out on whether the iPad can really become a capable ebook reader. One thing's for sure, though - everyone's taking it as a serious threat.

Apple iPad

Even with the Kindle seeming to take the reins, the worldwide ebook market is still wide open to all takers.  For the most part, though, all the offerings we've seen don't look all that different from each other.  The Alex, a new dual-screen e-reader from Spring Designs, is almost guaranteed to draw attention.

Why two screens?  Like all modern ebook readers, the device has a dedicated e-ink display for extended reading.  Right below it, though, is a smaller full-color LCD that you can use for browsing the web.  Once you've found something you want to read from the bottom screen (images, videos and notes from the small browser), you can send it to the larger monochrome panel as a "Web grab" for low-power reading.

Carrying both a 6-inch e-ink display and a 3.5-inch LCD takes its toll on the Alex, making it look like a particularly strange machine.  You can save downloads and put new media on the device via an SD card slot, while web connection is facilitated via both integrated Wi-Fi and 3G chips.  It's running Android OS at the core, though it doesn't appear to be able to do much else except browse the web.  Pretty certain that can be hacked once this thing hits the market, though.

Not sure how well such a clunky-looking e-reader will do, but kudos to Spring Designs for trying something different.  According to the company, they're now in negotiations with various content providers as they prepare the device for release.  No price has been cited, but they're looking forward to a debut before the end of the year.

Link

Plastic Logic's upcoming E-reader, slated for 2010, has been getting a lot of buzz lately. With two separate announcements this week by two major companies. This new reader has a lot of room in the industry with only a couple of “real” competitors in the market. Those are, of course, the Amazon Kindle and the Sony PRS-505. Sony and Amazon have both had a very strong hold on the market for quite some time now, but they may just have to move over for this new upcoming E-reader.

Plastic Logic has not yet released very much information on their upcoming product. What we do know, however, is that the product is actually aimed more for business professionals rather than people looking to read just books. The CEO of Plastic Logic had this to say, “If somebody is just looking to read a book, and that's all they're going to do, they probably don't need all the capabilities in our product”.  The design of the new reader is actually a bit different than what we have seen in other readers in that the screen is the size of a full sheet of paper. Even with the much larger screen, Plastic Logic's new device still uses the E-Ink Technology that Sony and Amazon's readers carry.

In addition to all of these great features, Barnes & Noble have teamed up with Plastic Logic. In an announcement earlier this week, Barnes & Noble stated that they were “opening the world's largest E-bookstore”. Barnes & Noble will be supplying their digital copies of the books to the new Plastic Logic Device.

In announcement that was just made yesterday, At&t has decided to join forces with Plastic Logic as well. They will supply the wireless internet for these devices. At&t plans to allow access to the E-bookstore through their “anywhere-wireless” service. At&t does work with carriers overseas, though, which could be good news for Plastic Logic. The Kindle does not carry overseas support, but Plastic Logic may talk At&t to do so for their device.

As of right now Plastic Logic doesn't know how much their device will cost just yet. The Wireless-anywhere At&t service has not been decided on yet either. Whether it will just be free with purchase or have a separate charge.

Plastic Logic doesn't have anything big scheduled again until October where they have a international conference  and showcase planned for “Plastic Electronics Europe 2009”.

Here is a demo video of the upcoming Plastic Logic eReader.

With the ever expanding market of E-Book Readers it can be a tough choice picking out the right one for you. Today, the difference between E-Book Readers is very small, one of the few ways to tell the difference is by the design. This is good for Sony, though, because the PRS-505 is an absolute beauty.

E-Book Readers have come a long way from the old back-light days, and the Sony Reader isn't any exception. It has a crystal clear display and uses E-Ink Technology so that your pages will look like you are reading a genuine book. The weight of the Sony Reader is only 9oz's which makes it perfect for anyone who wants to read on bus rides or long family trips. Regardless of where you read or how you read the PRS-505 is the perfect solution for any book worm.

I bet you are starting to wonder how it stacks up against the competitors, eh? Since there really is only one direct competitor, we will compare it to the Amazon Kindle 2. The Amazon Kindle 2 boasts a pretty long list of features itself, but instead of going through each and every one and comparing them,  we will just point out the important ones.

One of the obvious differences between the two readers is probably the price. The Sony Reader is actually about 20$ cheaper than the Amazon Kindle 2 and 200$ cheaper than the Kindle's better half the Kindle DX. As far as price is concerned, Sony wins hands down.

If 20$ wasn't enough to sway you, I bet choice in design would and Sony wins here handily. Not only is the design of Sony's device better looking, in my opinion, but you can also pick it up in three different colors – red, blue, or silver. Amazon's Kindle doesn't appear to be putting up much of a fight either, because their plain appliance white doesn't look to be changing too soon.

As with every positive there is almost always a negative. Sony's positives looked really nice, but the drawbacks aren't helping their cause. Amazon's Kindle has 16 levels of Grey-scale while Sony's Reader only has 8 levels of Grey-scale. Sony can probably consider this a pretty big blow, because more levels of Grey means more detail and could spell trouble for Sony. Amazon didn't stop there, oh no, with a counter attack to Sony's very appealing color collection Amazon had a backup plan. Even though Sony has several different models available, they are all the same specifications, but Amazon's isn't. Amazon's Kindle DX is a higher end version of the Amazon Kindle. It holds more books,boasts a larger screen, offers Native PDF support (which the Kindle can only read via conversion), and it offers the rotating display feature.

If you love reading E-Books and you have the pocketbook for it, the Sony PRS-505 is a great addition to anyone's library. Even though I think both products are great, and no one loses, no matter which one you purchase. The important thing is you are getting to read the books you have been dieing to read, right?

In the world of the ebook readers, the iRex iLiad is one of the most expensive offerings on the market. The $500+ price tag may leave readers asking exactly what the iLiad has that makes it worth all that money.

To look at the iRex iLiad is not quite as sleek and attractive as the Kindle or the Sony but it is far from ugly. It has a screen that is just over 8 inches in diameter and uses the same EInk technology as the Kindle which means that the text displayed is crisp, clear and incredibly paper like.

The basic reading experience with the iLiad is very similar to that with the Amazon Kindle or the Sony Readers. If you have not seen an E Ink screen in person you really should make the effort to do so, the effect is so much like real paper it’s nothing short of uncanny.

All 3 models have about the same power capabilities and you can get a great many hours reading under your belt before needing to charge an iLiad e book reader.

One of the nicer features that the iLiad has is the page turn feature is controlled by a “flipbar” that is set on the side of the screen rather than by back and forward buttons like the Sony E Reader features. The flip bar requires almost no force to operate at all, something you might appreciate during a long reading session.

Getting content onto the iLiad is where it does win over the other E book readers. You can use a USB flash drive, a Compact Flash card, an SD card, standard USB or WIFI. When expanded the iLiad is able to store up to 8GB of content at any given time.

The other big difference that the iLiad has over the competition is the ability to use a stylus to make annotations and handwritten notes onto the page of an ebook or PDF document. This is a great feature for students and academics although it is hard to export a copy of your altered pages out of the iLiad without a $70 software upgrade. On the iLiad screen however the feature looks very neat, but whether it worth the $200 upgrade on the price of even the Amazon Kindle DX is debatable. Be very careful with that little stylus as well, it costs around $25 to replace it if lost.

It is very nice to have a great spec sheet such as the iLiad has, but of course content is king. The iLiad comes with 50 “classic” titles pre loaded out of the box. Most of the most popular e book readers are linked to a certain site for the DRM content which encompasses the latest bestsellers and beach blockbusters many of us want to read at some point. The Ilaiad supports only mobipockety files. Not an immediate drawback as the main content site has a library of 40,000 titles. That sounds like a lot but it really isn’t. Many of the titles that are most popular are missing and the selection is not comparable with that found on Amazon or at Sony Connect.

The two hottest ebook readers on the market in 2009 are the Amazon Kindle 2 and the Sony EBook Reader PRS-700. Both models bring the customer a great reading experience, at a never before seen level. Anyone who is considering getting into the world of electronic literature and wonders which model gives the best bang for the buck should hopefully consider my comparisons and observations useful when deciding between the two.

Price: Of course, price is always a big factor for the consumer when picking any electronic device. The Amazon Kindle 2 has been newly repriced at $359, now making the $399 Sony EBook Reader the more expensive option on the market. If you were to judge on current price alone, the Amazon Kindle 2 is the clear winner.

Size and Weight: The weight and size of the two EReaders are very similar; one does not have a greatly noticeable advantage over the other. The Sony EBook Reader PRS-700 weighs in at just about 10 oz. with the Kindle 2 just slightly a little over that.  The Sony EBook Reader is a bit wider and thicker, while the Kindle is a couple inches longer. In any case, both are very convenient to carry around.

Display: The weight of both the Amazon Kindle 2 and the Sony Reader PRS-700 are very closely matched. The Sony Reader is exactly 10 oz and a little lighter than the Kindle 2. In terms of size, the Amazon Kindle 2 is slimmer than the Sony Reader. The PRS-700 is somewhat wider and thicker than the Kindle, but only by a very tiny margin. Neither takes up much room in a briefcase or handbag, and are both extremely easy to use on a daily basis.

Wireless Capabilities: This is where the Amazon Kindle 2 scores major points over the Sony Ebook Reader. The Sony EBook Reader has no real wireless capability at all at this time. The Amazon Kindle 2 utilizes Whispernet technology, which gives the user free wireless coverage in the USA by utilizing Sprints excellent 3G high speed network. This is a big deal. Anyone who is an Amazon Kindle 2 user can take their pick from over 240,000 magazines, blogs and of course EBooks available at the central Amazon Kindle Library. Because it lacks this on the go capability, Sony EBook readers are limited to a mere 100,000 eBooks and a somewhat limited amount of subject matter.

Supported Formats: Both the Amazon Kindle 2 and Sony E Book Reader Reader PRS-700 have the inbuilt capability to support most commonly used file formats. The Sony EBook Reader however does have a PDF capability that the Amazon Kindle 2 lacks, which can be a big inconvenience in everyday use. In order to view a PDF document on the Amazon Kindle 2 one has to email Amazon support and have them convert it into a readable file for you.

Storage Capacity: The Amazon Kindle 2 has a decent   2GB of built in internal memory, whereas the Sony EBook PRS-700 can hold just about 250mb. However, the Sony Reader E Book Reader scores here is that it allows the use of memory cards, both SD and Sony’s own Memory Stick Technology. This is convenient for those who like to carry their library around with them. The old first generation Kindle also had this memory card option, but unfortunately it has been removed on the Amazon Kindle 2.

Battery Life and Charge Time: Both the Amazon Kindle 2 and the Sony EBook Reader have very similar statistics when it comes to battery life, with both of them having the capability to work for 2 weeks on one single full charge. The main difference here is that if the Amazon Kindle 2 is being constantly used with its wireless capabilities turned on, the battery life is reduced to four days. Charge time for both devices is somewhere around the two hour mark. Both can be charged by either USB cord, or wall plug. Sony PSP users may also use the same charger they use for their gaming console.

The Bottom Line 2009 Comparison of the Amazon Kindle 2 vs. Sony eBook Reader: Although not an easy thing to call, I believe though that overall the Amazon Kindle 2 is the better eBook reader of the two. The wireless option and the larger library of available titles just give the Amazon Kindle 2 that little extra edge. Don’t think that Sony is done though. As they have demonstrated with the evolution of the Playstation and PSP gaming consoles, improving is something they do very well.

One thing is quite noticeable when you first lay eyes on the Sony E Book Reader from its box - the Japanese electronics giant has certainly hit the right note when it comes to the visual design of the gadget   The Sony E Book Reader has the kind of sleek, minimal design that might not look out of place in one of those “in the very near future” sci-fi movies.  The Sony EBook Reader has a smooth finish in matte silver, while the other buttons and controls are a nice contrast in darker silver. At first look, it may seem that there are just too many buttons squeezed into the design, but as you begin to actually use the Sony EBook reader you’ll see that for the level of function, Sony got it just about right.

The Sony EBook Reader measures 175 x 122 x 7.6mm (HxWxD), making it very slim indeed. Even in its protective cover it is still only the size of a slim notepad. The protective case seems durable enough, although it is made of plastic not leather.  Sony actually thought about the usability of the EBook reader while still in its sleeve, as it can be easily read without the need to remove the protective sheath.

One great highlight of the Sony Ebook Reader is the 6 inch screen, which of course you will be spending a lot of time looking at. The screen is not the LCD standard monitor you might be expecting, it actually looks like digital ink on digital paper, and the clarity is an unexpected bonus.

Unlike a standard LCD screen, the Sony EBook Reader is specifically designed to only show a static image, just like a standard piece of paper. This means the screen is not continually drawing power to keep an image displayed like an LCD screen would usually have to do. The screen itself is perfectly readable in at any angle and in any light. In fact, it is far easier to read in bright ambient light, so if you enjoy reading outside on a sunny day, the Sony EBook is a great choice of reading companion.

Running along the right hand side of the viewing screen you will find ten numbered buttons, 0-9. These are used for selecting options in the Reader Menus as well as a tool to navigate to specific page numbers in an ebook. To the right of all these buttons you will find the two most important controls, those that turn the individual pages back and forth.

There are also even more controls below the screen. To the left you have another set of page turning buttons, this time mounted on circular rocker. There is also a neat little Bookmark button, which will actually turn down the corner of any given page. The Zoom button of course enlarges and decreases the size of the text depending on viewer preference. The full menu button is located in the right corner, and finally there is a four way rocker that can be utilized instead of the 0-9 number buttons.

The top of the Sony EBook Reader is the location of a sliding power switch and Both SD Card and MemoryStick Slots. It is a nice feature that Sony has accepted that not all consumers use their MemoryStick technology, and offers the option to use other often less expensive formats as SD. You do not of course need either to actually use the Sony EBook reader, as it does have 192MB of memory inbuilt. That may not sound like a lot, but it converts to approximately 160 average size books. If you need to carry more than that around with you, pop in an SD card, and carry everything around with you all the time.

On the downside, actually loading books onto the Sony EBook Reader is not as simple as the promotional materials might lead you to believe. Sony claims that books can simply be dragged and dropped into the EBook Library application, but that is not actually the case. You actually have to drag them to the Library tab or directly onto the separate reader tab. This isn’t too bad once you get the hang of it, but it would have been nice if the items could have been dragged directly to the main window.

The eBook revolution is not of interest to everyone, but if you have been thinking about giving this whole eBook idea a shot, the Sony EBook Reader is not a bad investment at all. It runs far cheaper than the Amazon Kindle 2, has a beautiful look to it, and is easy to use and handle. It may not gain the popularity of the PSP, but it is certainly a contender in the growing e reader market.