Further to our previous posts and comments about eBook readers I thought I'd have a quick look at this years choices. Last year I remember being dismayed that I couldn’t buy a Kindle at this time of year. I’m not actually sure, now, if it was because the Kindle wasn’t available, or I was too poor or whatever, but I do recall wanting but not getting an eBook Reader.
This year the range of choice is quite simply whelming (not quite overwhelming but getting there) and there are factors that need to be considered.
Not least amongst these issues is what format your preferred eReader uses or supports. As a technology trainer I am fully aware that most technological neophytes have absolutely no concept of file formats and I’m sure some eReader purchasers are going to be a bit surprised one they discover the 'joys' of unsupported formats.
I was going to do a quick summary of what to look for in an eBook Reader but I discovered that Harvey Norman have done most of the hard work for me at http://bit.ly/g0gdTa . It is worth mentioning, however, that they do not talk about the different kinds of screen. Essentially, you can get e-Ink (like the Kindle) or LCD (like the iPad). There is a lot of discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of both but I’m inclined to join the ‘eInk for readers, LCD’s for everything else’ team (as succinctly explained here http://bit.ly/f73sp7 ). These matters also directly relate to battery life and usability beyond reading digital books. (I am so not getting into a discussion of touchscreen versus buttons, either!)
Below is a very brief list of available readers right now. It is not comprehensive and I strongly urge you to research your choice before you buy; I have a strong suspicion that we, as library staff, are going to hear a lot of opinions about different readers over the coming months and a lot may be based on which model was bought.
Here are a couple of websites that are decent places to start researching your choices: http://www.ebookreaderreview.com.au/tag/best-ebook-reader or http://bit.ly/fbxDu9
(Note, I am including the iPad, despite it not technically being an eBook reader. With the size and shape it has I can’t imagine why you would buy one over an iPhone unless it was to use it as a reader. Now there is an opinion to incite bitter reactions.)
Migear 7 eBook reader
Supports PDF, TXT, EPUB, CHM, RTF, HTML
$129
GHT E-Reader
Supports Ebook, txt, pdf, epub, avi, divx, mp3, jpg, bmp and others
$124
iRiver reader
Supports ePub, mp3, txt, doc, ppt and others
$343
Kindle
Supports PDF, awz (Amazon proprietary format)
$139
Hanvon eLink eBook Reader WRN516b
Supports txt, mp3, ePub, html, jpg, pdf, png
$229
Laser eReader
Supports Abode eBooks, ePub, doc, html, pdf
$99
Kobo
Supports Adobe eBooks, ePub, pdf
$177.95
Sony Touch
Supports MP3, PDF
$229.95
Apple iPad
Supports MP3, pdf, jpg, doc, html and others
From $629