Portable Ebook Reader

The expanding popularity of portable e-book readers has e-gadget manufacturers climbing the walls to improve, innovate and expand operations, portability and user convenience. Amazon’s Kindle broke open the e-book reader market, although it wasn’t the first e-book reader on the scene. Barnes & Noble’s Nook is a terrific product as well, and its now-generation reader offers some tough choices for e-book fans that has Amazon concerned. Then bring in Sony products to further complicate matters. These top three e-book reader options can make an e-book reader’s head spin, so let’s compare them on size, capability and adaptability.

The information below reflects the common models within the same price range; it wouldn’t be fair to compare a “deluxe” model with a “basic” model. The approximate price range is roughly $115 to $160 and notes the Barnes and Noble Nook Touch Reader, Amazon’s Kindle 3 and Sony’s Reader Pocket Edition.

Size and Weight Comparison

BN’s Nook Touch Reader, hereafter called NTR for typing convenience, sports a 6-inch display and a 5 x 6.5-inch profile. Weighing in at 7.48 ounces, you barely know you’re holding or carrying it.

The Kindle 3 also offers a 6-inch display and a 4.8 x 7.5-inch profile; it’s a little longer than the Nook but not prohibitively so. The negligible weight difference with Nook, 8+ ounces versus 7.48 ounces, is noticed, but after the conscious notation, you barely notice it.

Sony’s Reader Pocket Edition boasts the smallest and lightest numbers of the three at 4.11 x 5.71 inches and 5.47 ounces. It also has the smallest display screen at 5 inches.

Capacity and Accessibility

The NTR can hold up to . Its battery can last up to two months on charge under minimum use capacity. In other words, you can’t get two months of use under full WiFi use or downloads—just reading. (Those general conditions restrict all battery use comparisons, however.)

The Kindle 3 can hold up to 3,500 e-books in its 4GB memory. The built-in, permanent battery can last up to a month on a single charge if WiFi is turned off. However, its WiFi capability draws a definite plus to this device.

Sony’s device can hold up to 1,200 e-books with a 2GB memory. It can also support word documents, Adobe PDFs, EPUB/ACS4 formats. The Pocket Edition is compatible with both Macs and PCs. Coming in a distant third in battery capacity, it provides only two weeks maximum average use prior to recharging. Sony’s product has no direct Internet access capability, so you must download from a PC or Mac into the device.

Distinct Advantages and Disadvantages

Sony’s device is great for short-term use and storage swaps, but its lack of direct connectivity is a drawback for many. It’s slimmer, lighter, more compact design is a plus over the others, however.

Nook’s longer battery life and expandable memory slot allows slight advantages over both the Kindle 3 and the Pocket Edition. Its multiple platform readability matches Kindle 3′s, and both Nook and Kindle stand above the Pocket Edition in direct Internet access.

Kindle 3′s biggest advantage is that the $114 price tag for the Kindle-With Special Offers edition. Completely identical to Kindle 3 in other ways, the Special Offers version provides a $25 discount for non-intrusive ads in the screen saver mode and on the main menu. Because there are no ads while reading, the ad-supported version is highly recommended.

However, the touch screen and button resign puts Barnes & Nobles’ Nook a half a notch above Kindle 3. Its longer battery life secures it in the number 1 slot—for now.

The author of this post is Holly Miller, who writes for Coupon Croc. In the market for the hottest gadgets? Save big when you shop online and use an Argos discount voucher.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Samsung E6 and E101 are the first e-book readers from the manufacturer which were recently revealed at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Both e-book devices are touchscreens: the Samsung E6 comes with 6-inch E-ink display, while the E101 features 10-inch one. Unlike other portable devices, Samsung E6 and E101 were introduced with handwriting capabilities directly onto the display. The tool allowing users to annotate their reading selections, calendars and to-do lists is an electromagnetic resonance (EMR) stylus pen which utilizes EMR technology. The Korean giant was also serious about low power consumption of e-books’ displays delivering natural reflect light similar to that of printed paper.

The Samsung e-readers support a wide range of file formats include e-pub, PDF/a, TXT, BMP and JPG. The E6 and E101 are equipped with Samsung’s text-to-speech (TTS) built-in technology. Both models come with Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) capability allowing customers download books and newspapers wirelessly as well as transfer them from other devices thanks to built in Bluetooth 2.0. The readers are powered with 2GB internal memory and microSD memory card with maximum 18GB storage. The company’s partnership with Google means there is a lot of content available for E6 and E101 users. When speaking about battery it may deliver up to two weeks of use only with 4 hours of charging.

Samsung E6 should be available in March for $399 with black and white colors. The 10-inch version of E6 will cost $599.

Popularity: 21% [?]

STORY is the latest e-book reader from iRiver. And yes, it’s as good as it can get. The keyboard design is one of its nice features. I can say it’s sexy, it’s solid, and it’s slim. After the iRiver Story’s release in the UK, Germany and Korea, it’s finally coming to the US. This wait definitely is taking its effect since that people really are looking forward and get excited about the iRiver Story.

The iRiver Story includes features such as 6-inch e-link display with a 800 x 600 resolution, 36 inches slim, has built-in features of a mp3 player, voice recorder, office file viewer, personal organizer, a memopad and a scheduler. You can store up to 13,000 books with its 2GB internal memory and an expansion SD Card slot that can store up to 16GB. This gadget can read Microsoft Excel files (.xls), PowerPoint (.ppt), Adobe Acrobat files (.pdf), Microsoft Word (.doc), e-Pub, and play wma, audio book files, and mp3 files. The battery life lasts for up to 9,000 pages – up to 30 books. How is that possible? It’s because the iRiver Story will consume battery life only if the pages are turned. If you will be using this to play audio files, the battery can last for up to 24hrs. If you want to record voice, then it can last for up to 5hrs.

The iRiver Story lets you read your e-books just like when you’re reading paper books. How incredible is that? You still have the old paper book feel while using a so-called high-technology gadget!

But then again, like everything in life there is a downside. The iRiver Story doesn’t have wireless capabilities such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G. But don’t worry, because in the later part of 2010, the iRiver Story U.S. version will have Wi-Fi capabilities. As per the final price ranges, there aren’t announcements yet. Some say it would cost at around $340 USD, however as I said, this isn’t final.

Of all the different e-book readers out there, you have the decision for as to which one has the “edge” you are looking for. I have stated everything there is to know about the iRiver Story, now it’s up to you to go, get, and judge it.

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If you haven’t heard of Astak, they are based out of San Jose, CA and manufacture cameras, DVRs…and now lucky for us…ebook readers!

The Astak 6″ EZ Reader is the North American name for the Jinke Hanlin V3 (a Chinese company).

My favorite feature of the EZ Reader is the fact that it has native support for an enormous list of file formats:  PDF, TXT, RTF, EPUB, LIT, PPT, WOLF, DOC, CHM, FB2, PRC/MOBI, HTML, DJVU, MP3, TIFF, JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG, RAR, and ZIP.

Box Contents

The 6″ EZ Reader comes in a well-designed box that is covered with all the jazz you’d expect from a portable ebook reader.

Inside, you find an instruction manual, an AC adapter with USB input, a USB cable, earphones, and of course the device itself in a nice leather case.

Already I’m happy to see that Astak hasn’t decided to use any proprietary cables or adapters (cough…Apple…cough) and has made everything as simple as possible.

Charging

As soon as I unpacked the EZ Reader I plugged it into a wall socket.   There’s a small indicator light on the top left that indicates how charged the battery is (either yellow or green).  It turned to green (full charge) quite quickly (less than an hour), but I’m guessing that the battery was pre-charged when it was manufactured so it likely had some life in it already.

Design

As you can see from the picture above, the EZ Reader has a black frame with buttons along the bottom and side.  The USB port is in the bottom and there’s an SD card expansion slot on the top.  Without even reading the user manual I could easily figure out what all the buttons did.   Astak really did a good job making the unit simple and easy-to-use!

The screen uses eInk technology so that means it’s easy on the eyes and can be viewed in direct sunlight, unlike many other electrical devices.

At 7 ounces and (7.2″ x 4.7″ x .4″), the EZ Reader is of average size and weight for it’s class of 6″ devices.   The battery can reportedly handle 8,000 page turns on a single charge, which is also pretty average.  However, the battery is removable / replaceable, which is great!

There’s 512 MB onboard storage, which the average reader should find adequate, but if you want more you can plug a 4GB SD card into the expansion slot.  Very handy!

The leather case that it comes with is well built and there’s magnets to help the ebook reader snap into place. Clever!

My only complaint about the design is that the body of the EZ Reader looks and feels a bit “cheap”.  It’s not as polished and “flashy” as the Amazon Kindle.  But it seems durable enough – I imagine it could withstand being repeatedly dropped or generally just treated poorly.

Navigation

The buttons of the EZ Reader are well thought out.  The menu system uses a folder system to organize ebooks, and the numbered buttons at the bottom of the unit are used to navigate through the folders and select files.   To turn pages, there’s two buttons on the side, but if you’d prefer two of the bottom numbered buttons can also function as page turners.

The “zoom” functionality is quite powerful and has 4 or 5 different settings.  Unfortunately images don’t zoom but that’s not entirely important for the purposes of a portable ebook reader.

The time between page turns leaves a bit to be desired (approx 3 seconds).  Hopefully Astak improves the hardware for the next model.

Computer Interface

Hooking up the EZ Reader to a computer is simple!  It’s just a matter of plugging in a USB cable.  No extra  software or drivers necessary (at least not with Windows XP).  A new removable drive gets automatically mapped in “My Computer”, and then all you need to do is copy your ebook files into it.

I tried a PDF ebook because those are the most common.   It copied quickly and looked great on the screen of the EZ Reader.   As I said before, I’m a huge fan of devices that use standard cables, formats, and interfaces, all of which the EZ Reader excels at.

Conclusion

The Astak EZ Reader is priced fairly competitively ($235), is easy-to-use and navigate, and can handle nearly every ebook file format known to man.  It’s not the prettiest, fastest, lightest, or most feature-packed portable ebook reader, but for the price it’s hard to beat!

If you want the flexibility of being able to read any type of ebook you find online, give the EZ Reader serious consideration.

Plus, did I mention that you can get it at Buy.com?   How convenient!

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Popularity: 46% [?]

The BeBook was released in late 2007.  Since then it has been rebranded and sold as different names in countries around the world – lBook, DigiBook Reader, Apollo-Hanlin, Walkbook, Papyre, HanLin eBook, Astak EZ Reader, and Eco Reader.

But the company who created this portable ebook reader, HanLin, has been in the game since the year 2000, so they definitely aren’t a fly-by-night startup.

The BeBook is of average size and weight for an electronic reading device.  It use eInk technology for its screen display and has buttons on the bottom and side to navigate and control the display.

Specs

• Weight - 7 oz
• Thickness - 0.4″
• Size – 7.25″ x 4.75″
• Screen Size - 6″
• Battery Life - 9000 page turns
• Storage – 512 MB  internal + SD external slot
• Price - $280

The BeBook comes stock with a leather case, which is a welcome change from many other portable ebook readers that require you to pay extra for this accessory.  Upon turning on the BeBook, the first thing I decide to play with is the interface.  There’s a Menu button, “return” button, and 10 number keys.  In order to choose a menu item or select a book it’s as simple as pushing the corresonding button.  Not very difficult!

You can also move through pages by pressing the appropriate button on the left side of the device.

Where the BeBook really shines it with all the different file formats it can handle.  A heck of a lot more than most competitors, that’s for sure!   The list includes:  PDF, TXT, RTF, EPUB, LIT, PPT, WOLF, DOC, CHM, FB2, PRC/MOBI, HTML, DJVU, MP3, TIFF, JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG, RAR, ZIP.   Wow.

It has a decent battery life, and with the external SD slot it’s doubtful you’ll ever fill it up completely with books.

Summary

The BeBook is a pretty darn good device.  It’s simple to use, works exactly as advertised, and it’s obvious from its evolution that HanLin is willing to continue its improvement in future versions.  Also, it has excellent support for many different ebook formats.  It you want a decently priced ebook reader that doesn’t force you to use a proprietary format (like Sony and Amazon), you’d likely be satisfied with the BeBook.

If you’d like to read more or buy a BeBook, you can here.

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Popularity: 30% [?]

For those of you that find the the Sony Reader too clunky, or the Amazon Kindle DX too large and cumbersome, this may just be the ideal portable ebook reader for you.  Its very affordable price tag is bound to attract a lot of customers too.

The Interead Cool-er (yes, the name of the device is actually hyphenated) is small, light, and has the look and feel of an Apple iPod.  It even has a circular navigation button that’s similar to the one on an iPod.  I guess it’s always a safe bet to mimic a company that is well known for their trendy and eye-catching product design.

Specs

• Weight - 6.3 oz
• Thickness - 0.4″
• Size – 7″ x 5″
• Screen Size - 6″
• Battery Life - 8000 page turns
• Storage – 1 GB internal + SD external slot
• Price - $250

The E Ink Vizplex screen mimics a matte book page and many owners have said they can read for hours without feeling any eye strain.  A side button also lets you flick between portrait and landscape to suit your reading style or if the document your viewing requires a different layout.

With its 6″ screen size, this means you need to turn the page twice as often as you would with a typical paperback but most people find that easy to adapt to.

The Cool-er can hold around 300 books (that’s approximate based on the 1 GB internal storage).  While this is far less than the Amazon Kindle 2 and DX, do most people even read that many books in their lifetime?

You can use the Cool-er to play audiobooks or music in MP3 format off the SD card.  The eReader also lacks wireless connectivity which means all downloads have to be done via a USB connection.  You download books onto your computer before moving them to the Cool-er. There is no automatic syncing like with the iPod.

Here’s a funny quote…Neil Jones the founder of Interread said,  “Cool-er is designed – and priced – for people who love to read and share books.  ‘This is the first ereader that people won’t be embarrassed to be seen with in public.”  You know what, I can definitely see his point!  I have noticed people staring when I’ve pulled out my Kindle DX on the subway.

Books can be bought from Interead’s own online bookshop (coolerbooks.com), or from other sites that sell ebooks.

Summary

While the Cool-er isn’t the most feature-packed electronic reading device, that’s not its purpose.  It’s supposed to be an ebook reader for the masses.  And it does that well.  It’s quite affordable, well designed, and includes enough hardware and features for the average person.  Heck, it even comes in 8 cool colors!

Keep in mind though, if you’re looking for something to read larger media like newspapers and magazines, or if you simply must have the latest technology like a touchscreen or WiFi, perhaps the Cool-er isn’t for you.

If you’d like to read more or buy a Cool-er you can here.

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Popularity: 31% [?]