Looking for the best ebook reader for you? This ereader comparison makes the job easy by outlining the prominent features of all the competing brands. The market for ebook readers has settled into three different categories, Premium, Mid-Range and Value which we have as separate sections below. With the huge range of selection from several manufacturers and retailers, we’ve hand picked the most popular in each category along with the best price for each model as part of our ebook reader comparison.

Premium Ereader Comparison

These are the Cadillacs of the ereader market and are definitely what you’re looking for if you want the best ebook reader. Full featured with big screens, wireless or 3G connectivity and ample storage space, if you want to invest in the highest quality product to enjoy for a long time to come, this is the category for you.

	Kindle DX	Nook Color	Daily Reader	BeBook Neo	iPad
Mfgr	Amazon	Barnes & Noble	Sony	Endless Ideas	Apple
Picture
Best Price	$379	$249	$299	$249	$529
Our Pick
Screen Size	9.7"	7"	7"	6"	9.7"
Screen Type	E-Ink	LCD	E-Ink	E-Ink	LCD
Touchscreen
Color
Wireless	3G	WiFi	WiFi + 3G	WiFi	WiFi + 3G
Storage	4GB	8GB	2GB	2GB	16GB
Battery Life	7 days	8 hours	7 days	7 days	10 hours
Audio Player
Weight	18.9 oz	15.8 oz	9.6 oz	10.5 oz	25.6 oz
Other Retailers			$329 $329		$529

Premium – Best Ebook Reader – Barnes & Noble Nook Color

One of the benefits of the Premium class of ereaders is additional functionality like color touch screens and web browsing capability, which makes the Nook Color the best-in-class. Anywhere there’s a WiFi connection you can search all the content of your favourite blogs, news sites and forums for a third of the price of an iPad. The interface is fast and easy to navigate, and it’s automatically connected to the Barnes & Nobles ebook store which is slightly more interactive than the Amazon equivalent. And because of the vivid color screen, visually stunning works such as graphic novels or photography portfolios can be enjoyed anywhere you go. While the battery life suffers running such a powerful device, it can easily be taken out and about for a full day of mobile reading and browsing, especially with it’s more than ample storage.

Mid-Range Ereader Comparison

Here you’ll find the bread and butter of ebook readers. Easily the bestselling of all models, versatile enough to suit a wide range of users’ needs and priced far more competitively than premium models. They’re also smaller, easier to carry and with longer battery life.

	Kindle 3G	Kindle 3	Nook 3G	Touch Reader	Cruz Tablet
Mfgr	Amazon	Amazon	Barnes & Noble	Sony	Velocity
Picture
Best Price	$189	$139	$199	$340	$198
Our Pick
Screen Size	6"	6"	6"	6"	7"
Screen Type	E-Ink	E-Ink	E-Ink	E-Ink	LCD
Touchscreen
Color
Wireless	WiFi + 3G	WiFi	WiFi + 3G	-	WiFi
Storage	4GB	4GB	2GB	2GB	2GB
Battery Life	10 days	3 weeks	2 days	2 weeks	10 hours
Audio Player
Weight	8.7 oz	8.5 oz	12.1 oz	7.9 oz	16 oz
Other Retailers				$349	$201.09 $249

Mid-Range – Best Ebook Reader – Amazon Kindle 3G

There’s a reason the Kindle is the greatest selling ereader of all time. Its high contrast E-Ink screen is easy on the eyes for flipping through novels even in bright sunlight, it’s designed to be light and portable and its battery life is second to none. If you’re looking to load up on new titles and take it with you for a vacation on the beach, you probably won’t even need to bring your charger! Better still, if you’re short on time while packing and can’t download all the ebooks you wanted, the 3G will work for free almost anywhere in the world to automatically connect to the Amazon store, which has more selection than any other. And new to this 3rd generation model, you can use the wireless connectivity for basic web browsing as well. Everyone knows the Kindle name, find out for yourself what all the fuss is about.

Value Ereader Comparison

If you don’t need all the bells and whistles, prefer a device that’s even more portable and are glad to save a bit of money doing so, the value category has what you’re looking for. Many of these models come without wireless connectivity, the ability to play music, or extensive storage capacity, but if all you need is a basic ereader you can load up with all your new and favourite titles, why ask for anything more?

	Pocket Reader	Libre Pro	jetBook mini	eReader	Cruz Reader
Mfgr	Sony	Aluratek	Ectaco	Kobo	Velocity
Picture
Best Price	$164	$89.99	$87.95	$99.99	$119.54
Editor's Choice
Screen Size	5"	5"	5"	6"	7"
Screen Type	E-Ink	E-Ink	E-Ink	E-Ink	LCD
Touchscreen
Color
Wireless	-	-	-	-	WiFi
Storage	2GB	2GB	100MB	1GB	256MB
Battery Life	2 weeks	24 hours	4 days	2 weeks	10 hours
Audio Player
Weight	5.7 oz	7.5 oz	5.8 oz	8 oz	16 oz
Other Retailers	$169 $179	$97.99 $119.99 $120.20	$99.99	$125	$129.99

Value – Best Ebook Reader – Sony Pocket Reader

Sony’s latest update to their Pocket Reader line shows that big things can come in small packages. Very small packages, as in the lightest 5” ereader on the market. They’re also widely available so competition helps keep the price exceptionally low for a name brand, well received product. While it has no wireless connectivity or audio player, as an ebook reader it works great. The addition of touchscreen functionality is also very welcome as it gives a tactile feel to the experience and is a great space and weight saver.

Due to popular request, we’ve put together this comparison of four (4) of the most popular portable ebook readers on the market today.

Interead Cool-er

Price – $250

Quick Specs

• 6″ screen
• Lightweight
• Storage – 1 GB internal, 4 GB SD expansion slot
• File formats – JPEG, PDF, EPUB, TXT, and MP3

Pros

• Lightweight
• Removable / replaceable battery
• Good battery life
• 8 color choices

Cons

• Buttons are hard to press
• Navigation isn’t very intuitive
• Interface leaves something to be desired
• Screen refresh is a tad on the slow side

Conclusion

The Cool-er is a good deal for the money, but it does lack in certain hardware and software features and functionality, like the interface and navigation.   We’re hoping that the next version is much improved, as this was Interead‘s first shot at an electronic reading device.

Read the full Interead Cool-er review here…

Amazon Kindle 2

Price – $359

Quick Specs

• 6″ screen
• Medium weight
• Storage – 2 GB internal, no expansion slot
• File formats – Kindle (AZW), TXT, AAX, MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC, HTML, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP

Pros

• Built-in free wireless with Amazon’s “Whispernet”
• Built in keyboard for navigation and notes
• Text-to-Speech feature
• Adjustable font size

Cons

• No native support for PDF files
• No expansion slot for additional memory
• Battery is not removable
• Ebooks must be purchased from Amazon

Conclusion

The Kindle 2 was a big improvement over the original Kindle, and it even has some benefits over the newer Kindle DX. Unfortunately it’s not much of a value at the current price, but Amazon does a great job marketing so perhaps they don’t care.  Maybe the coming stream of new budget ereaders will change that

Read the full Amazon Kindle 2 review here…

Amazon Kindle DX

Price – $489

Quick Specs

• 9.7″ screen
• Heavy weight (compared to smaller devices)
• Storage – 4 GB internal, no expansion slot
• File formats – Kindle (AZW and TOPAZ), PRC/MOBI, TXT, PDF, Audible (format 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX)), MP3

Pros

• Huge screen!
• Native PDF support (finally, Amazon)
• Built-in free wireless with Amazon’s “Whispernet”
• Adjustable font size
• Built in keyboard
• Can switch between portrait and landscape by simply turning it

Cons

• Weight
• No expansion slot
• Battery is not removable
• Expensive!

Conclusion

The Kindle DX definitely broke some ground with its large size.  Now people can read newspapers and magazines with ease and much less page turning.  Unfortunately it

Read the full Amazon Kindle DX review here…

Read the Kindle DX vs Kindle 2 comparison here…

Sony Reader PRS-700

Price – $350

Quick Specs

• 6″ screen size
• Medium weight
• Storage – 512 MB internal, 36 GB SD expansion slot
• File formats – BBeB (LRF/LRX), PDF, EPUB, TXT, RTF, JPG, BMP, GIF, PNG, MP3, AAC

Pros

• Touch screen!
• Sleeker than the Kindle 2
• Can display and zoom both PDF and Word files
• Built-in LED for reading in the dark

Cons

• Touch screen is more prone to glare and has worse contrast
• No software for Mac users
• No built-in wireless
• No support for Audible audio books

Conclusion

The Sony Reader PRS-700 was the first portable ebook reader with a touch screen.  And for taking that initiative, we commend them…as it makes the device more intuitive and easier-to-use.  Unfortunately the touch screen blessing is also a curse.  It creates more glare and the screen has a worse contrast than without the technology.  We also think it’s priced too high considering all the recent entries into the ereader market.

Read the full Sony Reader PRS-700 review here…