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.

The PRS-700 is Sony’s 3rd generation ebook reader.  It comes with some fancy new features, like a touch screen, side lighting (for reading in the dark), and a much improved user interface.  It retails for approximately $349 USD.

Some of the other improvements from previous Sony Reader generations include:  increased speed for page turns, faster CPU (now 532 MHz, like the Amazon Kindle 2), larger font sizes, and better PDF viewing.  Unfortunately not everything can be seen as an improvement.  The new touch screen functionality requires a layer on top of the eInk display, as well as frame-mounted LED side lights.  This all adds up to worse contrast and glare and takes away from the eInk viewing experience.

Features of the Sony Reader PRS-700

Advanced Design

• Small size – 6.8″ x 5.2″ x 0.4″
• Light weight - only 10 ounces!
• Both internal and expansion memory – 512 MB internal, up to 36 GB SDHC expansion card
• Long battery life - Li-Ion battery provides up to 7500 page turns between charges

Enhanced Reading

• Touch screen – allows users to annotate by way of a virtual keyboard
• LED lighting – better reading in low light conditions

File Formats Supported

• DRM-free Text - LRF, PDF, TXT, RTF, ePub
• DRM Text – LRX, Secure PDF, ePub
• DRM-free Audio – MP3, AAC
• Images – GIF, PNG, JPG, BMP
• RSS – limited to 20 featured blogs

Sony Reader PRS-700 Recommendation

The Sony Reader PRS-700 is a big improvement over Sony’s previous ebook readers (PRS-500, PRS-505), but it still leaves a bit to be desired.  Some folks may find the touch screen useful and trendy, but we think it’s ahead of its time if it conflicts with the readability of eInk technology.

Considering that its nearest competitor is the Amazon Kindle 2, Sony has definitely thrown down the gauntlet, as it beats the Kindle 2 in the areas of PDF viewing and having a touch screen (if you consider that a good feature, of course).  On the other hand, the Kindle 2 is arguably easier to read and has more internal memory (more storage for books).  So in our opinion, it’s a toss-up as to which of these two devices is better.  We’d recommend that you try to find a friend who has each device and take them for a test drive to make your own decision.

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The Sony Reader PRS-505 was released by Sony on Oct 2, 2007.   It has been a big success since, primarily because there hasn’t been a whole lot of competition.

Specs

• Weight - 9 oz (250 g)
• Thickness - 0.3″
• Size – 6.9″ x 4.8″
• Screen Size - 6″
• Battery Life - 7500 page turns
• Storage – 256 MB internal + MMC/SD/SDHC/Memory Stick Pro Duo expansion slots
• Price - $250

The screen on the PRS-505 is very easy on the eyes. This is likely due to a 20% improvement in contrast from the last Reader (the 505).

Sony also made improvements to the controls, which have been rearranged to that the menu list is aligned with the buttons.  This definitely improves the usability of the PRS-505.

Direct page access is now possible simply by pushing a number button.  The numbers cycle around the three digits shown on the screen, so if you accidentally select the wrong button just keep pushing the page number.  Again, this a noticeable improvemnet over the previous general Reader.

Here’s a few more features that Sony added new to the PRS-505:

• USB mass storage – The internal memory can be accessed just like any mass storage device.
• Menu power off – You can now turn the device completely off simply by using the menus.
• Updated design – Comparing the 505 and 500 side by side, it’s obvious that the 505 looks like a newer, more attractive design.

Summary

The PRS-505 is a huge improvement over its older sibling.   The better contrast ratio, the improved button design, and the addition of USB are a few changes that make a large difference in user experience and enjoyment.  You’d be hard pressed to find a better portable ebook reader for the price.

Editor’s Note – [June 2009] The rating of the PRS-505 has been updated to reflect its comparison against current ebook readers.

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