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E-readers, E-Readers , E- Readers

It seems 2010 is the year of the E-readers.
What the heck?
These things are spawning cousins faster than last years "digital photo frames"..

Amazon Kindle started it all with this new "E-ink" technology. Its very good for reading, but not much else. Graphics look horrible - worse than a b/w newspaper. Also its an overall sluggish experience. BUT, its the king of the hill of all e-readers in my opinion. Content delivery is slick and easy. Content selection is also great.

The other new comers to the field

Barnes and Noble - Nook ( nook??) - Sports a color bottom 3rd of the screen - but its color screen is limited to menus and coverflow browsing.. uh. hm. This device is not bad.. but imho its still a clear second to Kindle. Its not a feature function war here.. so "lend to friends" is not at the top of my list. Even so, its only a Kindle software update away. Any perceived Nook feature function lead will be washed away in a matter of short months.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/

The Cooler - Comes in goofy ipod ripoff colors and looks just like the sony e-reader looks totally useless. http://www.coolreaders.com">http://www.coolreaders.com/

DMC worldwide Copia - runs linux, has a 4 way tilt sensor, yea - I need this. Bend over to pick up something and your book page turns for you :) wireless connectivity includes WiFi 802.11 b/g and an optional 3G support. Storage will have an internal memory with 2 GB capacity which is enough for about 1500 eBooks and even has audio support via a stereo speaker and a 3.5 mm stereo jack.
http://www.jdmag.com/dmc-intros-copia-ebook-platform-and-ocean-ereader-to-debut-at-ces-2010">http://www.jdmag.com/dmc-intros-copia-ebook-platform-and-ocean-ereader-to-debut-at-ces-2010/

Sony Daily Editon - Price leader at a whopping $399. just looks like overkill. All you can do is read. http://gizmodo.com/5345112/sony-daily-edition-reader-3g-7">http://gizmodo.com/5345112/sony-daily-edition-reader-3g-7+inch-touchscreen-in-december.

Also, the Skiff Reader, Plastic Logic Que, Mirasol, Paradigm Shift EER, Knfb Bio and more.
Its a blurry group..

I continue to believe that all of these readers are filling a temporary gap. They will be pretty much out dated shelf warmers in 2 years or less. For now if you read a lot - Go Kindle or maybe a Nook. Leave the others alone.

Ya know, reading on my MacbookPro or MacbookAir is actually quite pleasant. And it get up to 6 hrs of battery life. You may be different.

Techwizard (aka David)
CTO Ingage Networks

2 Responses

  • Feb 26, 2010

    President

    I've found that extensive reading on a LCD screen induces eye strain much more rapidly than the Kindle's "E-Ink" screen. The graphics really are horrendous, but I'm willing to take the trade off for the ability to read for several hours on a plane or couch without getting a headache!

  • Mar 08, 2010

    CEO

    I have used both the Kindle and the Nook and even though they have their strenghts, I believe the iPad will overcome all their weaknesses (color, easy annotations, comments, browsing).

What do you think?

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