Below you'll find the E-reader review in progress by the Mann e-reader group.
Comparison of E-Readers
|
Apple iPad |
Apple iPod Touch |
Amazon Kindle 2 |
Amazon Kindle DX |
Kindle WiFi |
Barnes & Noble Nook |
Sony Daily Edition |
Sony Touch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Link |
Kindle 2 (older 2nd gen) |
Kindle DX |
Reader Touch PRS-600SC |
|||||
Available |
Now |
Now |
Now |
Now |
Now |
Now |
Now |
Now |
Price |
WiFi: $499-699 3G/WiFi: $629-829 |
$199/$299/$399 |
$189 |
$379 |
$139 wifi/$189 wifi + 3G |
$149 WiFi |
$299 |
$169 |
Size |
.5 inches thick |
4.3x2.4x.33 in. |
8 x 5.3 x 0.36 inches |
10.4 x 7.2 x 0.38 inches |
7.5" x 4.8" x 0.335" |
7.7 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches |
8.13 x 4 x 19/32 inches |
6.9 x 4.8 x .4 inches |
Weight |
1.5 lbs. |
4 oz. |
10.2 oz. |
18.9 oz. |
8.5 oz. |
12.1 oz. |
12.75 oz. |
10.1 oz |
Screen Size |
9.7 inches |
3.5 in. |
6 inches |
9.7 inches |
6 in. |
6 inches |
7.1 inches |
6 in. |
Display |
Backlit IPS Color |
|
Grayscale |
Grayscale |
Grayscale |
Grayscale and color versions |
Grayscale |
Grayscale |
Touchscreen/Rotate |
Yes/Yes |
Yes/Yes |
No/Manual |
No/Yes |
No/Yes |
Yes/No |
Yes/Yes |
Yes/? |
Battery Life |
11 hours |
30 hrs audio; 6 hrs video |
7 days with wireless Whispersync on |
7 days with wireless Whispersync on |
3 weeks with wireless on; one month w/wireless off |
10 days/8 hours for Nook Color |
7 days with wireless on |
2 weeks/6,800 (ePub) Continuous page turns; 7,500 (BBeB Book) Continuous page turns |
Storage/Expandable |
16GB; 32GB; 64GB/No |
8 GB; 32 GB; 64 GB/No |
2GB/No |
4GB/No |
"doubled storage"/No |
8GB/Yes (microSD) |
1.6GB/Yes (Memory Stick Duo/SD) |
512 MB/Yes (~ 380MB Dual Memory Card Expansion Slots for Memory Stick PRO Duo™ and SD Card™ up to 16GB) |
Input |
Touchscreen/Soft keyboard (wireless keyboard available) |
Touchscreen/virtual keyboard |
Keyboard |
Keyboard(kind of hard to use and "joystick" feature not as easy as touchscreen) |
Keyboard(kind of hard to use and "joystick" feature not as easy as touchscreen) |
Touchscreen/Virtual keyboard |
Touchscreen/stylus/virtual keyboard |
Touchscreen/stylus/virtual Keyboard |
Wireless/Bluetooth |
3G through AT&T/Verizon plans |
WiFi/Bluetooth |
Units sold through Oct. 22, Sprint 3G; Now 3G/roaming through AT&T/No |
3G (Whispernet/AT&T) |
3G (Whispernet/AT&T) |
3G (AT&T)/WiFi |
3G (AT&T)/WiFi |
No |
International (as of around 4/10) |
No deals yet; 3G unlocked |
|
3G Roaming (AT&T) |
3G Roaming (AT&T) |
|
No |
No |
No |
Native Formats |
EPUB; Audible; additional formats through apps (including Kindle, Nook, Google eBookstore, Stanza, etc) |
EPUB; Audible; additional formats through apps (including Kindle, Nook, Google eBookstore, etc); other ebook readers like Stanza |
Kindle (AZW), Native PDF, TXT, Audible (formats 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC |
Kindle (AZW), Native PDF, TXT, Audible (formats 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC |
Kindle (AZW), Enhanced Native PDF, TXT, Audible (formats 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC |
EPUB, eReader, Google eBookstore; PDFs, MP3s, JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP. |
EPUB, Google eBookstore, PDF, JPEG, BBeB, TXT, RTF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP , MP3, AAC |
EPUB, PDF, Google eBookstore, BBeB, TXT, RTF, Word, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, MP3, AAC |
Platform |
Open to approved third-party developers |
Open to approved third-party developers |
Closed now but SDK has been released for upcoming beta and store with approved third-party developers |
Closed now but SDK has been released for upcoming beta and store with approved third-party developers |
|
Closed |
Closed to developers; open in terms of multi-format, non-DRM use. |
Closed to developers; open in terms of multi-format, non-DRM use. |
Browser |
Safari |
Safari |
Yes (experimental) in U.S., Japan. NA in most countries. |
Yes (experimental) |
Yes (experimental) |
No |
No |
No |
Available Content |
"Over 150,000" iBookstore titles; and other ebookstore content through apps; access to public libraries through OverDrive; public domain |
"Over 150,000" iBookstore titles; and other ebookstore content through apps; access to public libraries through OverDrive; public domain |
More than 750,000 ebooks, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and popular games & active content (Numbers vary internationally); public domain |
More than 750,000 ebooks, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and popular games & active content (Numbers vary internationally); public domain |
More than 750,000 ebooks, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and popular games & active content (Numbers vary internationally) |
350,000 books for sale, public domain; about 30 newspapers, magazines. Google Books brings titles to 1 million |
Includes public domain, access to public libraries through OverDrive |
Includes public domain, access to public libraries through OverDrive |
Bookstore |
iBookstore; Google eBookstore; any store that sells ePUB or PDF versions of ebooks |
iBookstore; Google eBookstore; any store that sells ePUB or PDF versions of ebooks |
The Kindle Store |
The Kindle Store |
The Kindle Store |
Barnes and Noble eBookstore, Google eBookstore |
Sony eBook Reader Store (converting to EPUB this year), Google eBookstore, Borders eBooks, any store that sells ePUB or PDF versions of ebooks |
Sony eBook Reader Store (converting to EPUB this year), Google Books, Borders eBooks, any store that sells ePUB or PDF versions of ebooks |
Book Sharing |
Across devices, apps on same account |
Across devices, apps on same account |
Between devices, Kindle apps on same acct.; 14 day book lending coming "later this year" |
Between devices, Kindle apps on same acct.; 14 day book lending coming "later this year" |
Between devices, Kindle apps on same acct.; 14 day book lending coming "later this year" |
14 days on many titles |
No |
No |
Microphone/Speakers |
Yes/Yes |
Yes/No |
No/Yes |
No/Yes |
|
No/Yes |
No/Yes |
No/No |
Archive |
Apple iTunes (local) |
Apple iTunes (local) |
Amazon (in the cloud) |
Amazon (in the cloud) |
Amazon (in the cloud) |
Barnes & Noble |
Sony |
Sony |
Annotation |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Y |
Y |
Highlighting |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Y |
Y |
Formatting and page locations/ease of citation |
Resizeable font and page locations on iBookstore titles; resizeable font and page numbers as well with Google ebooks |
Resizeable font and page locations on iBookstore titles; resizeable font and page numbers as well with Google ebooks |
Resizeable font but only percentage of books not page locations |
Resizeable font but only percentage of books not page locations |
Resizeable and expanded selection of fonts but only percentage of books not page locations |
|
|
|
Individual registration/sign in |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes and can create group account |
Yes and can create group account |
Yes and can create group account |
|
|
|
Resizeable fonts |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Screen Resolution |
? |
480 x 320 pixels (163 ppi); |
600 × 800 pixels (167 ppi) |
825 × 1200 pixels (150 ppi) |
|
600 × 800 pixels (167 ppi) |
600 x 1024 pixels |
600 × 800 pixels |
Shades |
? |
? |
16 |
16 |
|
16 |
16 |
8 |
Integrated Dictionary |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
User-replaceable battery |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
Y |
Y? |
Y? |
Text-to-Speech/Accessibility |
Y |
Y |
Y (experimental) |
Y (experimental) |
Y (experimental and now voice menus for accessibility) |
N |
N |
N |
Operating System |
iOS 4 (like iPhone) |
iOS 4 (like iPhone) |
Linux |
Linux |
Linux |
Android/Linux |
Montavista Linux |
Montavista Linux |
Platforms |
Apple iPad |
Apple iTouch |
Amazon Kindle 2 |
Amazon Kindle DX |
|
Barnes & Noble Nook |
Sony Daily Edition |
Sony Touch |
Springer ebooks and articles |
PDFs through GoodReader or other PDF apps; with iOS 4 iBooks now has integrated PDF support |
PDFs through GoodReader or other PDF apps; with iOS 4 iBooks now has integrated PDF support |
PDFs can be formatted as AZW through email conversion or transferred via USB |
PDFs can be formatted as AZW through email conversion or transferred via USB |
Enhanced Native PDF support (dictionary, notes, etc) |
|
Y |
Y |
Elsevier ebooks and articles |
PDFs through GoodReader or other PDF apps; with iOS 4 iBooks now has integrated PDF support |
PDFs through GoodReader or other PDF apps; with iOS 4 iBooks now has integrated PDF support |
PDFs can be formatted as AZW through email conversion or transferred via USB |
PDFs can be formatted as AZW through email conversion or transferred via USB |
Enhanced Native PDF support (dictionary, notes, etc) |
|
|
|
Google eBookstore and Scholar (depending on publisher restrictions) |
Y |
Y |
Scholar: yes, depending; eBookstore: no |
Scholar: yes, depending; eBookstore: no |
Scholar: yes, depending; eBookstore: no |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Internet Archive |
Y |
Y |
Y except EPUB versions |
Y except EPUB versions |
Y except EPUB versions |
Y |
Y |
Y |
CUL collections |
depends on format (Y for PDF) |
depends on format (Y for PDF) |
depends on format (Y for PDF) |
depends on format (Y for PDF) |
depends on format (Y for PDF) |
depends on format (Y for PDF) |
Y |
Y |
Ebrary |
|
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My iLibrary |
Y but dependent on publisher and institution limits (10 pgs/PDF per download) |
Y but dependent on publisher and institution limits (10 pgs/PDF per download) |
Y but dependent on publisher and institution limits (10 pgs/PDF per download) |
Y but dependent on publisher and institution limits (10 pgs/PDF per download) |
Y but dependent on publisher and institution limits (10 pgs/PDF per download) |
Y but dependent on publisher and institution limits (10 pgs/PDF per download) |
Y but dependent on publisher and institution limits (10 pgs/PDF per download) |
Y but dependent on publisher and institution limits (10 pgs/PDF per download) |
NetLibrary |
N (though with forthcoming EBSCO integration it looks like 60 PDF pgs at a time can be downloaded) |
N (though with forthcoming EBSCO integration it looks like 60 PDF pgs at a time can be downloaded) |
N (though with forthcoming EBSCO integration it looks like 60 PDF pgs at a time can be downloaded) |
N (though with forthcoming EBSCO integration it looks like 60 PDF pgs at a time can be downloaded) |
N (though with forthcoming EBSCO integration it looks like 60 PDF pgs at a time can be downloaded) |
N (though with forthcoming EBSCO integration it looks like 60 PDF pgs at a time can be downloaded) |
N (though with forthcoming EBSCO integration it looks like 60 PDF pgs at a time can be downloaded) |
N (though with forthcoming EBSCO integration it looks like 60 PDF pgs at a time can be downloaded) |
Books 24/7/Safari |
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Overall Rating |
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Based on Comparing E-Readers | January 2010, first published Jan. 29 and was last updated at 10:30 p.m. ET Jan. 31. // Edited by Staci D. Kramer. Based on manufacturer information, additional reporting.http://paidcontent.org/table/e-reader-comparison-chartand Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_e-book_readers and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats
Other readers/mobile devices to possibly consider in the future:
- Samsung Galaxy Tab: http://galaxytab.samsungmobile.com/
- BlackBerry Playbook: http://us.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet/
- Aluratek Libre
- Entourage eDGe
- HP Slate: 8.9" screen; runs full Windows 7(no Apple Store approval process); NY Times reports 6" Slate running Android coming as well; can run Kindle app
- Dell Mini5/Streak: launching in summer; Android-based with 5" screen (larger than iTouch and iPhone); no Kindle or Nook app for Android but other ebook apps for non-DRM books (Overdrive possibly available)
- Google Chrome OS (maybe by winter)