Kindle Sony Nook » Wi-Fi

Kindle Vs Nook Vs Sony Reader

admin — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 16:50:45 +0000

Kindle

• Cost: starts at $139

• Pros: The best e-reader if your top priority is reading purchased books and newspapers. The Pearl E Ink quality is exquisite, and the battery lasts a full month. It’s also well-priced, light, thin and easy to hold for a long time. The keyboard is delightful for those of us who cling to the old ways. The pages turn rapidly.

• Cons: One of the few e-readers for which library books are off-limits. You can’t add any more memory. Lending is limited and must be managed online. No color, no games.

Nook

• Cost: starts at $149

• Pros: I looked at Nook Color and the original Nook. The Color has top-notch Web browsing (but is Wi-Fi-only) and a great touch screen, but it eats batteries for lunch. You can lend books to other “Nookies” for two weeks, and, when you’re in a Barnes & Noble, you can read any book in its library free for an hour and access free Wi-Fi. Both have a good feel with the rubberized, nonslip back.

• Cons: At $250, why color but not video? And if you read a book on any Nook but then want to read it on your computer or your cell phone, they don’t sync – so you have lost your place.

Sony Reader Daily Edition

• Cost: $299

• Pros: Longer screen than most in a same-sized unit (and it’s one of the lightest), which makes it fun for newspapers and magazines. The graphics load fast. You can take notes and draw on it with a stylus, and it has one of the most extensive annotation setups. Comes with a cover.

• Cons: Noticeable screen glare. Sometimes the touch screen is just plain touchy, and the bookstore can be clunky and confusing to browse. It’s also a little pricey, although the cost has dropped since the unit hit the market.

Read the full review on Dispatch

Review of the Sony Reader Android app (teleread.com)

Product Review: Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-350

admin — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:08:42 +0000

: Image by Book Thingo via Flickr

It’s not often that a company reaches its user-base and gives them what they want; however, Sony has done this with its latest e-reader: the Pocket Edition PRS-350. It had seemed that Sony was failing hard with its e-reader line until the newest edition hit the market in 2010. It’s not just the sleek design of the pocket reader that captivates its reader; it’s also the newly added touch screen that works well with the E-Ink display – the previous Pocket Edition lacked this functionality.

It’s easy to get caught up in the touch screen display; after all, this feature makes anyone want to touch the screen to see it interact with their fingertips. However, the size of the reader is also important – since its large enough to be easy on the eyes but small enough to hold with one hand while relaxing on the couch. At a weight of only 5.47 ounces, it’s not only lightweight, but it’s also lighter than the third generation Amazon Kindle – which has a similar-sized screen.

Even though the Pearl E-Ink display is only 5″, the words are at a reasonable size. The font can also be adjusted using the font button; it magnifies the text from extra small to double the largest size. The only problem with this feature would be that it creates more page turns because of the display size. Set below the screen are buttons used to navigate pages, set the options, increase or decrease the font, and zoom in and out of the page. The power switch, as well as the built-in stylus, are located at the top of the device.

Whereas the previous PRS-600 had an unresponsive and glared screen, the PRS-350 has a brighter display with better contrast. The PRS-600 also had fuzzy text; the PRS-350 is very clear and offers crisp images. While panning PDFs on the new Pocket Edition is a little stiff, it is still a vast improvement over the past e-readers. There is no need for a hardware keyboard since all of the text can be entered using the on-screen keyboard. Although the pages can be turned using the buttons, a single swipe of the finger across the screen will flip the pages much like a real book.

While the Pocket Edition PRS-350 does not have 3G or Wi-Fi, it does make uploading books using the computer a quick and simple task; this is done with the micro-USB port. It holds 2GB of storage space built-in and has slots for both a memory stick and SD card. The PRS-350 is a real competitor to the Amazon Kindle, and the touch screen and size of this device makes it a real winner.

Sony: e-readers ‘selling out around the world’ (news.cnet.com)
Is Kindle the Best eReader? (brighthub.com)

Amazon unveils new Kindle, starting at $139

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:54:10 +0000

Just weeks after lowering the price of the Kindle e-book reader from $259 to $189, Amazon unveiled a fully revamped Kindle on Wednesday. It’s sleeker, better looking, easier on the eyes — and starts at $139.

This new Kindle, Amazon’s third generation, is smaller by 21 percent, and 15 percent lighter too. It has much improved contrast, 50 percent better than before, answering a significant complaint among dead-tree purists who compared the device’s e-ink screen unfavorably to real paper. It’s available in two colors: graphite and white.

Read the full story on MSNBC

Amazon unveils sleek third-generation Kindle (macworld.com)
Amazon launches a new Kindle, with modest improvements (blogs.consumerreports.org)

LEAK: The New Nook 1.2 Firmware You’ll See Later Today

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:21:19 +0000

Boomnews reports that the new Nook firmware 1.2 update should hit later today. Tweaks include:

• Enhanced in-store seamless connectivity to enjoy free Wi-Fi, with More In Store content promotions exclusively for Nook owners
• Improved opening of eBooks and ePeriodicals
• Improved response to Reading Now and Settings buttons
• Current reading page and bookmarks on all eBooks are properly saved when you power your Nook off
• Eligible LendMe eBooks in your library have LendMe flags
• Easier navigation of daily subscriptions with issues rolled into one folder
• Improved “back” button functionality for navigating eBooks and ePeriodicals
• Personal files downloaded and displayed in My Documents can be sorted by author and title
• Overall system improvements and battery optimization.

Barnes & Noble Nook E-Reader

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:04:01 +0000

Here are parts of the Nook’s review on PC Magazine that gave the Nook 4/5 stars:
The Barnes and Noble Nook E-Reader ($259 direct) will be difficult, perhaps even impossible, to find this holiday season, and that’s a real shame. With a clever second display that acts as a touch-screen interface, a huge library of titles, and instant wireless downloads via AT&T’s 3G network or Wi-Fi, the Nook might just be the most sophisticated e-Book reader on the market.
…
As I write this review, the Nook is sold out until the next batch of units arrive early next year. You can pre-order one online or at your local Barnes & Noble store. If you simply can’t resist buying an e-book reader this holiday season, and you want something to put under the tree, the tried, tested, and readily available Amazon Kindle is probably the way to go—and it’ll cost you the same $259 you’ll pay for the Nook. It is worth stopping by a Barnes & Noble store before you do, though, to try out a Nook. Once the company builds in book sharing, rolls out custom content for store visitors, and irons out some minor software kinks, the Nook could top the e-book best-seller list.

Is Barnes & Noble’s Nook a Kindle killer?

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:36:41 +0000

The Nook, billed as the first Android-powered e-book reader, features not only a 6-inch E-ink screen but a color touch screen that allows you to navigate content and also can turn into a virtual keyboard for searches. At launch, no separate Android apps will run on the device, but Barnes & Noble says that one of the reasons it chose Android to power the Nook is because it’s an open platform with a large developer community and that future apps are a possibility.
Like the Kindle, the Nook has a built-in 3G wireless connection (AT&T is the carrier) and a dictionary. However, the Nook also packs in Wi-Fi connectivity and a memory expansion slot–you get 2GB of internal memory, but can add up to a 16GB micro SD card.
It’s worth noting that initially Barnes & Noble said the WiFi connection would only work in its stores, where Nook owners would have have access to exclusive offers and free browsing of complete e-books. But later a PR person emailed us to say that, “The Wi-Fi connectivity will also work on other Wi-Fi networks to give you access to browse and download from the company’s digital store at fast broadband speeds.”
The Nook does weigh an ounce more than the Kindle (11.2 ounces vs. 10.2 ounces) and can’t match the Kindle’s battery life (10 days vs. 14 days). And while it does play back MP3 audio and has a built-in speaker, it doesn’t have the Kindle’s text-to-speech feature or a Web browser.
Read the Full review on Cnet.