Kindle's Best Features and Cost Vs. Sony Reader EBook
The Scoop on the Greatest "Green" Electronic Book
An eBook is an electronic book device that is perfect for those who love to read books or periodicals. Even if you are not as avid a reader as you once were, it's worth looking into purchasing an eBook. Amazon's Kindle is a well-known digital book reader and books are their specialty.
Three newer Sony Readers, also popular, have intensified competition since Kindle has only 2 current generations on the market.
Portability, wireless book and periodical downloads, saving trees, convenience and word definitions at your fingertips are just a few reasons one might want an eBook.
Save space by carrying your library with you wherever you go. Even better - No more waiting for books to come out on paperback and eBooks will be cheaper to download than buying a hardcopy.
What are the best features of Kindle?
Kindle's latest generation and Kindle DX have every book and publication you would find in a bookstore, online or library right at your fingertips. Preview books for free. Amazon's niche is, after all, books. Sony's eBook store falls seriously short compared to Kindle's.
With awesome navigation functionality, Kindle has the best scrolling ability, the largest text options, and self-publishing capability. The deciding factor on which Kindle product to buy: price, your personal preferences and which attributes are most important to you.
The new Kindle DX has the largest display screen available but weighs almost twice as much as other devices. The DX is compatible with PDF, MP3 and TXT open formats and boasts the highest storage capacity.
No wireless set-up or computer necessary but be sure to check Kindle's wireless coverage in your area before buying (provided by Sprint's Whispernet)!!
Kindle features compared to the Sony Reader:
The Sony Reader Touch Edition features a touch screen, not surprisingly based on its name, as does the Daily Edition. Kindle does not have a touch screen version. Both the Sony Daily and Kindle DX have the ability to switch from landscape to portrait orientations.
The biggest factor separating the Sony Reader from the Kindle is content delivery. Sony supports a greater variety of text files. If you already have a plethora of documents you want to upload to your new eBook or want to borrow eBooks from libraries, go with Sony or pay per document transfer with Kindle.
The ability to download only from Amazon could hurt the selling power of Kindle. People don't want to be limited by format specifications. Although, I am sure there are ways around this...we won't go there. For a list of compatible file types for Kindle, click here.
Pricing and Display Size (Shipping is offered free by both Sony and Amazon.)
Often, the most important factor of all is getting the best bang for the buck.
The latest generation Kindle (6" display) sells on Amazon for $259 and is most comparable to the Sony Pocket Edition (5" display), which sells for $180.
Kindle DX (9.7" display) is priced at $459. The Sony Reader Touch Edition (6" display) is $300 and the Sony Daily Edition (7" display) sells for $400.
Summary:
Kindle and Sony offer wonderful digital ebook readers, it's simply a matter of what best suits your purpose. If you want content delivery options and the ability to borrow books from libraries, choose one of Sony's 3 available Readers with the features that meet your requirement.
If price is not a factor for you, go for the Kindle DX. Getting the model that is right for you is a matter of matching your desired attributes and functionality with the unit.
Personally, I think Sony and Amazon should collaborate and join forces to produce the next perfect eBook. It will be nice when the price of the digital book finally goes down.
Sources:
Amazon's Kindle Wireless Reading Device (latest generation)
Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device (global wireless latest generation)
Published by Ranee Wright
Professional writer; movie and music connoisseur. Featured Movie Contributor on Associated Content. Featured computer and internet contributor on Xomba. View profile
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12 Comments
Post a CommentI was amazed when I found out that the orginal Kindle did not support PDF files! I would have to have that feature.
Great review and comparisons on these products.
Nice job on this.
Thanks for this great info
Great Article. With high-priced electronics, I always buy from the higher qualified of the two, even though it is generally more expensive. For instance, I'm on my way to purchasing a macbook simply because Apple is generally more responsive to help than HP or another PC creator. Same with iPods over Zunes. I am not a very wealthy person, but when it comes to my electronics I'm willing to save - and wait.
Great article, Ranee. But, darn it, I just LOVE the feel of a REAL book. The smell of a real book. And the fact that I use the library extensively, which means I only purchase books I will use for reference or a particularly wonderful volume of a classic. But, I am enticed to look more closely at them...
I really love my Kindle :)
Thanks for the information. I currently read books on my Palm. It's very outdated, though.
This is a good review that compares both products equally. I personally have an older sony reader than is currently available, and absolutely love it. If a person travels alot, and wouldn't be able to have a computer handy to get books, then the Kindle would be the better option. I personally have nearly 100 books on my sony right now, and even I can't read 100 books so fast that I couldn't wait out a weekend or even a week long trip, but that's me.
Good info-someday I will probably get one but for now happy to hold books in my hands to read them