Best e-book Readers

If you are an avid bookworm then you may want to consider buying an electronic e-book reader, but with such a choice of devices opting for one that meets all of your needs can be confusing. Below is my brief comparison of the most recent devices.

Amazon Kindle (New Edition)

Amazon UK are launching a new version of their device in August.

 At present Kindle users are restricted to purchasing books from the US Amazon site but the UK ebook site will be launching soon. The device is smaller and lighter than previous versions and has Wi-Fi or if you want to pay a little more free 3G and Wi-Fi. It boasts enough memory to store 3,500 books, a web browser, text to speech and an increased battery life. It also now supports the following formats:


unprotected Microsoft Word (DOC, DOCX), PDF, HTML, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PRC and MOBI files.

What it doesn't seem to have is a touch screen or memory slots.

Sony Touch Edition – PRS600

I own one of these devices and I like it for the following reasons:

It has a responsive touch screen with stylus.

It has two memory slots for a Sony MS Duo card and an SD card.

It reads a wide variety of formats.

It has a good battery life.

It has a built in dictionary, notes and annotations functions.

You can use Sony Connect to purchase and download music to the device

The only downside is that I've found the Sony software to be a bit buggy so I use a free application called Calibre.

 Apple iPad

The recently released Apple iPad has a free downloadable iBooks application. There are several disadvantages to using this device as an e-book reader. Documents have to be transferred via iTunes as the device has no USB connection. Battery life isn’t as impressive as other dedicated devices and the glare of the colour screen is harsher on the eye than the e-ink devices. While the device has many other features I would not purchase it for that functionality.

BeBook Neo

The BeBook Neo, like the Kindle, has Wi-Fi, supports most formats, has a notes and sketching application and can also store and play MP3 files. Unlike the Kindle it also has a touch screen. It also has no memory slots for expansion.

Buy the Bebook Neo 

Cybook Opus

The Cybook Opus is a smaller, more lightweight device than the others and also has a touch screen and a Micro SD memory slot. However document formats are limited to epub and PDF.

Cool-Er Classic

Cool-Er Classic supports multiple file formats. It also has a memory for a 4GB SD card but no touch screen.


Buy the Cool-Er Classic

Elonex 511EB

This device was originally sold by Borders but it now available at Waterstones. Looks wise it resembles the original Kindle and has text-to-speech and a QWERTY keyboard. It is packaged with a 4GB Micro SD card, notes and annotation functionality but no touch screen.


Buy the Elonex 511EB at Waterstones

 So if you want a touch screen device then the Sony PRS660, BeBook Neo and Cybook Opus may be the choice for you. If you want Wi-Fi then the Amazon Kindle or BeBook Neo would be good choices. Then again if you are concerned about expansion then the Sony PRS600, Elonex 511EB, Cool-er Classic may be the devices for you.

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