The two most established brands in the eBook reader market are the Amazon Kindle 2 and the Sony Reader. The Sony Reader is launching a new digital eBook reader to compete directly with the Kindle 2. How will the two stack up this holiday season?
Different models of Sony Reader- The Sony Reader now has 3 different models of e-book readers: Touch Edition, Daily Edition and Pocket Edition. The “Daily Edition” is the newest model to be released soon and pre-orders are being taken as of this writing.
Kindle 2 and Sony Reader Daily Edition screens- Both the Kindle 2 and the Sony Reader use E-Ink technology, which reflects light so that writing appears sharp on the screen. The text can be resized on both devices to any size you want.
Touch screen Sony Reader – The ‘Daily Edition’ will have a touch screen for use and navigation. Some are praying for this as a Kindle 2 advantage. The Kindle 2 has button navigation. One needs to really think about what is best here! When you’re reading, you might want to hold the reader in many different positions, right? Will a touch screen interfere with this? Are buttons a more robust approach to navigation for an eBook reader? Customer reviews will tell over time.
Wireless Capabilities/ 3G- Both the Kindle 2 and the Reader Daily Edition have wireless capabilities. So you can download books and other publications in any area with wireless access. It is worth mentioning that other models of Sony Readers DO NOT provide this feature. You have to connect it to the computer and download it via USB from the Sony website.
Both the NEW Sony model and the Kindle 2 will have 3G cellular service for those times when you can’t access the wireless network. If not, they will connect to edge or gprs system to download when 3G is not available.
Taking notes- Sony Daily Edition comes with a stylus and allows you to take notes in the book, just like a real book.
International Capacities- Amazon’s Kindle 2 is available in more than 100 countries, while Sony’s Reader Daily Edition does not offer international service. This could be a huge advantage in the competition for the Kindle 2.
Prices- Finally, we talk about prices. The Daily Edition is currently priced at $399.99, while the Kindle 2 is priced at $259.00.