The Reading Edge Podcast

I purchased four e-book copies of Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel–one each for Sony Reader, Kobo, nook, and Kindle–in order to compare the reading experience for the same book on four leading e-readers. After eliminating the devices that do not offer dictionary, notes, and highlights, the tournament ends with a nook v. Kindle battle through five tests. You’ll learn which device was the victor, as well as many details about the reading experience on competing e-readers. Recorded in Cambridge, Mass., on August 15, 2010, before release of the Kindle 3 and nook 2.

Click here for the Inkmesh listings of Wolf Hall at the four e-book stores mentioned in podcast.

Click here for a review of Wolf Hall in The New Yorker.

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I pre-ordered an Aluratek Libre PRO e-reader for $119.99 and picked it up yesterday (July 22, 2010) at the South Portland, Maine, Borders Store. Store General Manager Gail Sanborn was kind enough to video the unboxing using my iPhone 4. The Libre looked pretty impressive in the bright sunlight outside the store, and in the bright light of the store itself. When I got it back to the cottage, I was surprised to see how less clear and contrasty it was compared with the Barnes & Noble nook and the Kindle. Advantage, e Ink, and that’s even before I’ve had a chance to compare battery life, which is apparently about 24 hours compared with upwards of two weeks for the e Ink competitors, depending on wireless use.   You load everything onto the Libre with the USB cable, as is the case with the Kobo and most of the Sony Readers.

Still, this is a nice design – very light at 8 ounces. Borders is also carrying the Kobo and Sony Reader Pocket Edition, two competing e-readers using E Ink, both priced at $149.99. The price is the most dramatic breakthrough, but for $30 more I’d go for the Kobo and leave the Libre as a worthwhile experiment that shows why the E Ink screen, at this point, still rules the world of dedicated e-readers. I prefer the Kobo to the Sony Reader Pocket, because the smaller screen size of the Sony Reader makes it less pleasing to read on, in my opinion, and the Kobo has a friendlier, less techy design with a cute blue control button and a soft-to-the touch quilted back.

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The Kobo Reader, at $150, costs less than the Kindle 6-inch and the nook, and does less, too. But the Kobo’s svelte profile and light weight make it convenient for reading in some settings. In all, it’s an attractive new entry in the e-book sweepstakes. All three of these e-ink readers have advantages over the iPad, which I find I’m using less and less for reading books.

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My take on Spring Design’s Alex e-reader, recorded in Cambridge, Mass., on May 4, 2010.  With comparison’s to the Barnes & Noble nook and Amazon’s Kindle.

One thing I did not mention in this video is that the nook is running the new 1.3 operating software, which added web browsing and other features.

Click here to download this episode.

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Unboxing an Alex by Spring Design and comparing its size factor with a nook, a Kindle, and an iPad. Plus: a fire alarm.

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My review of the BookGem eBook holder, which I purchased for $14.95 from BookGem.com . In the video I demonstrate how it works with a Kindle, a nook, a Sony Reader Daily Edition, and a Kindle DX. The only one I tried that did not work well with this useful holder was my original Kindle, because the spring-loaded clamps landed on the keyboard.

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This is the unboxing video for my Sony Reader Daily Edition, which arrived today, with side-by-side comparisons with my Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble nook.  (Don’t worry about the black screen; if you click on it the video will play.)

My wife Darlene and agreed that, on first impression, the Daily Edition’s screen readability is markedly inferior to that of the Kindle and nook.  Of the latter two, we found that the nook’s contrast seems slightly better, because the background to the text is lighter.  See for yourself in the video.

The Daily Edition is gorgeous, but it feels like a different animal in the eBook jungle.  It feels like a machine, a handsomely designed machine, but one better suited for a corporate road warrior than a bookish reader.  For example, I doubt there will be a big market for pretty skins and fancy covers for the Daily Edition, whose official name is PRS-900BC.  It’s just not that sort of device.  Plus, it already comes with a cover that’s attached to it, and I haven’t figured out yet if you can remove it to make way for something that, say, Oberon or M-Edge Accessories might create for it.

That said, I’m looking forward to playing with the Daily Edition. The touch screen seems much more responsive to that of the nook’s lower panel. It failed to find the Sony Reader Store tonight while we were in the dining room.  Just to check the competition, I fired up the Kindle and it found the mothership in seconds.

The Daily Edition isn’t cheap. At $399 it bears a hefty $140 premium over the Kindle and the nook.

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