Trying to choose between the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader is no easy task! This is made even more difficult by the fact that there are fans on both sides of the argument. The best thing for you to do is to look at the facts for yourself to make your decision.
The first factor that comes to your mind would likely be the price. Both devices are similarly priced, although the newest Sony model, the PRS700, at slightly less than $400 costs about $40 more than the $359 Kindle. While both models are not cheap, the Kindle has the advantage in price.
In the decision between the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader content should be taken into consideration. The Kindle flat out wins in this department, their store has 190,000 books available, compared to only 60,000 at Sony. The Kindle Store also offers newspapers, magazines, and blogs, while the Store does not. In Sony’s defense, their book library is expected to be at 100,000 in the coming year, still some 90,000 short of the Kindle Store though.
The next issue that may be of concern is the visual aspects of each. Which one provides a better visual experience when reading or when displaying information to others? Because both readers make use of the e-ink technology, the experience is similar to that of reading from regular paper. You feel like you are reading from the pages of a traditional book and you are less likely to suffer from eyestrain.
As far as looks, the Sony Reader is far superior to the Kindle. The thing that most people hate about the Kindle is its dated look. It looks like a product of the ’90′s, not 2008! In comparison, the Sony Reader 700 has a far more appealing look, similar to that of an iPod. This is more in line with a device marketed in 2008.
The Sony Reader does have a touch screen display and Sony would appear to have the advantage, however the kindle isn’t out of the running. Sony’s model isn’t as sharp as the kindle, and the contrast is also worse. Both books are still very readable, but the Amazon Kindle comes in slightly ahead in readability because Sony had to put an additional touch screen layer on top of the existing e-ink screen layer. However the Sony’s touch screen is also a convenient step forward in ebook reader technology.
You can increase the font size in both of these readers. This is good for those occasions when you have difficulties reading small print. The Sony Reader 700 has a slight edge over the Kindle in that it comes with a LED back-light for reading in low light conditions. While this at first instance sounds great because there is no longer the need for a clip-on light, reviewers have complained that the back light performs poorly and even, at times, makes reading more difficult due to its adverse effects on text contrast and visibility.
Fortunately, both readers are only about ten ounces. This is good news to those who don’t want to carry something large and awkward around. Instead, it would be like carrying around a small paperback novel. For this reason, many will find the readers great for travel. If size was the main factor for you, the Sony reader is slightly smaller than the Kindle. Smaller is good for those who want the convenience of carrying a small device, though sometimes bigger is better.
Where these two devices really separate is the ease with which you can download books and get them on your reader. With Sony you have to download them to your PC, hook up a USB cable, transfer the files to your reader, and then open them. With the Kindle you don’t need a computer thanks to its free wireless capabilities. You simply connect to the Kindle Store, find the book you want, click a few buttons, and within a minute or so it’s there for you. The Kindle is definitely easier in this regard.
A very important feature to consider is available storage space. For the average user, both products have more than enough storage space, allowing you to store more than 200 books. But the Sony Reader can store more books than the Kindle; in addition, larger external memory cards can be used with it resulting in significantly more storage capacity than that available in the Kindle. So if you buy many books or need to refer to many, the Sony Reader may offer an advantage in this area.
And finally and most importantly, it is within your great interest to take responsibility for managing the eBook formats you choose to utilize on each device. Although both tools have been designed to work with their own proprietary formats, only the Amazon reader also interfaces with the highly preferred MOBI file format. So if you have MOBI files, your choice of readers is a no-brainer.
So now you have a comparison of all the features of the top two ebook readers currently available. Each person must decide which reader suits him/her best, because each of us has different preferences. Consider all the information regarding the various features to determine which you prefer. But the majority of people go with the Amazon Kindle because of its unparalleled content availability and wireless capabilities.
