Engadget's back to school guide: E-readers
By Tim Stevens 
posted August 13th 2010 1:19PM
posted August 13th 2010 1:19PM
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we have e-readers in our sights -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month.
Yes, it's the next round of buying advice for those of you condemned to start hitting the books at the end of the summer. But, with one of these e-readers, you might just have fewer books to hit -- or at least lighter ones. Sadly most schools are still dependent on texts of the pulpy variety, but that doesn't mean an e-reader can't make your life a lot easier at school, and possibly even save you some money if you're reading the classics.
On the cheap
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A (nearly) full-featured e-reader for under $140? Serious readers now have the ability to choose whether they want to pay for that ability to download from anywhere, and the $50 savings over the 3G model makes this Kindle hard to beat -- put another way its almost a third less expensive. The design of the Kindle is about the best and the new, more contrasty Pearl screen from E Ink makes it even easier on the eyes. See our full review of the earlier 3G edition. |
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WiFi Nook If you want something different or really like to share, the WiFi Nook is not a bad choice. Full review, $149 at Barnes & Noble |
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Sony Reader Pocket Edition If size and cost are your motivators and you don't want a Kindle, this is probably your best bet. $136 at Amazon |
Mid-range
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If you have a little more to spend it's a tough call here, but some of the additional features of the Sony Reader Daily Edition make it solid choice. Its screen is a bit bigger (though murkier), touch is a nice addition, but best of all it can check books straight out of the library. Sure, it didn't review well when it was first released, but that was when it was $400. At under $250 it's a solid choice. |
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3G Kindle If that's a bit too rich or you absolutely need the brightest screen possible, the 3G Kindle will do you well. Full review, $189 from Amazon |
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3G Nook Android lovers and tinkerers, here's another option for you. Full review, $199 from Barnes & Noble |
Money's no object
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The Kindle DX is large, but if you have room in your satchel and don't mind a little extra heft when reading it is the one to have. And, as we recently found in our review, the new version with the Pearl display makes it even more of a pleasure to read. See our full review. |
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Spring Design Alex The Alex is a lovely thing and having a full browser in your reader is sweet. Full review, $399 from Spring Design |
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BeBook Neo This reader looks to be an interesting alternative to the Kindle, but with a $300 price and specs that don't exactly blow away the Kindle 2, it's a bit of a hard sell right now. $299 from BeBook |
Just ordered the small wifi kindle for my GF last night, I know she'll love it since she's into reading.
what about the entourage edge? It has textbooks unlike many of these other platforms. Last time I checked students use textbooks.
Engadget - thank you SO much for this guide to e-readers. Your constant coverage of every single e-reader to hit the market - no matter which crappy no-name company makes it - has done nothing to satisfy boundless appetite for information regarding the latest product to be made obsolete by Apple. THANKX!
Nice photo-shopped image of the Sony POS-900. I've had one for months and under no lighting I have ever encountered does the screen appear that white or that glare-free. More of a murky gray color in which the sort of black fonts get lost except on large text size. Avoid. Not worth the lowered price of $250 IMO.
@johnc22
it's not call the POS for no reason.
Surprised there is no iPad. Personally, after using it, all these other eReaders seem boring. Unless there are some major revisions, anything but an iPad even isn't a contender to me. Charging it once per day isn't a huge deal, since I already have to do that for my MacBook, iPod, and Cell Phone.
@Vince730
e-ink.
Oh, the poor NOOK, always the bridesmaid, never the bride...
I have a NOOK (updated to 1.4), and after playing with it, the Kindle 2, and the Sony pocket e-readers, it blows them all away with the sheer number of features available before jailbreaking it.
You can check out library books on the NOOK, too. You can't do that with the Kindle! Imho, I'd rather spend the extra $10 for that feature alone, which I believe makes it the better "budget" e-reader.
Engadget, you should really update your NOOK review with the 1.4 software, it fixes just about all of the complaints you had back in December, adds a fairly competent webkit-based web browser and beefs up the navigation experience.
@mykie242 I agree. I've had a nook since the initial release and at first, it was buggy. It was clearly rushed to the market, but Barnes and Noble has done a great job of getting it fixed. I can't think of anything else I would want from it now.
The textbook publishers need to hurry up and join us in the 21st century. I'm going back to school for the first time in about 5 years, and I thought for sure I'd be able to get some/most of my books in e-reader compatible formats by now. Sadly the only ebook versions I could find were locked into some idiotic DRM and only viewable with a PC or iPhone. I would happily pay full price (or more) for the convenience of replacing 40 lbs of books with a Kindle.
@Ben F Best I've seen so far is with Nookstudy, but it has DRM. I doubt the textbook publishers will ever do away with DRM. I think they know students are strapped for cash as it is and won't bat an eye sharing the books instead of paying for them. It's not the same as music.
Waiting for color e-ink or touchable e-reader (perhaps in Q4 2010...now).
I wish take notes on my e-school books with pen and a multiplatform app to do that like Mendeley.
@benazhack Sony has a touch screen ereader
@ClothoBuer6293 You have right. Perhaps for me too much little, 6 inch are really little. I have a 2710p as tpc but i need smth to read more thin and lightweight. I wish sony make smth bigger and someone start to offer a multiplatform app for distribute books like amazon whispernet.
Waiting for that.
I baught a nook wifi for tech manuals (o'reilley series etc) and datasheets (ie datasheets for microcontrollers) for uni. The device couldnt handle to formatting of either. Very happy i sold it and baught hard copies of all the books. On a side note, this is only for technical documents, im sure e-readers are fine if you are doing english literature as opposed to computer science,
@alex101uk I bought a Nook a while back with the same intent. My textbooks came with ebook copies and I also wanted it for datasheets and the occasional O'Reilly or PragProg.com book. Anything finer than single column 12pt fonts it chokes on. And because eink updates so slowly there's no pan&zoom like I use when I look at these on my Nexus One.
The latest firmware and the recent drop to $150 had me considering buying one again, but instead I'm holding out for a good multitouch Android tablet.
why do you call this article as a GUIDE??????
If I was just looking for a price of all the e-readers it would take 5 min max to figure it out
If I was just looking for a links to full individual review of each product then 5 min to search on google or on engadget to get all those links
I was hoping to see based on the title a comparison of features on each device that students look for!!!! am I missing something here??????
When is that kindle 3 review coming? Or have Amazon not sent you one?
I love my Nook and I think it beats out the other e-readers currently available in terms of functionality and design, with one exception: Note taking is a pain with the Nook. It works fine, but it is very slow if you're trying to highlight specific areas or insert notes into specific spots. I can't imagine using the Nook for school unless you just don't take notes in what you're reading, or if you're prepared to take them separately.
@Nugent +1 for the Nook. Works great with my LA public library account, and does a fair job with non-standard PDFs that I transfer to its memory.
But for taking notes? Yeah, forget about it.
@Tammacho
Glad you mentioned that Tammacho. The Sony Reader and B&N nook work perfectly with the public library "overdrive" collections around the country. None of these digital books work with the Kindle or iPad (flash from Adobe Digital Editions is used to "check out" - DRM, the library eBooks).
For a Back-to-School student, hundreds of free public library would be a big plus.
I have also heard of a ereader called "Apple iPad", which runs both a Kindle app, a eBooks app and some other stuff. It would be nice if you could run a review on it.
@pro2type
I've never heard of an "e-reader" called iPad.
@pro2type
Why you don't also suggest all the smart phones and netbooks in the world? Every smart phone and networks in the world is an 'e-reader' in your point of view, right?
A device that cannot read like a book is NOT a e-reader. Many people can look at a LCD screen but not much people can hold the ipad stare at it for more than 10 hours (non-stop) without their eyes and hands feeling tired.
http://assets.unclutterer.com/wp-content/uploads/100621-mole1.jpg
Just this out guys, and what do you think? Its a kindle case designed by moleskine, with a reporter's notepad on one side, available for both little Kindles and Kindle DXs. I'm thinking of getting this and a Kindle DX for textbooks. That is, IF they get my Chemistry textbook into electronic format by the time college starts. >:(
Otherwise, hell, paper still works.
@krazmych
I can't see myself using an ebook for a science class. Sometimes, you need full-color diagrams or color-coded graphs. And it's hard to do homework when you can't quickly flip through a chapter, the glossary, or a bunch of tables for information.
When I took chemistry a couple years ago, I always needed to refer back to the periodic table, a table of conversion factors, and a table of thermodynamic information (e.g., enthalpy and entropy). I can't imagine that being an easy task on an e-reader, even with bookmarks and annotations in place.
I have the Kobo and don't have complaints. I do nearly all of my reading on it. The Kobo selection is fantastic, better than Amazon. It was the cheapest e-reader for awhile, but the other companies have dropped their prices. The unit isn't fancy and doesn't have audio, video or other luxuries. It's just for reading books or other documents. I have converted other formats (such as Word .doc) which I can read on the Kobo.
Surprised they didn't list the HypePad as an ereader.
Now how do you navigate the pages on the Kindle with the rest of the class ?
How come you did not include the KOBO reader in your article?
@bkod
probably because it was the one that has the least bang per buck of all the other readers. except the BeBook....
To not include the iPad because it isn't a dedicated e-reader would be like not including the PS3 when comparing blu-ray players because it is not a dedicated blu-ray player.
Two of the biggest advantages iPad has over the Kindle for reading is color and a desktop-class PDF reader. Considering school books would more then likely have pictures and/or graphs/charts not having color to display those would be a major disadvantage. Considering that the Kindle App itself on the iPad supports color and they sell e-books on Amazon with color you have to take that into consideration.
@devon
You can't see the iPad's LCD backlit screen when you're outside in the sun.
The iPad weighs significantly more, and is way more tiring to hold for extended periods.
The iPad has a short battery life.
The iPad can't side-load unless you use a third-party e-reader program. Apple's iBooks is locked down tight.
The iPad is more expensive, more fragile, and large enough that it's not convenient to just stick in a coat pocket or purse. It requires a protective case if you plan to take it with you into the real world.
The iPad battery must be replaced by Apple.
The iPad requires a proprietary charger instead of a using a standard mini USB connection.
The iPad's LCD screen is murder on the eyes if you're trying to read a whole novel. You might not get a headache, but your eyesight does risk being damaged by staring into a back-lit device that is being held less than a foot from your face (unlike your desktop/laptop LCD, which is typically about two feet away at least).
That being said, the iPad does have color, so if you're not a reader (i.e. someone who reads NOVELS, without illustrations), but want to view your textbooks or manga or comic books, it's a good choice... As long as you stay inside on sunny days and take breaks every two hours (which will be easy, since your iPad's battery will go dead around that time).
@ZeroCorpse
Unless the screen is in DIRECT sunlight I have no problem reading the iPad outside on a sunny day.
I'm not sure what you mean by short battery life since I have used it every day for a couple weeks at a time without needing to recharge it. The 10 hour battery time listed for it is for 10 hours of playing MOVIES continuously which is far more taxing on a system then simply reading a book.
Amazon has the Kindle App available for it for free if you do not like the iBooks App (which also has to be download just like the Kindle App). Barnes and Noble also has their own app for the iPad so you already have access to 3 sources of books whereas the Kindle is locked in tight to the Amazon only books.
The Kindle DX is actually LARGER then the iPad even though they both have the same screen size.
The iPad does weigh around 5 oz more but does use an aluminum case instead of plastic.
"The iPad requires a proprietary charger instead of a using a standard mini USB connection. "
The connector on the iPad itself is proprietary, the other end is standard USB for charging.
"The iPad's LCD screen is murder on the eyes if you're trying to read a whole novel. "
Perhaps this causes problems for you but I know of quite a few people who sold their Kindle DX and replaced it with an iPad and love it. The Kindle does require a second source of lighting for you to read in dimly lit areas whereas the iPad does not. The lighting is fully adjustable so can be made very dim so you can actually read in the dark unlike the Kindle.
The Sony PRS-600 Touch (Daily) edition is 169$ at the moment. So it's basically even cheaper.
I hope the trend goes to making them bigger. That Sony seems cool...
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Luis Torrao
http://www.luistorrao.com
@Luis Torrao Well, I think portability is something that's quite important with an E-Reader, but that's just my opinion.
My vote is for the Nook.
ePub, WiFi, and decent PDF support makes it a better choice than Kindle. I liked my Kindle a lot, but it just doesn't support the standards, and as such, you can't check out library e-books, and your buying choices are limited. The Nook's support for DRM'd e-Reader and ePub means more choices and public library support via Adobe Digital Editions.
Also, the Nook's controls are better than the Kindle. It's really nice to swipe the touch screen with a finger to turn pages, and the buttons are less sensitive than the Kindle, which means fewer accidental page-turns.
Kindle is great, but you'd better be sure the books you want are available in AZW format, or in a non-DRM format so you can convert them to your Kindle. And just give up on the hope of borrowing library books; Amazon has no intention of supporting that.
Thanks for posting.
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http://cheapcardirect.com
I still use physical books...does that make me old?