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 |
Unless you can get textbooks, related text, and texts on it
for the years in question, e readers are kindaa redundant.
@Jordo1234
oh and first, NAW just kidding, people who say first are dickheads :D
@Jordo1234
Even if you could, this is one area where textbooks are just better to have.
@Jordo1234
Uhm...wrong? We read over 20 books in English class last year. An E-book would be great for this. No all classes use text books.
@cprender Yes, in ENGLISH class. What about classes requiring books with diagrams, charts, tables etc. eReaders are fine for literature, but textbooks are unsuitable, at least until colour eReaders come out.
@OliverTaylor
not all textbooks have charts and whatnot. For one, my Econ textbooks are pretty much solid text and formulas.
@Jordo1234
And automobiles are kind of redundant compared to bicycles ... and walking. That doesn't prevent people that have the means from buying automobiles.
@Jordo1234
I can get 3 textbooks this semester on the Kindle App!
@bravokiloromeo
Actually, that's a good point.
The Kindle is more than just a device, it's an entire book ecosystem. You buy the book, and you have it via your Kindle device, the Kindle applications for the Desktop/Laptop, iPhone, Android. Having a Kindle does not preclude the ability to see a color e-textbook, as far as I can see.
But the point at this point is not "which" reader to buy, it's whether you want to buy one at all for your purposes.
@bravokiloromeo
Wonder what they will resell for after the semester is over?
This is the biggest problem with eReaders. Most people do recycle their books. Whether that is through checking content out at a library, reselling old text books, or just passing on a recently finished novel to a family member. Someone is going to make a ton of money when they figure out how to transfer a title from one device to another with a minimal surcharge.
That's the only reason I don't have an eReader. I go through 2 books a week. Out of those, only maybe 20% are bought. The others come from libraries, used book stores, or friends/family.
It makes me kinda sad that I'll have graduated before an e-reader/tablet is released with a Mirasol (or comparable tech) screen as large as a letter/A4 sheet of paper, with support for the textbooks I need for my degree. Heck, since I'm done with lab sciences anyway, even if it came out tomorrow, I'm not sure I could justify it. But I like to imagine a world where you can "lease", for a year, a heavy/expensive textbook for about $50. Instead of carrying 2-4 textbooks a day, depending on which homework I haven't finished or which test I haven't studied for yet, I could carry a thin, lightweight reader along with my laptop and be all set.
Kinda brings a happy tear to my eye... :.-)
@Jordo1234
I would LOVE to have thiis in class!
"teacher,my textbook died" :)
@Jordo1234
No one has discussed the text/language capabilities of these e-readers yet. Engadget, please review the usefulness and availability of texts in Asian and Cyrillic fonts. That ancient Greek isn't going to read itself.
@snowrid3r
Teachers aren't so forgiving. Your laptop crashed? Your printer ran out of ink? Your e-reader died? You should've been prepared.
One of the most important lessons to learn in college is to accept responsibility for problems that you certainly could have prevented. Always carry an extra battery or a charger with you, always keep back-ups, and always have a secondary way of printing out papers.
@cardfan I'm giving Nookstudy a try instead. I think that route works better. The Ereaders seem to be good for pure reading, but they're not up to the task of studying material. I do have some (minor) gripes about my math books, but I think that's more the publisher's fault than the platform itself. I would be awesome it if textbooks would integrate LaTeX, but I'm willing to bet they don't have the metadata in place for it yet.
@bjsguess When was the last time you tried selling textbooks at the end of the semester?
When I was in school (just a few years ago), maybe 20% of my books were sold at the end of each semester, and those only sold for about 20% of what I paid for them. Book publishers have deals with universities to use the most current edition of their textbook, so when the school starts using a newer edition, they stop buying back the now 'old' edition. It was very frustrating. I had a stack of books one semester, none of which I could sell back.
If eReaders were available when I went to school, I would have wanted to use them for textbooks. Also, eReaders are perfectly capable of displaying charts and graphs, just not in color (yet). The way I see it, an iPad would be perfect to replace college textbooks, but an eReader would suffice. Much better than lugging around a messenger bag with 30 pounds of books.
No iPad :) Personally I count it as a e-reader. I'm onto the second LOTR book on it after deciding I have to try a e-reader :)
@OliverBarker
Not to mention there's a Kindle App for the iPad. You get all of the benefits of the Kindle (minus e-ink) plus a whole lot more. Obviously the iPad costs more, but if I'm putting $379 down for an e-reader, I'd rather take the time to save the extra $120 for the iPad. Seems to me like the added features of the iPad are worth the premium. Just sayin...
@OliverBarker
just because it can read ebooks doesn't mean it's an ereader. That would mean, my dell and my mbp are both ereaders, as well as my phone. and the iphone is not an ereader, nor are android phones. we're talking about dedicated devices.
Besides, being able to spend more than 1 day on a book without worrying about recharging the battery is also one of the other things that makes real ereaders what they are.
I would agree with the poster from earlier who said, it's still not as good as having an actual text book. A textbook usually means, alot of abuse and flipping through the pages, so an ereader might be nice to reduce the bulk, but the format and the extras in the textbook becomes something that is hard to give up when you go on an ereader.
@GMoney
You normally read books that weigh about 2lbs (as an ipad does with case)? Besides, the 140.00 Kindle is much better for reading.
The added features (and extra cost) of an ipad are a waste if you're carrying around a high end android or iphone.
@GMoney In my opinion, e-ink really is THE feature that makes an e-reader an e-reader.
@MiketheVee A iPad is a decent e-reader. There is a kindle app, not to mention ibooks. Its fairly light, its not a MBP dude. Thats a silly comparison. the iPad has the job of being an e-reader. And it does it well. I found it very easy to sit down with it on my lap and read a PDF magazine or book.
@Ksult1
I agree. Reading on a LCD is tough & produces eye strain. Can't wait till they have e-inc & a backlit LCD that you can turn off in one. That's the product that will take the market by storm. The Ipad screen is amazing but for reading, i'm all eink
@GMoney
The biggest problem I've had with using the iPad as a reader is that it doesn't work outside. The screen is hard to read and it overheats quickly in the sun... Hopefully something that can be fixed in the next couple iterations.
@OliverBarker
i have 2 iPads and i find it much too heavy to hold and read on for a long period of time. and the 3G version costs $900 (including tax) compared to the new Kindle 3G which costs v$189. there's also something for the view that having a multi-purpose 'tablet' encourages students to surf the web or play a game, rather than focus on a reading assignment. don't want to start a religious war - different strokes for different folks.
@OliverBarker
the thing is, the ipad is not an ereader. it's a tablet computer. By your definition of an ereader, anything that can read ebooks are ereaders, therefore practically any modern day electronic device with a screen and the right software is one as well hence my computers, my cell phone, and any other piece of software that i might have that has a screen and the software is suddenly an ereader.
As others have noted, the biggest draw of having a real ereader is the screen. You read it like a book, it is made to feel like a book, you dont have to worry about battery power, sunlight, overheating, etc. That and because it is much smaller and alot lighter than the ipad. I can pull out my kindle and read anywhere anytime without having to find a place to rest my device because it can get real heavy over time.
@cardfan
All I'm saying is that if I'm ponying up for a Kindle or a Nook, I'm already putting up a couple hundred bucks. There is SO much more an iPad (or any tablet for that matter) does that in my mind, it makes sense to pay a little more and get the browser, email, movies, etc... Kindle, Nook are too honed in for my taste. They remind me of that one email-only device (Peek, I think it is called). Email only wouldn't cut it for me in a device. In the same regard, ebooks "only" (and I say only because it is the only thing a Kindle or Nook does all that well) don't cut it in a device like this. That's just my opinion though. I've got a father-in-law that would hate an iPad but is salivating over a Kindle. To each their own.
@OliverBarker
And by the same logic, my 2 inch backlit MP3 player is an e-reader. It displays text, and I even tried using it as a reader.. guess how many books I didn't read on it.
Yes.. we all know that the iPad is being represented as an e-book reader. And it's magical and beautiful and runs on unicorn spit..
But it isn't the same as a dedicated reader. Get over it.
@GMoney
Yeah, but if we're talking value for the money, the iPad isn't it, either. One can get a fully functioning laptop for the price of the cheapest iPad. The most expensive 3G iPad broaches that of a mid-range performance laptop! Why not just get a netbook or TabletPC at that point?
I think the iPad is pretty cool and wouldn't mind having one, but not at $500 entry. If I had plenty of money, I'd go for one. Also, the Kindle does FREE 3G browsing with a WebKit browser, for $190 device and no monthly fee. Can check your email, etc. I think the value proposition is really with the 3G Kindle. Sure you're not watching a movie on it, but I'm not going to watch a movie on an iPad, either. That's just me, I'm sure plenty would ... I don't watch many movies to begin with, though.
@GMoney
If you're looking for a web browser and multimedia consumption device
then you're not even looking for an e-reader and we're comparing apples to oranges. :)
@MiketheVee
An ipad is basically a big ipod. It's no more a computer than an ipod touch. Both have simple mobile browsers and apps. But it weighs too much and the screen is too lousy outdoors to compete as an ereader.
If you truly want value, use a smartphone like an iphone. It does what an ipad does and more. And performs well enough to do some reading.
@cardfan
in essence, it is simply another tablet computer that is running in an OS that is made originally for a phone. It can do alot of what can normally be done on a fully fleshed out OS like OSX and Windows, just not as well and more limited. All I'm saying is that it is not an ereader. It can do more, but doesn't mean it does it better. I feel that the iPad is more like a jack of all trades, it can do alot but in the end it's only a jack and never a king of its trade.
and yes, I agree that it's just a massive itouch, but even an itouch is in essence a computer at a very very very mobile size. And as I have said earlier, it can do similar things that a fully fleshed out OS can do, just not as efficiently and also limited in functionality.
Originally, I believe only in physical books, but when I got the kindle for a christmas present, I quickly realized that it is just as good as a normal book, the only thing I lose is the ability to feel a sheet of pressed wood, something that wont kill me since I work with lots of paper anyways. besides, i'm being more environmental by not killing as many trees to get my entertainment :)
@MiketheVee Plus there is no potential for an awesome textbook with tips like in Harry Potter and the half blood prince!
@jonimo
I do make full use of the instant dictionary lookup, annotation and search function of the kindle. I realized that although books can have repeat words in the the text, the phrasing are almost always unique enough for you to find exactly what you want based on the kindle's search criteria
@OliverBarker
wtf? no notion ink adam?? oh wait.. still delayed :(
i want that thing BADDDDD
@MiketheVee
"the thing is, the ipad is not an ereader. it's a tablet computer. By your definition of an ereader, anything that can read ebooks are ereaders"
The iPad is definitely an eReader, its just not a dedicated device. Remember the famous 'Nobody reads anymore' comment from Steve Jobs? He insisted people didn't read enough books in a year to dedicate a whole platform/device to it. Hence, the iPad.
Stay in school kids.
@Wesscoast
then my Winmo phone is an ereader, and so are all the android phones, iphones, winmo phones, laptops and desktops. The reason it is not an ereader is because it is NOT a dedicated device. If you look at what Engadget offered, NONE, and i mean NONE of them are like the ipad in any way shape or form. So no. The iPad is N O T an ereader no matter how you look at it. just because it can read ebooks does not mean it is an ereader, especially in this article's criteria.
p.s. it's freakin heavy to hold and read for a long time. and hell, I can't flip the page with one hand like I can on ANY of these ereaders.
@OliverBarker
Here's my two cents...
As some have said, an iPad is not an e-reader. It has the capability of an e-reader, but has far too much additional functionality to be considered an e-reader. Take the iPhone, there is a calculator app that does most of the functions a regular calculator can, but people don't refer to the iPhone as a calculator.
Be that as it may, I have to confess that I have an iPad and actually had to go through all the same cost-benefit analysis.
I began with the $500 price tag and deducted the value of its features.
My first and easiest deduction was the Nook at $150 and was then left with $350. Eventually, it made sense for me.
The whole e-reader thing was actually what motivated me into buying a iPad, but I now realize it shouldn't have been because the iPad is not good for reading. You see, I have an iPhone 4 with crazy high Dpi, but every time I look at the iPad, I get the screen door effect. The iPad's resolution is great for most things, but not for reading. The kindle's and nook's resolution isn't all great either, but since their screen sizes are much smaller the dpi is higher. As for e-ink vs. LCD, I actually prefer LCD if it had a higher Dpi because e-ink is annoyingly slow and can't be read in the dark.
@OliverBarker iPad is a tablet computer/netbook alternative - not an e Reader
e-readers are a bigger snooze-fest than 8am Psych 100
I wish e-readers were out 10 years ago when I was in school. Sure beats lugging around 40 lbs of dead trees.
I never been a reader, but i love my kindle (last generation)..i wouold never get an ipad, specially because books take time to read and dont want to be looking at a lcd screen that long..plus i charge my kindle like every two weeks or something..If you want to read a book get a kindle....
@arnoldmq I read books on the ipad and no issues with the screen. Unless you dont live around an A/C outlet then the charging issue is a non issue, especially when I can go 2 days without charging the ipad.
@jsbaugh
You means using iPad under bright sunlight? Hold the iPad and read book for continuously 10 hours (except eating and going to toilet)?
You may be fine but I and many other people can't do it on a normal LCD monitor. Not everybody can stare at a LCD non-stop for 10 hours. And remember there is only text, no picture.
yea i think the ipad should be a contender here. I'm using mine almost exclusively for college notes and books.
I could see the benefits of an ereader for novels and similar type of reading, but for any type of research book that would benefit from taking notes in the margins, underlining, or simply being able to see two or three pages at once, they are utterly useless. And lets not even get into the need to sometimes have more than one book open together... how the heck would you accomplish that with an ereader?
Rubbish.
(At least until the tech advances and is cheap enough to own multiple ereaders, but thats a ling ways away)
@Hazdaz Although no longer on the market, I do this with my Irex DR800SG. Developers have done a pretty fantastic job improving the GUI to include tabbed reading on top of the annotation capability (and ability to move those annotated PDFs back onto a computer). Even with several PDFs (large files, dozen of pages) and epubs open, I have under half a second screen refresh. The DR1000, as I understand, has all of this and more.
I'm in a PhD program and use the reader for pretty much all reading of any materials for class, research/grant preparation, and also for personal reading.
@nursehorrible
Flipping back and forth to differenr pages is not the same as having multiple pages open at the same time. And sometimes you can't quite find what you are looking for but quickly flipping through a chapter you can find it... 1/2 a second sounds fast for an ebook but no way can that be as fast as a real book.
Also how do you handle sketches, instead of text notes?
Jotting down a note/sketch/whatever on paper is quick and dirty. Even attempting to do the same on an ebook, i would imagine is much more involved process.
I'm sorry but this technology is way too early and limited at this point in time. I could definitely see some huge benefits to going digital - like being able to search - but for now I feel the negatives far outweigh the benefits.
@Hazdaz Do you need more books to have open when you are learning and it is not convenient for you to have tabs? So then you would need more eReaders for your comfort. Anyway usually when I used to read textbooks, I was bookmarking pages which were relevant for my study. So the flipping back and fort or jumping to any other page was not and searching exercise. The same I can do on my iRex DR1000. Can place bookmarks and then very easily with two clicks I am able to go to any relevant page which I need and with the same speed as I would need to flip hard text books.
@Hazdaz I suspect you don't have multiple copies of the same book opened to several different pages. That'd be silly. E-readers have bookmarks. 1/2 second sounds fast for Sony or Nook or Kindle, but Irex just has something going (and, in fact, Engadget really does a pretty lousy job when reviewing features of the DR800SG).
I sketch on the DR800 just as I would on paper, except that it's using electrons. If I want to sketch or write notes, there's a notebook/sketch pad. If I want to write in the margins of a journal article, I just click on the pen (usually already done) and write or sketch -- freehand, not from a keyboard. Doodles happen as easily as writing letters.
The technology isn't too early or limited. Most corporations are just sacrificing what an academic (or possibly business person) might find exceptionally useful in favor of the minimums that the mass market will request (and thus gear a device toward a lower production cost for a lower consumer cost to sell more units, etc.).
Also, I agree with @hecki.