Digital Book Readers (Ebook Readers) - The Top Sellers And Why

During the month of November 2009, industry experts predicted that about 1.2 million e-readers were expected to be sold by the end of the year. That is about 40 percent of the entire year's stock. What is even more exciting is that by the end of 2010, experts are predicting that 10 million people will be carrying the e-readers! Wow, that is a lot of people reading electronic books.

Additionally, according to the  Association of American Publishers, the demand for electronic books increased to 68.4 percent last year and has now skyrocketed to 177 percent to $96.6 million for the year through August. Can you imagine the numbers by the end of 2009? Because of the increasing interest in electronic book readers, Barnes & Noble unveiled its first electronic book reader last year called The Nook. Sony also was in the running, but the big leader of them all is Amazon's Kindle. It is the best selling e-book reader device not only on Amazon's website but in the country. On this website we will take a look at each and also introduce an additonal e-book reader that is pretty impressive in features and is bound to cause another spending freezy if consumers can come to terms with the price of owning it. I know I would like to own one. However, as my personal choice I made the decision to purchase The Nook e-reader device.

Amazon's Kindle Ebook Reader Device

You have to be living under a rock if you have not heard about the Kindle. After, owning my Nook for a few months, I can appreciate the differences between the two. They are minor, but when you know that you could have had a particular feature and you don't, you miss not having it. What makes the Kindle unique from The Nook and Sony is that it has a basic web browser and text to speech. On the other hand, the Kindle does not have touch screen technology like Sony or The Nook, plus there is no part of the Kindle's screen that has color added.

The Kindle has increased the battery life for the device, it's up to14 days (with the wireless connection off) and about one week with the wireless connection on versus 10 days for The Nook. It also has 2 GB of memory, but actually 1.4 GB available, but there is no way to expand the memory on the Kindle if your need for storage space should change. The battery is re-chargeable, but in order to change it you will have to send it back to Amazon to have the battery replaced. The Kindle is capable of storing up to 1,500 ebooks and it supports PDF and Word DOCs formats. It also has a physical keyboard on the device. What's also neat is that the Kindle has a rotating display that you can adjust manually so you can view your documents in landscape mode also. The Kindle 2 sells for $259.00.

Amazon also has the Kindle DX which is described as the Kindle, only larger. The DX has the same features as the Kindle, but with a few more convienences. Such as, an increased screen size to 9.7 inches, it holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents and the display screen can be rotated automatically instead of manually like it is on the Kindle. Additionally, the DX has 4.0 GB of memory with 3.3 used for user content.   The Kindle DX sells for $489.00.

Also, with the popularity of Amazon's Kindle, it also brought other companies making ereaders to enter the game. Such as, the popular Sony ereaders and Barnes and Nobles' The Nook. Sony introduced larger sceen sizes and touch screen. Barnes and Nobles introduced the color LCD.

Amazon developed its Kindle application for use with the iPhone, iPod touch, PC , the BlackBerry and the Mac in the future. These devices enables users of these devices to read digital books purchased from Amazon and synchronize bookmarks with the Kindle electronic reader and other supported devices.

SONY EREADERS

The Sony brand is everywhere. Sony has been selling ereaders since 2004 and their product line is taken very serious so much that they have edged out Barnes and Nobles, The Nook ereader out of second place spot. Industry analysts in September 2009, stated that Amazon Kindle had 45% of the ereader market, Sony in second place with 30% of the market and the rest with a 25% share of the market. Sony offers three types of ereaders. In an effort to show the differences between them I will provide a short overview of their differences so you will have some idea which one would best fit your needs.

The Sony Reader Daily Edition PRS-900

The Sony Daily Edition Reader was given its name because you can subscribe to newspapers and magazines, like the Kindle. The Sony Reader Daily Edition includes a touch screen with on-screen keyboard, not like the hardware keyboard on the Kindle and the separate color LCD touch panel on the Nook. The Sony Daily Edition PRS-900 has a 7.1" e-ink display (the Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook and Sony Touch Edition PRS-600 all have 6" displays) that run at 600 x 1024 resolution vs. 600 x 800 on the 6" screens. The Sony Reader Daily Edition, despite its large screen size still manages to be portable. It also includes free AT& T wireless 3G connection for direct access to the Sony ebook store (the Kindle uses Sprint 3G).

The Sony Daily Edition doesn't have the Kindle's basic web browser, so the wireless connection is just for shopping, downloading books and periodicals. If you leave the wireless on in standby mode, the PRS-900 will automatically download your new subscriptions, so they'll be waiting for you each morning. Inside the box are the necessary accessories where you are not having to make extra purchases. They include the device, stylus, charger, USB cable, flip cover and bundled Case Logic semi-rigid zipper case.

If you've been using a Kindle or other brand of reader, the Sony's attractions include being able to read in either portrait or landscape mode. It has touch screen navigation so you can turn pages, bookmark your spot, adjust the font, and search for ebook titles all with the swipe of your finger.

The Reader Daily Edition gets a thumbs up over the Nook because although the Nook has a color LCD, it doesn't improve the navigation of the device and at times is difficult to use. Additonally, the Nook uses proprietary DRM with ePUB, which is misleading to consumers when they think the Nook is compatible with the more open ePUB standard DRM. This locks buyers of the Nook into being able to only purchase ebooks from Barnes and Nobles. Further, Amazon is just as guilty with it's proprietary ebook format and lack of ePUB support.

The supported ebook formats for the Sony PRS-900 include: ePUB (standard Adobe DRM), PDF (and standard Adobe DRM protected PDF), text, RTF and Word (requires conversion using Sony desktop Reader software). It also works with library books in ePUB and PDF format that use Adobe DRM (Adobe Digital Editions used by most libraries), which means you download and read books from your library if they offer digital services. It will work with Google books (over a million free public domain ebooks), but you must load them using the desktop software or a storage card since there's currently no way to download these directly using the Reader's wireless connection. It has a music player onboard that supports MP3 and AAC files (not copy-protected). The Sony has both an SD and Memory Stick Pro Duo slot for extra storage (the Kindle 2 and DX have no card slots to load books and expand storage).

Storage includes 2 gigs of internal flash storage with approximately 1.6 gigs available and memory expansion with an SDHC SD card slot and a memory stick pro duo slot. The battery is lithium ion and is user replaceable. E-ink readers like the Sony use very little power and with wireless off they can last up to 2 weeks on a charge. This is because they only use power to re-draw new pages and don't use any power to display a page. They are extremely readable and look something like a real book with light gray rather than white pages-- they don't look like a computer screen. They're much easier on the eyes because there's no overly bright backlighting, no constant screen refresh and little glare. The Sony PRS-900 at $399.99 is more expensive than the Kindle 2 and the Nook.

The Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS-600 - Sony's Best Seller

The Sony Touch Edition is the most popular of the ereader products that Sony produces. some industry experts even places it as the best seller among readers as it jockeys for first place with the Kindle 2. The Reader Touch is an ultra-slim ebook reader that is very portable. The most unique feature in this series is its touchscreen navigation. However, the unit still retains a few buttons, but they are laced discreetly at the bottom of the display screen. The display screen works in both portrait and landscape modes.The unit is also equipped with a stylus, a digitized dictionary, and virtual keyboard that you can highlight text and even make notes while you read. If you want, you can even export your notes to your computer using the eBook Library software for PC and MAC computers. Additionally, the unit comes in colors red, black and silver.

The key thing to remember about the Sony ereaders is that each one offers something slightly different and being able to discover what you like best really depends on your needs. For example, the Sony Pocket Edition ereader is small enough to fit in your pocket book or pants pocket. If you are wanting to be able to annotate, highlight or like the use of a touchscreen, then the Sony Touch Edition or the Daily Reader should be considered. If you like to read your morning paper on the go in electronic format without having to fuss with the paper or being able to review your work reports on the way to the office, the Sony Daily Edition is the way to go.

The Touch Edition features makes it stand out from the competition. It is the same 6"size as the Kindle 2 and The Nook. However, it is a bit smaller than the Kindle 2 which makes it small enough to place in a purse, gear or laptop bag. It' light, so it's easy to hold for hours while you read.  The touchscreen navigation allows you to turn the pages in your ebook, bookmark your spot, adjust the font and search for titles all with the swipe of your finger.  An included stylus offers freehand highlighting and annotation. There is also an integrated dictionary and a built-in audio player, but some users have stated it is not useful for audio books because it doesn’t retain the position where you left off in the book.

The dictionary, depending on your language and keyboard preference, will have to be either the New Oxford American Dictionary (English language with US keyboard) or the Oxford Dictionary of English (English language with UK keyboard). These are the only dictionaries available at this time. During setup, if you choose a language other than English, you will not be able to use the dictionary. To look up a word in the book you are reading, simply double tap on the word. The definition will be displayed in a box at the bottom of the screen.

 The Pocket Touch is thinner, smaller and lighter than most magazines and books with a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. It has five adjustable font sizes so you can customize your reading text. The Sony PRS-600 and supports multiple file formats including : ePub (Adobe DRM protected), PDF (Adobe DRM protected), BBeB Book (PRS DRM protected), ePub, BBeB Book, PDF, TXT, RTF, Microsoft Word (conversion to the Reader requires Word installed on your PC), JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, MP3 (non-encrypted), AAC (non-encrypted). The unit also has an audio player for MP3 audio files.

The onboard memory of 512 MB with 380 MB availabe to the user limits the unit to just 350 ebooks at one time. However, for additional book storage, the unit comes with dual memory card expansion slots at 16 GB each for a memory stick PRO Duo and SD memory card.of your favorite books from the Reader Store, check out books from public libraries (with a 21-day expiration), access over one million free public domain titles from Google Books, as well as sharing sites, online aggregators and personal publishers.

You can  read for about two weeks due to the Sony pocket Edition reader's long battery life.  Keep in mind that the included lithium ion battery isn't user replaceable--you have to send the unit back to Sony if the battery dies. It uses the same 5.2v PSP style charger as other Sony Readers and automatically sleeps after 60 minutes (unless music player is playing). The Reader will turn completely off after five days of inactivity. Estimated page turns on a charge: 7,500 for BBeB (Sony's original book format) and 6,000 for ePUB.

One reviewer of the unit stated that the fine print says you can get 7,500 page changes if you fully charge the battery, open a book and continually change pages as fast as you can without stopping. What they don’t spell out is that your battery continues to drain even when you are not reading. The power switch doesn’t actually power your device off – it puts it into a stand-by mode. The screen is blanked and the touch screen and all of the buttons other than the power toggle button are disabled, but the reader is still “on” and slowly draining the battery. You can turn the reader off, but that requires going into the settings and choosing to power down the reader. This saves the battery, but it does take extra time to restart the reader when you turn it on the next time you want to read.

Besides the Sony Touch Edition reader, inside the box it comes with the USB sync/charging cable, black neoprene padded sleeve and Quick start guide. The unit does not ship with an AC adapter (it's an optional accessory that costs $29.99). Instead, you can only charge the unit by connecting the Reader to your PC with the included USB cable. If you happen to own a Sony PSP, the charger from that device will work with this unit. It's also worth noting that you won't be able to charge the Reader with a standard USB cable connected to a 5V power adapter, such as the standard iPod wall charger. Software installers are pre-installed in memory on the Reader so no CD is included. The Touch Edition reader supports USB charging and file transfer.

Some users of the touch edition reader have reported issues with display reflection (glare from the touch layer). There is some minor glare in partially covered areas. In order to obtain a clear view of reading material the user has to sometimes tilt the unit to get the best viewing angle. Some users use a booklight to obtain the desired reading angle which helps with the glare. In direct sunlight, the Touch Edition worked well. Although, users reported problems with glare if they were reading in bed beside a side table lamp. A booklight for the reader would probably be a good remedy for the issue.

The Touch Edition does not offer wireless connectivity. You still need a computer to purchase and store your ebooks. You’ll need to connect the reader to the computer via usb to copy over books. The Sony library software allows you to organize and maintain your library on your computer and on the reader. The library software also allows access to the Sony bookstore and manages books checked out from your local library. This software has always been available for Windows computers, and it is now available for Mac users. The price for the Sony Reader Touch Edition is priced at $299.99. 

The Sony Pocket Edition PRS-300

If you looking for a small compact ereader, the Sony Pocket Edition is the way to go. It is the smaller of the three at 5" and comes in pink, silver and blue colors with toggle buttons for page turning on each side. If you're right or left handed, it doesn't matter because there won't be a problem manipulating the controls.  The Pocket Edition, although the screen is small, still packs all the high-quality ebook viewing capacity of the larger models with a  paper-like high-contrast display screen that allows easy reading even in areas with direct sunlight.  And with a resolution of 800 x 600, you can enjoy comfortable reading regardless of light supply. It is a really nice unit because it can be placed in a suit jacket, purse or pants pockets.

Because the pocket edition doesn't have a touch screen for navigation, a handful of buttons on the unit keeps things simple and makes navigating the device pretty easy. Below the screen, you will see a five-way directional pad, plus home, back, bookmark, and zoom; to the right are 10 buttons that correspond to navigation options on menu screens. The display screen can be manually set to display vertically or horizontally for reading books.

While the process of transferring content to the device isn't as convenient as downloading the books wirelessly to the unit, it is a two-step process. First, you launch the software, connect the Reader via USB, and browse the eBook Library. After you purchase a title, it goes into a special folder; you then drag the title onto the icon for the device and it transfers to it. All in all, it's fairly simple. And adding nonencrypted files isn't hard, either. After downloading a file to your computer, you import that file to your library using the import function and drag it over to the "Reader" icon on the left side of your screen.

The PRS-300 does not have a backlight, no touch screen, audio player, PRS-600 Reader Touch Edition nor the built-in 3G cellular wireless connection of the Reader Daily Edition or Amazon Kindle. It also lacks expansion slots for more memory, it does not have the ability for annotation and note-taking, no built-in dictionary or MP3 audio. Unlike the Kindle, the pocket edition makes use of the Epub file format which invites the reader to a variety of free content, including public domain Google Books downloads and titles that can be electronically checked out from local libraries (with a 21-day expiration).

The reason the pocket reader lacks a touch screen is that it adds an extra layer to the display, which seems to reduce the contrast, but if you're thinking you can adjust the contrast, you can't on the pocket edition. Also users of the unit have not reported any issues with glare like some have experienced with the Touch Edition PRS-600.

The Sony Pocket Edition PRS 300 comes with three font sizes and supports multiple file formats including text, RTF, Word, BBeB book files, and EPUB files, as well as PDFs. In memory capacity, you will be limited to just 350 ebooks because of the unit's 512 MB onboard memory with 440 MB that is accessible to the user, but there is no way to expand storage on the unit. You can  read for about two weeks due to the Sony pocket Edition reader's long battery life.  Keep in mind that the included lithium ion battery isn't user replaceable--you have to send the unit back to Sony if the battery dies.

Besides the Sony Pocket Edition reader, inside the box it comes with the USB sync/charging cable, black neoprene padded sleeve and Quick start guide. The unit does not ship with an AC adapter (it's an optional accessory that costs $29.99). Instead, you can only charge the unit by connecting the Reader to your PC with the included USB cable. If you happen to own a Sony PSP, the charger from that device will work with this unit. It's also worth noting that you won't be able to charge the Reader with a standard USB cable connected to a 5V power adapter, such as the standard iPod wall charger. The Sony Pocket Edition reader is a really nice unit. If you just want to read e-books in a variety of formats, the PRS-300 is well worth consideration. The  Sony Pocket Edition sells for $199.99.

Barnes and Nobles The Nook

The Barnes & Noble Nook eBook Reader is the first ebook reader to be based on the Google Android operating system. It comes with both 3G and Wi-Fi wireless connectivity. The most significant physical feature of the Nook is the secondary color touchscreen which is located below the main screen. It does serve a number of purposes, but the main functionality is for navigating around the unit. The Nook has a virtual keyboard that appears for typing notes or over-the-air (OTA) shopping from Barnes & Noble. The color screen is nice when searching for books to buy because it displays book cover images in color.

The Nook was the first to have Wi-Fi accessibility. In order to download books and periodicals to The Nook, a computer can be used, a user can download over the air with the use of AT&T's 3G cell phone networking feature and you can also download usiing Wi-Fi connectivity. With Wi-Fi connectivity you don't have to be at the mercy of 3G availability because anywhere there’s Wi-Fi, including a wireless home network, books can be downloaded at speeds faster than 3G. If you go to any Barnes & Noble store with your Nook, the Wi-Fi feature connects automatically.

The Barnes & Noble Wi-Fi experience offers some interesting and unique functionality. It offers the More In Store content feature that includes promotions specifically for Nook users. It also will allow customers to browse complete eBooks just like you can with a physical book. However, there is a one hour limit during any 24-hour period.

An all important aspect of any eBook reader is the quality of the screen display. The Nook’s 6-inch, diagonally measured screen is less reflective that most competitors and does not have any backlighting. We were able to read it easily in just about any lighting condition including bright sun. The one situation that was a little trying was where there were multiple overhead light sources and therefore many angles from which light could be reflected. Even then, however, it wasn’t difficult to find an angle that worked virtually glare free. Typical of E-Ink screens, the display is rather dull like a book’s paper to minimize eye fatigue. The display has sixteen gray levels which makes it easy to find one that is ideal for an individual’s preference. Five font sizes can be selected to make reading easy and there are three selectable font styles. The unit also has a virtual keyboard integrated into the unit.

The Nook has an integrated dictionary which is simply a matter of pressing "Look Up Word" on the touch screen then using the up, down, right and left arrows to navigate to the word in question. Then press "Look Up" and the definition appears superimposed on the reading screen. About 26 hours of MP3 audio files can be loaded onto the device and it also plays audio book files. The Nook comes with a built-in mono speaker and supports a universal 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack which is the best way to listen to audio files on the unit. Audio files, as well as images, can be loaded onto the device but must be done by transferring from a computer rather than using either of the wireless options. Integrated storage capacity is 2GB, just like the Kindle 2 and about 1,500 ebooks can be stored on the internal storage. For additional storage, the unit comes with an expansion slot that will accommodate a micro SD card up to 16GB and can hold up to about 17, 500 ebooks.

The touchscreen below the main screen display can be misleading. It is great for shopping, but at times it is difficult to navigate without some practice. The user may make the mistake of attempting to select entries or flip pages on the main display using touchscreen gestures while you're wondering why the screen is not responding. It may be some confusion because of using the bottom touchscreen thinking the display was also touchscreen like the Sony Reader Touch Edition. However, the bottom half of the unit is the only touchscreen on the unit. The main display is not touchscreen and navigation for turning pages and performed with the forward and back buttons on each side of the unit.

Since the Nook operates on the Android OS it can be assumed that Android applications can be used on the device. That is not the case at this time. Maybe the idea in the future is to turn the Nook into more of a computing device rather than a standalone reader. Additionaly, the Nook does not have web browsing available on the unit. The Kindle is the only reader with the ability for web browsing, but the browser is basic at most.

Users of the Nook will have access to Barnes & Noble’s eBookstore which offers over a million titles and is growing. There have been complaints from some users over the cost of the ebooks as compared to Amazon and other online sellers. Users can subscribe to a variety of newspapers and magazines. to ensure the highest quality, the Barnes & Noble Nook supports the nearly universal EPub format so DRM free sources of free books such as those available from Google Books can be downloaded. That makes more than a million books which are in the public domain available to Nook users.

The EPUB file format is used with files created for the e-publishing standard. PDF and EPUB support font styles (bold, italics, underline, etc), advanced layout, tables, charts, graphs, illustrations, and more. Most eBook content that users obtain from Fictionwise can be imported to the nook via a memory card or USB port. In addition to being able to display tables, charts, graphs and figures in documents, the Nook can be used to display graphics as either stand-alone images or slideshows. The supported graphic formats are bitmap, jpeg, gif and png files.

A feature that’s unique to the Nook is the ability to loan eBooks to other Nook owners. They can be transmitted OTA (over-the-air) just as like a typical ebook purchase, but the books can only be those purchased from Barnes & Nobles. Books can also be loaned in the same way if the user has Barnes & Noble’s free eReader software installed on their PC or Mac, iPhone and iPod Touch, BlackBerries or certain other smartphones. Books can be loaned only once and for not more than fourteen days. While the ebook is on loan, it is not available to the lender, the same as if the user borrowed the ebook from the library.

One particular advantage the Nook has over the Kindle is that it’s battery is removable and replaceable can be charged via USB to a computer system or power adapter. The average charging time is 3.5 hours from a wall outlet. The battery supports approximately 10,000 continuous page turns on a single charge or about two days (with wireless turned off) and ten days with the wireless turned off.

The Nook has the Reading Now virtual bookmark. This can be misleading because it is nothing like the Sony ereader's annotating and bookmarking features. The bookmarking feature will take you to the last ebook you read or to the last page you read of an ebook. However, this feature appears to only work with ebooks that have been purchased from Barnes & Nobles. Quote: "A number of nook features apply only to eBooks purchased through Barnes & Noble.com. These are stored in your online digital library and include: bookmarks, highlighting, notes, lending, rating, recommending, and cross-platform reading." If you have a need to write notes and bookmark your pages, the Sony may be a better buy than the Nook.

The Nook sometimes freezes and has to be re-started which is a slow process. Additionally, loading the ebooks are slow and at times page turning can be sluggish. The Nook sells for $259.00.

Honorable Mentions

Plastic Logic Que Reader

The Que Reader, is a beautiful slender, lightweight device geared toward business professionals. It is the size and thickness of a pad of paper, 8.5×11-inch and features a shatterproof plastic touchscreen display that makes it lighter than glass e-readers. It has a sleek frame free of buttons and instead will operate entirely by touch interface.

This is an exciting ereader because it reads all types of documents including the ever popular Microsoft Office documents (including Word, PowerPoint and Excel), PDF and store access to Barnes & Noble, the world's largest eBookstore. The user will have the ability to edit Office documents on the device, have access to e-mail, calendar and other data from Microsoft Outlook. QUE users will be able to connect to content and download wirelessly via Wi-Fi and AT&T’s 3G network, the nation’s fastest 3G mobile broadband network. Plastic Logic will sell a 4GB model with Wi-Fi and an 11.6-inch display for $649. The alternative version has double the memory and 3G in addition to Wi-Fi and will sell for $799. Release date is set for April.

IREX Dr 800 SG Digital Reader

Enjoy a variety of electronic books, magazines and newspapers with the IREX digital reader that features an 8.1" interactive touch screen display with a natural, paper-like display and adjustable text sizes.The Irex supports a wide range of formats including the industry standard ePub format alongside multiple DRM solutions compared to being restricted to a single, “closed” proprietary format that locks content to a specific device. It offers a multi-mode 3G wireless connection for around the clock eBookstore access to Barnes & Noble. 

Other notible product features include 768 x 1024 resolution and adjustable text sizes provides an easy-to-read display. The touchscreen display has dedicated buttons and a stylus to help with easy navigation on the device. The Irex comes with a 2GB microSD card included and pre-installed. It also supports a variety of media formats, including ePub, PDF, PDB, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP and TIFF.  The Irex DR 800SG has a price tag of  $399.99. 

Skiff eReader

The Skiff eReader is similar in size and weight to the Que, with the largest display of any ereader at 11.5-inch-diagonal screen, boasting a 1,600 x 1,200 resoultion, and a thickness of only about a quarter-inch. It's believed to be the first e-reader whose e-paper display is based on a thin, flexible sheet of stainless steel foil covered in thin plastic, which means the internal screen is flexible and is shatter and crack-proof. Contnet can be loaded onto the Skiff Reader via 3G (provided by Sprint), WiFi, or USB 2.0 (standard mini port). It has 4 GB of built-in memory, with a standard SD card slot.

Users navigate through the device via the resistive touch screen, as well as a side mounted jog wheel. The device has a built-in speaker and 3.5mm audio jack for sound, and apps for video as well as other content that will be made available via the Skiff app store. It’s not clear though what apps will run on this Linux powered device in particular as of yet. However details from Hearst as to what content will be made specifically available through store and platform is still up in the air. However, newspapers, eBook, blogs, and magazines, will be included.

One final observation worth mentioning is that this device also has the capability of delivering targeted, updatable ads inside various pieces of content, based on your location. Though this might signal some preparation for intrusion, it might also hint at freely provided content in exchange for ad exposure. The Skiff Reader will go on sale later this year in Sprint retail locations across the U.S. and on the wireless carrier's Web site. Pricing and additional distribution channels will be announced later.

BeBook eReader

There are two models of the BeBook eReader, the BeBook ‘One’ eReader and the BeBook ‘Mini’ eReader which is 5" tall.  Both BeBook eReaders have very similar features, and essentially differ only in size and price. The device uses the E-Ink paper-like display that’s very easy to read, there is no backlight, no flickering of the electronic paper screen even in bright sunlight. The BeBook can be used to read virtually any document. The BeBook ereader has an easily accessible library  menu that you can sort by title, file name and size. The user has the ability to change the font style while reading, can add bookmarks, play mp3 files and audiobooks and more. It stores up to 1,000 books on 512MB of internal memory, and has an infinite number on SD memory cards. The battery charge normally lasts 7,000 page turns or about two weeks.  

The BeBook ereader models offer the largest selection of supported file formats including the popular PDF, ePub, MS Word, Mobipocket and other text formats and be able to obtain over 300,000 free RSS newsfeeds, including Mobipocket Digital Rights Management support. The BeBook eReader comes with 20,000 free ebooks.   BeBook supports file formats: pdf, mobi, prc, epub, lit, txt, fb2, doc, html, rtf, djvu, wol, ppt, mbp, chm, bmp, jpg, png, gif, tif, rar, zip, and mp3 files. BeBook is also coming out with a new eReader, called the BeBook Neo. It is the first WiFi ereader with access to eBook stores worldwide. It also comes equipped with WACOM touchscreen which allows the user to make notes, scribbles or easily add, save and erase annotations. The price tag is reportedly $299. The BeBook ereaders can be excellent alternatives to similar sized models by other manufacturers. The  Bebook One sells  for $249.00, and the  BeBook Mini for $199.00.

Blio

This is not a device like other ereaders, but a free program designed to run on any platform. Blio will add two features currently missing from most e-readers: color pictures and a voice that reads the text out loud. Blio is a revolutionary new software application built on the Microsoft platform that turns almost any laptop, netbook or smartphone into an image-rich electronic reader. At the same time, Blio supports interactive multimedia, including video and Web links. A read-aloud feature allows a computer voice to speak words as they are highlighted on the page, a potentially useful tool for young readers or the vision-impaired. Another Blio feature will allow users to translate to or from English in an embedded window. Blio will be available as a free download through a partnership with book distributor Baker & Taylor. The software will launch with an online store featuring more than 1.2 million titles.

You'll be able to acquire Blio content via a storefront that's integrated into the application (i.e., iTunes). Blio's digital rights management technology allows you to associate up to five devices with your account (but unlike iTunes, Blio doesn't let you deactivate a device in order to add a new one--five is supposed to be a lifetime limit).

Although the following video was out during the holidays it gives a really good overview of the top ereaders. The ereaders discussed here are presented in the video with the exception of the honorable mentions.