Ebook Readers: Kindle

Apple unveiled yesterday their answer to all those Islate rumours in the form of an oversized Iphone called Ipad.

To be fair the Ipad is in some ways much more than an oversized Iphone, and in other much less. But the may question that concerns us is Ipad’s as an ebook reader device, can it replace Amazon’s Kindle, Sony’s Reader and the long list of black and white ebook readers already available on the market?

Let’s compare both Amazon Kindle’s and the new Apple Ipad

Ipad                                             Kindle
————————————————–

Screen Size ………9.7 inch                                     6 inch

Resolution ……….1024×768                                    600×800

Battery life ……….10 hours                                    3 weeks turning 3G off

Thickness …………0.5 inch                                     0.36 inch

Wireless …………..WIFI /  3G                                    3G

Memory slot………. No                                                 No

Storage………… 16GB, 32GB, 64GB                        2Gb

Keyboard ………..Virtual                                            Hardware

MP3 Player………. Yes                                                Yes

EInk (no eyes strain) No                                                  Yes

Web Browser ……….Yes                                                  Yes

Video player ………..Yes                                                 No

Aditional Apps ………Yes, Apple store                        Soon to come

Price ………………………$499 non 3G 16GB                  $259 (buy here)

While Ipad’s functionalities seem impressive and in many ways outperform Amazon Kindle’s the truth is that Apple’s Ipad is not an Ebook reader and is missing to main characteristics that would qualify it as an Ebook reader.

The first one is the EInk, while Amazon Kindle does not put any strain in the eyes with the EInk technology, the screen of the Ipad makes your eyes suffer a lot more when reading an Ebook, this may seem like a small sacrifice but for the avid readers this is a major flaw.

Pricing, the price of the Ipad is almost double the price of the Amazon Kindle which makes it less affordable, I’m sure Apple will sell plenty of Ipads but certaibly not as Ebook readers

Large screen Kindle is following its smaller brother and it’s now available globally.

No more having to read ebooks in a small scree, the Ebook reader champion Amazon Kindle is ready to be shipped worldwide to all the countries where the normal Amazon Kindle was available. Newspaper subscriptions, magazines and books will benefit from this wider availability of this Ebook reader device.

Amazon Kindle DX Features

One of the largest displays: 9.7″ diagonal e-ink screen with 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images

Very Slim: It’s Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Download ooks In Under 1 Minute: Get books delivered wirelessly
3G Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle DX; same as the technology used by your mobile phone

Global Coverage: Enjoy 3G wireless  in over 100 countries. See details. Check wireless coverage map.

Carry Your Library: The device holds up to 3,500 books, newspapers, and documents

Long Battery Life: It lasts up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on

Built-In PDF Reader: No more bad conversions, native PDF support allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go

Auto-Rotating Screen: Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device

Read-to-Me: Text-to-speech feature, Kindle DX can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you,

Free Book Samples: Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy

Large Selection: Over 400,000 books, plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs. For non-U.S. customers, content availability and pricing will vary. Check your country.

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are $9.99, unless marked otherwise. When traveling abroad, you can download books wirelessly from the Kindle Store or your Archived Items. U.S. customers will be charged a fee of $1.99 for international downloads.

As expected the electronics manufacturer is releasing it’s first Ebook reader device this month called Story

It looks very similar to Amazon’s Kindle white and with a full QWERTY keyboard, yet it lack Amazon’s and Sony’s ebook reader devices wireless capabilities. The I-river Story will begin shipping in the US later this month and to make it more competitive a wireless version of the I-story will be released some time later this year.

Story Features

* 0.36-inch thick reader

* 6-inch e-ink display

* integrated MP3 player

* 2GB of internal memory

* SD expansion slot

* USB 2.0 connectivity

* Battery lasts 9,000 page turns.

More details on pricing and accessories will come later this month.

Iriver I-story Photos