Sony Reader vs. Kindle
Amazon Kindle Vs. Sony Reader: 2008 Comparison
It’s not a simple thing to decide whether to purchase the Amazon Kindle or the Sony Reader! Each device has its advocates, so it’s difficult to make a choice by relying on the opinions of others. You really must examine all the information yourself and draw your own conclusions.
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.
Click here to purchase Sony Digital Reader for less than $400.
Another crucial factor is the amount of content available for both readers. In this aspect, the Amazon Kindle, which has more than 190,000 books available online at the point of writing as well as an impressive collection of newspapers, blogs and magazines, is clearly the superior choice. In co
mparison, the Sony device has only 60,000 titles although the number is expected to increase to 100,000 by early 2009. Another weak point of the Sony device is that it does not offer the ability to download newspapers, magazines or blogs from the online store.
Your next concern is probably which reader has more visual appeal, in both senses of how it is easy it is for reading from, as well as how nice it looks for showing off to friends. Both readers exploit E-ink technology which visually resembles ‘normal’ paper, so that eye strain while reading is reduced and it feels as if you are reading a "normal" book.
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.
View the Newest Sony Digital Reader
While we are on the topic of design, the Sony Reader features a touch screen display which the Kindle lacks. Unfortunately, the touch screen feature seems to detract from the quality of the Sony Reader’s display. Because the touch screen layer was superimposed on top of the e-ink screen layer, the contrast and "real book" feel are lacking on the Sony as opposed to the Kindle. In a side-by-side comparison of the two, you would probably notice better contrast and sharpness on the Kindle.
You can enlarge the font size of the print in both of these products which is a godsend if you find it challenging to read small print. The Sony Reader 700 has an LED backlight which, in 
theory, is quite helpful when you are trying to read in an environment with little ambient lighting. The reality of the situation is, though, that many Sony Reader users feel that the backlight does not adequately light the screen; sometimes it even makes it more difficult to read due to poor contrast and visibility of the text. So although the Amazon Kindle does not have a backlight feature, it may not be at much of a disadvantage.
Since no one wants to carry around a big, bulky device, you’ll also be pleased to know that both units only weigh in at about 10 ounces. That is about the weight of some paperbacks! This makes them easy to travel with and easy to carry while reading. Still, the Sony reader is a little bit smaller than the Kindle, which can be good and bad depending on how you look at it.
One of the more important features for some users is the ease of getting the 
downloaded content onto your ebook reader. The Kindle blows the Sony Reader out of the water in this respect. The Sony requires you to download the file to the computer then use a USB cable to transfer files to you reader before you can acess them. The Kindle handles the task by itself thanks to the free wireless capabilities. Its as easy as connecting to the store, finding the content you would like, click a few buttons, and then enjoy your reading. The Kindle definitely outshines the Sony Reader in this category.
Storage space is something else that you really need to consider. Both readers offer plenty of storage space for the average user with the ability to store over 200 books. If you tend to buy a lot of books or need to reference many different ones you might want to consider the Sony Reader. It holds more books than the Kindle and it also supports larger external memory cards giving it far more storage capacity than the Kindle.
Last but not least, you need to concern yourself with the ebook formats you can use on each device. While they have both come out with their own format, only Amazon’s reader accepts the very popular MOBI file format. If you have files in that format, your choice is probably very clear.
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. Purchase Amazon’s Kindle 2
By: Jack Andrew
Amazon Kindle vs. Sony Reader Digital Book : The Good, The Bad and …
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[...] to choose between the Amazon Kindle vs. the Sony Reader is no easy task! This is made even more difficult by the fact that there are fans on both sides of [...]