Kobo

The interface is easy to use and intuitive. The app runs smoothly. Although it can sometimes be slow on turning pages (by current standards – it would be lightning fast in 2006), I’ve had no real issues at all. So far, I haven’t stumbled upon a single bug.

Unlike some other readers I’ve tested, Kobo has no zoom. Fortunately the text is sized and spaced well enough that I haven’t really missed that feature.

The selection of kobo books is terrific. The site boasts 1.8 million free books and many more for a price. The free books are generally public domain stuff, but there are some great classics in the public domain. Right now I’m reading The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Good stuff.

Kobo is not a full feature book reader. It is about as basic as basic gets. But it works well without glitches or hang-ups, and provides a little entertainment while waiting at the doctor’s office or on a lunch break when your favorite book (you know – the printed with ink on pieces of a dead tree kind) isn’t within reach.

Now, I will admit it myself, I was an iPad skeptic.  In fact, one of my favorite comments on it was in a Youtube video.  In the words of the video, “Does it fit in a manila folder?” “F#@! yes it does!”  Now, I have begun to see the ‘light’, and realize the iPad’s capabilities.

The iPad is essentially, in my opinion, the smoothie made from a netbook, iPod touch, and a e-reader put into a blender.  It is a slightly awkward, but tasty smoothie.  At first, I was intrigued by it, but it seemed ridiculous compared to a laptop.  I mean, it lacked a keyboard and no Flash Player.  The biggest flaw I saw was the size, though.  It just seemed exorbitant for a device to be so large.  Over time, though, my view began to change.

First of all, I went from comparing it to laptops to looking at it as a laptop.  When you look at it as a laptop, you begin to see more of its true potential.  It is about the same size and weight, and could be easily carried in a laptop bag.  It may not have a keyboard, but many detachable keyboard are made, including wireless ones.  Also, I have used a couple and found that the touch-screen keyboard is very functional and user friendly.  Unless you have elephantiasis fingers, you will type just fine.  This means that when you don’t need a keyboard, you can say, “Screw it” and leave the keyboard at home, compacting the size.  Like its ‘predecessor’, the iPod touch, the touchscreen makes it a very fun ‘toy’.  You can take it and play a wide variety of games.  Also, it has gone wireless/wifi less, with AT&T providing 3G service with 250 megabytes for $14.99 a month and 2 gigabytes for $25 a month.  The home screen and apps scream Apple device, with the minimalistic aesthetics and smoothness.  Finally, it will oust the e-readers because it, too, has a book app.

So, the once hated and parodied iPad has actually become one of the most functional pieces of technology this year, earning it my 2010 electronic device award. (Sorry, Android.)

But that was then; this is now. With the introduction of more and more Kindle clones on the market, is the Kindle worth the premium price?

Sometimes, the original really is better than those that follow. It’s tough to argue that any portable music device that has followed the iPod can match the original in feature and function. But sometimes, the clones are every bit as good as the first entrant into the market, or at least offer a better value. A $400 DVD player is better than the $30 variety at Wal-Mart, but is it THAT much better?

Kindle is faced with competition on a number of fronts. The Augen Book Reader, for example, offers all the functionality of the Kindle and then some. Augen has bundled together a book reader and an MP3 player with a 7″ screen and a SD card reader.

Then there is the $29.99 Nintendo DS 100 Classic Books cartridge. Assuming you’ve already dropped the $150 or so for a Nintendo DS, there’s no better bargain than this on the market. Your thirty bucks gives you the software to turn the DS into a book reader as well as 100 all-time classic books like Great Expectations and Little Women. Such classic characters as Sherlock Holmes and Frankenstein’s Monster are included.

In addition to the 100 books included on the cartridge, there are ten more books available for download. Although Nintendo has not unveiled any expansion plans, the small number of downloads relative to the number of books pre-installed leads me to believe that there will be many more on the way.

As an author, they are an attractive item because it is extremely expensive to publish and market traditional hardbound books.  There are inventory issues and the problem of what to do with unsold copies.  These issues are not present in the eBook format.  Thanks to technology, the future for these is so bright, they might have to wear shades.

The major issue from day one of the eBook is the annoyance of having to sit at the computer to read a book and the strain of the monitor on the eyes of the reader.  No one wants to read an entire book while sitting in some office chair.  Thanks to eBook readers like the Kindle and Sony, they have gained major steam with the everyday reader.  These eReaders are portable and are easy on the eyes.   They almost appear exactly like the page of a book.

eReaders are great for those who like to read multiple books at a time because many of them can store hundreds and even thousands of books.  There is no need to carry large books around anymore.  In fact, the Kindle allows you to buy books from Amazon right where you are.  Even my iPhone has an application for reading eBooks.  There are more readers popping up quite frequently.

Another advantage in addition to carrying your whole collection with you is the ability to have some privacy.  I hate reading a book and having someone come up to me and talk about why they liked it or even why I shouldn’t read it.  Besides, I look smarter when people don’t suspect I am reading Calvin and Hobbes.

Lastly, eBooks are much cheaper than the real thing.  I just bought an electronic college book for a $100 discount.  Whether you’re an author saving cost or a literary enthusiast eBooks are here to stay.

The technology behind the Kindle is excellent in the fact that you can hold your entire library, 100+ titles, in a little over 10 ounce of handheld reader with the option of SD memory cards to expand your library even more. It’s smaller than a paper back and more convenient with none of that page turning hassle.

Another feature that sets Kindle a part from other ebook readers is that it boasts a paper-like screen. It provides a crisp black and white screen that imitates the readability of printed paper. It’s not backlit like a computer monitor so it’s easier on the eyes. It’s also handier than a paperback because you can bump up the font size to make readability easier.

One of the things I love best about the idea of going digital for books is the price for two reasons: 1.) they are much cheaper than hardback books at around $6.95 a novel and 2.) ebooks are an up and coming medium in which authors will be published. I will confess that I’m a die-hard book reader, and even if the Kindle becomes the next big thing, I will still buy my favorite titles in their hardbound original versions, although in most cases I’ll be paying three times more for them.

The Readius is an e-reader and cell phone in one package.  The display measures 5 inches diagonally, making it the largest cell phone display available.  However, when you close the display the phone is the size of an average cell phone.  “The exclusive device exploits the versatility of rollable displays to merge the ‘reading friendly’ strengths of e-readers with the ‘high mobility’ features of mobile phones.”

Other features of the Readius are:

• 1/3 the average weight of e-readers
• 30 hours of continuous reading

The Readius will be available for commercial launch by the middle of 2008.

To read more about Polymer Vision’s Readius, visit:

Readius® commercial product brings e-reading comfort to mobile phones using rollable displays