EBook readers seem to hold the answer to a lot of problems. Fewer trees are sacrificed, less money is required to print, transport and store inventory.   Books can also be updated to their latest editions in minutes. It just makes sense especially for textbooks, periodicals and newspapers that are constantly updated.

In Canada we have had the Sony Reader for some time and just recently received Amazon’s Kindle 2 with wireless over-the-air purchasing. Each system brings its own advantages as well as limitiations. Lets see how they stack up against each other.

Amazon Kindle 2.0 (Canadian Version)

The Kindle’s capabilities have been well documented, using greyscale E-Ink technology which approximates text on a book, the device doesn’t just have the ability to display text and images, it also allows for bookmarking,  highlighting and clipping of specific parts of text. The latest software update boosts battery life by over 85 percent and allows the viewing of PDF documents, giving users even more functionality.

Tight integration with Amazon.com made it possible to buy books even before we received the device and these were quickly transferred as soon as the Kindle powered on and established its 3G connection. Similarly, the process of buying books from the device itself is all too easy.

Canadian Kindles, sold via Amazon’s online store for US$312 including shipping and handling fees,  are handicapped with a number of significant features disabled from the get go. The US version allows you unlimited Internet access and while web surfing on the Kindle is not ideal, it could be helpful at times. In Canada, we are limited to Wikipedia and the Amazon bookstore.

Sony Reader

Sony’s  book reader platform requires a computer to go online in order to search and buy eBooks that are transferred to the user’s Sony Reader through USB 2.0 connection as well as through SecureDigital and Memory Stick Pro Duo cards.

The eBook Library has improved from previous generations as the bugs have been worked out and now has been made available to Mac users. Recently launched were two new Sony Reader models, the diminutive 5’ inch Reader Pocket Edition and the 6’inch Reader Touch Edition. These devices cost $259 and $399 respectively. An upcoming Sony Reader Daily Edition with wireless data connectivity is expected to hit the market in 2010. This will likely be the flagship model with features akin to Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Noble’s recently announced Nook Reader.

Sony is taking this  Reader initiative seriously – slowly adding more content to its eReader store although it lacks the Kindle’s global appeal  and large listing of titles. (Sony Store still limited to US and Canada based users with stores in France and England opening up soon) and it continues to launch new devices.

The latest Sony Reader launched in Canada, named the Touch Edition, integrates touch controls for navigating pages, the ability to highlight text as well as make notes with a stylus.

According to Sony, “the Book store has approximately 55,000 titles available for purchase and download. Canadians can also access hundreds of thousands of public domain books from Google, boosting the available titles to Canadians from the Sony eBook Store to more than 400,000.”

Buying Advice

We found that while the Kindle had a compelling enough amount of content, we preferred the offerings of Sony’s Reader store since it had a good selection of bestsellers and a well-rounded selection of science fiction. Each person’s reading inclinations are different so it is a good idea to check the availability of the types of books you like on each device’s online libraries.