Will the Real eBook Reader Please Stand Up?
If you’re still reading paperbacks on paper, it’s time to wake up and smell the technology! It’s the age of the eBooks and eBook readers have never been more popular. The two eBook readers currently topping the charts are the Amazon Kindle and the Apple iPad.
First to hit the eReader market, the Amazon Kindle is doing well for itself despite tough competition. This lightweight reader (289 gm) is a good buy if you like travelling with a bookshelf. Reading the latest Dan Brown thriller while lazing on a hammock by the sea, couldn’t be easier with the Kindle’s greyscale display screen, immune to light reflections. However, if you are looking for a bit of jazz, pick the Amazon-challenger, the Apple iPad. Its full colour touch screen with ambient light sensor makes reading newsletters or browsing the Web a delight. The Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity systems make downloading books from the iBookstore a “60-second” miracle.
Kindle, with its 3G capability, is not to be outdone. You are spoilt for choice with over 540,000 titles available for download from the Kindle store. The content is restricted to the Digital Rights Management format. Digital Rights Management(DRM) is an access control system that protects and controls how content is distributed and used online. Kindle eBooks can also be viewed on a Computer and laptop, unlike the iPad eBooks, which cannot be viewed even on other Apple devices.
The real eBook reader is definitely the Amazon Kindle. For other times, when you need a Web browser, an eBook reader, a movie player, a jukebox and a photo album all rolled into one sleek device, turn to the Apple iPad.