While few months ago the future of the eReaders was uncertain, today we can say that the eReaders are here to stay.
Amazon’s Kindle 2 is currently dominating the eReaders market, and the Sony PRS series ereaders are very close behind. Many users have emailed me about which model they should get.
The devices are doing their thing well enough, and I have heard good things about both of the choices. However, there are differences that would influence you decision.
The Amazon Kindle is the top choice for many. The abundance of Books, newspapers and magazines, combined with its wireless capabilities, makes the kindle a no-brainer for people who like user friendly devices.
But, one should keep in mind the lack of native PDF support in the Amazon Kindle. With the conversion in between, many academic and business users should think twice before making this purchase.
The reality is that most of the academic materials are available in PDF format. And, the fact is that Kindle’s conversion algorithm often makes documents display in an awkward way, often having alignment problems. The same is applicable to business documents.
The Sony PRS series ereaders, on the other hand, offer a native PDF support, making them a natural choice for those who consume PDF files. Although reviews say that the Sony ereaders are a little more difficult to master and the lack of wireless connectivity makes the experience a bit different than with Amazon’s Kindle.
But, that’s where things line up. Students and business users would have a computer and an internet connection available to them anyway, due to their lifestyle.
In conclusion:
If you consume newspapers on daily basis and enjoy magazines, you will really like the Amazon Kindle that would deliver the paper every morning and make the magazines and the plethora of books Amazon carries available within seconds via the wireless connection.
However, if you know that you will consume mainly PDF files, the Sony eReaders is the choice for you. The native PDF functionality is worth it.