E-Book Readers: Paperless at a Price
Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Reader cost too much for what they deliver.
By Jeff Bertolucci, Contributing Writer
From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, August 2008
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Amazon.com bills its Kindle as a "revolutionary wireless reading device." And it does have some cool features. The Kindle (and its top rival, the Sony Reader) is roughly the size of a slim paperback and can store a bookcase of digital books. Plus, if your eyesight isn't perfect, the device can magnify the type. But revolutionary? Not really. At least for now, the latest e-book readers offer book lovers convenience at a price.
Crystal clear. Both the Kindle ($359) and the Sony Reader PRS-505 ($300) feature a high-contrast, 6-inch screen. Both screens are surprisingly easy to read, even in sunlight, and mimic ink-on-paper pages. They're not backlighted, so you'll need reasonably bright ambient light to use them.
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The metal-cased Reader has a cleaner, more elegant design and fits snugly in its handsome leather pouch. The numbered buttons in a row along the Reader's right edge provide basic navigation. To find a book by author, for instance, click button number 3. Lefties and righties have separate controls for turning pages, and there's a headphone jack for listening to MP3s. To charge the Reader, you connect it to a personal computer using the supplied USB cable. Sony charges an additional $30 for an AC charger, which is chintzy considering the Reader's high price.
To buy books from Sony's eBook Store, you must use a Web-enabled Windows PC and then transfer titles via USB. The Sony eBook software does a poor job of guiding new users through the book-shopping process. The eBook Store has more than 20,000 titles, but that doesn't match Amazon's library of more than 125,000 digital books. Both devices can also store electronic versions of newspapers and magazines.
The Kindle's white plastic exterior pales beside its competitor's metal sheen, and it seems more fragile, although we didn't drop kick the gadget to gauge its toughness. In our tests, the Kindle kept slipping out of its leather case (which doesn't fasten securely, like the Reader's).
Wireless edge. Aside from a reading list six times longer than that of the Reader, the Kindle has another big advantage: a direct link to the Internet. It uses a Sprint wireless connection to download books from Amazon.com, thus eliminating the PC middleman.
The Kindle is simple to operate, too. Navigation buttons are clearly labeled (for example, "next page"), although their location on the device's right and left borders makes it far too easy to turn pages accidentally. The mini keyboard is handy for entering search terms while browsing online. The clever "select wheel" (similar to a mouse's scroll wheel) is useful for moving between menu options.
Library in a box. The Kindle holds nearly 200 books, and the Reader nearly 160. You can store hundreds more on memory cards. (The Kindle has one card slot; the Reader has two. Cards range from $5 to $120 and hold 1 gigabyte to 8GB.) Battery life varies with usage. The Kindle's lasts longer if you leave the wireless link off until you need it. The Reader's battery lasts up to 7,500 page turns between charges, Sony says. Bottom line: Both devices need recharging every few days.
Of course, a book made of paper needs to be recharged -- oh wait -- never. Plus, it would pass the drop-kick test. But our main gripe with digital-book delivery is the cost. These devices are too expensive given their limited advantages. A portable reader in the $100 to $150 ballpark would persuade us to overlook a lot of drawbacks.
Plus, the electronic books themselves could come down in price. Featured titles on Sony's eBook Store range from about $5 to $19, and Amazon sells most digital bestsellers for $10. Given the significantly reduced publishing and distribution costs, all e-books should cost about $5. Maybe someday.
See current prices for e-book readers and PDAs.
Reader Comments (13)
Posted by: jayjay at 07/14/2008 06:32:41 PM
www.booksinmyphone.com has books you can read on your cell phone. The screen is quite a bit smaller than the dedicated readers, but the reading experience was good for me. If you have internet connectivity you can browse and download directly from mobile.booksinmyphone.com - Oh and they give the books away.
Posted by: Blackbox at 07/15/2008 09:24:27 PM
If the Kindle ever hit around $150, I'd buy it that same day. Great idea, great product. Wrong price point! I'll wait...................
Posted by: Kindle Reader at 07/16/2008 09:48:46 AM
I received a Kindle for my birthday several months ago and it has been fantastic. It is portable, easy-to-read and the wireless feature is extremely convenient. I think it will change how people purchase and read books. I always look for the book on Kindle first now.
Posted by: Elise at 07/16/2008 10:44:05 AM
I do not believe you did a full research into these devices. I own a Kindle and I adore it. It does not slip out of its cover if you bother to catch the plastic piece on the spine. I have even shook mine to see if it would dislodge and it does not. It is not a normal backlight screen for a reason! So that you can read for hours and not cause eyestrain or tired eyes. My kindle lives in my purse and therefore goes through a ton of abuse and I have never yet had a problem with it. Most books on Amazon do cost around $5, it is only the new releases and the really popular books that are $10. It was expensive but at $25 a pop so are books. Plus these are new technologies and they WILL come down in price, just think how much computers have changed.
Posted by: mbi at 07/16/2008 12:50:51 PM
It seems like just another gadget. Does anyone remember when PDA's were hot? Now, they are incorporated into other devices, these readers will evolve.
Posted by: Elise at 07/16/2008 02:27:07 PM
I think most of you need more research. I love my Kindle. It was expensive but so are PDA's and any other life easing machines. Plus the Books are not that expensive (yes I believe in paying for books someone worked to write them they deserve payment) Most are $5. And if you are unscrupulous nothing prevents you from uploading the free ones
Posted by: Stan T at 07/16/2008 03:38:57 PM
Amazon offers many many public domain Kindle books for $.99. That's the great bargain of using the Kindle.
Posted by: Marilyn in Maine at 07/16/2008 07:31:27 PM
I like my mp3 player and the FREE subscription to NetLibrary that my local library has. I can checkout & download titles download free and I listen to them on my mp3 player (iPods don't work).
Posted by: Marvin at 07/17/2008 11:08:25 AM
Traveling for 5 weeks I used to carry 6 or 7 books...With the Kindle I cut down the weight in my Suitcase dramatically....The only downside is that no one else can read the book after you finish
Posted by: Beeney at 07/17/2008 05:11:06 PM
...As some of you have said, it appears that the author hasn't really used a Kindle. I think it is truly a revolutionary product and will change the reading habits of many people. It is superior to the Sony reader simply becasue of its instant connection to Amazon.com. You can purchase a book in a matter of minutes no matter where you are. The great use I have found for it is "copying" articles from newspapers, magazines, and Word documents via email function. What a convenience. Also, you can look at a sample of a book before you buy it. It's a great product and was just the thing for me. I travel a lot. What could be better. As for the price. If you want it now you can have it. If not wait. It will come down in price.
Posted by: Jim C at 07/17/2008 06:29:30 PM
Both of the these two will also let you read html, txt, pdf and rtf files. This is very handy for keeping electronic plane ticket and hotel reservation information as well as email messages and web pages with things to do in an area. Most first run books are expensive as pointed out in the article. All Project Gutenberg book files are available for free so there is no longer a need to pay $8 or $9 for a "classic" novel that you want to reread if you load it on either of these two readers...a few other places sell much cheaper e-books and have a good selection of new authors.
Posted by: Kiloseven at 07/18/2008 11:26:42 AM
All these can do, my phone (Nokia 9300) can do as well... smaller screen, true, but sharp *and* backlit so I can read *anywhere*. I, too, can purchase a book in a matter of minutes, and I can do it anywhere, not just in North America (as the Nokia uses the GSM cellular system, whereas the Kindle is limited to North American CDMA). In addition, I can also *write* on the Nokia, for it can create, edit and view Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, as well as surf the web. Not bad for $150.
Posted by: guest at 01/22/2009 02:13:16 PM
Where the rubber really hits the road on these devices is for books in the public domain. There are lots of web sites out there with ebooks out of copyright for free download. They are horrible to read on a computer, but on an ebook, they may be good reads. I don't know if kindle can accept them, but I believe the Sony Reader can. All of the classics are at your fingertips for free with just a download from a free site.