Hardware

Kindle 2011 has a 6-inch E Ink Pearl display with a resolution of 600*800 pixels and 16 levels of grayscale. The device offers 2 GB of internal memory, but you can only use 1.25 GB to store your own content. Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow to expand memory through SD or micro-SD. As for the battery life, it is considered fairly solid, with the lifespan accounting for around a month. The reader only takes four hours to fully charge through the micro-USB port on the device. The same port is used to load your own media like books and pictures.

The new Kindle 2011 is the lightest one across the series, and feels noticeably different from its predecessors. The company claims that this model is 30% lighter and is able to fit into your pocket, unlike the previous editions. The reason is because there’s no physical keyboard, because the device uses a virtual one instead. However, the biggest drawback of it is that it isn’t the standard QWERTY model you are used to. For some reason, it features an ABC style keyboard which is really hard to type on. However, for people who don’t use the keyboard much it won’t matter anyway.

Another thing contributing to the lightweight design is no audio in the reader. The device has neither 3.5mm headphone jack nor built-in speakers, which means that the users won’t be able to download or listen to audiobooks. Meanwhile, the absence of the keyboard and audio functionality leaves the device in the range of many new ereaders, like the Nook Simple Touch or Kobo Touch. Moreover, Kindle isn’t a touch screen model, but instead uses the 5-direction D-Pad to navigate through the settings.

The device only uses Wi-Fi to facilitate connection to the web, while there is no 3G model. Overall, the hardware design is quite minimalist, and the device doesn’t have many ports or buttons – only home, back, settings, and keyboard button on the front, plus left/right page turns on the corresponding sides. At the bottom of the device there are micro-USB and power buttons. The device itself is a very slick thing, and it’s great it can finally fit in the back pocket while weighing next to nothing.

Software

The Kindle 2011 is running an updated version of the Amazon Kindle operating system. Both menus and books load quite fast compared to the prior models of the Kindle. Still, there’s not much difference with the home screen for prior Kindle users. The screen just lists all books on your device, allowing you to scroll between them with the page turn buttons. In case you have got a lot of books on the device, it offers a functionality to create your own collections.

Using the main settings bar, you can access the Kindle Store and change your orientation. It also allows to sync and access the Internet browser. The latter hasn’t actually changed with this updated release. Still, it has a number of new features making this model great for surfing the web. The browser allows changing the font size of the site you are viewing, which is especially convenient when making blogs with small fonts appear larger in size. Another great feature is Article mode, which condenses the text, making blogs extremely easy to read. This feature also makes the text appear from left to right and fit the screen of the device perfectly – that’s convenient as the users doesn’t have to scroll from right to left when reading.

As for the reading experience, it is also great. The books look tremendous, with the cover art being stellar with high contrast and resolution. The device can read Kindle format (azw), as well as txt, pdf, html, doc, and many others. Despite the fact that the company does try to lock the user into their ecosystem, it still allows to load in their own books. People using software like Calibre are able to convert non-DRM books from, say, EPUB or other formats to MOBI, which can be read by Kindle.

While reading a book, the orientation can be easily switched from landscape to portrait mode. In addition, Kindle 2011 features more robust page turns then prior offerings. As for the Kindle store, it didn’t change either – the user still has a lot of options to purchase books, newspapers, and magazines. For gamers, the store offers a wide selection of games designed especially for ereaders.

Wrap-Up

The soundest reason to choose this device over others, aside from the cost, is its portability. The company has given up with the physical keyboard and sound, thus making the device the lightest electronic reader ever. The item can easily fit in the back pocket, thus being very convenient for lots of people who may want to use Kindle to travel or bring to the beach.

There are a couple drawbacks, including the virtual keyboard and the absence of expandable memory. Therefore, if a user stores a bunch of books on their device, it may fill up fast, because the device only allows for 1 GB of storage. In addition, the keyboard differs from the standard QWERTY that most people are used to on ereaders or smartphones.

However, the advantages undoubtedly outweigh the drawbacks. In fact, Kindle 2011 can be viewed as a normal model without some of the hardware features. The best thing in it is the updated Kindle operating system. Thus far, Kindle is available on the Internet. People residing outside the United States may find it hard to get the device. Still, the consumers from Australia, New Zealand, and Europe can try to order the reader from the retail shops. Now, with the Christmas quickly approaching, experts predict this reader being habitually sold out.

This tablet is the second iteration of the original Nook Color, which was a huge success for the manufacturer and has been its bestselling device. This ereader is recognized as a solid second offering by Barnes and Noble, providing the user with the dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. Meanwhile, the new device cost the same as the original Nook Color – $249 in the United States.

Hardware

The Nook tablet has a 7-inch multitouch display, featuring a resolution of 1024*600 pixels, running a dual-core 1GHZ processor and having 1 GB of RAM. The device offers the internal storage of 16 GB, which can be further extended through the Micro SD up to 32 GB.

All in all, the hardware is the same as that of the original Nook Color, but in most cases outpaces it in every way. It will be almost instant to switch the reader from landscape to portrait mode. In addition, the interface navigating is also very quick and robust. At the same time, the form-factor of the new device is lighter and slimmer, thus enhancing the portability factor. The reader features a small built-in microphone on its front, which lets the user to record their own voice in certain ebooks allowing for “read and record” feature. This would also benefit new apps like Skype. The ubiquitous “N” located on the front will bring the user back home during exploring applications or menus and reading books. What is new about this key in this tablet is that it can call up the main menu, which is very convenient, as it takes you the only hit on the key to get full access to the library, Internet browser, store, and apps. In other words, it would makes life much simpler than the original tablet, since the latter only brought the user back to the home screen and needed a touch area to bring up the main menu.

There are physical volume buttons on the sides of the Nook tablet, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top. At the bottom of the reader there’s a micro-USB port, allowing you to charge the device through the personal computer and transfer content to it. A power button used to lock the device or turn it off is located on the left hand side of the tablet. Physical buttons may appear more convenient on the tablet, because, for example, turning up the volume is much easier accomplished with physical buttons instead of the screen experience.

As for audio and volume, the speaker is located on the bottom of the device and this position became a matter of contention with many consumers who find the speaker muffled when the device is being holding in landscape and portrait mode due to the hand overlapping. Finally, the device allows to browse the web with the built-in Wi-Fi browser, and also has full Adobe Flash integration allowing for playing games and watching embedded videos. The online experience hasn’t changed much since the original tablet, except for the noticeable enhanced processor and RAM during scrolling around Internet pages and zooming.

In other words, the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet represents a solid 2nd-generation device in terms of hardware, which doubles everything of the original tablet.

Software

The Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet runs Google Android 2.3 – a more current version of the operating system than the original tablet had, featuring many benefits like faster loading time on major UI elements.

The menus and settings features also reiterate the original device, but the company has expanded on lots of the Graphical elements making it feel like a more current tablet. Although major part of Android tablets is regarded as e-readers that provide the user with a standard Android experience, this manufacturer has always crafted its own unique appearance.

When you hit the N button on the front, the device brings up the main menu, making accessing common tasks easier then earlier, with the main options being home screen, library, store, search, applications, Internet and settings. The home screen is rather customizable, allowing the user to hold down on a book or app and manually put it on any place of the main screen. There’re 3 different sub-screens that can be accessed, apart from the main one: the first allowing the user to make it dedicated to applications, another to books and the last one to magazines, newspapers or children books – it’s up to you what to choose.

In addition, there’s a new option called “More” on the top of the main home screen, located on the right hand corner. It is divided into three different areas for the user to quickly pickup where they left off in a certain book, access the recent files and check out past videos. Moreover, when the user signs into their main Barnes and Noble account, the latter will present new media for the user based on their reading or viewing habits.

As for the Library shelf, it has new navigation entries and has also undergone a revision in regards to the way things are laid out. In addition, it feels much more initiative than the previous model, as before the user had to jump through different hoops to simply get access to children books and applications, but now the user is free to easily make their own collections and organize purchased media.

Wrap-Up

While other ereaders are primarily an American-only devices, locking you out of purchasing applications, videos, music and major part of magazines unless you can provide an American credit card and address, with Barnes and Noble Nook tablet you are free to get whatever you want by simply claiming that you have an American billing address and using your own credit card. Indeed, these multimedia tablets are extremely popular in rich ecosystems in such countries as Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand – the users from those countries undoubtedly prefer the Nook tablet.

All in all, Barnes and Noble Nook tablet is a really great device, with the customization factor being one of the most endearing. The user is free to craft their own experience both in the way the home screen is displayed and in the way the shelves are set. As for battery life, it is solid at around 9 hours and the online experience is very rich and deep.

iriver’s follow-up electronic reader to the Story (which was first to be presented on the US market), the Story HD, offers a reader a redesigned piece of hardware. However, you might not recognize a 2011 product from the first glance. In fact, the device’s design is retro in some ways – little goldish brown pill-shaped keys like it has always been, and a matching goldish brown rubberized back cover.

Meanwhile, the iriver Story HD’s software is really simple and stark, so you will not be surfing the Internet on this one. Nevertheless, the market for readers is rapidly expanding and there’s enough room for all shapes that you may like.

Hardware

This ereader’s physical presence is a little startling for the current year. Although its design is not entirely outdated, iriver Story HD still obviously fails to move the hardware forward in any considerable way.

The front of iriver Story HD features a 6-inch E Ink screen, as well as a full keyboard having 38 tiny keys, and a metal hardware rocker used for navigation. The device also has dedicated home, back, enter and option keys on front. Meanwhile, the back of iriver is made of a golden brown plastic, featuring the power button on the bottom left hand corner coupled with a SD slot right above it. The device itself is very light – it only weighs 7.3 oz, which is at least less than Nook or Kindle. Although at a first glance its keyboard doesn’t look like great for typing, it appears surprisingly accurate and comfortable. The dedicated buttons work just great, you will be able to easily find them by feel after the first use of device, all of them having a good tactile response. iriver Story HD is able to hold up to 32GB with an SD card, aside from 2GB on board. As for the battery life, it is the same as with most E Ink readers – just excellent. The manufacturer claims that the device gets up to 6 weeks on standby, and this is most likely true.

However, the situation is not the same with the metal, 4-way rocker in the center of the ereader, which is usually used to navigate menu and turn pages. Despite the fact that the button itself is placed quite accurately, it still feels a little mushy and from time to time misses a press, leading to momentary confusion in the ereader’s ability to update on cue. In addition, there’s another significant gripe from the hardware perspective: the device is boxed with 2 nice branded covers, and the ereader fits nicely into them, but to wake it from sleep mode you will have to slide the power button on the back of it, which requires you to physically remove the unit from the case. Of course, this isn’t ideal either from design or use perspective. Moreover, one can find it very annoying.

Still, the best part of iriver Story HD is undoubtedly its high resolution of the screen, so its main purpose – reading – is quite enjoyable on the device. You will notice that the text is rather crisper than the Nook or Kindle, as they both offer a lower resolution. Meanwhile, page refresh is on par with the latest Kindle edition, but a bit slower than the Wi-Fi Nook. As for the rest, though the hardware is all about basic and not pretending to be high end by any means, the entire design of the device is undoubtedly functional, intuitive, and offering a nice feel in the hand. iriver Story HD didn’t reinvent design of ereader, but its thin and light slab with screen and keyboard looks like the right thing to start with. Overall, the build quality of this ereader is high, despite the fact that pushing on its corners does produce some creaking.

Software

The software of the device is one of the reader only. In other words, you won’t find web browser, games, or any other special options. You won’t be able to take notes, or highlight the lines you liked (though it offers a bookmark feature). The device supports PDF files and offers a built-in edition of the Collins dictionary. In addition, iriver has cooperated with Google in order to bring its ebookstore to this ereader. Actually, not many readers do a lot of Internet browsing on their electronic books. Except for that, the software is very sparse, but intuitive in use. As for the speed of the unit, it is the same as that of its current competitors. Although the Wi-Fi may seem a little slow to connect, it still remains very stable after getting connected.

Ebookstore interface provided by Google offers a very basic search function, but there’re 2,000,000 free books that you can load up on the ereader, along with tons of others you are offered to purchase. The problem is that Google’s book proposals can’t compete with offerings of Amazon or Barnes and Noble, so the iriver Story HD can be considered at some disadvantage to those companies’ ereaders. Indeed, the books that Google offers for free are mostly OCR scanned, since they’re free of copyright, and therefore often leave something to be desired. As for Google’s paid selection, it still seems to be a lot smaller than other companies’ offerings.

Wrap-up

As we can see, iriver Story HD is not a bad product, though you can find a better one at this price. Nevertheless, taking into account the very simple interface of this ereader and the sometimes disappointing Google’s ebookstore, the device in question shows a fairly satisfactory overall experience. While we have to admit that it isn’t able to compete in all perspectives with the Nook or Kindle, it still doesn’t lose against those rivals, either. Indeed, as a utilitarian product, iriver Story HD does not fare too badly, considering that the performance of the unit is solid, without any sluggishness and delays. For many customers, the real sticking point while choosing will be in the ereader’s price point. Priced at $139, this device cost the same as the Wi-Fi-only Nook and Kindle, while both of these devices outshine iriver’s offering in a number of key points. If, say, iriver Story HD were a $99 device, the users could much easier overlook most of the very minor drawbacks to the electronic reader.

The Bebook Club S is the latest edition to the electronic reader offerings by the Netherlands-based manufacturer. This edition is actually their expansion on popular Club unit that faced critical success in Europe thanks to its low price point. The new electronic reader provides users with new features but doesn’t have Wi-Fi and other options.

Hardware

The device has a 6-inch E Ink pearl display with a 600*800 resolution and 16 levels of grayscale. This edition doesn’t have touch screen, and navigation is performed with the D-Pad and manual page turn buttons. In addition, there are physical buttons allowing you to access the settings menu – those are different, each depending on which app or book you are reading. The Bebook Club S is quite fast thanks to the 800 MHZ Marvel CPU Processor. Most devices of this kind today launch with 400 to 500 MHZ, which makes them suffer while users are trying to open books or navigate around the interface. That’s why Club S is regarded as one of the quickest electronic readers these days.

The reader has 2GB of internal storage for the books and songs, and this can be expanded up to 32GB through the SD Card slot. As for battery life, it is quite solid with about a month of reading, and it needs only 3 hours to fully recharge. However, the device doesn’t have any LED or battery indicator showing that the device is powered off or is being charged. Do not forget to charge the reader up with a USB wall charger for 3-6 hours right after purchase before powering it on.

You can find a Mini USB port on the bottom of the reader, which is used for charging and facilitating a data connection to the PC to transfer content. In addition, there are also volume controls for the 3.5 mm headphone jack that allows listening to audiobooks and music. Moreover, the power button is for some reason also located on the bottom of the device, though many users are more used to it being on the top. Thus, the bottom actually is where all of the ports are, while you won’t find anything on the top or sides of the reader.

The hardware of the device is mainly solid, applications open fast and the ereader is very responsive. Although there’s no web or Wi-Fi, there are a lot of people who want to purchase electronic readers to just read.

Software

The device is running on the Linux OS, common for the most E-Ink based devices. The homescreen is quite minimal, displaying the library, SD card, shortcuts, documents, settings and apps. Those are very sparsely populated and may appear a turnoff if you expect lots of them – they are limited to a calendar, clock and calculator only. Another main option is self-explanatory – both SD card and documents have the same structure and simply show what is there on the SD card. Clicking on them or shortcuts will automatically open the app.

As for the Settings menu, it is quite deep and extensive. Bebook Club S allows the consumer to associate various programs bundled on the device to open up various ebook formats! In other words, you are free to make this device use FB Reader, Cool Reader or the default PDF reader for all formats it is directly supporting. Each of them provides you with the unique options to edit things like font, style, and many more! For example, FB Reader offers 18 different fonts to choose from, including Adobe, San Serif, and Courier. It also offers 23 different font sizes with previews of how the text will look after applying them.

Another way this ereader shines is that it is completely compliant with Adobe Digital Editions. You are able to easily shop with other stores if their books are in EPUB format, and directly load the media on the ereader while it is connected with your computer through the mini-USB cable. If you connect Bebook Club S with your personal computer with the device turned on, you’ll be able to allow the reader to act as an external memory.

Wrap-up

The reader in question feels very lightweight, so it will be easy and convenient to hold it in your hands over a long period of time. Indeed, Bebook Club S is just a dedicated electronic reader and doesn’t actually allow you to do anything else other then listening to music. For some reason, the default application to play the music isn’t even in the main menu – instead, it is buried in the settings menu during the book reading or in your library, which is quite weird.

Usually, when new devices appear on the market, they are always compared to the well-known products of Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Today consumers are getting used to devices offered at the price of $100, offering a full touch screen experience and allowing you to connect to the web and purchase books directly to the device. This way, it’s getting very hard for small firms to compete with the giants because of added costs to manufacturing and distribution.

Since the Bebook Club S doesn’t have touch screen or Wi-Fi, this may be a significant drawback for some, but the device still shines in areas the others do not. Users looking for a device allowing the maximum of creative control to change the apps dedicated to opening the electronic books like FB Reader, Cool Reader and PDF reader can be sure that it’s a right choice for them. Usually, PDF newspapers and comic books look really awful on a 6-inch screen, but this one provides the user with so much flexibility and control that they look rather solid. It’s really good to not be locked into a single ecosystem, but be able to do business with other ebook shops.

The drawback of the device is that it doesn’t have Internet browser and Wi-Fi that may turn some consumers off. In fact, there’re only 3 apps which aren’t even used by many consumers. Today you can find this device at $129 at the main Bebook site. In addition, shipping international is usually about $30. All in all, Bebook Club S is a great device for people who are already tired with page turns flickering every page and want maximum creative control in their reading experience.

The Pocketbook 912 PRO has been released in Eastern Europe and may be introduced in the US next year. This latest generation 9.7-inch electronic reader features some really surprising new options. The device can be regarded as a step in the right direction for the manufacturer and undoubtedly elevates its game through delivering touch screen displays that customers want. In addition, the Wi-Fi and web experience is also a welcome addition to the lineup – the reader even supports HTML5.

Hardware

The Pocketbook 912 PRO features a 9.7 inch touch screen, having a resolution of 1200*825. As we can see, the big selling point on this reader is its touch screen interface, coming with a bundled stylus, which is necessary for interacting with the device. Indeed, you will soon find out that the fingers don’t register with the device, and you need Stylus anyway to take advantage of the new interface. In case you lost it or do not want to use the touch screen, there’s still an option of using D-PAD and manual page turn buttons.

Meanwhile, interacting with the touch screen on this edition is very fluid and fast – it is about hit or miss when using the stylus, trying to turn the pages of a book. However, it’s very quick in launching applications and browsing the web. This device is one of the few released by the manufacturer with full wireless access to the web. Pocketbook 912 PRO has a switch on its top allowing the user to manually switch it on or off. This is useful for extending the battery life of a single charge if you aren’t connected to the web.

The device boasts a 533 MHZ processor, 256 MB of RAM, and 2 GB of internal storage, which can be easily increased up to 32 GB through the MicroSD card. However, it seems that the hardware sometimes fails to keep up with the touch screen. Considering the fact that this device’s rivals are usually running 800 MHZ CPU and at least 512 MB of RAM, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the hardware feels a bit sluggish.

A touch panel adds some extra weight to the ereader, though the item still isn’t super heavy. Pocketbook introduces the device with two speakers offering you stereo sound, with solid volume levels. You can also plugin some headphones through the 3.5 mm headphone jack. One may be surprised to see a full 360 accelerometer switching from landscape to portrait mode really quickly. Most of the electronic readers usually suffer from a long delay during switching orientations, but Pocketbook 912 PRO does a great job. Virtually all menus and programs can switch up your prospective, except for the built in Internet browser and applications menu.

Software

The Pocketbook 912 PRO runs on the standard Linux OS the company is known for. Its homescreen is well designed and features a clock, dictionary, list of last read books and your most popular applications and features. Usually the consumers prefer using the dictionary, Internet browser, music and photo applications. In addition, there are a lot of games bundled on the ereader.

Dictionary support is quite extensive, featuring about a dozen of different iterations depending on your language – the company is known for marketing their devices to an international audience. Pocketbook 912 PRO supports English, French, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, German and many other languages. There are also about a thousand of books shipped on the reader, which lets you get reading right away. If you want something else to read, you are free to tap into the Bookland store the company has partnered with. In fact, there isn’t a huge selection of content on the device, which can’t be an advantage. There aren’t many bestsellers or popular books, but you can still find a fair number of classic books that are optimized for this device.

The Pocketbook 912 PRO provides access to lots of book formats, which is also a big selling point on the device. It seems that the company is aware that the users are tired of having to endlessly convert their collection to a certain format to be able to read the books. Those are easily organized through the Library application, which does a great job telling you what format the books are. Although it makes it easy to find out what content presents in your main library, there’s still no way to sort books into collections right on the device. To do so, you will have to open up Windows Explorer and create directories by hands. You are also free to use the third party applications like Calibre to sort books by authors or other factors.

The consumers will choose a giant electronic reader despite the fact that the 6-inch devices are much cheaper, because 9.7-inch editions shine reading PDF files, various technical documents and newspapers. Indeed, the device offers lots of re-flow and zooming options to optimize reading experience. For example, the newspapers look exceptionally well, as the device features minimal configuration warranted to see the best display. As for, say, scanned books, they take a bit longer to flow properly, but it may help if you have them show up in landscape mode. Meanwhile, before getting PDF files show up properly, you have to thoroughly configure zooming options on each individual file.

Wrap-up

Consumers looking for a device designed for PDF reading and preferring E-Ink to backlight readers like Apple iPad are recommended to try the Pocketbook 912 PRO in regard to multimedia accessibility and content display. This electronic reader is a really solid device that looks very slick. Although it is a bit heavy, a large 9.7-inch screen reader isn’t supposed to be held in a single hand for long.

Pocketbook 912 PRO is recommended for users that need such device for work or presentations, as the market craves for a good large screen E Ink-based electronic reader optimized for PDF files and newspapers. The disadvantage of the device is that it’s from an independent company, whose products are a bit expensive. However, Pocketbook boasts a great track record of making ereaders within the last years.

Amazon Kindle Fire weighs only 413 grams and perfectly fits the hand. Moreover, due to this weight which is optimal the users will not feel tired after holding the device for quite a long time. The tablet is a continuation of the Kindle electronic gadgets’ line. In the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet there is a specially designed browser Amazon Silk which is in charge of the Internet surfing. This browser is capable of significant reducing the time which is necessary for downloading a remote server with the help of Amazon’s own technology – EC2. The functionality of Amazon Silk is enhanced, when compared with the usual solution from Google. The users of Amazon Kindle Fire now can download web pages in the background in a preliminary mode. The device works with the AppStore, so it’s also possible to download all your favorite games and applications – Angry Birds, Plants vs. Zombies, The Weather Channel and more. In addition, a unique top-paid application is accessible for downloading without charge every day.

As the tablet has 8 GB internal memory from which about 6GB can be used for an owner’s content. It allows a user to download, on average, up to 80 different applications, up to 10 movies, 800 songs, or 600 e-books and newspapers. For increasing running speed Amazon Kindle Fire is equipped with a processor with 2 active kernels, the operating frequency of 1 GHz, which is quite a good indicator. In addition, the device supports free data storage on the strange servers for Amazon content. In other words, it’s a cloud-based storage. Even in case of unexpected situations and errors, a user can always re-download purchased applications and stored data. However, as opposed to iPad2, there is no camera and microphone for video calls in Amazon Kindle Fire. The gadget also doesn’t have 3G connection module but it is able to transmit data by means of the wireless technology – Wi-Fi. Connect by means of the cellular networks is not possible. The device runs on Android, but the Android Market is not accessible. Kindle Fire doesn’t contain GPS.

One of the Amazon Kindle Fire’s advantages is the price as this device can be purchased for $199, while the cheapest iPad of the last generation will cost $499. The cost of Amazon Kindle Fire is more than in a half lower of the average cost of the tablets which are now sold on the world market. For example, the price of the HTC Flyer tablet, which, incidentally, also has a 7-inch screen, is $499. Another competitor of Kindle Fire is undoubtedly Nook Color which price on the market is $249. As Amazon sells its Kindle line via own online store, the prices of the electronic devices are not overstated, as it often happens in case when gadgets are distributed through retail intermediaries.

It’s worth to get acquainted with the main features of Kindle Fire in detail. As it was mentioned, Amazon Kindle Fire has 7-inch anti-glare touch-screen display which is based on IPS technology, with 1024*600 pixels resolution, 169 ppi (pixels per inch), and 16 million colors. Pixel density is slightly higher than those of iPad which has 132 pixels per inch. The size of the tablet is 190 mm x 120 mm x 11.4 mm. There are no system requirements, as it is a completely self-contained device does not demand interaction with a computer. Battery of Amazon Kindle Fire enables a user to read up to 8 hours, or to watch video up to 7.5 hours non-stop and without switching on Wi-Fi. The use of wireless communication has an influence on battery life, including the possibility to download content and surf the web. There is the included adapter which guarantees the full charge for about 4 hours. Amazon Kindle Fire has USB 2.0 Port (micro-B connector), so USB-connection can be also used for charging from a PC. The device can be used by a user if he has an access to public and private Wi-Fi networks or hot spots, based on 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.1X standards of communication. It’s also possible to use enterprise networks if a user is authenticated by entered password. But ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks are not suitable for Amazon Kindle Fire. There are top-mounted stereo speakers and 3.5 mm stereo audio jack in the gadget.

Among the formats which are supported by the tablet there are Kindle (AZW), GIF, PNG, TXT, DOC, BMP, MP3, PDF, DOCX, WAV, non-DRM AAC, unprotected MOBI, JPEG, MP4, MIDI, VP8, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), OGG, PRC natively. The device contains Quick Guide for Kinds users, which is already installed. Complete set includes the tablet Kindle Fire, power adapter, Quick User Guide. There is a one year of the device warranty and service. But U.S. residents have an opportunity to extend the warranty period for one more year. It’s an additional option.

The interface of Amazon Kindle Fire mimics the bookshelf, originally showing the destination of this device. This “shelf” is very convenient for accommodating not only e-books, but also music, videos, magazines, and other necessary user’s content.

Sony Reader PRS-T1 has 6 “E Ink Pearl touch-screen display and 600×800 (HxW) pixel resolution, 16 shades of gray. The size of the device is 111 mm x 172 mm x 9 mm with the weight only 168 grams. It is very light even in comparison with six-inch Sony PRS-650. Viewing angle is 180°, without changing its properties. Sony PRS-T1 has 2 GB internal memory from which about 1.4 GB is free for downloading content. One and a half gigabyte of space is enough for e-books, while it’s not convenient to read technical documentation on the device. The garget can be connected to Wi-Fi networks that use 802.11b/g/n standard of connection. The Reader has 3.5 mm audio jack. It’s possible to enlarge the memory with the help of microSD memory cards up to 32 GB. So, there is a slot for microSD of course. Sony PRS-T1 supports AAC, PNG, ePub eBook, MP3, BMP, PDF, JPEG, GIF, and TXT. Micro USB cable is included in the box.

The frame of a new PRS-T1 is made of plastic. The front side of the Reader is made of a black glossy plastic, while there is a rubberized plastic on the back cover. The rubberized back cover makes it comfortable to hold the device because the Reader does not slip from the fingers. All the vital holes there are on the bottom: reset, slot microUSB, earphones, and the power button. Slot for SD-card is under the rubber strip on the left on the back cover. Control keys are traditionally located under the display, and they are almost the same as in the models PRS-650 and 350. Keys are traditionally iron, made like a corner to make it easier to push.

When connected to a USB-port, Sony Reader PRS-T1 asks which mode to choose for work: charging or move for transferring the data. In the data transfer mode the device have to be connected to a PC in the form of two logical drives: the drive itself, where you can upload media data, and a small disk with software – Reader application for Mac and PC. It’s possible to create a new collection of books instantly, sorted according to some criterion. In previous versions of the readers the books had been putted in the collection one by one. It is also convenient to use the program to purchase (or download if they are free) editions from the company online store ReaderStore. Then downloaded and bought books are filled in automatically to the connected Sony Reader PRS-T1 during synchronization. However, it’s also possible to simply copy the books into the appropriate folder of Sony PRS-T1. The home page of the Reader looks like this: above – the currently reading edition, below – the last three editions uploaded, under them – four large buttons which are library, all the notes, collections, and dictionary. On the next page there are seven keys: browser, periodicals, drawing, notes, images, audio, and settings. If you open the library the thumbnails of covers are displayed by default. Presentation mode can be changed on a regular list. Various types of sorting are available in Sony Reader PRS-T1: by date of downloading, title, author, file name and the last read. There is also a search by title and author. Pages are turned by the means of the keys, located below, as well as with fingertips vertically or horizontally. On the Navigate Page of Sony Reader PRS-T1 a user can return to the previous mode, switch to the specified page, and see the contents. Notes show all the comments, bookmarks, and text selection. There are eight versions of the font sizes and seven sets (except the original). It’s possible to customize view in three versions: page mode, crop pages, and the regulation of view. In page mode, there are four types: the original, partitioned two-column, partitioned three-column, placed in landscape mode. Contrary to expectations, and partitioned two-column picture mode does not mean that on one page of Sony Reader PRS-T1 there will be four pages of the book, but vice versa – one page of the book will fit into four pages of reader, so it will be significantly increased and turning the pages will lead to the relocating down, first of all, then right up, then down again. This mode is convenient for all periodicals, but not for ordinary books. It’s also possible to save selected text (it will be available in the relevant list of bookmarks, comments, and notes), add text or drawing annotation, and look for an extract in the text, in Wikipedia and in Google.

Readers from Sony do not support folders, but support a sort of internal folders, called collections. In case of Sony Reader PRS-T1, the collection can be made in the program Reader and there is no need to use some third-party applications. It’s possible to group the books as a user prefers – not only by the name of the author. In addition, one issue may be related to any number of collections. The browser of Sony Reader PRS-T1 is basically designed to work with the online Sony shop, from where a user can download free publications, and buy the publications and periodicals which are not free of charge. Browser goes online via Wi-Fi connection. Wi-Fi is easily adjusted in the settings. To save battery, after five minutes of inactivity Wi-Fi goes into “sleep”.

Sony Reader PRS-T1 has all features which are necessary for effective and pleasant reading.

The tablet is endowed with 8GB of solid state drive which allows a user to download over 5,000 books and 20,000 songs. The memory can be expanded by means of microSD memory cards such as up to 32 GB. The device runs on Google Android 2.3, and there are no limitations which are inherent in Kindle Fire. Android 2.3 gives you an access to more than 15,000 apps and completely at no cost. To communicate with the outside world an adapter of the wireless network is used. But working at 800 MHz, Processor Freescale iMX51 makes Kobo Vox eReader more similar to the Nook Color, than to Kindle Fire. The device allows scrolling through different menus quickly and apps are downloading almost instantly. If the local wireless connection of the Kobo Vox eReader’s user is good, the speed of content downloading will be high. The tablet is available in four colors and weighs about 400 grams which means that the device is compact and suitable for traveling. The amount of RAM is 512 MB. Charge of the standard battery should last for 7 hours. Kobo company issued a firmware update as part of the initial Vox setup routine after configuration WI-FI.

There are physical home touch panels on the front of the device which options include Back, Settings, and Home. It’s convenient for physical pressing the buttons in case of necessity. From the back side Kobo Vox eReader is clean. There is a possibility to adjust the eReader’s parameters of reading which include night reading mode, brightness setting and orientation, 42 sizes, and 7 font styles for preventing the eyes from tiring. Some additional features of the device include automatic last page read bookmark, annotations, highlighting, dictionary look-up, etc.

The Kobo team emphasized that Kobo Vox eReader is integrated in social networking by means of Facebook, Timeline, and Ticker which provide social interaction and a possibility to share the impressions from reading to other people. It is also possible to watch movies, and play music by means of the integrated music and video player. A user has an access to music from RDIO without any limitations. If you shop more than 2.2 million books, you get one million without charge. The customers can use all these books from the Kobo’s ecosystem. The users of Kobo Vox eReader can also read plenty of Zinio® magazines and PressReader™ newspapers. They refer to 3rd party applications. With the newly-bought eReader an owner receives 7 newspapers, 3 glossy color books and 12 magazines as a present from Kobo company. The users of Kobo Vox eReader are offered to try social reading with Kobo Pulse™ which can combine elements from Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook. When you launch the pulse, a solid one page social media screen is displayed.

As for the main home page of Kobo Vox eReader, it compiles the last four books which were read by a user and quick links to a user’s library, the store, Pulse, and Reading Life. The user’s library has a “shelf” where all bought books are located. Bookmarks appear on the books which the owner of the gadget is reading at the moment. It’s also possible to mark the place where you stopped reading and organize collections of the books. The MicroSD cable enables you to download your books from the PC. Kobo Vox eReader natively reads EPUB files. Getjar facilitates the installation of applications. At the same time Kobo eReader sieves not suitable applications. With this device the user gets an opportunity to download on the eReader all content which he wants regardless of the used resources.

It’s necessary to mention about a very useful option which is offered by Kobo company. There are three types of Protection Plans for Kobo Vox eReader: bronze, silver, and gold. Bronze Protection Plan costs $29.99. It means that in case of accidental breakage, such as falls, spills, drops, or some force-majeure, during one year plan period the company will repair or replace the broken Kobo Vox eReader. The second type is Silver Protection Plan which worth $39.99. If accidental breakage happens, an owner is entitled to get repair of the device twice or to get new Kobo Vox eReader instead of the broken one but within two year period of time, as opposed to Bronze Plan. And Gold Protection Plan is the most advanced one and costs $59.99. This Plan gives you the right for three repair and replacement of the Kobo Vox eReader in already mentioned cases within two year time period. The additional advantage of Gold Plan is VIP Customer Care from the company’s experts. It depends on a customer which of three plans to select. Each of Protection Plans will start to act at the moment when a user activates Kobo Vox eReader but not later than in thirty days after delivery. So, warranty and service system of Kobo Vox eReader is very beneficial for the owners of this device. The box includes Kobo Vox™ eReader, Welcome Guide, USB cable, and Power adaptor.

Analogue of Kindle Touch has 3G-module and is called Amazon Kindle Touch 3G. This device, among other things, will allow using mobile connection at no charge, but only in 100 countries, where there are appropriate agreements with mobile operators. Free access will enable a user to download new content from the website of Amazon company. This new device will be on sale from the 21th of November 2011 and its cost will be $149 (on special offer, and also in the U.S.).
Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G are bigger and heavier than the basic version of Kindle, but their batteries retain charge twice better. 6″ E Ink display and possibility of connecting by means of Wi-Fi is available in Kindle Touch. Proprietary waveform and font technology allowed optimizing the Kindle’s display. Due to the display features there is no glare, so it’s possible to read even in sunlight. The Kindle team, while developing Kindle Touch’s design, was aiming at creating a real book-looking device, so that the users could read, forgetting that they use technical device, not a paper publication. Holding Kindle Touch a user is able to flip the pages, like in a physical book. So, the gadget is very easy-to-use and convenient, as its design is ergonomic. Moreover, Kindle Touch is quite light – its weight is just 213 grams (7.5 ounces). That’s why the device is called “pocket-sized”. As turning the real pages is not necessary thanks to Kindle’s touch-screen, a user will not have feeling of being tired. One more advantage of Amazon Kindle Touch is that the device doesn’t get hot when you use it. So, the duration of continuous reading is long. By the way, the hardware of Amazon Kindle Touch is made very well, and the processing is quick. There is also a possibility to transfer mp3 files to Kindle Touch for playing as background music, while reading.

The users of Kindle Touch have an opportunity to customize font (eight variants) and text sizes how they wish with just the push of a button. It prevents the eyes tiring. There are three font styles in Kindle Touch as well which are optimized and hand-tuned for satisfying the readers’ demands efficiently. The device offers full image and photo zoom for comfortable watching. As Kindle Touch supports the display of non-Latin characters, it’s possible to read books and documents in Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Japanese, Korean, and Cyrillic (such as Russian) characters.

Kindle Touch has 600*800 pixel resolution, 167 ppi, and 16-level grayscale. The size of the device in inches is 6.8″ x 4.7″ x 0.40″ or 172 mm x 120 mm x 10.1 mm. As the garget is wireless and a computer is not demanded for content downloading, there are no system requirements. Kindle Touch has 4 GB internal memory from which about 3GB can be used for downloading an owner’s content. It’s enough for 3000 books. Free Cloud storage is available for all Amazon content absolutely for free. It means that the lack of space is not a problem any more. If you read not more than half an hour every day, a single charge of the Kindle Touch’s battery will be enough for about two months device’s use with wireless off. Battery will retain charge up to six weeks if wireless is always on. Battery life of Amazon Kindle Touch depends on the use of WI-FI, including shopping the Kindle Store, the web surfing, and downloading content. Four hours are necessary for full charging the battery with the help of the included USB 2.0 cable (micro-B connector). In this case a connection to a computer is required. U.S. power adapter have to be bought separately.

Kindle Touch can be connected if there are public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security. Password authentication is demanded. But the device does not support WPA and WPA2 secured networks which are grounded on the use of 802.1X authentication methods. Connection with ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks is also impossible. The garget is equipped with rear mounted speakers and 3.5 mm stereo audio jack. Kindle Touch supports such formats as TXT, Kindle (AZW), unprotected MOBI, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), PRC, MP3, PDF natively; PNG, JPEG, DOC, HTML, GIF, DOCX, BMP through conversion. There is the included Quick Start Guide and Kindle User’s Guide, which is pre-installed on reading device already. Complete set of Amazon Kindle Touch includes Kindle wireless e-reader, USB 2.0 cable, Quick Start Guide. Power adapter should be bought separately. The device has one year limited warranty and guaranteed service. U.S. customers have an opportunity to purchase 2-year Protection Plan separately. It’s the additional option for Amazon company’s customers.

Design

The front side panel is made of silver aluminion, the top, bottom and right sides are finished with dark metal stripe. The back panel is made of silver mate plastic. Body parts are joined tightly, they do not ‘play’. The quality of assembly is impressive, that is typical for Sony gadgets.

Bottom edge features Wi-Fi switch, Reset button, micro USB slot, audio jack for earphones and volume controls. Switch slider, SIM-card and memory cards slots together with microphone are located on the top edge. Top and bottom corners of the right side feature special openings for fixing the cover that should be purchased additionally, as there is no cover in default package. Stylus is fixed at the top right corner of the body. It is used for painting and making handwritten notes. The hardware control keys are the same as in PRS-350 and PRS-650 models: turn pages button, power, font and options.

The look of PRS-950 Daily Edition Reader is very elegant. The device is comfortable for one-hand use, due to its elongated shape. The designers did their best to make this device look expensive and ergonomic.

Performance

When the reader is attached to a PC by USB, the system recognizes it as two logic disks: one is for the internal memory where user can upload books and the second one is for software for installing Sony eBook Library that helps to organize the reader’s book collection and buy books at online store.

The home screen contains the link to the book that is currently read, library with the last three books used icons. Below them there are links to periodicals, collections and notebook. In collections there are three default items – unread books, unread periodicals and purchased books. At the bottom of the screen you will find three other inlays – store, applications and settings.

When entering the library, user will see the covers of twelve books. At the top right corner there is a sorting menu. You can sort books by date, title, author, file name and last read. If to press settings button, a settings menu will pop up, offering different options like sort books, add to collection, delete books, etc. Everything looks clear and comfortable in use. The only shortcoming is that the type of book files is not displayed, so user doesn’t know what format he deals with.

Reading

In the native Sony book format, LRF, users are able to change the file size choosing one of six available variants. There is no ability to change the file type. The available sizes are enough for all needs. Text looks clear and it is very comfortable to read it. If the screen displays only a part of the page, special scrolling icons appear, a user can move the page in all directions.

What differs PRS-950 model from two previous is two-page reading mode. It makes reading very similar to pocketbook, displaying texts in double-page spread. In LRF format there are very small borders between two pages, while in EPUB format everything seems fine. Small borders make reading little uncomfortable. When user makes a bookmark, an icon appears at the top right corner. It has a form of bent page angle. At any time user can turn back to the place where he left a bookmark by pressing this icon.

User is able to make notes with the help of virtual keyboard or in a handwriting mode. Page orientation is changed manually, as there is no G-sensor in the device. This is an advantage, as sometimes G-sensor cause discomfort, automatically turning the screen when reading on the move or in a transport. Here you can change screen orientation only by your wish.

Turning pages is made by hardware buttons or with the help of finger touch. Just slide with your finger in any direction of the screen to turn pages back or forward. The touchscreen has good sensitivity and perfectly responses on touches. It is comfortable to hold a reader in the right hand and turn the pages with the help of the thumb.

Applications

The applications include image viewer, painter and dictionaries. In painter user can create freehand notes. Usually it is used as a game for fun. The screen reacts at stylus moves with about a second delay that is not convenient.

The dictionary by default is New Oxford American Dictionary. There are other eleven dictionaries in the pack, including French, German, Italian, Spanish and others. You can set required dictionary in settings menu. User is able to install new dictionaries if needed. When reading text you can look for a word translation directly in the book by pressing on this word with your finger. The dictionary will automatically display its meaning or translation.

Store

Sony PRS-950SC Daily Edition Reader features Wi-Fi and 3G support and has access to Sony Reader Store that sells books and periodicals. You can register in the Store right from the reader. The Store itself is optimized for the reader, so it is very convenient to surf through its catalogue.

General Impressions

The elongated screen of Sony PRS-950SC Daily Edition Reader will be definitely appraised by readers who like reading books with big font size or in double-page mode. 7 in screen is ideally comfortable for reading PDF files. The access to store and big choice of books can satisfy any demand. Access to Internet via Wi-Fi or 3G connection makes this reader suitable for web browsing that is also a big advantage now.