Fun Reader?! Nintendo Dsi

Do you sometimes get bored of reading your book and need a break or maybe you want to get a little more serious and have a read rather than play your game.

This pocket gadget is actually a bitesize ebook reader with wifi and probably the best portable games console available.

The Nintendo DSialready has a classic books cartridge with 100 classic books.
There is a big future for the ebook reader application on the dsi and as far as those searching for a pocket sized reader and gamer there is no other option.

Scribbler, Jotter - Hanvon 5" Ebook Reader N518

The Hanvon 5" Ebook Reader N518 for English and Chinese with Handwriting Technology

Features:

-Read English and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) Books: hundreds of books pre-loaded free
-Handwriting technology to make notes and comments
-Paper like display by E-ink technology, Audio Book, and MP3 Player
-Ultr slim and light with long battery life: Pocket size, 6.5 oz, 8000+ page flips each recharge
-Extremely large capacity with 4GB SD card (up to 32GB) for thousands of books with support for most popular formats including PDF, TXT, etc

Hanvon E-book Reader enables you to read both English and Chinese books. N518 is the only e-reader device with handwriting technology to let you make notes, comments, and highlights the same way you do when read paper books. In addition for reading books, you can use it to listen to audio books and MP3 music. It has pre-loaded tens of English books and hundreds of Chinese books, so it is really a portable library. In addition to reading English books like any other competing reading devices, pre-loaded Chinese books can be all you need for Chinese reading no matter if you are a Chinese or a westerner learning Chinese. Pre-loaded Chinese books include, but not limited to, novels, literature and poems, histry, Buddhism sutras and master stories, Confucius classics, and Taoism books, etc. Handwriting Letter and word recognition. Media Format Supported TEXT: TXT, HTXT, HTML, PDF, DOC. Image: JPG, TIF, BMP, PNG, GIF. Audio: MP3

The most advance e-reader is here - iRex Digital Reader 1000 S

The display is large (10.2" 1024x1280, I believe the largest currently on the market) and crystal clear and the stylus used for pointing, writing and making comments on existing text, makes it easy to interact.

I've been reading digital newspapers using the PressReader software and PressDisplay website and even used it to read digital versions of Scientific American, the New Yorker and Wired Magazine. Because of the large display I can read these in the same layout as the original magazine, although the text tends to be a bit smaller than the original print.
I use Adobe Acrobat to produce the necessary PDF files if they are not provided by the magazine/journal.

The iRex Digital Reader 1000S displays scientific papers in PDF format without any problems.

On the downside the reader have stalled on me a couple of times when I accidentally pressed a couple of buttons at the same time, but the "downtime" seems much less than some earlier comments on other websites have indicated. Perhaps the new software release 1.6 have addressed some of these problems.

Also the device was a bit slow when loading graphics intensive content such as Scientic American.

Yes the price is hefty, but if you want the really large display and help the environment then this is a great product.

The chosen one - Jointech JE100

The Jointech JE100 features a 7-inch screen that uses an LCD touchscreen instead of e-ink.

Whats it made of?

-400MHz CPU,
-128MB of flash memory, and
-64 MB worth of RAM
-Optional 4GB extra storage.
-Battery life is about 3-6 hours
-USB ports, built in speakers

The JE100 will also have Mobipocket Reader and support for eReader and MSReader.
There are rumours floating around it will be capable of video and audio playback and also possess the ability to view microsoft office documents.

This will be the grand daddy of the ebook readers and is borderline a tablet pc, but doesn't quite make it into that catagorey.

Worth the wait? Only time will tell

Mini Monster - Ectaco Jetbook

The Ectaco jetBook In one phrase: Well rounded! It reads PDF docs with ease. Formatting of docs is great, and it is small yet fast. I can open up a large doc, and it takes only a couple of seconds (with Sony, it took about 10). The screen is smaller than the SONY or Amazon, and I thought it would bother me. Here is the good news: you can rotate your doc! You can read landscape style, and the screen is perfect for that. The device is small that you can control it in one hand, and not heavy that you get tired. The keys are well placed, and the user interface is very simple! I charged it four days ago; been using it since, and the battery is at about 95%!
What I would add to this device: wireless internet access and a web browser. I know this kills the battery life, but it is worth it. I would like a back-light so I can read docs in the dark. None of the readers have this feature, but it would be very good thing to have. It doesn't read SD Cards over 2Gig, but I still have over 1Gig left - with over 200 docs already on the card.

Amazon Kindle DX

Amazon keeps on hitting this Kindle thing right out of the ballpark. The DX is a worthy upgrade to the Kindle 2. From the HUGE screen to the native PDF support to the ability to turn the DX sideways to read, everything is just better on the DX.

1) The packaging is crisp, clean, and similar to a certain fruit vendor from California.

2) The DX comes pre-registered so all you have to do is plug it into the AC adapter and turn it on. The DX does the rest. Within a minute or two, your books will start appearing. From the time the UPS driver dropped off my DX to my first book was less than five minutes. Amazon has made the setup process very, very easy.

3) The native PDF support is absolutely brilliant. I sent a 6.7MB manual to my DX account. It appeared in less than 2 minutes! The fonts are crisp, the graphics are decent, and there is a "go to page" feature that allows you to skip through large PDFs.

4) The gyro-thingie works like a champ. While reading a PDF, I turned the DX 90 degrees. The DX reorientated the PDF automatically. Took less than a second. Not sure how comfortable it will be to read since the next page/prev page buttons are now at the TOP of the page...but it's a very cool feature to have.

5) The keyboard has been improved as well. The keys are now slightly raised and, in my opinion, easier to use.

The DX is expensive. No question about it...but if you do any kind of reading, you owe it to yourself to get one. You will not be disappointed.

Some people might question the e-ink, lack of color, and lack of a touch screen. The DX isn't designed to be a tablet...or have a battery life measured in hours. The DX can run for days with wireless enabled...and up to weeks without wireless. There are tradeoffs to be made. If you are seeking those features, the DX isn't for you.

If you are seeking a huge e-book reader with native PDF support, text to speech, massive storage, whispernet, ability to purchase a book and start reading it in under a minute, access to over 270,000 books plus millions of free books on-line, and enjoy reading, get a DX.

Ok, I did find one minor drawback. The left-side buttons have been removed in the DX. Not sure why. It's only slightly annoying...given all the other brilliant features.

Check out the video review below.

Cool-er than the rest!

Capable of storing between 500-800 novels, the 1GB Cool-er (expandable via SD) uses E-ink technology to replicate the experience of reading a book. It has to be seen to be disbelieved; the glare-free 6” display looks just like paper. You’ll be tempted to lick your finger to turn the pages. It’s also unaffected by direct sunlight, so you can carry on reading wherever you may roam. Amazing!

Simply download your books from any of the countless online sources floating around in cyberspace and drag them on to this USB friendly slice of genius. It’s easier than…erm, picking up a book. Better still, all Cool-er owners receive a 25% lifetime discount at Coolerbooks.com, home to over 750,000 titles, 500,000 of which are completely free. You’re spoilt for choice: thrillers, chick lit, biographies, children’s books, languages, best sellers – we were even gripped by a guide to used Fiat Bravas, which is hardly surprising because we still haven’t got over the novelty of reading books digitally.

Speaking of turning pages, the Cool-er’s iPod-style scroll wheel acts as a menu selector and page turner. It also lets you select from six font sizes and toggle between landscape and portrait viewing. The only thing it won’t do is make some fresh faced Z-listers godawful autobiography remotely entertaining.

It’s not all about the written word though, because this unputdownable little gadget also plays MP3s, so you can listen as you read. Hmmm… Dostoyevsky and Lady Gaga. Indeed it’s a proper format muncher and is compatible with several file types including PDF, EPUB, FB2, RTF, TXT, HTML, PRC and JPG. It’s even multi-lingual and can be used in eight different languages.

If you need more than just a reader . . . Hp iPAQ 214

Lets Keep it simple . . .

HP iPAQ 214 Pocket PC

Pros

* SCREEN (4" transflective TFT, 260K colours, 640 x 480 pixel touch panel display with LED backlight) - fabulous, I love it! ...this is definitely one of its best points. The colour is very good and image is sharp.
* Battery life - It is better than other PDAs out there. Personally I use it a lot and find it isn't enough (2200 battery) so I am upgrading to the monster 4400 battery.
* Set up + installation - easy enough.
* Operating System- Windows Mobile 6
* Expansion - both a CompactFlash and a separate SDHC card slot allows this device to use a 32 GB memory card in each slot for a maximum total of 64 GB of storage......now that a lot of memory!
* Connectivity (Integrated Wireless Integrated WLAN 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR)- I have only used WLAN, which was easy to setup and use.
* Cables and Connectors - AC adapter and mini-USB Port. The AC adapter allows you to both sync and charge the device.

Cons

* Speakers (audio) - poor volume. There are two speakers, but they do not work together at the same time. I hope iPAQ will fix this issue, as it is a major disadvantage of this product. As far as GPS goes, you can forget about (IMHO).
* No cradle
* D-pad -some have commented this is poorly designed. Personally, I do have an issue with it.
* Compatibility issues - It has come to light on many forums that CF cards put a huge drain on the system and some people have gone as far as not even using CF cards and only using SDHC cards. Also, others have found problems with software. Personally, I have not had any trouble with the software I have installed.
* Slip case - this will do if you just want something to protect the product while not in use. However, I prefer something that opens out, so I had to invest in a PDAair case.
* No handbook - minor point but for something that costs this much I would have liked a hard copy. You have to go to the HP website to download the handbook
* Cost of other products - for the first timers among you, remember in evaluating the overall cost you need to account for things like software (in my case medical software, backup software e.g. Sprite, today screen e.g. spb pocket plus (the one installed is very basic), Styletap (so one can use Palm software, as a lot free medical programmes are in Palm format, although many are now doing windows), Opera software if you do not like internet explorer...etc...the list is endless and the sky is the limit); ? new case; screen protectors...etc. The cost of things soon adds up.

SmartPhone Competition - Samsung Omnia

The Samsung i900 OMNIA is Large. It's reassuringly large though. You wouldn't want a device that is capable of so many wonderful things to fit in a pixie's pocket. Plus, as far as I'm concerned - it's a mans' phone, therefore it needs to be big.

If you like taking pictures but find the pretentiousness of carrying around a 15billion megapixel digital camera too...pretentious then this 5MP camera with all it's features - and there are far too many to list - will enable you to do so quietly yet elegantly.

If you're a chav and need every high-pitched, ear-shattering, 'Happy' Hardcore song there is to illegally download then this phone is not for you. Well, yes it is but let's face it, you can't afford it. Which, I think is another plus side - the cost. You're not going to get this phone any cheaper than £350 brand new (for the 8gb) and any cheaper than £430 for the 16gb. So it's reassuringly large and reassuringly expensive too. And not without good reason.

The Omnia boasts a Microsoft 6.1 operating system, the latest software for smart phones from Windows. Included in this software is Microsoft Office 2007, (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and a cheeky little OneNote, which, in my opinion is the loveliest of all Office applications)which is useful for every person who uses these applications on a computer, and a great bundle of bragging rights for those who don't but want to show off.

With the 8gb version you have enough memory to hold up to 2,000 mp3 tracks, or an indeterminate amount of photos. Video quality on the camera is good, however the microphone could be better and sound quality through the phone's speaker is lacking.

Another bad point - the stylus. More specifically, using the stylus to send a message, or to generally type on the phone. Yes, the Omnia comes with 5 different types of keyboard, and yes, one of them will suit you more than the others. The difficult part is that all of them require that you stop walking while texting.

The 3.2" touch screen has haptic feedback, meaning that you know when you've pressed something. Don't sneer at this because this addresses the problem of other touch screens - that you don't know if you've pressed a button or not for at least half an hour!

Windows Media Player comes along for the ride too, and it's unimaginably superior to Samsung's attempt at a media player with their Touch Player.

Battery life is great, unless you're watching films on your device, and, fully charged, will last you around 2 days of normal usage.

Some Omnias come pre-loaded with SatNav. Mine didn't. Woe is me.

Google Maps is another feature that is hugey impressive and hugely handy when you're out and about in a big city.

There's also a nice little feature on the Omnia called screen rotation. This allows you to change your phone's display from portrait to landscape just by turning the phone 90 degrees.

There's a widget bar on the left hand side of the phone, (widgets can be dragged around and dropped) but be warned that if this feature is on you can't have any other features such as clock and calender on simultaneously.

The quality of voice calls is below par. Often it sounds as though the person on the other of the call is screaming at you, and once you've turned the volume down a little you can no longer hear them.

On the plus side though, there is so much crammed into this device that you'll never get bored by it. Whether you're using it for business or for fun there really is something for everybody.

My Note Premium - Mating Pen With PC

My Note Premiumis an A4-size ink pad that can do what the traditional graphic tablet can't-writing your notes on the paper with a pen! There's no typing and no need to carry a Notebook all the time. Furthermore, you can draw the graphics effortlessly by using the pen and normal paper that a mouse and PC can't do.
The handwriting is stored as e-notes in the internal 32MB flash memory, which saves up to 100 pages. When an SD card is inserted, you save 30 times more!

MyNote is not only a notepad, but also turns into a graphic tablet by connecting the MyNote to PC with a USB cable. You could start enjoying the handwriting, free drawing, annotating, and making free notes.

MyNote Premium includes handwriting recognition software MyScript Note 2.0 and file management software MyInk.

MyScript Note 2.0 is a handwriting recognition software that supports the Trainer function to help create your personal handwriting profile in order to enhance the accuracy of character recognition.

When you take this out of the box you have to write a couple of pages to check your handwriting. Straight after that I copied a coupld of pages out of a magazine and it got 95% of what I wrote down perfectly and the rest just got corrected with the spellchecker.

This is going to help so much with coursework. Instead of coming home and then spending hours typing up my notes it will be connected straight to the pc and done in no time at all. The pen is quite comfortable to hold. The 32mb memory built in holds 99 pages and you can just slide in any old SD card. I had an old 64mb that was good for nothing but now adds another 200 pages worth of storage. You can use any A4 sized notepad but for accuracy you have to make sure that the notepad is held securely to the tablet for continouous writing. I have been using this for about 10 hours with no sign of battery wear but the battery for the pen is easily available and the batteries for the tablet are standard AAA.

Irex iliad

Enjoy all your books on the go with the compact and portable iRex iLiad2nd Edition! This electronic book by Irex comes withbuilt-in wireless connectivity that will keep you connected and up-to-date allthe time. The iLiad 2nd Edition is compatible with formats such asHTML, PDF, TXT and JPG and BMP, which means you can view text and photos comfortably. This electronic book also works just like a notepad, allowing you to jot down your thoughts just as you would on paper. What's more, you can send personal messages to colleaguesand receive their comments. When it comes to displaying information, the iLiad2nd Edition has a choice of 16 grey levels, so you can make the font of yourcharacters darker or lighter, depending on what's more comfortable for you. You can carry all your reading material, including books, newspapers and documents around with in a compact, lightweight device, thanks to the iLiad 2nd edition. Software in French, English, German, Dutch and Spanish

Apples' Pocket size Alternatives

The Apple Ipod Touch and the Apple iphone 3G are still contenders for those needing a really compact reader. But as there are too many features to list in words, i have found some videos that do all the talking for me.

Amazon Kindle 2

There's been a lot of anticipation about what Amazon would do for an encore to its much-hyped e-book reader, the kindle, and now that it's finally here we can say that the Kindle 2 is about what we expected it to be. Talk of it being a huge leap forward or going from generation one to generation five in one fell swoop was really, well, just talk. In reality, the Kindle 2 is a nice upgrade over the original Kindle; yes, it leaves off a couple of key items--most importantly removable memory and a protective carrying case--but it makes up for it with a slicker design, improved performance, increased internal memory, built-in speakers, and a new feature, Text-to-Speech audio reading.

Design
The Kindle 2 is thinner--it measures a svelte 0.36 inch at its thickest point--and weighs 10.2 ounces. For the record, it's not the thinnest mainstream e-book reader. That distinction belongs to the Sony PRS-505, which comes in at 0.3 inch thick (the PRS-700 is 0.5 inch thick).

Whispernet: Free cellular data access
One of the key differentiators between the Kindle 2 and other e-book readers is its free, built-in, wireless connection, "Whispernet," which allows you to tap into Amazon's vast online Kindle Store from just about anywhere you can access Sprint's EVDO cellular data network.

The Budget Option - Franklin EBM-911

The Franklin EBM-911 eBookManis an 8 MB multimedia and content player in a pocketable format. With the eBookman, you can download and read or listen to thousands of your favorite books. For reading comfort, the eBookman has a large display that shows 87 percent more information than other handheld devices. If you need to check a definition while reading a book, the eBookman comes with an easily accessible Merriam-Webster dictionary. You can also listen to music by downloading your favorite songs in MP3 format. The built-in microphone allows you to record messages that you can play back anytime, or write quick notes using either the built-in stylus or the pop-up keyboard. The eBookman has a calendar, address book, to-do list, and scheduler. The eBookman features state-of-the-art compression, highly sophisticated search, and easy-to-use hypertext.

The Bebook

Now book lovers can travel with a library in their pocket! The BeBook-eBook Readerlets you store between 1,000 and 4,000 books, newspapers, work documents or audio files in a device the size of a pocket notepad! This e-book is compatible with loads of file formats, including pdf, doc, txt, rtf, html, djvu, chm, fb2, wolf, mp3, png, tiff, gif, jpg and bmp! The Bebook features a display system using electronic ink, so reading is as easy on your eyes as when you're reading a paper format. This device's long battery life allows you to read up to 7,000 pages on a single charge. What's more, you can read the Bebook in the sun, bookmark your pages, choose the size of the text, and display pages vertically or horizontally. Choose this device's audio book mode, and enjoy up to five hours of battery life.

Easy Reading - Bookeen Cybook Gen 3

Bookeen announces the Bookeen Cybook Gen 3 eBook Reader. With 512mb of internal storage it has space for approximately 1000 books and many more with an optional SD card. The Cybooks is the thinnest and lightest Reader with the largest capacity on the market.

Despite some of the drawbacks listed on various web forums about the flat file structure (instead of being able to make folders or directories to sort the content) I decided that the screen quality was for me the main issue. The Vizplex allegedly has better contrast, clarity and speed. I also read in an interview with Bookeen that they are working on a software version that can do the hierarchical file structure that is handy for managing large numbers of books.

So, my verdict on the product now that I have it: I have no regrets at all. It is very slim and light. The screen quality is truly excellent and the screen refresh on page turning is no slower than turning the pages in a book. I currently don't have enough books to suffer from the flat file structure. I can navigate easily, bookmark my place in books, swap between them and finding where I was last reading easily. Maybe the other e-books are better, but this is good enough for me.

I have seen no great downsides yet. When it first arrived it didn't seem to charge, but this was the USB cable. After swapping to another cable I have no problems. I have not experienced the problems reported in some forums (like sometimes needing to reset the device or difficulties with reading SD cards). I would recommend the leather holder as an extra, however. The thing is so slim, even thought the build quality feels good, I feel safer with the extra protection offered.

The Daddy - Sony Reader

The Sony Reader Ebook Prs505sholds about 160 eBooks or hundreds more with optional removable memory cards. Its portable size makes it the perfect travel companion, allowing you to read a variety of books whenever and wherever you want. With thousands of eBook titles available at the eBook Store from Sony, you can choose to download new releases, classics and popular book titles as well as view other document formats such as Adobe® PDF10, RTF, TXT, BBeB® and Microsoft® Word. Its long battery life lasts up to 7,500 continuous page turns, and the amazing paper-like screen technology is easy on the eyes. Easy to read 6 EInk® screen. High resolution and multi-shade grey scale give fine detail on text or black-and-white photos, illustrations etc. MemoryStickTM DUO and SD Card slots allow you to optionally increase capacity up to approximately 13000 titles! Use with headphones to listen to music while you read (MP3 or AAC files). Currently not MAC compatible."

If you like gadgets and collecting "stuff" then this is great even for those of you who don't read much.
If you are into science fiction/fantasy then you will never have to buy another book ever again.
Free stuff is put on the web by technoliterate twenty-somethings with facial piercings. If you share any of their culture then this will be superb for you. If not then you may be disappointed at the lack of content and affordability.