Electronics Blog

You can’t escape the eBook reader phenomenon – lately, these little gadgets are causing quite a stir in the electronics world, and are some of the most sought after gifts of recent months. But if you’re looking to find the best eBook reader, whether for yourself or a loved one, how do you choose?

Two main players are grabbing most of the attention in the eBook reader world. These are the recently-debuted Apple iPad, and the more established (time-wise) Amazon Kindle. Both are popular products, but do their features overlap or do they work in different ways to do the same job? The following review takes an in-depth look at the products’ features.

Their specifications

The Apple iPad and the Amazon Kindle have very different specifications. The latter is primarily optimized for reading eBooks with its monochrome screen ideal for text, but is very lacking in any other features.

If you’re looking for a multifunction device more akin to a notebook however, the Appled iPad will fulfil your needs with the ability to browse the internet, type up documents, listen to songs and nearly anything else that can be done with a notebook. As with a notebook, however, it is less suited to reading books for an extended period of time.

With regards to which would actually be the best eBook reader, the iPad is high on features but not as appropriate for reading text on its screen for long periods at a time compared to the Kindle. The Kindle specializes in making the experience of reading an eBook from its screen comfortable and pleasurable, and does it better than the iPad.

Price comparison

If you’re thinking iPad is the clear winner just because it has more functions, you’d be wrong. After all, the original Kindle costs around half of what the iPad costs. However, the Kindle DX is where the real comparison lies. With a similar price and little extra functionality, unless all you want to do is read, you might be better off with the iPad. But for the avid reader, the original Kindle is still a fantastic choice.

Do You Really Have to Choose?

Though most of us probably won’t be investing $700+ into buying both the Kindle and the iPad, one area where you don’t need to make a choice is the eBooks themselves. With the launch of the iPad comes the launch of iBooks, a service to rival Kindle’s own bookstore. However, if you do buy an iPad you can still take advantage of Amazon’s more competitive prices with the Kindle App for iPad.

Since this software version of the Kindle covers many different platforms such as Windows and Macintosh PCs, the best eBook reader may in fact be a software version that allows users to choose any hardware they want.

Sammy runs eBook Reader Guide, the best place to find Kindle news and unique iPad covers and cases. Why not take a look at the latest iPad accessories review to take a look at accessories available online – they are trendy, eco friendly and fun!