Top Kindle, Nook & Sony eReaders' Product Comparison Reports

With the heightened popularity of hand-held devices in 2009, eReaders took the number one spot as the top gift item this past holiday season. And it appears even with the soon-to-be released Apple iSlate and the proposed Google Netbook nothing is going to stop Amazon's Kindle, Barnes and Noble's Nook and Sony Reader from continuing to battle it out for market share.

To provide our readers with the most up-to-date comparison data on specs, pricing and privacy issues, the following analyses by some of the most reputable industry experts should help you determine the best buying decisions. In a concerted effort not to recommend one device over another, we will let the research speak for itself.

Harry McCrackenHarry McCracken, founder and editor of Technologizer has covered the technology beat for the last two decades. His popular Technologizer Web site received 1.9 million page views from about 400,000 unique visitors in August, 2009 alone. His product reviews are unbiased and his disclosure statement on his Web site notes, "companies who advertise on Technologizer receive no special treatment in editorial coverage; those who don’t advertise aren’t penalized in any way. In my seventeen years in this business, I’ve never changed so much as a syllable to curry favor with an advertiser or potential advertiser–and I never will."

Here is all the pertinent data collected by McCracken pertaining to the top eReaders, published just prior to the holidays.

Technologizer Report

Electronic Frontier FoundationIn December, the Electronic Frontier Foundation issued a first draft to their Buyer's Guide to E-Book Privacy. According to their analysis, eReaders possess the ability to report back substantial information about their users' reading habits and locations to Amazon, Sony, Barnes and Noble and others. EFF felt it was incumbent on them to alert the public to this issue because as they explain on their Web site, "none of the major eReader manufacturers have explained to consumers in clear unequivocal language what data is being collected about them and why? In addition to the top three eReaders, this chart also lists Google Books and the FBReader.

EFF's Guide to Buyer's Guide to eBook Privacy Report

Wireless Reading Device Product's report provides a eBook reader comparison chart of the latest models of the Amazon Kindle, Amazon Kindle DX, Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader Daily Edition and Sony Reader Touch editions.

Wireless Reading Device Product's report

Wireless Reading Device Product also provides an analysis of the features that the Nook has that the Kindle is lacking:

In an effort to provide an additional comparison with one eReader that is a little heftier than its competitors in both weight and cost, this report conducted by Kevin Lim and theory.isthreason includes the iRex iLiad (note the $699 price tag).

theory.isthreason report

Just prior to the holidays, Consumer Reports released this YouTube video which provided an overview of top eReader gift contenders. This 5 minute vid is worth viewing since it highlights several features not noted in any of the analyses listed above.

In my blog titled, "Kindle Outsells Sarah Palin & Dan Brown On Christmas Day!" I reported that Amazon's Kindle hit an unprecedented milestone in publishing history - it sold more Kindle digital books than physical books. One of the reasons for this landmark sales accomplishment was due to Sony and Barnes and Nobles' dwindling inventories and their inability to meet the increased demand over the holidays. So more people ended up purchasing Kindles versus the competing devices and consequently less Barnes and Noble and Sony ebooks were sold as a result.

With the entry of the Apple iSlate and Google's Netbook, 2010 could reset the playing field, so when we conduct this same analysis next year, same time, we may be looking at a good number of consumer reports that knock some of these current eBook devices off the charts.

Let us know how these reports affect your buying decision... that is, if you're in the market for an eReader.

If you do end up wanting to purchase one, we'd appreciate your buying it through our affiliate link to Amazon.

Some of the sites we link to are affiliates. We may earn a small commission if you use our links.

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Comments

Apr 29, 2010
by Anonymous

picture graphs

It's nice to have a graph detailing the perks each reader has, it's even better when the picture is large enough so it can be read,

epicfail

Apr 29, 2010
by Anonymous

stupidity = undated article and charts

Get a clue, moron.

Jun 9, 2010
by Anonymous

E Readers

Which one should I buy Sony Nook or Kindle? Which one gets the most free books and is easiest to use. I do have an Iphone Dennis

Jun 19, 2010
by Anonymous

Clicking "Ctrl" "+" will

Clicking "Ctrl" "+" will zoom in and make it readable.

Jun 19, 2010
by Anonymous

Looking

Im looking for an ereader that also has not taking capabilities....do any of those have easy note-taking capabilities

Sep 17, 2010
by Anonymous

Ctrl + Epic Fail as Well

yahhhh...CTRL + would seem like a good idea, but not when its all pixelated. Photoshop classes might help on the next article...and a date would be nice :)...thanks for the effort though

Oct 23, 2010
by Anonymous

Sony EBook vs BN Nook

The Nook is far superior than the attempt for Song to get a ereader out on the market. WiFi is a plus in any venue in this day and age. Sony failed. It seems they saw others marketing their ereaders and tried to put out something half-assed. Very difficult in downloading books - some work, some don't.
Nook coordinates between the PC and the Nook - whatever you do at the BN site (download) automatically without wires gets onto the Nook. Extremely easy to operate and use.
The Nook is far superior to the Sony ereader in everyway - price, use, download, operation and features.
Sony should be ashamed of themselves in rushing this out at the last minute and not putting their combined technology into it. But they did not and charged the most for their infantile ereader.

May 12, 2011
by Anonymous

Congratulations! You've

Congratulations! You've done a great job by post this valuable information about different products of these brands. Especially, the comparison between these products is sure to help the consumers in decision making. It is an interesting informative post.

May 22, 2011
by Anonymous

Human being are thinking

Human being are thinking animals. It is more so in this era of consumerism. Due to economic hardships, people do compare on different points before making any purchases. These features for up-to-date comparison data on specs, pricing and privacy issues help them immensely.

May 31, 2011
by Anonymous

Since now a days life is

Since now a days life is very busy and fast, and people have less and less time to take decision on any important issue. They need accurate, quick and best decision. Thing is that not only they want the products and service at their door step, but also they want to take decisions on their mobiles and laptops.

Jun 16, 2011
by dinni

I won't deny that e-book

I won't deny that e-book reading comes with some advantages but I'll just say that I prefer the traditional books, I don't know I just see them differently, I get more found of them. I do have my own textbook buyback online membership but as far as it's possible I prefer them to send me the actual paper made books.

Jun 16, 2011
by Anonymous

I these features would save

I these features would save us a lot of time and energy in arriving at a decision very fast. Quick in decision making makes a consumer very successful gainer. thanks.