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