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.
