Here’s a quick link-of-the-day with MacWorld’s take on an a number of the currently available e-book readers:
Personally, I’ve tried all of the Sony’s, the Kindle 2, and a couple of other e-ink based ones. In all cases, I found the screen flash on page turns quite frustrating. Ken tells me that you get used to it, but for me the iPhone still bests all of the other devices, as long as you aren’t trying to read PDFs. (And that’s not just because I’ve always got it with me.)
What I really want is an Apple tablet with a Pixel Qi-like display.
I have had a PRS-505 for some time now. It originally was a bit of a pain to get content on it given I use the Mac, however there are now Mac drivers and software for it. I have tried both eReader and the US Kindle app on my iPhone. I find it much easier on my eyes and more enjoyable reading on the Sony. The page flip is no longer than it takes a human to flip a real page. The Sony is one of the more compatible devices out there supporting a wide set of formats and most recently changing it’s entire collection over to ePub. I can rent library books from the Ottawa Public Library and can buy books from other sites other than Sony’s. Sony really seems to be pushing hard here and that’s a good thing for competition. Being an Apple person I do hope they get into the space with a book store and all that but I’m happy with the Sony Reader. I don’t need wireless connectivity or web browsing on it. I load it up with stuff and I’m good. It’s been great on vacations under a light or under that big bright star we call the Sun. Apple tablet, sure I’m in but until then, $239 CDN gets you a decent reader.