Islamic Insights | Inspired by the Holy Quran and AhlulBayt

Why buy an eReader?

Imagine that instead of having to carry around several hundred printed books, you carry just one. The portability is an eReader's strongest suit: everywhere you go, your full library goes with you.

Trees like eReaders too. Millions of trees are cut down to provide paper for printed books. What's worse – burning a few electrons for a book or cutting down trees that can take hundreds of years to grow? eReaders win again.

If you think that eReaders are just not...well...readable, think again. Technology has advanced to the point where the screen quality of some dedicated eReaders matches the legibility of traditional print.

eReaders are still extremely expensive, and even though many come packed with internal batteries that last for weeks, they do eventually run out.

More to the point, eReaders are still very expensive. If you are just a part time member of the literati, there is simply no reason to buy one. eBooks are often discounted and non-copyrighted classics can be found for free all over the Internet.

Furthermore, there is no one dedicated file format for eBooks that all companies have adopted. This lack of unity means that the technology will advance more slowly than if there was one agreed-upon format.

If after weighing these pros and cons you're still convinced that buying an eReader might be what you're looking for, read on. We're reviewing two of the top devices on the market, the Sony Reader Digital Book PRS-700BC and Amazon's next generation eReader, the Kindle 2.

Sony Reader Digital Book PRS-700BC

The Sony Reader Digital Book PRS-700BC sits with the Amazon Kindle 2 at the top of the eReader food chain. But it's not quite up to Amazon's offering. Currently it can be bought online for anywhere between $347 and $404. Sony promises that over 100,000 titles will be available by next year, well behind the 270,000 books already available for download on the Kindle 2.

Style

The PRS is much sleeker in appearance than the Kindle, and unlike the Kindle, the PRS offers touchscreen technology. There are only a few physical buttons at the bottom of the device. These buttons operate key functions such as Return to Home Page and Search. The rest of the time, you press the buttons on the screen. To change pages, you swipe the screen from side-to-side à la iPhone.

The PRS is sold in a few different colors, but all come bound in a leather protective cover that sticks to the device with magnets. We think that the PRS in black with the cover looks very nice, much better than the Kindle, but that is subjective. Less debatable is that it should not show smudges and smears as the gleaming white Kindle is bound to do.

Screen Quality

The screen quality of the PRS is fairly good. The PRS has a display that is about 5 inches tall by 3.5 inches wide and uses "E Ink". Simply put, this means that words look more like what you'd read on paper. But while you can change the size of the fonts, changing the contrast is out of the question, and the screen shows glare easily.

The screen also does not have a true backlight for reading in the dark. Rather, the edge of the screen is lit up. If you're really a night owl, you can buy a $15 light by Sony that clips on.

Downloading Books

Downloading a purchased book onto your PRS is a simple process, but not nearly as efficient as with a Kindle. You launch your PRS software on a computer, connect your device with a USB, and look for books on an online store. Purchased books are sent to a folder from which you drag books onto a PRS icon. That's it!

Sony promises to have over 100,000 titles available next year. There's no way you could ever get all those titles on your PRS – the PRS can only hold about 300 books on its 256 MB internal memory.

Sony has a promotion where you can get 100 classics for free when you buy the PRS. As long as the promotion stands, literature and classics lovers might seriously consider buying the PRS. However, keep in mind that many old titles are available for free online anyway and not subject to copyright laws.

Extras

There's an SD card slot that you can use to boost the potential size of your library, so the system has some flexibility built in. The PRS include JPG, GIF and PNG viewing capability. You can also listen to MP3 and ACC book files being read out to you. But you better bring your headphones: loudspeaker capability is not included. The PRS lags behind Amazon's Kindle in this regard.

Battery and Charging

It's almost unforgivable that an AC adapter is not bundled with the PRS. That's $30 more right there! Considering the already high price of the device, there is not much room for excuses. On the other hand, the PRS will charge with a Sony PSP charger, so if you own a PSP, you're in business straight out of the box. At least the battery time is good, lasting several days without a recharge, but then again so is the Kindle's.

One thing We Would Fix...

Don't think that pushing buttons on the PRS is the sweet Kool-Aid that life with an iPhone is though. You have to apply more pressure with the onscreen buttons than you would with Apple's iconic cell phone. Lightly pushing the screen results in inaccurate selections and mistakes. It's not an absolute deal-breaker, but it's not as slick as you would hope it to be.

Amazon Kindle 2

Amazon's Kindle 2 has an advantage over the Sony Reader Digital Book PRS-700BC in that it is instantly recognizable. Say "eReader", and the first thing that will probably pop into your mind is the Kindle. That recognition will probably result in companies investing in Amazon's format. The eReader currently retails on Amazon.com for $359, and already a selection of 270,000 books plus international newspapers, magazines, and blogs are available for download.

Style

The Kindle 2 doesn't look nearly as sleek as the PRS, but if you like the minimalist white look, it should be good enough. The Kindle doesn't use a touchscreen and comes loaded with a QWERTY keyboard. The buttons offer a tactile resistance. Unlike the PRS, there is no special pressure that needs to be exerted to make sure what you want is properly entered. You navigate with a small joystick. To turn pages on books, you press buttons on the sides of the Kindle to turn right or left.

One concern with the white casing is that in the long run it will show more dirt. As any owner of a white electronic device can attest, once that dirt has been worn in, it can be almost impossible to remove. Since the Kindle doesn't come with a cover like the PRS, don't say we didn't warn you.

Screen Quality

The Kindle's screen quality is amazing! Without a doubt it is much better than the PRS. While the PRS offers enough legibility, the Kindle's display is simply much sharper. Like the PRS, the Kindle also uses "electronic ink", but unlike the PRS, the Kindle's screen doesn't show much glare. You might as well be looking at a piece of paper, it is that good!

Downloading Books

If you're not in the continental US, the Kindle is not going to be much different from the PRS in terms of how it downloads books. If you do live in the US, you will find that Kindle is radically different from the PRS.

Every Kindle comes bundled with a free Internet connection called Whispernet, paid for by Amazon. Whispernet makes use of Sprint's national 3G data network to offer high-speed surfing. Amazon promises that "books and periodicals are delivered via Whispernet in less than 60 seconds. And unlike WiFi, you never have to hunt for a hotspot."

In testing, we found Amazon's promise of 60 seconds or less to hold up. Actually, 10 to 15 seconds for downloads to complete would be more accurate in our experience. The Kindle does not offer different folders, so as one upset consumer says on Amazon's feedback page, "you have to wade through it all (if you, like me, have learned not to trust Amazon with your purchased content)." The same consumer said that the content he paid for "was not available for download," that he could not get a refund, and that he could not get the item re-downloaded. We don't know how common that experience is but if true, that would be a major strike against our recommending the Kindle.

Batteries and Charging

The Kindle includes a micro-USB port to charge, but you can also charge it by connecting it to your USB port. This works with both Apple Macs and Windows PCs.

The Kindle's battery is not removable. Unless you want to hack the unit, which is not advised, be prepared to send it back to Amazon in the future. The Kindle loses points for this flaw. The battery life is otherwise strong, and you can count on reading for a week without charging.

Extras

The Kindle can take anything written and transform it to audio. Sure, the voice is a bit clunky and can't express the same emotion as a person speaking, but it's convenient if you are tired of reading and just want to listen. Plus, you don't need headphones; the Kindle can play audio out loud. You can toss it on a seat next to you during your morning commute and keep up with your literature.

Unfortunately, the Kindle 2 does not offer an SD slot. Sure, most people are not going to carry around more than 1,500 books at a time on their eReader, but the added flexibility would have been appreciated.

Each Kindle comes with a unique email address to send and receive Word and PDF documents and pictures. However, it not flawless which leads us to...

One Thing We Would Fix...

One thing that the Kindle can't do as well as the PRS is handle DOC and PDF files natively. What does this mean? It means you need to pay $0.10 for each file you send. Yes, we don't understand it either. Yes, it's outrageous, considering you're already paying over 350 simoleons and you're not even getting a cover for your Kindle. Oh well.