Authored by Hassan Aanbar in Gadgets
Published on 01-02-2009

Sony and Amazon are undoubtedly two names that do not require an introduction to gizmo buffs world wide. While Sony has earned its spots over the years by providing users some unforgettable gadgets with unmatched quality, Amazon has decided to give the former a run for its money by launching “Kindle.” Some say it is always worth while to own a Sony product, while there are others who consider their lives to be kindled with the Kindler. Let’s take a look.

Sony launched “e-book” in 2006, and in late 2007 Amazon stepped in to challenge and launched “Kindle.” Sony’s Reader is available in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada while Amazon’s Kindle is still only available in United States.

Electronic paper technology is used in both the devices which ensure text clarity more than paper. The screen that both the gizmos offer is of excellent quality. The good news is that you can afford to miss an appointment with your ophthalmologist, because the screen are not back lit and so the user doesn’t have to strain his eyes. Navigation features make it simple to jump to any spot in a book or to flip pages.

They are both portable and user friendly. Be it home or office you can expect performance without a hitch. Power is only used when one shuffles or moves from one page to another. That means a full charge can last really long.

Amazon Kindle

• Kindle is an expensive deal. But there’s also an impressive offer of 200,000 titles. Wireless technology offers major benefit, which means books can be downloaded instantly anytime and anywhere. Kindle users use this feature to access e-mails, news and even use Kindle as a basic web browser.
• Kindle has some application supports; users can e-mail Microsoft Word documents and pictures, as well as make notes. It can store 200 books.
• Kindle does promise to rekindle your life but the problem is you cannot afford to roam around the globe with this, simply because its wireless technology doesn’t allow you to do so.

Gone are the days of bulky computers and the “air” light era is in. If you don’t have a problem with flexing your muscles once in a while, you can carry the Kindle. Amazon could have put it on a diet and made it sleeker.

Sony Reader

• The Sony Reader has lower prices than Kindle with simpler design and less weight. Readers can zoom in up to 200 percent and it has a built-in memory which can store 160 e-books.
• Reader has good battery life and supports other e-book formats, including EPUB and Adobe e-Book. There are thousands of books available from public libraries, web sites and other stores.
• Sony has introduced the new model – PRS-700. This has an interactive touch screen display and can hold 300 books.
• Sony is good but you actually need to attach it to a computer to download books from preferred sites.
• The design is sleek enough to get itself more votes than Kindle.

In this technology arena, it is unfortunate that Sony Reader does not have capability of wireless access, but it has great design and multiple formats support so it still has the best buyers’ choice.