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Oct 30 2009, 12:53 pm
Over on his blog, The Atlantic's James Fallows has been doing a lot of writing recently about eReaders. Today, he compares and contrasts the Nook and Kindle. His analysis is both useful and interesting. I particularly liked his examination of the potential of each device's business model. Check it out here.
But that post is neither the beginning nor end of his eReader analyses. So be sure to check his blog periodically if you're interested in the subject.
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James Fallows in his take on e-readers logically prefers the e-reader that shows the highest capability when it comes to book availability, but he also encourages the idea of advanced functionality. On book availability I agree, but as far as advanced functionality is concerned, we have some differences.
It's probable that most folks who own a Kindle also own a smart phone. I don't see the need to clutter up the e-reader with features that are NOT exclusively useful from an e-book perspective, especially if one already owns a smart phone that expertly handles both internet and business functions.
My early adapter Kindle 1 is an excellent e-reader and it has more than paid for itself in book price savings. Neither the Kindle 2 nor the Nook offer anything to speak of that warrants coughing up more money. As Mr. Fallows points out, they’re both pretty much the same.
That said, there are dual screen e-reader/web browsers on the near horizon. Two that come to mind are the Spring Design Alex and the en Tourage eDGe. The Alex has a standard 6" e-ink / e-book screen directly above an iPhone size LCD color screen. Each can work independently of the other, or can interact with one another. I like the idea of finding, for instance, a NY Times article on the 3 1/2" LCD browser and then bush a button to display it on the 6" e-ink screen. Then there's the eDGe, a kind of folder with an almost 10" e-book screen on one side and a larger than 10" LCD netbook screen on the other. These too can interact with each other.
My Kindle can search the web, but it's just another thing my e-book reader is being asked to do .. In my opinion it's being asked to do too much. It does the e-reader very well and the web browser not so well. These new dual units with their separate screens both use e-ink books on the reader and Google Android on the LCD screen browser. These may very well turn out to be both excellent e-readers AND excellent web browsers. The question is, will they be able to compete with the Kindle or Nook when it comes to availability of books to choose from.
It just might be worth waiting though to see what these new devices have to offer. The Alex is looking to a December release where the eDGe is asking that we wait until February.