ConsumerAffairs reports that Consumer Reports has done its first full ratings of e-book readers in its July issue, and the summary of its report and ratings are on its site, specifically at the CR Press Room page.
The July issue includes a full-scale version of the first look done, along with ABC7, first seen in April and reported here with a videoclip and accompanying story.
(You can click on the image for the larger version.)
They say that "Despite improvement to the rival Barnes & Noble Nook e-book reader and the arrival of Apple’s iPad tablet computer, which offers e-reader capability, Amazon’s Kindle is still the best choice for most consumers."
Nine readers were tested, including the Kindle and the Kindle DX, both of which were determined to have "crisper, more readable type than any other model in the Ratings and slightly better than the Apple iPad."
Kindle attributes cited between CR's press release and the initial ABC7/CR report:
. crisper, more readable type than the other devices
. among the fastest at refreshing and turning pages
. easily readable in bright sunlight (implied vs the iPad)
. lighter
. smaller (more portable)
. less expensive
Re the Sony - They were the first popular e-readers and are 'solid performers' but CR notes that the lack of connectivity, until the $399 model (Daily Edition), has been a drawback and that the Daily Edition is now seen as quite expensive and relatively heavy for a dedicated reader.
Re the Nook which draws much interest from those considering an e-reader:
"Navigating content on the Nook was more complicated and touch controls were nonintuitive."
Other e-readers reviewed and rated:
On its press release, CR states, in summary style:
"Consumer Reports also tested e-readers from three lesser-known brands – the Aluratek Libre eBook Reader Pro, $170, the BeBook Neo, $300, and the iRex DR 800SG, $400 – and found that all were undistinguished at best."
Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. Top 100 free bestsellers.
My local Target store does NOT have the Kindle in stock as they said it would be, as of Monday June 7th. I guess it may be coming soon, though. I hope to see it "in stock" soon!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteReport back if you can, when it does show up.
People are reporting that Target staff often doesn't know what a 'Kindle' is, one wondering if they wanted a 'candle' :-) and that if the Kindle is there, most are in Demo-only mode right now although the plan is to have them eventually handleable by customers and staff obviously hasn't received training yet.