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amazonkindle
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Light Read
Electronic readers weigh in at
a mere
10
ounces, but they do
some heavy lifting, storing up to
1,100
pounds of printed material
Slide a n d release th e p o w e r s w itc h to w ake
HOW THEY
WORK The
electronic reader is
poised to do for
books what the
iPod did for music.
Black-and-white
screens project
electronic page
displays.
Downloadable
books (from
Amazon’s Kindle
store or the Sony
eBook Store)
average $10.
AMAZON KINDLE
With the Kindle 2,
left,
bookworms
can surf and
download material
anywhere there’s a
cell phone signal.
The Kindle
transmits material
wirelessly in just a
few seconds and
has access to
roughly 300,000
titles, including
books, magazines,
newspapers, and
blogs. The Kindle 2
holds more than
1,500 books and
has dropped in
price to $300.
Amazon’s pricier
version, the Kindle
DX, has a larger
screen and greater
memory capacity.
SONY READER
Sony recently
introduced two
lower-priced Readers:
the Pocket ($200)
and the Touch
($300). Unlike the
Kindle, Sony’s readers
require a computer
with a USB cable to
download books
from the Sony eBook
Store. The Sony
Reader stores about
350 books, but more
memory can be
purchased.
OTHER OPTIONS
Not ready to invest
in a dedicated
reading gadget?
Download a free
smartphone
application such as
the Barnes and
Noble e-reader
available for the
iPhone, Blackberry,
PC, or Mac. Titles
start at 99 cents. Be
wary of sites to
snag books for free,
because there could
be copyright issues.
Other sites to check
out:
w attpad.com ,
zinio.com ,
and
shortcovers.com .
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2 8 OCTOBER 2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
BY LAURA HELLER AND JENNIFER WILSON; PHOTO: JAY WILDE. PRICES AND MODELS VERIFIED AT PRESS TIME.
