I recently grew a love for ebook readers. I use my iPhone with the Stanza app, which allows me to read ebooks, purchase and download ebooks wirelessly via my phones internet connection, and access the full project Gutenberg library (my personal favorite). I enjoy it immensely, as it lets me bring my books with me wherever I go, since I bring my iPhone with me wherever I go.
Over the holidays, I had the chance to play around and use my brother’s Kindle from Amazon, and I was impressed! I liked that the Kindle had a bigger screen, and the e-ink was very nice to read, compared to reading the backlit ebooks on my iPhone. However, I did not like the fact that the display was not touch-sensitive, and I had to use the physical buttons to turn the page. The Kindle interface wasn’t very intuitive and it took me a while to get used to it and be able to quickly navigate the menus.
Also over the holidays, I was able to check out my Uncle’s Nook from Barnes and Noble. Feature wise, the Nook and Kindle are pretty evenly matched, but due to the fact that the Nook has a 2nd screen, and has built in Wi-Fi, I would probably buy the Nook over the Kindle, if I had to get one or the other.
BUT! (there is always a but) I just read about the new enTourage eDGe which combines 2 displays, and the google android OS to make a hybrid ebook reader that functions also as a tablet pc/netbook. Now this is more along the lines of something that I would buy. I’ve been contemplating getting a netbook, and if I make the plunge into netbook ownership, I’m going to take a hard look at the eDGe. I’m not that familiar with the droid OS, and if there was a version that would let me run the Ubuntu Netbook Remix, then it would be just right.