Why I Love Portable Ebook Readers

Portable eBook Reader Review If you are like most people, you do not have portable eBook reader. While factors such as habit, love of dead trees and the cost of portable eBook readers have kept them from taking off, my experience with them makes me convinced they are the wave of the future. Being a lover of books and electronics, I bought Sony's original portable eBook reader (the first to use e-ink technology) and have not bought a paper book since. I hooked it not just because I can be a tech freak but because eBook readers have advantages that include the following: 1. Ability to carry a massive stack of books in a device that is smaller than a traditional book. No need to think about what books to take on your vacation or anywhere else you go. You can stuff your whole library in your suitcase if you like. Once you finish one, the next is just a few clicks away. Furthermore, the books you finish will no longer be piled on your shelves to be moved and maintained until you finally find the courage to get rid of them. 2. Being able to buy books online, where you can check reviews etc. and get your books with instant gratification and zero shipping costs. Also, the digital price is usually significantly cheaper. 3. You can read books in new ways. Since a portable eBook reader does not close like pages in a book, you can set it down easily without losing your page, read hands free or read and turn pages with one hand. 4. Change text size (you will be thinking about this before you know it!) 5. Many legally free titles for download at sites like mobileread.com Of course, there are negatives too. The obvious ones being: 1. The cost of the portable eBook reader. It looks like it will be at least a few years before we see truly inexpensive ones. 2. Having to deal with DRM if you want to give your book to a friend Even though my early portable eBook reader had some design issues I did not like (mainly, the poor design of the page turning buttons but this has since been corrected in the new models), the points mentioned above and the e-ink technology, which is clear, low power and does not cause any more eye strain than reading a paper book, still make the electronic book superior to a paper book. My next foray into portable eBook readers will be the Kindle 2. What impresses me is the: 1. Design (just check it out!) 2. Built in dictionary (something I will definitely use) 3. It reads text too you (when I want to enjoy a book in a dark car etc.) 4. Ability to subscribe to different magazines, newspapers and blogs cheaply. 5. The selection of books (over 90% of all English titles now be sold) Of course, thousands of years of means paper is not going to disappear overnight, but the benefits of portable eBook readers will eventually push the paper fetish into a niche novelty. Book burnings will take on a whole new meaning.