Amazon`s Kindle Redefines Electronic Books - Competition
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What about Competition?
It’s rather interesting that Amazon tries to follow in footsteps of Apple. Some say that Kindle is Amazon's attempt to create of some kind of iPod for books.
While this might be true up to certain degree, I for one, as do many others, highly doubt its future success, especially knowing about the recent failures of Sony Reader and iRex iLiad. Neither of those could actually come close to exploding into the niche of digitalized books nor threaten conventional books.
We shouldn’t forget that the Sony Reader (PRS-500) is more than $100 cheaper (~$265); it sports native PDF support, and does not include such dumb features like a “shuffle-only” MP3 player. It’s also based on the e-paper innovative technology.
(Sony Reader — PRS-500)
Sony Connect is the e-book store through which you can purchase your books. The DRM (digital right management) features restrict a purchased book's readability up to six devices and limit the number of people with whom you can share your books. You can register up to five friends in your Sony account and can only share your books with them. However, the store is limited to the US, again. But you can “fill” your reader with your favorite content once you hook it up to a PC. RSS syndication is also free of charge!
Additionally, the Sony Reader offers 100 free classic titles from a large collection. A drawback for Sony’s Reader is that you can only upload content to the device via a USB connection so you need access to a PC. Moreover, you can plug in USB memory keys (USB sticks) to expand your memory and/or to copy stuff. Sony’s online store library has up to 20,000 books while Amazon’s Kindle Store sports close to 90,000 titles.
Last but not the least, the design of the Sony Reader is neat and sexier than Kindle. To be honest, I agree with critics that complained about Kindle’s aesthetics, calling it ugly.
Another possible competitor in the market of e-book readers is the iRex iLiad. This device also has an electronic-paper-like display that is 20.6 cm (8.1"); it provides users with the largest screen. Interestingly enough this device also sports native PDF features and even DRM-protected Mobipocket content, having added this support as of May 2007.
(iRex iLiad – 2nd Edition)
It’s one of the most expensive e-book readers priced at €649 in Europe and $699 in the USA. However, it also supports document editing, not only reading. Support for third party applications is also accepted; developers can code or install any kind of software that meets the requirements of this device (Linux OS). Thanks to this, with an application like FBReader (free e-book reader) you can read more than 10 formats.
Its design is by far better than the Kindle’s. You need access either to a PC to upload content onto the device or to a USB memory stick. That’s how you can fill it up with content. iRex iLiad is marketed worldwide; it is not being limited to the US. And the MP3 player is also developed by sane people so randomization isn’t forced.
Yet another competitor that is also based on the E-ink display technology which I won’t get into is Cybook Gen3. It’s manufactured by a French company called Bookeen. Most importantly, it natively supports Mobipocket formats, PalmDoc, PDF, TXT, and HTML. The MP3 players works fine without shuffle-only endeavors. The battery life for all of the aforementioned competitors—Cybook Gen3, iRex iLiad, Sony Collect—reaches up to 8000-10000 page flips which should be enough for around two months for the average reader.
Furthermore, these devices are able to display colored images. The current version of Kindle doesn’t support colors yet but it has been said that it’s being developed.
Next: Final Thoughts >>
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