The Sony Reader Pros and Cons

Both the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle are an amazing way to be able to read books online but there are differences that you'll want to know about before spending your hard earned lawn mowing or babysitting money for one!

Sony Pros

1) This is a top pro for us - with the Sony, you can find e books from your library and download them for free! Yeah, we love free (remember, we're a homeschooling family on a budget)! You cannot do this with the Amazon Kindle.

2) Two of the three Sony readers available come with a touch screen, which we love! The Amazon Kindle does not have a touch screen available (yet).

3) The Sony supports an open e pub - pdf files, Microsoft Word, and some audio files. The Amazon Kindle does not.

4) They both have an average of 7-14 days worth of battery life before needing a charge!

5) They both work with Mac and PC

6) The mid and high Sony versions offer expandable memory sticks. The Amazon Kindle does not (yet).

7) The Sony has over 1 million books to choose from. The Kindle has around 400,000.

8) The Sony Reader has a back light making it easier to read at night or in low light settings.

Sony Cons

1) Only the most expensive version of the Sony Reader offers 3G wireless downloads of books, the other two versions need to be plugged into a computer with a USB to download books.

2) We think some books are a little expensive. We're used to renting free library books, so even to pay $2-$15 on average per book hurts our wallets. (But you can download free library e books with the Sony which is a big plus!)

3) If you want a web browser (for Google searches) you will not find it with the Sony. Amazon's Kindle comes standard with web browsing capabilities through At&T's 3G Network.

4) The Sony cannot convert the text to speech like the Amazon Kindle can. (You can download audio books to the Sony but they take up a lot of memory.)

Prices for the Sony Readers start at $170 for the Pocket Edition and go up to $350 for the Daily Edition.

If you're going to go with the Sony we think the Touch Edition for $200 is the best deal even though it is not able to download books without a USB connection.

And the Winner Is...

It's a toss up for us. We like the Sony's touch screen, free library book downloads and more books to choose from. But we also like the Kindle's better bang for your buck, the free 3G web browsing capabilities and the read to me feature. Our absolute favorite is the Apple iPad, but only if you're looking for an e Book Reader plus a whole lot more as the price is a bit higher.

You'll have to make your own choice in the end but I hope this hunt for the best e book reader helped narrow your decision!

Head over to the Amazon Kindle Pros and Cons or the Apple iPad page for more info on e Book Readers.

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