Hardware e-book readers

If you are like me , you read many books on your PDA/Mobile. But those screens are always small, brightness factor not-so-adjustable and you always miss the good old paper. Hardware e-book devices offers practical digital reading. You can read a couple of novels on the go. The battery lasts for almost 10,000 pages. That is almost more than a month of reading without recharging. Great isn’t it?!

Hardware e-book readers has a better large screen. The letters are large and readability is great. The most recent Hardware e-book readers uses e-Ink technology. It is a patented idea licensed by many. e-Ink enabled readers would look like plain old paper. The display will brighten up automatically with more visible light. e-Ink technology is potentially slated to advance into Color and Folding screens. That is something for the future. At the moment only black and white screens are available. But that itself is great for regular reading.

Here is some of the best practical Hardware e-book Readers :

1. iRex iLiad

This is one of the best Hardware e-Book reader available. Apart from reading eBooks, you can also play Sukoku and Crossword puzzles, read comics and sketch/draw on it. iLiad supports Wireless connectivity and many memory card types. It even supports inserting USB stick to quickly read the content. Cost: $700

2. Sony PRS500

Sony Portable reader system also supports e-Ink technology. It has a great battery life of up to 7500 page turns. Can hold up to 80 books in the internal memory and hundreds more with the Memory stick. Cost: $250

3. WalkBook

WalkBook is a next generation e-Book reader. Supports a variety of e-Book formats and podcasts. It comes with a stereo Earphone. One time charging covers 10,000 page page turns or 4 Hours of Music/Audio. Cost: 330 Euros.

4. Bookeen CyBook

Bookeen CyBook is not launched yet!. Bookeen is promised to give you a realistic paper reading experience. But remember, there is no backlight. This stylistic reader is something to watch out for. Priced: ~$350

5. Hanlin eReader V2

V2 is a high specification device with a Linux OS. This ships with an SDK which should see other developers creating innovative applications for this platform. This excellent device is in the same class as Iliad. Priced:~$350

Also have look at the e-book reader matrix based on configurations to learn more about these devices.