The modern Nook wireless ebook reader being produced by B&N, the worlds biggest book shop with more than 1,300 branches, looks all set to lock horns with the worlds number one selling digital ebook reader, the Kindle2.
Although not long released, the Nook is searching to unsettle Amazon's feathers further by taking it on straightforwardly in a part of the market-place, that up to yet, the Kindle has dominated. Since it's inauguration, firstly as the Kindle then later on in February 2009 as the Kindle2 , it has re-ignited the portable reading device market-place by offering a mix up of radical technology, owing to it's immediate connect everywhere wireless broadband and also the chief collection of books available for download at excellent, cheaper than the high street, prices.
Purchasers brought in to the idea in a immense way and it is just lately that the rest of the business have woken up to the truth that this is the future of book purchasing. An so in the last few months we have had the statement from Sony of their intention to enroll in the fun, with their soon to be released Daily Edition, and the most recent press release from Barnes and Noble that their own candidate, the Nook, will return to full production very quickly.
There are no misgivings that the Kindle2 is the reader everybody is gunning for. And to be truthful it's nice to see a little competition in this sector. Yes we have had the iRex iLiad but it was some what on the bulky side to be a wireless ebook reader, ideal for workplace use with the 1:1 A4 imitation, but much like the KindleDX - another wireless portable reading device - not something you will want to take on vacation, or put in your handbag or pocket for that matter, and it was on no account going to contend on cost was it?
Subsequently now we have 2 large companies keen to go head to head, with the power of Amazon.com, on all fronts. The sony corporation in recent times enlarged the size of their store at the Sony-Store and discounted the price point of their digitally transported books to match that of Amazons and with a bit of luck Barnes and Noble, who have always been in the equivalent ballpark price wise, will match them title for title additionally.
But the main news for consumers has to be the shift away from proprietary file formats, utilized by Sony corp. in the early days and even now used by the Kindle now. To explain the situation I will make use of Kindle as an illustration, keep in mind this is even now the situation with the Kindle so it makes it crystal clear.
With proprietary formats, as you pay for a novel for digital download from Amazon it will arrive in their specific file format .AZW which only lets you to open it on the Kindle2. So if in the future you decided you wanted to change digital book readers to an alternative make, your library of e-books become worthless. Decide for yourself if that's fair or not.
That situation has been a big obstruction for the industry in common but also for the makers of other ebook readers in particular. They where in no way going to be able to offer the amount of titles Amazon.com where capable of doing and so this helped sales of the Kindle . And so they present support for additional file formats, principally the Adobe .PDF, which is a favorite standard for free e-books, but this standard does not replicate a scaled down type of text that well as it was always supposed to be reproducing copy at an A4 size, just right for the Amazon dx and iLiad e-readers but not so for the lesser 5,6 and 7 inch screens.
For this reason came the Epub format, an open source format intended to display text. It is fast emerging as the format of the future and has recieved backing from the likes of Google Library who should be releasing their full one million titles, of which the best part are at no cost to download, in this standard. B&N will also be going the same way to the same extent will the Sony-Store.
So you should see that the electronic books reader that has assistance for this standard will be future resistant. B&N's Nook Wireless ebook reader has .E-pub assistance, as does the Sony Daily Edition, and so you can download your ebooks from anywhere you decide, paid for or free, and not solely from the producer of the electronic book reader , which is the case with the Kindle 2 ebook reader device.
You can find more on the subject of the Portable Wireless Reading Device on Noel's blog. The unbiased reports, news and ebook reader reviews you will find there are sure to help you choose your ideal model at the best possible price.
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