Dear book worms, are you having trouble reconciling your love of the written word and your good environmental conscience? Still, the first answer you’d give to the question “what would you take with you on a desert island?” is “a book”? You might have already been driven to switch to recycled paper books and/or are part of a local book club. You might also be the proud owner of an e-book. Giving up the familiar book created from dead trees for a device similar to a PDA with no keyboard sounds quite tempting. The two most popular are the Amazon Kindle 2 and the Sony Reader.

Amazon Kindle devices
Three of these devices using an electronic paper display and download content off Amazon exist. We’ve already told you about Amazon’s two first electronic reading devices: “Kindle” and “Kindle 2”. Besides, there is also an application called “Kindle for iPhone” which enables iPhone and iPod Touch owners to read Kindle content. It was launched by Amazon in March  ‘09.  The third and much-hyped device is the Kindle DX which was launched on May 6, 2009.

The paper-like display of the Kindle DX is two and a half the size of the Kindle 2. You won’t have to pan, zoom or scroll, you’ll just read. It displays PDF files natively. With the 3G wireless Kindle DX, you’ll also be able to download a book in less than 60 seconds (the Kindle Store offers over 275 000 books to choose from). The Kindle DX also auto-rotates, automatically switching between portrait and landscape reading mode.

The downside of the Kindle DX is its search feature, identical to that of Kindle 2. Indeed, it cannot perform full text search. The search only works on root words and endings. It is also said that the retail price is too high compared to the cost of manufacture.

The device is expected to become available in the third quarter of 2009 and will cost $489 USD.

Sony Reader devices
So far there have been three models of Sony e-paper devices. The latest Sony Reader, the PRS-700, has a touch screen that can be used as a virtual keyboard. This 6-inch e-link display touch screen allows note taking. With LED lighting to read in poor lighting conditions, this device costs $349.99 USD.

It seems Sony has decided to take on Amazon’s Kindle DX reader. Rumors of a Sony electronic reader with a large, color, touch-sensitive screen are growing on the Internet. Apparently, Sony is working on its own 8.5 x 11-inch reader using the same screen as the Kindle DX. Developed by Sony to compete with Amazon’s new Kindle DX, this large screen Sony Reader would be launched in time for  Christmas. If the rumor is true, you might want to hold back on buying the Kindle DX for a few months.

Sony and Amazon are the leaders of the e-reader market. It’s bent to stay this way with their future devices. But those two are the only players on the market. Other devices based on electronic paper are also available. Check out our list below :

• FLEPia by Fujitsu (April 2009)
• eSlick by Foxit Software (2009)
• Digital Reader 1000 by iRex Technologies (2008)
• Cybook Gen3 by Bookeen (2007)
• GeR2 by Ganaxa (2007)
• Star eBook STK-101 by Star eRead (2007)
• Hanlin eReader by Jinke (2007)
• iLiad by iRex Technologies (2006)
• Librié by Sony (2005)

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There’s an ongoing debate to know if e-books are better than paper books in term of environmental impact. Which is the greener way to read? We haven’t seen a full study on the topic yet but surely one is bound to emerge as the popularity of these devices continues to grow.

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