Page-Turners: 10 Dope E-Readers Not Called the Kindle

With the Amazon Kindle's starting price lowered to $139, now would be the perfect time for those of you on the e-reader fence to finally cop one. Or, it would be, if it was in stock—it seems a lot of other people had the same idea, as it was recently announced that Jeff Bezos' reader is back-ordered until September. If you had your heart set on buying an e-reader before classes start, we got you. Check out the 10 best e-readers that aren't the Kindle.

DOPE:

- Sharp display: One the best E Ink and color touchscreen displays of any e-Reader available.

- E-book availability: Read any e-book purchased from the B&N store on your computer, smartphone, or Nook; plus you can loan content to friends.

- High-speed connections: 3G and wi-fi give you mobile broadband speeds.


NOT SO DOPE:

- Organization options: Can

DOPE:

- Multimedia madness: The Neo eBook portal app lets you choose content from any country, while the Text2Speech feature lets you listen to e-books.

- Sharp/responsive display: Six-inch touchscreen produces 600 x 800 pixel resolution.

- Great battery: Enjoy up to 7,000 page turns per full charge.


NOT SO DOPE:

- Wi-fi weakens battery power: Wireless use drastically drains battery life.

DOPE:

- Dual touchscreens: Two screens—one color 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD screen and one 6-inch electronic paper display—allow you to do more tasks than most other e-readers.

- Multimedia features:

DOPE:

- Responsive controls: Touchscreen and buttons work great for skimming through pages.

- Note-taking features: Underline paragraphs, highlight phrases, and bookmark pages with comments.

- Other special features: Virtual QWERTY keyboard and Windows/Mac-compatible; plus ePUB, PDF and Adobe Digital support.


NOT SO DOPE:

- Dull screen: Screen glare and contrast not as sharp as other e-reader models.

- Wireless features: No wi-fi and 3G support means dragging and dropping files manually via PC.

DOPE:

- File formats and syncing: ePub, PDF and Adobe DRM support, plus free mobile apps allow users to synch books across multiple platforms (iPhone, BlackBerry, etc.).

- Great e-book store: Border's e-book store has over 1 million books and is growing by the day.

- Simple user interface: Change the menu setups, display, and font to make the Kobo unique to you..

- Sharp screen: Six-inch E Ink screen produces clear contrast and displays eight shades of gray.


NOT SO DOPE:

- Missing power plug: No AC Adapter comes bundled with the Kobo.

- No wireless support: No 3G or Wi-Fi, and limited Bluetooth capability.

- Stiff button scheme: An unresponsive multi-directional button can create navigation problems.

DOPE:

- Dual monitors: One 9.7-inch e-paper screen paired with a 10.1-inch color LCD screen attempt to give you the best of both the tablet and e-reader worlds.

- Productivity features: The built-in journal with handwriting recognition and voice recorder works great for note-taking; plus export and share PDF files.


NOT SO DOPE:

- Overheating: Leaving it on for long periods can heat the plastic coating up to 100 degrees.

- Bulky: If you instead carried a separate e-reader and an iPad, you'd be saving space and weight.

- eDGe bookstore browsing: Lack of search functions makes browsing for e-books extremely difficult.

DOPE:

- Content variety: Access to the Barnes & Nobles e-book Store, plus access to over 300 magazine and newspapers means endless reading material.

- Buisness-friendly: Email, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint support.

- Bigger is better: Large screen better accommodates magazine/newspaper layouts, displaying entire pages.

NOT SO DOPE:

- Response time: Might have to apply pressure to get reaction from touchscreen.

- Price: $800 can buy you five Kindles and 10 e-books.

- Lack of features: No web widgets or browsing takes away from online experience.

DOPE:

- Screen functionality: The backlit LCD screen works great for dark settings and the orientation sensor shifts page layouts from landscape to portrait mode.

- Browsing experience: User-friendly interface makes searching for content simple.

- Productivity features: Text highlighting, built-in dictionary, and digital photo playback adds to the experience.


NOT SO DOPE:

- Heavy weight: 16 ounces (1 pound) isn't much, but carrying it for long stretches will cause hand cramps.

- Battery life: Six hours of reading time is nothing compared to its competitors.

- LCD for reading: We prefer E Ink or e-paper screens for e-book reading.

DOPE:

- It's (pre)loaded: Comes with 29 e-books, 10 free e-book downloads, 1GB of memory and, Sudoku.

- Energy efficient: Screen turns off when not in use.

- Color options: Choose from eight colors.


NOT SO DOPE:

- Modern-day features: No touchscreen, wireless, or playback controls.

- Expensive and limited marketplace: E-books run for $2–$3 more than the Kindle or Sony store.

- Lag time: Slow load times, especially when turning on the device.

DOPE:

- Great reading experience: Sharp 5-inch display, zoom levels, and three different ways to turn pages.

- File formatting: Supports over 20 file formats, including ePub.

- Built-in features: MP3 playback and text-to-speech reading.


NOT SO DOPE:

- Limited e-book options: No major e-book store tie-ins means searching for content via third-party distributors.

- Quirky interface and controls: The interface takes some getting used to. Also, no cursor = no scrolling.

- No wi-fi: Be prepared to drag and sync files from your PC.