The EBook Reader Jungle

Nearly everyone I know got an ebook reader recently, myself included. My husband surprised me and gave me a Kindle 3 for the holidays. I wasn't sure about the idea of reading all my books on the device. I figured I'd read some things in hard copy and others on the reader. But once I started using my gift, I knew I wasn't going to buy very many paperbacks anymore. The best part about the Kindle was I could finally read as I walked on the treadmill, something I'd found challenging with a paperback. You see, I am a klutz. If I neglect to hold on to both bars on the treadmill, I tend to stumble! But I digress.

Now that all my books are available for Kindle as well as all the other devices, I'm curious about the differences between the popular ebook readers. So I did some research.

The Nook Color looked intriguing. Its colorful displays make magazines and books with lots of illustrations come alive. But when I considered that I never read magazines and rarely download anything with pictures, the added features would be wasted on me. Plus, I use a computer all day long. The LED screen would only be more of the same punishment for my eyes.

The standard Nook is similar in price to the Kindle and features an integrated dictionary, a nice touch. The selection of available books is definitely smaller, but is growing every day.

The Kobo eReader also has a similar price tag but it has a quilted back, which makes it more comfortable to hold. A nice feature is the SD slot. A card up to 4G can be added to boost the 1G memory.

There are many other readers out there and they all have pros and cons. Me, I'll stick with my Kindle. The one downside? It's so easy to download books that I am feeling the pinch on my credit card!

Have you joined the ebook revolution yet? If so, which device did you choose and how do you like it?