UK eBook Reader Table

Value Rating: Includes price and our assessment of what you get for your money. There are some very pricey eReaders out there which aren't good value, and cheap ones which don't deliver.

Features Rating: Includes the eReader's capabilities, display quality, wireless connection, formats, ease of file transfer, etc..

Usability Rating: How fun and easy it is to use, how often it crashes or how badly buttons are designed. This is the most subjective of the measures, generated from our testing experience as well as user comments from across the net and blogosphere.

Screen Size / Greyscales: The personal eBook reader size is fairly standard at 6 inches diagonal, or 600x800 pixels as many judge this an ideal paperback-type size for casual, one-handed reading. Bigger isn't necessarily better. The number of greyscales is important if you'll be displaying pictures; early readers did 4, recent ones do 8, and the best models do 16.

Connectivity: Most eReaders use a USB 2.0 cable to connect and charge to a computer, but a few have WiFi/Bluetooth and only the Kindle 2 has a cellular 3G data connection allowing wireless ebook downloads and basic web surfing.

Memory: This is built-in memory that comes with the eReader out of the box. Most readers allow you to add more memory via various slots.

Battery life: Most eBook readers list this in page turns/refreshes, as maintaining an e-ink display "on" draws no power, but when you add functions like wireless, touchscreen, etc., battery life diminishes rapidly, so consider estimates rough.

Weight: eReaders currently weigh surprisingly little, usually less than a paperback.

Audio: Nearly all eBook readers have a headphone slot, and some even have speakers.good if you like background music.

Input Device: These vary from physical keyboard, to touchscreen to D-pads.

Screen Refresh: How long it takes to refresh the entire e-ink screen.

File formats supported: The number of format types the eReader supports. This is perhaps not a very useful metric, as if you only use PDFs and MOBI files for instance, it doesn't matter how many more are supported. See eBook reader Basics for if you require more detailed info.

Release date : When the current model was released--useful as it gives an indication. Newer is usually better, but some older models like the Sony PRS-505 remain a good value favorite with high specs.

Notes: Some prominent notes on distinguishing features--see detailed review pages for more.

Price: These are prices in pounds for the British market. As we try to list all major eBook readers worldwide, and not all are released in all markets, we have tables for US eReaders, European eReaders, and Asian eReaders priced in local currencies and with local buying options.

 

Readers (click to see review)	Amazon Kindle 2	Kindle DX	Sony PRS-300	iRex Iliad 2	Sony PRS-600	Sony PRS 505
Our Ratings Value: Features: Usability:
Screen size / greyscales	6'' 16 greyscales	9.7'' 16 greyscales	5'' 8 greyscales	8.1'' 16 greyscales	6'' 8 greyscales	6'' 8 greyscales
Connectivity	US-wide cellular free data signal, also USB 2.0 cable	US-wide cellular free data signal, also USB 2.0 cable	USB 2.0 cable	WiFi, Bluetooth, USB 2.0 cable	USB 2.0 cable	USB 2.0 cable
Memory	2 GB	4 GB	440MB	256 MB	380MB	256 MB
Battery	~ 2 weeks	~ 2 weeks	7,500 pages (~2 weeks)	15 hours	7,500 pages (~2 weeks)	7,500 pages (~2 weeks)
Weight	10.2 oz	18.9 oz	7.76 oz	15.3 oz	10.1 oz	9 oz
Audio	Headphone jack and speakers	Headphone jack and speakers	None	Headphone jack and speakers	Headphone jack	Headphone jack
Input device	Keyboard and Directional Pad	Keyboard	Directional pad	Touchscreen	Touchscreen	Directional pad
Screen refresh	.9 seconds	.9 seconds	Unknown	1.3 seconds	Unknown	.8 seconds
File formats supported	15	15	7	9	13	12
Released	Feb 09	Jun 09	Aug 09	Mar 08	Aug 09	Oct 07
Notes	Unique for global internet capability & browser, most popular eBook reader, all orders from Amazon US	2.5 times bigger screen area than Kindle 2, with same global internet capability, orders from Amazon US	One of the cheapest, no frills/low feature eReader on the market	Large screen (not necessarily better for casual reading) aimed at business; pricey, but very high quality	Upgrade to PRS 700 with touchscreen, but touch display shows glare	Old but still popular; has dominated Europe market due to value and Kindle unavailability
Price	~£150 ($189)	~£305 ($489) for international version	£160	~£437 ($699)	£255	£235
Link to purchase
	Amazon Kindle 2	Kindle DX	Sony PRS-300	iRex iLiad 2	Sony PRS-600	Sony PRS-505
Readers (click to see review)	BeBook Mini	COOL-ER	Borders Elonex	iRiver Story	Bebook	Hanvon N516
Our Ratings Value: Features: Usability:
Screen size / greyscales	5'' 8 greyscales	6'' 4 greyscales	6'' 4 greyscales	6'' 8 greyscales	6'' 4 greyscales	5'' 8 greyscales
Connectivity	USB 2.0 cable	USB 2.0 cable	USB 2.0 cable	USB 2.0 cable	USB 1.1 (old and slow connection)	USB 2.0 cable
Memory	512 MB	1 GB	1 GB	2 GB	512 MB	512 MB
Battery	8,000 pages (~2 weeks)	7,000 pages (~2 weeks)	7,000 pages (~2 weeks)	7,000 pages (~2 weeks)	7,000 pages (~2 weeks)	9,000 pages (~2 weeks)
Weight	6 oz	6.13 oz	6.13 oz	10 oz	7.76 oz	5.8 oz.
Audio	Headphone jack	Headphone jack	Headphone jack	Headphone jack, mike, and speakers	Headphone jack	Headphone jack
Input device	Directional pad	Directional pad	Directional pad	Keyboard	Directional pad	Directional pad
Screen refresh	Unknown	.8 seconds	.8 seconds	Unknown	.8 seconds	<=1 seconds
File formats supported	23	9	9	13	24, but some are crash prone	9
Released	Oct 09	Jun 08	Jun 09	Nov 09	Oct 07	Jul 09
Notes	This Hanlin V5 variant is very cheap and has a good number of features.	Same basic hardware as Cybook Gen 3, looks cool, but few features; backordered	Same basic hardware as COOL-ER, looks cool, but few features.	EU and Korea only, Kindle clone, but cheaper feel and no internet	Basic eReader, but Sony PRS-505 does more and is cheaper. Variant of the Hanlin V5	Small, expensive eReader difficult to buy outside China, missing key ebook formats
Price	$199	£190	£180	£229	£250	£150
Link to purchase
	BeBook Mini	COOL-ER	Borders Elonex	iRiver Story	Bebook	Hanvon N516
Readers (click to see review)	Cybook Gen 3	iRex Dgtl Reader
Our Ratings Value: Features: Usability:
Screen size / greyscales	6'' 4 greyscales	10.2'' 16 greyscales
Connectivity	USB 2.0 cable	USB 2.0 cable, WiFi, Bluetooth
Memory	512 MB	1 GB
Battery	8,000 pages (~2 weeks)	15 hours
Weight	6.13 oz	20.1 oz
Audio	Headphone jack	Headphone jack and speakers
Input device	Directional pad	Touchscreen
Screen refresh	.8 seconds	.85 seconds
File formats supported	10	17
Released	Oct 07	Nov 08
Notes	Very light in weight and features, but expensive for what you get	World's largest eReader and most expensive, aimed at business users
Price	~£170	~£560 ($895)
Link to purchase
	CyBook Gen3	iRex Dgtl Reader
These are the main eBook readers available in the UK. If you want to see a table of all eReaders, including hard-to-get models and country specific ones, see our Worldwide Table, or if you are from a different region, try our US Table, European Table, or Asian Table. Online eBook reader prices and terms change frequently; check company website for the latest. eReaderGuide.info is not responsible for any losses resulting from the information provided (see Disclaimer). If you do spot a factual discrepancy, please email us and we'll update the site.