EReaders are the hottest gadget category right now, judging by their lack of availability.
Sony warned us last month it could not guarantee deliveries by Christmas of its new Daily Edition reader, while Barnes & Noble has sold out of its Nook Reader.
Both companies may have suffered from running out of time in ramping up production for the holidays, rather than being overwhelmed by demand, but it seems that Amazon has benefited. It announced on Monday that the Kindle was the best-selling product on its website.
In the fourth in our series on the essential gadgets of the year, Paul Taylor summarises current choices after the jump, while in posts below, David Gelles gives his personal account of reading a digital book and we republish posts reviewing the Cooler and the current state of the market.
“E-book readers have emerged as one of the most sought-after consumer electronics gifts and some are already sold out, so you should move fast.
Amazon’s Kindle 2 ($$$, ♥♥), which has a 6in screen and can download books over a cellular wireless connection, is the most popular device and is now available in Europe as well as the US. It is easy to use and works well but faces new competition from Sony’s updated Reader range of devices – the touchscreen-based Reader Touch Edition ($$, ♥♥♥) and the diminutive Reader Pocket edition ($$$, ♥♥♥), which fits in a coat pocket. Unfortunately, Sony’s top-of-the-line wireless-enabled Reader Daily Edition ($$, ♥♥♥♥), which has a 7in screen, is almost impossible to get hold of, as is my favourite e-reader, the Barnes and Noble Nook ($$$$, ♥♥♥♥).
In Europe, however, iRex Technologies has supplies of its large-screen Digital Reader 1000ES ($, ♥♥♥♥), the Ilad reader Book Edition ($$, ♥♥♥) and the lower-cost Cool-er ($$$, ♥♥).”
