eBook Readers

I just received my Choice Computer magazine in the mail today so immediately opened it to page 16 for the eBook Reader test titled "Virtual Bookshelves". The article tested 6 eBook readers from Eco Reader, BeBook Mini, Sony Reader to Amazon Kindle. While I found the Computer Choice article informative it was lacking some in-depth discussion on Digital Rights Management issues as well as the likelihood of Australian content appearing in ePUB (or other) formats.

Unfortunately, only a mention was made of the Apple iPad as it has not been released as yet in Australia. 28th May is the release date according to this Computerworld article

I have heard rumours that the new Apple iBookstore app will be selling books at an inflated price in comparison to the US store. Certainly the local pricing of the device itself is higher than the direct international price conversion so it will be interesting to see how fast the device will sell-out and how many new Australian books it will have available.

Choice mentioned "its a good idea to get some hands-on time with each model on your wish list so you can get a feel for it ". It would be nice to see whether this can happen - for example who sells Kindle readers here in Melbourne?? Let me know please!

But I am looking forward to seeing my readers start to purchase these devices. With WiFi connectivity I'm sure I will be asked to assist in setting up the device to use with the Library WiFi service and then asked to show users how to download the iBooks. So thanks Choice for an informative beginners article!!