It seems that eReaders have been around for some time, but the original Kindle Wireless Reading Device was made available to the public as recently as November 2007. Apparently, Amazon knew what it was doing as this first version of the Kindle sold out within hours. It remained out of stock for nearly half a year.

The second generation Kindle 2 was made available in February 2009.

Later in the year, Amazon stopped selling the Kindle 2 in its original form in favor of the Kindle 2 International.

Our eReader comparison will focus on some of the major features of the different versions of the Kindle Wireless Reading Device.

Kindle 1

• Display – 6” diagonal, 4-level grayscale
• Storage – 250 MB, expandable with an SD memory card
• eBook Capacity – 200 non-illustrated eBooks
• Delivery system –Whispernet, a wireless delivery system by Amazon that lets you download books off  the web without requiring an outside internet provider.
• Positives – carry around 200 virtual books (i.e., eBooks) in the palm of your hand!
• Negatives – available in USA only; in retrospect, lacked a lot of the features and power now available in newer Kindle models and other types of eReaders;  no longer available as a new item.
• Conclusion – good starting point, but limited; has been replaced by the more powerful  Kindle 2.

Kindle 2

• Display – 6” diagonal, 16-level grayscale display
• Storage – 2 GB
• eBook Capacity – 1500 non-illustrated eBooks
• Delivery system – free 3G wireless through Sprint mobile network allows you to download eBooks at anytime and from anywhere in under 60 seconds.
• Positives – thinner, lighter unit, faster page-refreshing, allows note-taking and highlighting, customizable fonts for easier reading, longer-lasting battery charge, more power, text-to-speech option that allows Kindle 2 to read to you, more eBooks!
• Negatives – no international availability, no Portable Document Format (PDF) file support – now available in Kindle 2 International
• Conclusion – great eReader replaced by more versatile version, the Kindle 2 International.

Kindle 2 International

• Released to the public in October 2009, taking the place of the USA-only Kindle 2. Virtually the same features and capabilities as the Kindle 2, but with a few key enhancements:
• Works in over 100 countries
• Sprint mobile network replaced by AT&T mobile network in USA and roams on EDGE, 3G, and GPRS on GSM networks in other countries
• 85% increase in battery life
• support for PDF file format
• Note: Outside the USA, most countries restrict the International Kindle Wireless Reading Device from accessing most web sites. This does not affect accessing the Amazon eBook store for viewing and purchasing eBooks and magazine subscriptions. The English language Wikipedia can also still be accessed in other countries.

Kindle DX

• Display – 9.7 inch” diagonal, 16-level grayscale electronic paper
• Storage – 4 GB
• eBook Capacity – 3500 non-illustrated eBooks
• Delivery system – Amazon Whispernet (Sprint).
• Positives – for people who like a bigger display and access to more than twice as many ebooks as the Kindle 2; battery life of up to one week while using wireless or two weeks offline;  accelerometer, automatically rotating pages between landscape and portrait orientations if the device is turned on its side, unless automatic rotation is disabled by the user. The DX adds support for PDF files natively, built-in stereo speakers
• Negatives – may be larger than ideal for some, as well as costlier.
• Conclusion – If you like having a bigger display and the ability to access up to 3500 eBooks, you may not mind paying the higher price for this particular Kindle Wireless Reading Device,  released in June 2009

Interesting notes:

• Christmas Day of 2009 marked a milestone as eBook sales at Amazon overtook sales of printed books for the first time.
• Approximately 1.5 million Kindle eReaders were sold in the 4^th quarter of 2009.

I have to admit I’ve become increasingly fond of technology, insofar as it allows me to see, understand, and know more of life and, consequently, how little of it I do see, understand, and know… the realization of which just makes me teeter like a happy drunk before the awesome Mystery and Bigness of Creation.

But it took me a while to get into the whole Computer Thing, but by the time the Internet came on the scene I was ready and willing to be mesmerized by the possibilities it presented and to quickly enlist the information-gathering prowess of Google.

Don’t know Something? Google it. Now part of the lexicon. Within seconds you know as much or more about Something than most folks on the planet. So I Googled “eReaders” and found them to be, not another race of beings, but a tantalizing temptation.

So what the heck is an eReader, and are eReaders suitable for Book Beings?

Let’s explore a little. Just to get a clear picture of what we’re dealing with here.

An eReader is a portable electronic device that allows you to read eBooks. eBooks are electronic books, also known as digital books. Think of them as paperless books that can be read off a computer screen or the screen of a hand-held device created for that purpose (e.g., an eReader).

For someone who loves the texture, weight, feel, scent, and color of real books, eReaders can seem a bit stiff. The idea of curling up with an eReader hasn’t yet sunk in. Would you rather, for example, curl up with a human or a Cylon?

(Digression: For those of you who don’t know what a Cylon is, you owe it to yourself to buy or rent the 4.5 seasons of Battlestar Galactica, the award-winning science fiction series, starring James Olmos as Adama.)

Yes, if I am going to recline and enjoy a good book, it will be a real book with real pages that my fingers can touch and turn. But if I am traveling, or foraging, or gathering, or if I just want to have with me my own library of books that I can summon up onto my little hand-held device, then I’m going to go with the eReader. Do you have a bag large enough to carry 1500 books around? That is the initial capacity of most eReaders (capacity can be increased through optional memory cards).

This is not a question of choosing one over the other. Real flesh and blood books can coexist happily with ereaders, and being a Book Being, I can feed my hunger for books more completely by possessing both.

Think of the eBooks that appear on eReaders as virtual books or avatars of those beloved real books of yours that it’s not always practical to have with you. (If you were far away for a long, long time, on the Moon, say, and you could not bring your loved one with you, wouldn’t an avatar of your loved one help, somewhat?)

Just as there are different kinds of books, there are different kinds of eReaders with varying features and price tags. And more are being developed all the time.

The most popular and best eReaders share the following features:

• Portable and compact, with most eReader models being less than an inch thick and are available in 5, 6, or 8 inch sizes.
• Capacity to hold up to 1,500 books. Thousands of additional books can be added with the use of memory cards.
• eBooks can easily be downloaded from a number of online venues.
• E-Ink technology allows for a clear, paper-like display.
• Some have built in MP3 players.
• Some read to you.
• Long-lasting rechargeable batteries.

Given all this, are eReaders suitable for Book Beings? Any tool that makes more books easily accessible to the everyday person is good for Book Beings and for all. So I say, Yes! By all means!

And your response?

So say we all!

(If this response troubles, perplexes, irks you, I entreat you to watch Battlestar Galactica, not the old Lorne Greene series, but the James Olmos award-winning series – the opening scene of the series will captivate you, guaranteed).

I will be looking at the various types of eReaders in more depth as we go along. If you want to check some of these out for yourself, go to Amazon. They started this all with their Kindle Wireless Reading Device.

But you’ll find all kinds of eReaders and digital readers there, not just the Amazon Kindle. Amazon has always been the best place to look for books. Now it’s the best place to buy any number of different products. You can compare thousands of items and products, read real customer reviews, and make informed decisions about whether to buy Something or not.