Aug

9

Ereader Devices and the Traveler

Filed Under Kindle, Reader, Reviews, e-Book, eReader, jetBook | Leave a Comment

The potential usefulness of ebook reading devices for travelers has not escaped the attention of bloggers and journalists. For example, we’ve recently noted a review from a Sony Reader user who was about to take the Reader along for a week at the beach, another review about taking an Ectaco jetBook along on a cruise vacation, and the Amazon Kindle’s presence on Time Magazine’s list of “gotta have” travel gadgets.

Concierge.com has also weighed in on the topic of ereaders for travelers. Tom Loftus recently explained why he views the Amazon Kindle as the “most important piece of travel technology since the inflatable neck pillow”:

Say you’re on the road and you suddenly realize that you must have–must have!–Oprah’s new book. All you need to do is turn on the Kindle and connect to the store. (The connection is through Sprint’s EV-DO network. It’s free.) You’ll have to pay for the book, but it will be cheaper than the dead-tree version. Or, if you wish, you can download sample chapters for free.

Earlier, a gear review at Concierge.com discussed the value of the Sony Reader to travelers. Noting a perceived tepid response to the Sony Reader in some quarters, the reviewer had this to say:

To these arbiters of judgment, I offer a single and uncontestable fact: My 80-day circumnavigation would have been much less pleasurable without my Sony Reader. Thanks to it, I was able to take part–whenever I wanted, and for long, memorable stretches–in one of my most favorite of activities: reading.

So if you have a getaway planned for these last few weeks of summer or the upcoming Labor Day weekend, you might want to think about giving the ebook reader of your choice a “field test” during your getaway.

Aug

6

Time: Amazon Kindle is a ‘Gotta Have’ Travel Gadget

Filed Under Kindle, News, Reviews, eReader | 1 Comment

The Amazon Kindle ebook reader is Number 9 on the Time.com list of 25 Gotta Have Travel Gadgets.

Amazon’s first-generation e-book reader certainly needs improvement — the page-turn buttons are awkwardly placed, among other things — but anyone who likes to read on the road should consider it an essential companion. That’s because you can take a veritable library with you. The 10.3-ounce device holds around 200 books; infinitely more if you load books onto external SD cards. Better yet is Whispernet, Amazon’s built-in wireless service — it piggybacks on Sprint’s EVDO network — that delivers books on demand in seconds.

The other gadgets on the Time.com “gotta have” list include an assortment of items for travelers, such as a universal adaptor, camera, battery pack, portable DVD player, and video recorder.