MobilitySite has a wonderful post comparing and contrasting the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader. The post ends with a list of limitations, too. Careful on the 5th bullet, though. The Kindle does not require a computer unless you want to deactivate or cancel a subscription. This cannot be done without a computer.
Comparing the Amazon Kindle to the Sony Reader

• The Kindle is 7.5 by 5.3 by 0.7 inches and weighs 10 ounces. The Reader is 6.9 by 4.9 by 0.3 inches and weighs 8 ounces. Similar.
• The Kindle and the Sony Reader use the same E Ink technology, providing an extremely bright, low-glare display that can be read in direct sunlight and at varying angles. (No backlight on either)
• The displays on the Kindle and Sony Reader are grayscale (4 shades of gray for the Kindle versus 8 shades for the Sony Reader), so books with complex illustrations or which require color won’t work well or at all. Both devices have 6-inch diagonally measured screens that display 800-by-600 pixels at about 160 pixels per inch (ppi).
• The Kindle features a Secure Digital (SD) expansion slot and a USB port. The Sony Reader has both, along with support for Sony’s proprietary Memory Stick.
• The Kindles does NOT require a computer (at all). The Sony Reader does. However, if you do want to load personal content or audio files, the Kindle mounts as a USB drive, and you can manually back up content or copy over new items in formats Kindle supports. (The Kindle is therefore the first electronic book reader that works with Unix, Linux, and variants.) This is a NICE feature!
• “The Kindle is ugly” Is the Sony Reader THAT much better? Seems to me, I remember many saying the Zune was ugly too. An ugly keyboard is better than no keyboard. (Yes, I have a 30 and 80 GB Zune)

Differences between the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader

• Library- The Kindle has over 90,000 titles. The Sony Reader’s online bookstore reportedly contains 20,000 titles. Price for new releases is only $9.99 on Kindle. I can save a fortune. The unit will pay for itself!
• Periodicals -  Amazon offers magazines and newspapers (for a price). The New York Times costs $13.99 per month; the Wall Street Journal $9.99 per month. Sony offers no periodicals. Nice.
• Music - The Kindle doesn’t have a music store but it can play back unprotected MP3 files and Audible (.aa) files synced via USB. The Sony Reader can play unprotected MP3 and AAC format files. Didn’t I mention I have a Zune, lol?
• Blogs- Kindle’s content offerings include the unique option to pay to subscribe to blogs that are otherwise free. Sony offers no such option. I follow too many blogs to use this!
• Web browser- Kindle has a basic browser, best suited for text.(apparently it’s there to show Wikipedia articles, but can access any Web page). There is no charge for browsing the Web on the Kindle. The Sony Reader has no browser. I’m not really going to be using this to browse the web!
• Document Support-  The Kindle can view files that start out in - but must be converted from - Word, JPEG, GIF, BMP, and PNG formats, but notably not PDF. The Sony Reader can display Word documents saved in RTF format, along with plain text files and PDF files.
• Re-download Policies- If you lose your Kindle or it breaks, you can simply re-download the library of stuff you purchased to a new one; Amazon’s Unbox video store has a similar policy. Sony’s policy is unclear.
• Network- The Kindle relies on Sprint’s EVDO network to access online content. The Sony Reader must be synced via USB to load new content.
• Access- The Kindle ships with high-speed network access and without a subscription fee or a recurring fee of any kind. The cost of network use and data delivery is built into the price of each item you purchase or subscribe to. Sony must be purchased via computer.
• Blogs and periodicals are delivered continuously as new items or issues are published over what Amazon calls “Whispernet,” a continuous push network for content you subscribe to. When you purchase a book, it’s immediately downloaded. Sony reader not available

If you have read this far then maybe you would be interested in another post comparing the Amazon Kindle to four other readers.


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