Sony Reader Gets 500K Free Books From Google

E-reader now just $259, but cheaper Sony device is making inroads

(NEWSER) - Amazon slashed the price of its Kindle e-reader by $40 today and introduced a new edition of the device that will enable wireless downloads in 100 countries. The move brings the price of a Kindle to $259, which is still $60 more expensive than Sony's competitor. Amazon will also finally sell the Kindle to customers outside of the US, although most of the titles in the Kindle's store are in English. More»

(NEWSER) - Nicholson Baker wanted to like the Kindle, honest. But when he unwrapped it and began to see what all the fuss was about, he "tussled with a sense of anti-climax," the prolific author writes in the New Yorker. Things never improved. He slams the e-reader for having a "greenish, sickly gray" screen, cruddy images, and limited selection of books. Amazon "is very good at selling things," he writes. "It isn’t so good, to date anyway, at making things." More»

In fact, Amazon e-books will soon be more open

(NEWSER) - Google is making quite a big deal about the "openness" of its e-books , but Farhad Manjoo has news for you: "Google's e-books are 'open' in the same way that politicians are 'bipartisan' and oil companies are 'green,'" he writes on Slate . "Open" certainly sounds good, when it comes to marketing, but there's no practical difference in buying from Google over Amazon when it comes to how much control you have over your e-library. Neither store will allow you to share or resell your books, and neither store will allow you to read your books on every device. More»

Device owners read more slowly, make up for it by reading everywhere

(NEWSER) - If your New Year’s resolution was to read more, you might want to buy an e-reader. About 40% of e-reader owners say they read more than they used to, according to a new study. On average, they say, they finish 2.6 books a month compared to a traditional book reader's 1.9. E-reader owners buy more books, too: 51% increased their e-book purchases in the past year, and Amazon says Kindle purchasers buy 3.3 times more books than a non-e-reading customer, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Unlike Kindle, users can loan books to others for 2 weeks

(NEWSER) - Barnes & Noble unveiled its new e-reader today: the Nook. Like the Kindle, it's a wireless device that allows for instant downloads of purchases. Some details, via CNET, the Wall Street Journal, the LA Times, and PC World.

• It costs $259, same as the Kindle, and will be out in November.
• Unlike Kindle users, Nook readers can loan e-books to others for up to 14 days. They can be read on other Nooks, cell phones, or computers.
• The Nook doesn't have the Kindle's text-to-speech feature, though it can play back MP3 audio.