Features

6 inch display (800x600 resolution), 512 Mb memory - 350 books. Optional SD and Memory Stick cards. 5 font sizes. 10 preloaded sample books. Battery lasts 7500 page turns. Silver or black. Weight 286g. MP3 player. Notebook. Dictionary.

Comments

Good points: excellent finish and build quality. Good clear screen with touch screen that makes it natural to make a selection or flip pages (though default direction of flip needs reversing). Dedicated button to change font size. Excellent dictionary - tap any word in a book for a definition.

Drawbacks: touch screen needs heavy touch compared with iPhone. Not light weight.

Stockist: 08705 111 999 www.sony.co.uk

GHI Test Report - Nov 09

Features

5 inch display (800x600 resolution), 512 Mb memory - 350 books. 3 font sizes. 10 preloaded sample books. Battery lasts 7500 page turns. Silver or pink. Weight 220g.

Comments

Good points: excellent finish and build quality. Good clear screen with controls that are easy and quick to use, including numbered keys to jump to menu items or pages. Only a light press is required for page turn. Dedicated button to change font size.

Drawbacks: screen a little smaller than competitors, but not small enough for pocket. Slight flicker on page turn.

Stockist: 08705 111 999 www.sony.co.uk

GHI Test Report - Nov 09

Features

6 inch display (800x600 resolution), 256Mb memory - 160 books. Battery lasts 7500 page turns. Weight 260g.

Comments

Good points: slim and light e-reader. Very simple to operate with page turning controls on both sides to suit left and right handed readers. The menu is clear and easy to navigate using either the arrow or numbered keys. The text appeared instantly. Controls are instinctive so you don't need the CD format instructions provided. A smart protective cover is supplied. Zoom option has own key so is easy to find quickly. Pages are easily found by pressing a numbered key or using the bookmark facility.

Stockist: 0207 365 2947 www.sony.co.uk

GHI Test Report - Nov 09

Features

6in display. 256Mb memory holds up to 160 eBooks plus memory card option. Battery lasts for 7500 page turns. 800MHz processor. Three preloaded books. 3 x text magnification. USB cable. Weight: 260g without cover. Supports: ePUB, PDF, TXT, MS Word, JPEG. Time to fully charge battery: 4 hours. Can store pictures and music. Cover provided, waterproof cover optionalPC and Mac compatible. Dimensions: H172mm x W120mm x D70mm.

Comments

Good points: The slimmest and lightest e-reader tested. Very simple to operate with page turning controls on both sides to suit left and right handers. The menu is clear and easy to navigate, using either the arrow or numbered keys. The text appears instantly and page turning is slightly quicker than on the others tested. Controls are instinctive so instructions are not necessary so you don't need to use the CD format instructions supplied.. A smart protective cover is supplied. Zoom option has its own key so is easy to find quickly. You can find pages by pressing a numbered key or using the bookmark facility.

Stockist: 0207 365 2947 www.sonystyle.co.uk

GHI Test Report - Mar 09

Features

8.1in display. 128Mb memory holds up to 128 eBooks plus memory card slot. Battery lasts for 15 hours. 400MHz processor. Touch sensor input using stylus. 50 preloaded books. 15 x text magnification. USB cable. Weight: 420g. Supports: PDF, XHTML, TXT, JPEG, PNG and BMG and MOBI. Time to fully charge battery: 3 hours. Cover cost: £22.50 - £39.99. PC and Mac compatible. Dimensions: H216mm x W115mm x D16mm.

Comments

Good points: Ideal for professionals such as lawyers who could use it to reduce their book-load. It differs from the others by enabling you to use the stylus to annotate the screen and touch on other functions. Its larger dimensions make it less portable, but it is still slim-line and the screen shows more text. It is easy to find the book library using the dedicated Book control. Wide choice of text sizes. The page turn control runs the length of the reader so is easy to find and use. The memory can be increased substantially using a memory card.

Drawbacks: The controls are not always obvious to use without the instructions, particularly the touch screen controls. The initial price is high but a protective cover costs extra. Both paper and pre-loaded instructions could be clearer. There is a really good choice of text sizes but this function doesn't seem to be available for all books.

Stockist: 0845 130 5883 www.libresco.com

GHI Test Report - Mar 09