E-book gizmo round-up from Jane at Dear Author

August 19th, 2008

The iPhone/Touch is the fave e-reader of Jane, the gizom-ist at the Dear Author site devoted to romance reading. Yes, these are mutlpurpose machines. But with the right software, such as Stanza, eReader or BookShelf, they might as well be dedicated readers.

Meanwhile Jane has come up with a handy list of other e-book-related devices now on the market: the $359 Kindle, the $299 Sony Reader, the $599+ iLiad, the $350 Cybook and the $349 BeBook. She reminds us, too, of the Asus laptops.

Best to hold off on Kindle buys

Astak E Ink machines are on the way. What’s more, you might want to hold off on a Kindle purchase since the K 2.0 models could start appearing as early as October if the rumors pan out. Price drop ahead for the existing Kindle?

Reminder: Don’t forget the consider the Jinke machines, too, as well the new Dell minis (photo)—expected to be unveiled on Friday. Will the $299 price stick? Spec are here, including mention of an 8.9-inch screen with 1024 by 600 res. Normally I’m not that keen on the ergonomics of laptops for e-reading since the keyboard can get in the way, and I’m rooting for Dell to do a cheapie tablet. Still, the small size of the new laptop models is intriguing. Meanwhile, like Jane and many others, I’m hoping that Apple will do an iPod tablet.