Compare Kindle And Sony Reader

• 3G Wireless Connectivity: nook and Kindle
• Wi-Fi: Only the nook
• Text-to-Speech: Kindle only
• Expandable Storage: Sony Reader Touch Edition and the nook
• Touch Screen: nook (first color touch screen) and the Sony e-readers
• Price: Although the nook and Kindle are priced at $259, the Sony Reader Pocket Edition retails for $199, and is the least expensive of the e-readers
• Built-in Speakers: Kindle (stereo) and the nook (mono)
• Supported file types: Sony and Barnes & Noble realize that open formats are more preferable than proprietary ones. By supporting the ePub format for Sony's e-readers and B &N's nook, they are essentially guaranteeing that your digital library will always have a home. Stick with Kindle's proprietary format, and you're forever a slave to Amazon's device.
• B & N's Bricks-and-Mortar eBook Advantage: Barnes & Noble has something Amazon and Sony cannot replicate: 1,300 or so physical locations (including college stores) across all 50 states. Every Barnes & Noble has free Wi-Fi, and if you go into a Barnes & Noble with a nook and get on their network, you can browse any e-book there for free.

Additional Unique Features of the nook by Barnes & Noble:

One important new feature of the nook is the ability to lend out e-books you've purchased to friends for free for 14 days. You will be able to send e-books to a friend's nook, iPhone, or iPod Touch, select BlackBerry and Motorola smartphones, as well as Windows or Mac PCs that have the Barnes & Noble eReader software installed on them. However, not all e-books will be available for lending.

With the free Barnes & Noble eReader app, you can also read your eBooks across a wide range of devices in addition to your nook, including: iPhone and iPod touch, BlackBerry® smartphone, or Windows® and Mac® laptops and desktop computers. And the eBooks purchased from BN.com will sync between your nook and other reading devices with the Barnes & Noble eReader app, so you always return to the last page you read.