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Gadgets that are cool and useful in the medical setting.
An e-book reader, also called an e-book device or e-reader, is a portable electronic device that is designed for the purpose of reading digital books and periodicals … A tablet computer typically has a faster screen capable of higher refresh rates, which makes them more suitable for interaction. The main advantage of e-book readers are better readability of their screens, especially in bright sunlight, and longer battery life. This is achieved by using electronic paper technology.
—Wikipedia (http://hcp.lv/eko5au)
The popularity of eReaders and eBooks is undeniable, with eBook sales increasing 158% between September 2009 and November 2010 (http://hcp.lv/i5UrTi). Leading the way are the Amazon Kindle (http://hcp.lv/fg5Ia3) and Barnes & Noble’s Nook (http://hcp.lv/hM4sJm). The iPad is right up there with both, but we consider it to live in the tablet computer family. The Kindle comes in two models, one with Wi-Fi for $139, and one with free 3G and Wi-Fi for $189. The standard Nook runs for $149 (Wi-Fi) or $199 (3G Wi-Fi). The Nook Color will set you back $249, but that extra $100 covers more than the change to color from black and white, with the Nook Color offering a multitude of extra features. In fact, most eReaders come out of the box with more to offer than electronic paper. Let’s take a closer look.
Kindle
• Free Wi-Fi access at AT&T hotspots in the US
• Share book passages using built-in Twitter and Facebook integration
• Built-in PDF reader
• Access to audiobooks, periodicals, and blogs
• Lend eligible books to other Kindle or Kindle App users for 14 days
• Sync your books with another Kindle, or Kindle App-enabled iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac, Android device, or BlackBerry
• Text-to-speech technology reads English content out loud
• Built-in dictionary with instant lookup
• Highlighted passages based on number of other Kindle readers who’ve highlighted that same passage in their eBook
• Wireless access to Wikipedia
• Listen to MP3 files
• Play pre-loaded and downloadable, text-based games
• Search within a book, across your library of eBooks, in the Kindle Store, or on the Web
• Organize your library by any number of categories
Kindle 3G
All of the above, plus:
• Free 3G wireless in more than 100 countries and territories
• Enhanced PDF reader
• Free 3G Web browsing
Nook
• Share books with other Nook or Nook app users
• Sync the last page read on the Nook or Nook app-enabled device with another, automatically opening to that page regardless of what device you use next
• Organize your library by any number of categories
• Special offers and content when using the Nook at any Barnes & Noble store
• Read books for free for up to one hour while at any Barnes & Noble store
• Play chess or Sudoku, or complete a crossword puzzle
• Free 3G or Wi-Fi Web browsing
• Highlight any word in a book and instantly look up its definition
• Store and listen to roughly 26 hours of audio
Nook Color
All of the above, plus
• Full-color touchscreen for viewing images, MP4 videos, and text
• Auto-downloads of your favorite newspapers and magazines when the latest issues come out
• Free, 14-day trials of any magazine
• Interactive technology allows for text expansion and imaging zooming for an increasing number of children’s books
• “Read To Me” technology reads stories aloud
• View contacts’ bookshelves and borrow any book for up to 14 days
• Import Google contacts and share favorite passages with them via Facebook or Twitter
• Access Pandora Internet radio
• View Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files
• Transfer and view PDF, ePub, and JPF files to Nook Color
Ten Bucks for a Digital Book, that’s Outrageous
The average price for the eBook version of many New York Times bestsellers is about $9.99 across all eBook stores. “Why do I have to pay 10 bucks for the digital version of a book that I can’t lend or donate to just anyone?” you ask. “How much could it possibly cost to produce that, and where does that money go?” Well, printing and shipping make up a very small margin of a book’s costs. The majority of costs are in sales, marketing, product development, and editorial, fixed costs that exist regardless of whether a book is in hard copy or digital format (http://hcp.lv/hxHhEE). For example, for an average $27.95 hard copy book, $3.55 (13%) goes toward pre-production (editors, graphic designers, etc), $2.00 (7%) toward marketing, and $4.19 (15%) toward author royalties, leaving $2.83 (10%) for printing and $2.80 (10%) toward the wholesaler (both not needed for eBooks) and $12.58 (45%) toward the profit margin for the retailer (http://hcp.lv/gxYYzL). Using that same breakdown, and adding the printing and wholesaler costs to the retailer’s profit, you’d get the following for a $9.99 eBook: $1.30 for pre-production, $0.70 for marketing, $1.50 for author royalties, and $6.50 for the retailer’s profit margin. So, one would deduce that retailers are making a higher percentage off the price of eBooks, but aren’t you paying for shopping convenience, portability, and to save a tree?
The eReaders You Don’t Know...