There IS a Market for E-readers!

Reading experience: Sony PRS-600 and iPad 2

^*Disclaimer:I'm fully aware that both devices are considered obsolete what's with the recent glut of affordable tablets and e-readers, but not everyone has a bottomless bank account.

I struggled with either purchasing an Amazon Kindle (first generation) or the Sony Reader PRS-600 back in 2010 and made what I thought was an informed decision after being seduced by the included leather case with reading light at Best Buy, New York. The Sony PRS-600 had an extremely dim screen (no Pearl eInk yet back then), but made up for its display and tousch screen shortcomings with better file support, a sturdy steel build (which still looks new today), and expandable storage. Since then, I've read dozens of .txt and EPUB books on the device. PDF support was slow and the screen was impractical but usable for text-only PDFs. But the PRS-600's major redeeming factor was battery life and the immense pleasure of reading manga on the device (which was well worth having to convert CBR and CBZs to EPUB using Calibre). Along with feeds downloaded via Calibre's news feature, there were days when all I did was read through Ghost Sweepker Mikami, Yu Yu Hakusho, and various other scanlations on the Sony reader.

This year, I was given an iPad 2 as a gift, and like most users, I'm enamored with it. It's an exceptional device and was made for consuming media. There's nothing like viewing Maxim, Esquire, and back issues of FHM on a huge, bright display. I quickly set about loading reference materials I couldn't view and use very well on my netbook: Linux reference and coding books, guides to Docbook and XML, and embarrassingly enough, workout magazines. I began to go through old books I found online that I wasn't able to read when I was a kid, such as one of the Three Investigators mysteries.

A market for e-readers DOES exist!

For at least two weeks, I didn't touch my Sony Reader. I was somewhat saddened by this turn of events, but I admitted that reading books on a big, bright screen with huge fonts was a pleasure. I was soon convinced that the iPad and Android tablets made dedicated e-readers redundant. Like netbooks, the world had briefly took to e-ink, but now that affordable tablets like Google Nexus and Kindle Fire were around, why would manufacturers like Kobo persist with standalone e-reader devices?

And then it began. Without expandable storage, saddled with 16GB, and working without a wireless network in my apartment, I initially thought I wouldn't be able to watch much video on the iPad 2. And then I started loading iO9 and the extremely educational MinutePhysics podcasts. Next, I fired up the Cloudreader and Bookman app and uploaded old back issues of Web of Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man. There was still space even with a dictionary and ASL app, so let's try a World War II documentary, an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and an episode of the 1980s Spider-Man cartoon. Success! As it turned out, I ended up spending more time watching TV shows, reading magazines and comic books, than reading books. A few days ago, I switched off the iPad 2 and picked up the Sony Reader to finish off "Bel Ami" by Guy de Maupassant.

The Old Guard

Although I'm still certain that ereaders will become a niche market now that tablets are more affordable, I see the need for their existence and sympathize with users who love their standalone readers. The tablet is too powerful, does too much, and as a device for consuming media, provides too many distractions to serve as a device for just reading books. Even without wireless Internet access, it's hard to focus on reading a mystery novel on my iPad if I can easily switch to Flexplayer and watch the film version. It's hard to read history books and the classic yarns of Twain and Homer, when I can switch to the classic (and colorful) adventures of Spidey in a heartbeat.

After a period of time without the reader and suddenly picking up the steel encased Sony PRS-600, I suddenly realized just how much lighter the Sony was compared to the iPad. The screen still wasn't very good, but I could read without any distractions. I realize now that there is a market for standalone readers - a market composed of real bookworms who prefer text without images, sound, or bright colors. In the same way there are people out there who love their netbooks (like me) despite the rise of ultrabooks, there are those who will always prefer an e-reader.

On that note, I'm beginning to think that perhaps I should consider getting a Kobo Glo or Nook SimpleTouch before it's too late. After all, I might run my Sony PRS-600 ragged real soon.