Drum Roll Please: And the Winning E-Reader is ...?

My initial reaction to e-readers generally takes the form of the death-be-told sentiment that lurks in many newsrooms these days, often hovering more specifically over the copy desk, as newspapers struggle to stay afloat considering the abundant news for free online.

That may sound funny coming from the editor of a free, online newspaper, but Patch was hardly a twinkle in someone's eye years ago, when, there I sat: fresh out of college and working as an intern, attending not just one, but several, layoff "goodbye" parties.

Mind you, I was working as an online intern for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which I guess puts me as part of the problem.

And though e-readers threathen to take away the very page of the paper from the books I love so dear, morphing my childhood fantasy career as "famous author" to something yet again unknown — much as my journalism career sat for some time — e-readers also do something amazing.

I haven't found the time to disconnect from my technology and read an enjoyable book in I-don't-know-how-long, but in the past three days I have shuffled through nearly five chapters alone. Translate that to nearly 100 pages.

Something about the growing comfort I (along with much of the population) have developed with constantly being connected to technology makes it much easier to never put down an e-reader the same way I'd often put down a book and pick up the next thing on my A.D.D., technology-obsessed, multi-tasking to do list.

The amazing thing is, even though it is technology, I have felt the same amount of disconnect while reading from the e-readers as many book readers seek when getting themselves lost in the world of a good story.

I've lost myself in the world of e-books.

And that is even more true as I sit here surrounded by four different types of e-books that now offers for checkout to the residents of Port Washington:  the Kindle WiFi, the Nook Color, the Nook WiFi B&W and the Sony Reader Daily Edition.

Library Director David Nimmer gave me the opportunity to take all four e-readers home and dive through the pros and cons, ultimately attempting to surface with a favorite — or at least a review of them all.

What I've come up with is a mesh. While I think I have a favorite, there's two things I'd really like to change about it before calling it the perfect fit: the placement of the buttons and the price.

Here's the lowdown from my point of view on each of the e-readers.

The perks

• Sony: The Sony Reader Daily Edition is a home run on techonology, touching a variety of bases along the way. While it has the e-ink screen that so famously makes these machines look like you're reading paper, it also utilizes touch-screen technology that allows you to navigate the different functions at the touch of a finger. It also comes with a stylus pen, rather than having to only use your fingers to move through the screens. You can browse the web, and use a variety of different apps. There is also a music library, and there are a few classical songs uploaded to make for easy listening while reading your book at the same time. To me, having only a week to dive into all four e-readers — this one gave me the easiest time figuring out the most ways to use it.
  
• Nook Color: Incredible price for the amount of functions, this e-reader is like a mini iPad for only $249. It has a beautiful color screen that makes reading children's books and flipping through picture books extremely enjoyable. There are even interactive books with "read to me" functions. The Nook Color also holds vibrant magazine pages for your flipping enjoyment, and the touchscreen function allows you to zoom in and out as you please while reading. When reading books, it allows you to search for new pages using the touch screen, and as you scroll across a page that begins a new chapter, it lets you know (unlike other e-readers, which simply list page numbers.) This makes it easier to quickly navigate to new chapters, if need be.
• Kindle WiFi: It's easy to hold and easy to use. The page navigation buttons rest on the sides — right next to your hands as you hold it, making it a quick and easy "click" to turn the page (it's hard to stop reading when continuing on is so easy!) Plus, it has the traditional e-ink screen, making it easy on the eyes and comforting to read. It's a basic screen and keyboard set up, so even the technology hater can learn to love this machine. This one also has the ability to connect to WiFi, making users able to surf the web. The library also has cases available with pullout lights, to make reading the e-ink screen possible at night and in low-light places.
• Nook WiFi B&W: This Nook tries to be all it can be much like the Nook Color, including a selection of games and audio functions as well as a the ability to subscribe to and read news publications. The page flip buttons are located just where I like them, on the side near your hand-holding spots, and the e-ink screen is once again the readers' friend. The e-reader uses a touchscreen at the base of the machine for navigation.

The downfalls

• Sony: The price tag. While many e-readers are available for the sweet price of $100 to $150, the Sony Daily Edition sells for $299 (though I could find it for prices ranging from $248 to  $325 on the internet.) I could buy a lot of paperbacks for that price. Plus, the placement of the "next page" buttons is a little awkward — located at the bottom of the e-reader, you have to physically remove yourself from the machine for every page turn (unlike other e-readers, where the buttons on the sides and conveniently where your hands rest while holding the machines.) Of course, you can flip the page with a touch of the finger across the touch screen, but if you don't touch it just right it sometimes doesn't go.
• Nook Color: There's so many ways to explore this machine, that it's almost too distracting to be considered an e-reader. If you're seriously considering buying an e-reader with the intent of reading more books, the Nook Color might motivate you otherwise. Plus, the screen looks just like a computer, meaning those of us who stare at a monitor all day long will not get any relief when sitting down to snuggle up with a good "book." Thinking about reading outside in this finally beautiful summer weather? Think again! The computer screen offers just as many glares sitting near a window as it does sitting under the sun.
• Kindle WiFi: Because it's such a back-to-the-basics e-reader, it lacks some of the millions of functions that add so much more to other reading machines. Selling at about $140, I'd rather toss in a little more mula to get more bang from my buck out of my e-reader. Plus, the little keyboard at the bottom does two negative things to the e-reader: makes it seem a bit dated, and scrunches the size of the readable screen to make room for itself.
• Nook WiFi B&W: Much like the Kindle WiFi, the readable screen is actually shrunk a bit to make room for the touchscreen navigation section at the bottom of the e-reader. The touchscreen is also a bit confusing to learn how to use it to navigate the e-reader, with arrows and circles all over the place supposedly explaining that this button is meant to move forward while that one is meant to select. With time, a user will obviously become comfortable navigating it — but there's yet one more gripe I have with the touchscreen navigation. Just as I can't see the words on the Nook Color to allow for reading outside or near windows, the Nook Wifi B&W's touchscreen gets all glarey in the same situations, making it hard to navigate your machine.
  

And the winner is? The Sony. I guess you get what you pay for because as the most expensive one this e-reader also filed in as my favorite.

All four of these e-readers are now available to for cardholders to check out for a two-week period at a time. Each of the readers are loaded with several books as well as magazines and some even apps. The library will have information available about which e-reader has which publications, and will be open to suggestions for downloads as the budget allows.