Based on what I read yesterday, the Kno is still vaporware. According to the article I saw, it has not shipped to anyone. Even if/when it does, it seems to be very heavy and totally oriented to an educational audience, with things divided (in the software) into semesters/courses/etc. The Adam has shipped to a few people, but in the review I saw yesterday, the software is incredibly "buggy" at this point, and everyone is waiting for a Firmware upgrade. As with all of these devices, the key ingredient is easily available CONTENT. While there are lots of great ideas out there, content that utilizes the benefits of the Kno may be way off in the future if at all.

The kindle is a great device for reading sequentially, as one usually reads a novel. But other than reading a book cover to cover, it is not a useful device. The user interface for newspapers and magazines is awful. Using it to read a textbook, where one commonly goes looking for something rather than page to page front to back, is awful. Reading pdfs on the kindle was awful.

The iPad reading experience is great, but annotation is lacking. It is a nice, polished user interface that works very well. The strain induced by reading on an LCD is variable from person to person. For me, reading for long periods on the iPad is fine. I also like the integration with cloud files allowing me to get my books easily from my large collection in the cloud. Battery life on the iPad is outstanding. Reading pdfs is very good, but you need another application rather than using iBooks to read/organize your pdfs. It will be interesting to see what iPad2 offers, especially if it has an SD slot. All of this remains speculation.

The eDGe is a superior device for simultaneously reading and taking notes, in my estimation. Nothing else comes close, although the eDGe is not perfect (not that anything else is either). Battery life on the regular EE is great, the Pocket eDGe is so-so (I have both devices). Taking notes on the eInk side and converting them easily to pdfs is what I like best on the eDGe. Getting books onto the eDGe is not difficult, but I cant do it on the fly like I can with the iPad... if I used DropBox, I am sure I could. My book collection is fairly well organized, but the Android system of Tags is so-so. I much prefer folders, or at least some way to have deeper levels of tags.... the Android system limits that to just one level.

Windows slates allow handwriting, including the HP Slate 500 and the new ASUS EEE Slate. The ASUS uses a WACOM penabled system, and both have pen input (unlike some of the slates with capacitative input only). I am anxious to get one, because I want to use OneNote. A windows slate armed with Adobe Acrobat Pro and OneNote is a pretty good way to go, but if money is an issue, it is not a cheap option.

Well, those are my thoughts regarding various readers.