Full article:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_655354.html
E-readers are taking a page out of business textbooks.
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Greg Stetson from Ectaco, a Long Island, N.Y., developer of inexpensive electronic readers, says he believes his firm and others, right now, are "testing the waters" to find out what features interest consumers most.
That company's jetBook Lite sells for $149, comes equipped with some classic literature, dictionaries and is operated by AA batteries, making it different from the rechargeable batteries of its better-known competitors.
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The jetBook Lite is not as sophisticated as some of the others, but the result on the screen basically is the same.
"The price point is the biggest thing," Stetson says, talking about his company's approach in the e-market. "But AA batteries make it different, too. If your power goes out in an airport or something, you can just buy some batteries and keep going."
A brief e-read
Price: The Sony Reader Pocket Edition lists at $199, the Reader Touch, $299 and the Daily Edition, $399; the Kindle 2 is $259 and the Kindle DX, $489; the Nook will be $259;
the jetBook-Lite is $149.
Material: Kindle products and the Nook are proprietary. New books are bought online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble, respectively. Sony has an eBook Library as well, but allows links to other sources. The jetBook-Lite device can be used with Barnes & Noble, but is linked to public domain sources. New books generally are $9.99, but all the sites have sales and bargains.
Batteries: All but the jetBook-Lite have rechargeable, internal batteries that are charged through a computer. The jetBook-Lite is run by AA batteries.
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