Amazon Kindle 2 vs. Sony Reader: 2009 Comparison

Editor’s Update August 2010: The sleeker, slimmer, and smaller latest generation Kindle is now available at a reduced price of $189 for the 3G and Wi-Fi version, and $139 for the Wi-Fi only model! Plus, you’ll enjoy 3G wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries. Read all about the all-new Kindle in our Kindle 3 review.

Last year, we did a Kindle vs. Sony Reader 2008 comparison. In that review, we compared the first generation Kindle with the latest Sony Reader.

With the recent release of the Amazon Kindle 2, however, it’s time to stack up the cards again and see which device has the upper hand in 2009. In this Kindle 2 vs. Sony Reader 2009 comparison, we will again evaluate each of their features and see which one has the advantage. Then in the comparison summary, we’ll sum up their strengths and weaknesses and see who gets to take home the honors. And just one more thing before we get started, if you happen to have the I phone 4, you may not need either one of these devices as it contains ebook reader apps that will give you access to all of the Kindle books and hundreds of thousands of other ebooks!

Kindle 2 vs. Sony eBook Reader PRS-700 Comparison Summary for 2009

At a glance it appears that the Amazon Kindle 2nd generation has indeed gone through a lot of enhancements from the 1st generation Kindle. In last’s years comparison, the Kindle had the advantage over the Sony Reader 700 in price, wireless capabilities, and the breadth of content. In this 2009 round, Amazon Kindle 2.0 has managed to best the Sony Reader PRS-700 in many categories and more notably, in the features that matter most to the users.

First is the price. With its $259 price tag, Kindle 2 has remained to be the cheaper reading device by $100. The Amazon Kindle 2 also now boasts clearer, crisper, and glare-free text, using its e-ink technology to support 6 font sizes and 16 shades of gray – that’s double the 8-level gray scale of the Sony Reader.

When it comes to the wireless technology and the range of content selection, the Amazon Kindle 2 continues to rule. Its Whispernet technology allows free Wi-Fi access to over 240,000 book titles as well as blogs, magazines, and newspapers, allowing users to choose reading material from anywhere in the US using Sprint’s 3g network. The Sony Reader has neither the wireless technology nor the wide range of content to choose from.

In some categories, a virtual tie is declared. Sony had a more clear advantage on size with the first generation Kindle but the Amazon Kindle 2nd generation has become noticeably slimmer so now they are virtually identical in size – except that the Kindle is slightly longer.

Perhaps one of the more important features that put the Amazon Kindle 2 at a disadvantage in comparison to the Sony Reader PRS-700 is its storage capacity. The Kindle 2 already has an internal memory of 2G but no longer supports external memory. This is a downside that Kindle 2 users are having a hard time coming to terms with and I mentioned this as much in my Amazon Kindle 2 Review. The Sony Reader 700 on the other hand, still has this capacity supporting up to 16G of external memory.

Bottom Line When Comparing the Amazon Kindle 2 vs. Sony Reader 2009 Models:
The Amazon Kindle 2′s sleeker, slimmer look, superior features, and price makes it the clear winner of this match up. The Sony Reader PRS-700 may have put up a good fight in the 2008 comparison, but this time around, the Amazon Kindle 2 has established itself, fair and square, as the ebook reader to beat.