Hand-held devices have reached the peak of popularity during the past year. Thus, the most in-demand gift item for the past holiday seasons is no other than those electronic book readers that are most loved by both avid and non-avid readers. If you happened to check on that eBook Reader Product Comparison, you will find out that among the many eBook readers nowadays, only three of them are continuously competing for the top post in terms of market share.

These three known and unstoppable ones are the Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes and Noble’s Nook, and the Sony Reader. Each of these units from different manufacturers differs in many things-in terms of specs, pricing and privacy issues. That is why if you’re planning to buy one of these wireless readers, you should have time to check on those experts’ analyses and reliable reviews before you make that big decision that you should not regret afterwards.

Nowadays, you don’t have to leave your house anymore so that you can go to the nearest bookstore for that book that you badly want to read. Thanks to Amazon for the convenience that came along with its introduction of that online bookstore where you can do your shopping anytime. Amazon did not stop from there. Later on, it also launched its very own eBook reader, the Kindle, which was a blessing to every reader there is. Based on the original Kindle, Amazon made some improvements on the device and put some add-on features into it and then introduced the second edition of Kindle, the Kindle 2.

That second edition of Kindle appears to be slimmer, faster, and smarter than the initial Kindle. Downloading of various things into this device is also exceptionally fast and can last only about split minutes. Apart from that, Kindle 2 is also proud to have the availability of an improved E-Ink display, a built-in dictionary, and a memory that can hold up to thousands of books. Not to mention your chance to have access to various magazines, newspapers, and even read your favorite blogs.

Amazon Kindle 2 is also equipped with text-to-speech capability. Unlike the older version, its availability of Next Page keys which are smaller and inward-facing has resolved the previous concern on accidental page-turning. Apart from that, added on to this unit is a Home button that you can simply click for you to view the home screen right away. Other additional features include the device’s two stereo speakers on the rear part and a 3.5mm headphone jack on top.

Its QWERTY keyboard is now using rounded keys for you to create notes, search, enter web addresses and perform other applications on it easily. You will also notice that in Kindle 2, unlike the first one, the space bar is placed in front and in the center. It has been said that in such competition where one wants to be on top of the other, no one is going to win because everything lies on what the users need and want. Hence, one thing that you should remember before you decide which one to buy is to think of the following questions: how often you like to read, where you like to read, and how many books have you purchased in the previous year?

How is the Kindle Portable Reader the top Electronic Book Reader? Let us count the ways.