Is there an E-reader in your future?

I have recently written a lot of posts on the expanded availability of digitized books online. Although the Apple iPad has gotten a lot of press lately, there are many other options from other manufacturers available. To get an idea of the current offerings, click here for a chart comparing E-readers. What you will see immediately is that this is a comparison of apples to oranges (pun intended). What is not highlighted is the fact that the iPad will connect to the Internet and potentially could access all of the free online books on Google Books or any of the other online resources.

One glaring omission from the chart is the Pocketbook E-reader now popular in Europe. It does not compete directly with the iPad, but is a serious contender for just plain reading.

I have been using my iPhone now for a couple of years. I am in my second version. I have all of my genealogy on the Mac FamilyTree app. I can connect directly to New FamilySearch with the Mobile Tree app. I can use it as a telephone, an electronic calendar to schedule my classes at the Mesa Regional Family History Center, look up items on Google on the Internet, look up books on the WorldCat app, read whole books on the Stanza app, check the news, monitor the USGS earthquake app, read the news on USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC or a hundred other news suppliers, receive and send E-mails, look at Google Earth, find any location on Google Maps, listen to custom radio stations on the Pandora app, access all of the LDS scriptures on the Scriptures app, write notes to myself, take photos, look at and show photos of my grandchildren, check the weather on the Weather Channel app, check the stock market on any number of apps, check prices at Best Buy and Walmart, check out all of the present star charts for astronomy observation, check out Facebook, listen to Public Radio, read blogs, and a whole lot more.

Now imagine what you could do if the screen were considerably larger. I suppose you could just read books, but who would want to?