I am seriously considering buying an ereader, I have no knowledge of them. At this point I have tenatively decided on a Sony. I was wondering if anyone had helpful information, before I plunk down the $300.00.

Wait for the Apple announcement tomorrow.

Hmm, found this in my search for new tablet.

For several months, rumors that Apple (AAPL) will release a touchscreen tablet-style computer have dominated the tech world, despite little or no tangible news to verify that. But that hasn't stopped reporters and bloggers from diving into the rushing stream of speculation over this still unnamed "iTablet," hurling themselves headlong into Steve Jobs's infamous "reality distortion field" (and generously fueling Apple's publicity machine). But not us. No, here at DailyFinance, we're far above leaping into the mosh pit. Instead, we realized we had 10 excellent reasons not to buy an Apple tablet. (Full disclosure: we've used Apple products for 20 years and love them.)

O, Apple iTablet, how do we (already) hate thee? Let us count the ways.

1. The first version of an Apple product is usually buggy. It's the First Commandment of Apple consumers: Thou shalt not buy the rookie products. "I'd like all the other 'beta testers' to work out the kinks first," one staffer here says. Sometimes, the launch is completely half-baked. Remember the iPhone's debut? Just months after it hit the market, the 4GB version was scuttled and the 8GB version's price dropped. Fact is, there will be a second tablet within months, and the price will inevitably drop. If you simply must have one, wait for it, because you'll be pretty annoyed when see how much it improves.

2. You don't need a giant thousand-dollar smartphone. You've got an iPhone. You've got a laptop. You just received a Kindle for Christmas. Why do you need a tablet? You're probably not sure. Unlike the iPod and the iPhone, this is a product without a clear need. Unless you deliver FedEx packages, you probably don't need a giant mobile touch-screen device. It won't replace your smartphone, which you carry around in your pocket, or your laptop, which needs a keyboard. Will you want to pay nearly $1,000 to carry around a tablet, along with your mobile phone, your work BlackBerry, your laptop, and your Kindle?

3. You're just going to break it, anyway. Picture yourself with your steaming coffee in one hand, your squirming toddler in the other -- and, somehow, your shiny new Apple tablet, playing Sarah Palin's Fox News clips you missed last night until -- gasp -- your precious Apple escapes and plummets to the floor, shattering into a million little pieces. In The Hunt For Red October, sub captain Marko Ramius observes: "Most things in here don't react well to bullets." Don't expect an Apple tablet to react well to almost anything in the world. Water, soda, food, kids, pets: you'll surely figure out a way to damage your new toy sooner or later.

4. Multifunction devices can do a lot -- just not well. Other than your couch, where might your tablet be more useful than what you're using now? Will you use your tablet instead of the PC at your office desk? Will you watch videos on it instead of your flat-screen monitor? Will you use it instead of your smartphone when you're out? No, no, and no.

5. Buy one, and you might as well wear a "Rob Me!" sign. Carrying a tablet around on public transit, on the street, or in a bar is a needless risk -- yet that's precisely where you're expected to use them. Cellphones stow invisibly in your pocket, and laptops fit innocuously into cases, but if you use the tablet as intended -- on the go -- you're just asking for someone to snatch it. Remember those iPod muggings, with those telltale, enticing white earbuds? Think about that whenever you're tempted to watch last night's Daily Show on the New York City subway.

6. The tablet never caught on -- and there's a reason for that. You do not need to buy a new gadget every time Steve Jobs tells you to. The iPod represented a major evolution over the Sony (SNE) Walkman, and the iPhone escalated the smartphone game. But the tablet seems driven by nothing more than desire. Just take a breath...put the tablet down...and back away...slowly.

7. No keyboard, no mouse, no dice. Typing (or "typing") on touchscreens is annoying. How many Tablet buyers will wind up connecting peripheral keyboards and mice? And then...well, what's the point? Besides, mobile devices are only as useful as their battery life. Unless the tablet has more than about six hours of power, it's going to wind up tethered to a wall. Just like your desktop.

8. Netbooks are cheaper. With a glut of netbooks on the market -- with keyboards! -- offering a full Web experience with significantly less sticker shock than the tablet, there's no reason to go there. If you've got the cash for a tablet, you'd be better off with a MacBook Air, a device with far more functionality packed into its three pounds.

9. Something better's coming. With advances in speech recognition, data input will be changing radically over the next few years. Perhaps more importantly, advances in mobile display technology suggest we'll eventually be projecting images and videos on blank walls, or even into space. Or we'll be wearing headsets that project tiny images of the screen into our eyes at close range. In any event, the tablet is an innovation that'll surely be obsolete within a few years.

10. Beware -- Apple also built the world's most infamous paperweight. One word: Newton

Got an E-reader pocket for Christmas and love it!! Definitely recommend it!

[This message has been edited by Travis Atkinson (1/26/2010)]

I know people who love their kindle but I can't really see having an extra device to carry around. I'd rather get a smart phone and read e-books on that. The upside to the kindle type devices is battery life. They last a lot longer than a phone or a laptop.

I want one because I go to sea in the summer. There are many boring long hours I usually buy used paper backs every trip I take at least two shopping bags full, I hate throwing away books, so by the end of the season I have a lot of books taking up valuable space. I tried out the sony touch book in the store and it seemed easy to read. My son in-law said to wait until spring he is sure the price is going down.

I'm seriously considering the Kindle DX.....have a friend that has one, so I've been able to actually handle it. For those of us that love to read....it will be great to take along on vacations rather than packing all those books. Since I'm taking some college classes, would be nice to see more textbooks added to those already available. Amazon does have an option when you are browsing various books/textbooks that you can request to have that book/textbook available for the Kindle.

What about the Nook from Barnes and Noble? How much is the Kindle?
I am also looking at buying one.

The Kindle DX is currently pushing $489 - this has about a 9.7 inch display....the Kindle is about 259 - has about a 6 inch display. Books can be downloaded for about $10.

The DX is my personal preference, due to the larger screen. Also, Amazon has approximately 400 thousand books available for the Kindle....it has a capacity of about 3500 books....there are no monthly fees or annual contracts.

I have a Sony Reader and can't put it down. One of the things that sold me on it is that you can buy books from many sources where w/the Kindle you can only buy books from Amazon. Maybe that will change in the future. The Reader allows you to loan to or borrow books from other owners or download books from the library. Download books to your computer and the free software will automatically transfer to your Reader -- now you can read them either place or E-mail them to a friend. The Gutenberg site has thousands of free books that are not available to the Kindle. I downloaded at least 40 FREE books from different on-line sites the day I bought it -- ok, maybe some of these I don't want to read, but it's easy to delete or store on your computer. I expanded my Reader with a 4 Gb SD card. It comes with 512 Mg memory which holds about 350 books so I may never use the card. The screen is touch adjustable -- turn pages with a light touch or the page button. Has dictionaries, Search function, handwriting or drawing capability (comes w/stylus) or use the touch keypad for entering notes; has a very easy-to-read no-glare screen w/5 font sizes. Downloading books is automatic. Have transferred many PDF files from my computer to the Reader so I can study them at any time. Has a great search feature. Battery life has been good. No back light, but you don't need one. Download a lot of pictures or music. No color screen I didn't buy it for pictures. Buy an AC adaptor on line for $5 and skip the $30 one they offer. It's smaller than Kindle; easy to carry along. Just can't say anything bad about it. I don't know anything about the Nook except to say I wouldn't buy the 1st model that comes out. Give it a 6 mos-year to iron out any problems it may have. I paid $300 at Borders Book Store but have seen them on line now for about $50 less. Only negative I found - the Quick Start documentation included is lousy. I ended up having the PDF manual printed at Kinko's. I highly recommend the Sony Reader.

I too love my Sony Reader! I got it for xmas and was a little skeptical at first but I cant say anything bad about it. Bixby summed it up...highly recommend it.

I have another question about e books. If I buy a ebook is it mine like a regular hard cover or paperback book is? Can I give it away, loan it to a friend, or sell it? Or can someone else loan, give or sell me one. I cannot find a clear answer on this, but I fear tha answer is that I can't.

Amazon is going up to 15 Bucks for e-books...

I found this, but it doesn't seem to apply to ebooks. ebooks at least what I have found limits them to the media you put them on. I feel that the copy right law should apply the same as printed books.

U.S. copyright law is grounded in something called the first-sale doctrine. First sale means that when you purchase a protected work, you own it outright and are allowed to dispose of it any way you want. In fact, you can do just about anything you please with it except duplicate it.

Moses didn't have trouble with his tablets......And they were no where near as technologically advanced as the IPad. I see carrying one of these as catching on very soon.....