Unlimited Funds Please

So far I've only been able to purchase four (perhaps five depending on how you see it) e-readers. I got my first e-reader, a 2nd Generation Kindle, back in February 14th. I think the iPad came next. Then the iPhone, the 3rd Generation Kindle, and finally the Kindle Touch. I know that a while back I thought about Nook, but  mostly I just wish I could test drive these suckers before I buy them so I can tell just what kind of differences there truly are.

What started this thinking? This article in the WSJ called The Best E-Reader: Kobo's Aura HD.

According to the article the Aura HD is:

the first model that rivals the printed page. The biggest improvement is the screen—it displays text at 265 dots per inch (dpi), compared with the Kindle Paperwhite's 212 dpi or the Nook SimpleTouch's 167 dpi. While the differences between the numbers may seem relatively inconsequential, the Aura HD's higher resolution makes text markedly sharper. The screen is slightly larger, too: 6.8 inches diagonal instead of the 6 inches that are standard today—a subtle increase that fits considerably more words on each page.

But, and this is what I don't like about e-readers in general:

For those who have invested in e-books from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, switching to the Aura HD won't be easy. Most e-books purchased from each store are only viewable on that brand's devices. (Hopefully, this will change; six years after the iTunes Store launched, it began selling music that could be played on any device, not just iPods.) But Kobo's store is just as sprawling as its competitors', with over 3 million titles.

It will be nice one day when I can read an e-book on any e-reader, but that's a different post. Right now, how bout a loaner site? A rent-to-own e-reader company that will send you an e-reader to try for a bit before you decide to buy it. Conversely I could just become a better writer, get more followers and have one sent to me for review. I'll start noodling both of these tactics. Eventually one will come true.