Turning a new electronic leaf

(CNN) -- Smart Traveller is a regular segment of CNN Business Traveller where we put new gadgets through their paces and give our verdict.

This month, Richard Quest gets to grips with the electronic book, roadtesting the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle.

Sony's e-book was launched in 2006 following a series of failed attempts to take books from paper to screen. Late in 2007 Amazon stepped into challenge Sony. Currently, both readers are only available in the U.S.

The two e-readers use the same electronic paper technology that ensures text looks as sharp as it does on paper. Unlike on a computer, the screens are also not back lit, which means there's no eye strain when reading.

You can read outdoors as well as in. And until a page is changed, the machine doesn't use any power. This means a full battery charge can last for days, if not weeks in the case of the Sony Reader.

Navigation aids make it simple to flip through pages or jump to any spot in a book. Newspapers, magazines and blogs can also be downloaded. Newspaper subscriptions cost around US$14 a month and are delivered 3am EST daily.

Amazon Kindle

The Kindle comes with a hefty upfront cost at US$400. But each e-book costs only $9.99 to download. There's also an impressive 90,000 titles currently on offer - with more planned for the future.

The major benefit of the Kindle is that it is offers free wireless technology. This means books can be downloaded instantly anytime and anywhere. (Unlike WiFi, Kindle uses the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones.) Users can also use the reader as a basic web browser to access emails and news.

Up to 200 books can be stored and users can also e-mail documents and pictures to Kindle for on-the-go viewing. It's also possible to make notes and annotations on books and documents.

Kindle's wireless technology doesn't enable you to roam overseas. Richard Quest failed to connect in two countries.

He'd also like the reader to be sleeker, smarter and feel less clunky and like a computer.

The Sony Reader PSR-505

The Sony Reader is priced at US$279, it comes in a simple design, and weighs just 250g.

To ease the eyes, readers can zoom in up to 200 percent and it has a built-in memory to hold up to 80 e-books. Its rechargeable battery powers users through up to 7,500 page turns or for three weeks.

One downside is that you need to attach the reader to a PC to download books from a special website. Currently Sony offers a selection of 20,000 books.

Another drawback is that you can't make notes and annotations and that material is harder to manage than on the Kindle.

The allure is its sophisticated, sleek and smarter design.

The verdict

Quest didn't miss the texture of the page or the feel of the book. But he would still like to see e-books offer a facility to make notes and annotations.

He would also like each reader to offer the advantages of the other. But until then, it's the Sony Reader that wins hands down as this month's Smart Traveller tip. E-mail to a friend