MANILA, Philippines - Unforch, the Kindle won’t be available here anytime soon. But it’s not the only tricked-out reading instrument on the market. Got an iPhone, iTouch or Blackberry? That’ll do just as well. Plenty of digital reader programs are available on the web for free download with eBook stores offering their latest digital merch to most international shores. All you need is a credit card and plenty of free time. Here are a few sites to check out:
Barnes & Noble
Find it at: www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks/index.asp
The popular bookstore also has a pretty comprehensive website that sells plenty of popular titles in eBook format. Here’s a surprise: Twilight is their bestseller. Rivaling Amazon in terms of price (an eBook costs about $9.99 but, as with any bookstore, there are titles on sale for about $5 to $1.99), Barnes & Noble also plans to compete with Amazon’s Kindle by partnering with Plastic Logic, the folks behind the Plastic Logic eReader which is due to debut by 2010. For now, while the current eReader program isn’t as polished as many would like it to be (reviewers have said that it reads like a PDF, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), it functions on the iPhone and Blackberry, as well as both PC and Mac platforms on your laptop.
Microsoft Reader
Find it at: www.microsoft.com/reader
Though it only supports PC-compatible devices, such as the Pocket PC, Tablet and laptop, the site has 60,000 titles currently on stock. Nothing to sniff at, considering the eBook market is still in its infancy. On the plus side: there’s an option to add notes to any page (just like with an old textbook, only more fun), highlight passages (and make them easily searchable) and look up words instantly via the program’s in-house dictionary.
Books On Board
Find it at: www.booksonboard.com
An independent bookstore with a range of titles, they offer a few free eBooks you can test out if you’re wary about trying out the site. (Harlequin Romances are currently celebrating an anniversary with select titles retailing for, like, zero dollars.) MobiPocket, Adobe ePub, Microsoft Reader and Barnes & Nobles eReader are just a few of the formats they offer.