I want an e-reader

The amount of reading that I do has dropped significantly lately.  At least the number of novels that I read has dropped.  I still read a ton of websites, blogs, rss feeds, and car magazines but I don't get around to my novels.  I've been working on reading The Atlantis Code for over a month now.

I think there are several reasons why my recreational reading has dropped off.  First, I read a ton of material on the web all day long.  Second, I'm busy working and taking care of things at home.  When I finally get some down time I either veg in front of the television or sleep.  The best chance for me to read a novel is in bed just before sleep.

I wonder if I would read more if I had an e-reader.  Would making reading more convenient lead to more reading?  I’d hate to go out and buy an e-book reader and then find out that I don’t read any more than I did with paperbacks but I am a tech hound and am dying to buy one.

There are several e-readers currently available, what differentiates them tends to be the size of the screen and the web access they provide.  Here is a list of the e-readers I’m currently looking at:

name	cost	screen size	screen resolution	color screen	wireless access	browser	size	weight in oz.
Amazon Kindle	$259	6"	600 X 800	16 shades of grey	3G	yes	8" x 5.3" x 0.36"	10.2
Amazon Kindle DX	$489	9.7"	1200 X 824	16 shades of grey	3G	yes	10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38"	18.9
Barnes & Noble Nook	$259	6"		16 shades of grey with color touchscreen	3G and Wi-Fi	??	7.7"4.9"X.5"	11.2
Sony Daily Edition	$399.99	7"	600 X 1024	16 shades of grey	3G	??	5"X8.2"X.6"	12.75
Sony Touch Edition	$299.99	6"	800 X 600	8 shades of grey	??	??	6.9"X4.8"X.4"	10.1
Sony Pocket Edition	$199.99	5"	800 X 600	8 shades of grey	??	??	6.25"x4.25" x.4"	7.76
ECTACO jetBook	$179	5"					6.02" x 4.33" x 0.51"	7.5

My dream e-reader would be a tablet computer with instant on, wi-fi and/or 3G internet access, a full color screen and a full qwerty keyboard like the Kindle has.  All of this for $259 would be ideal.  Perhaps the next Kindle will have a color screen.

If I can’t get my dream system then I want a basic e-reader.  Basic means it opens and reads many types of files, works great.  It would have no wireless access at all and no keyboard.  Just a basic reader and I want to pay about $100 for it.

If I had my choice of any of these e-readers, cost not being an issue I’d go with the Sony Daily Edition.  I like the size and format of the screen and the device looks great.  That being said I’ve hinted heavily that I’d like a Kindle, we’ll see if I get one for x-mas, I doubt it and kind of don’t want it as I’d like to wait and see what is coming next.  If I do get one I’ll write up my experience with it and whether I am reading more or not.