With electronic books on the market and competitors producing newer, faster models by the month, consumers now have a number of options for getting their daily dose of reading. Here’s a breakdown of the most popular e-book readers around and some things to consider while shopping.

iPad

For the consumer who wants more than just a light read, Apple’s iPad offers a slew of extra features and applications that other devices lack, including quick access to movies, music, mail and more.

At 1.5 pounds, the iPad is in the heavyweight class of eBooks, with 9.7 inches in length, making it bigger than the Nook or Kindle but still extremely portable. Unlike the other two products, the iPad boasts an LCD touch screen with backlighting.

The iPad has quickly become a hit since its U.S. release in April, with three million sold in its first eighty days according to an Apple press release in June.

“It’s really convenient. The Wi-Fi always works, and you get movies, music, games and books all in one little device,” said Nick Arcos, Medill freshman.

With high-speed Wi-Fi and a 3G network available for an additional $50, the iPad can connect to the Internet almost everywhere. Both the fastest and the most expensive eBook reader, the iPad runs between $499 and $899 depending on storage space, which ranges from 16 GB to 64GB.

“With an IPad, you get more GB of memory per dollar than you do with other e-books,” said Danny Cho, iPad salesman. “iPads are also customer friendly and visually appealing, which makes book searching easy.”‘

The iPad has access to over 200,000 applications in addition to the iBook application and can perform all of the functions of an iPod Touch. Though a splurge financially, Apple’s iPad has more to offer than just digital books.

Kindle

The oldest of the e-book trio is still going strong, with a new model out this month. Both the Kindle and the Kindle 3 are on the shelves and going fast. Priced at $139 and one with 3G Wi-Fi for an additional $60, the Kindle is the cheapest of the three and differs visually from the other two. While the Nook and iPad are both equipped with touch screens, the Kindle still features a physical keyboard.

“The Kindle is nicer to hold in your hand and easier to read in the sun because there’s no glare,” said Christopher Fox, freshman. “It’s more like actually reading a book, and turning the pages is more natural.”

The Kindle is only slightly smaller than the Nook but significantly lighter at only 8.5 ounces. The Kindle holds 4GB of memory, which adds up to approximately 3,500 books.

The Kindle offers no special features aside from its electronic book function, so for the techie who has to have it all, it may fail to measure up to the more glamorous iPad.

“The Kindle is stupid and slow. It has no games, and it is the most boring device ever made,” said Arcos.

Nook

New on the market is the Nook, an electronic book device sponsored by Barnes and Noble in connection with AT&T.

Running at $149 with 3G Wi-Fi for an additional $50, the Nook offers a cheaper alternative to the iPad but has fewer special features. Unlike the Kindle, the Nook features meager game options (just chess and Sudoku) and also functions as an MP3 player.

With 2GB of storage, the Nook can hold up to 1,500 e-books, which can be purchased online and read at any time, and while at any Barnes and Noble location, Nook owners can download and read a book for free.

Smaller than the iPad but bigger than the Kindle, the Nook is 7.7 inches by 4.9 inches and weighs only 11.6 ounces. Unlike the iPad, the Nook does not have a backlight feature but instead offers 16 different levels of gray scale and six different font sizes.

Yet, some still say that even the most realistic e-book reader is nothing like actual paper.

“I like the feel and smell of the physical pages,” said Jessica Kahkoska, sophomore. “Curling up with a book is a very sensory experience.”