Amazon has chosen such a time as this to reveal to the world that an independent British author has took the bestseller slot on the Kindle Store in the final months of 2011 having published his book using Kindle Direct Publishing.

It's almost as though Amazon wants to remind the world that it has a publishing platform for ebooks too, what with Apple's iBooks Author taking the spotlight in recent weeks (for some of the wrong reasons).

Locked out

But let's not be cynical, and instead celebrate Kerry Wilkinson's great successes on the platform with his Jessica Daniel detective series:

"This time last year, I hadn't even started writing Locked In and now I have a number one bestselling book in the Kindle Store, outselling many authors that I have grown up reading," said Wilkinson.

"It has been terrific to be able to utilise Amazon's KDP platform and engage directly with readers."

Yes, terrific. Locked In also hit iBooks' top five, with Wilkinson's second and third books out now and two more to come in the series this year.

While staying wooly on exact figures, Gordon Willoughby, Kindle EU director, added, "Kerry Wilkinson's series of detective novels have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in the Kindle Store and we look forward to helping many more independently published authors achieve similar levels of success in 2012."

So it seems that self-publishing is here to stay - and while that's excellent for the many thousands of would-be novelists devoid of a book deal, it's another nail in the coffin for the publishing industry.

Amazon has released an application that allows users to send documents directly from a PC to their Kindle.

This will come as a relief to many Kindle users who have been using the less convenient method of emailing documents to a Send to Kindle email address.

The new software means that PC users must simply right click on Word documents, PDFs, text files and images and select the "Send to Kindle" option.

Multiple files can be sent in this way, meaning it's potentially a big time saver for Kindle power users.

Think before you print

There's also the option to send documents from the print menu by selecting "Send to Kindle" from the list of installed printers.

At the moment, Send to Kindle is Windows-only, so Mac users will have to keep doing it the hard way for the time being.

Documents can also be stored in the Kindle Library cloud service for downloading later, or across multiple devices. Currently the only reading application supported is the Kindle App for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

Send to Kindle for PC is available to download free from Amazonnow.

Sony has launched a new range of Walkman-powered personal media players in the Sony Walkman Z1000 series.

The Walkman Z Player runs on Android 2.3, and features Sony's noted S-Master MX digital amplifier to balance noise levels and reduce distortion.

There's also a large 4.3-inch LCD touch screen on offer, and will come in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB variants depending on how much you want to watch video or store every single song you've ever liked ever.

Sort of like a phone… but not…

The Walkman Z Player is Wi-Fi enabled to give full access to the Android Market, but also allows users to stream content to a bigger screen using DLNA (or connecting it up using a micro HDMI lead instead).

The dedicated W button gives instant access to your music from any point within the device, and SensMe technology is still alive and kicking and automatically categorising music based on BPM to suit your mood.

So imagine this is like a phone, but without all the phone-based bits, and you're pretty much there. It'll cost between $250 and $330 if you're Stateside, but no word on wider prices.

Best iPad and iPhone car charger

There's nothing worse after a long journey than arriving at your destination with a flat battery in your iOS device.

So to ensure you can still make calls and browse the web when you've parked your car keep your batteries topped up with one of these in-car chargers.

01. Belkin Micro Auto Charger - £15

URL: www.belkin.com/uk
Lights up? Yes
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch

Unlike the similarly-sized Gear 4, below, the Belkin comes with its own charging cable. It has a green charging light, which doesn't change colour when charging. It's not listed as iPad compatible, but we found it worked fine for charging the iPad, too.

Verdict: 4/5

02. Gear4 Roadtour Micro In-car USB charger - £15

URL: gear4.com
Lights up? Yes
Works with: Everything

It's small, comes in stylish Apple white and has an ice-blue LED that glows when something's charging. Shame there's no cable - all you get is a USB port to plug things into - but that means it can work with more devices. It's also well-made and ultra compact.

Verdict: 3/5

03. iLuv Dual USB Car charger - £13

URL: i-luv-uk.co.uk
Lights up? Yes
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch

Why settle for one USB port when you can have two? That's the message of the iLuv. It doesn't officially support the iPad, but we found that ours did charge. The charging head can rotate to make the USB ports more accessible, and a big blue light tells you when it's charging.

Verdict: 3/5

04. Griffin PowerJolt Plus - £13

URL: griffintechnology.com
Lights up? No
Works with: Everything

This well-made charger comes with its own springy cable and is a nice size to make connecting easy. Unplug the rubber cap at the top of the device and you can pop in a second car-charging device, so you could charge two things at the same time!

Verdict: 5/5

05. Philips Car charger for iPhone and iPad - £20

URL: philips.co.uk
Lights up? Yes
Works with: Everything

The Philips is an uncomplicated solution, but we like it. It comes with its own cable, so you don't need to bring another, and glows white when plugged in and orange when charging, making it easy to know if your device is charging properly in the dark. It's big enough to easily plug in without looking.

Verdict: 4/5

Best iPad and iPhone accessories

We love the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

The things you can do with them are nothing short of incredible: watch TV; find the nearest fine dining establishment; record and edit HD video… the list goes on.

But these devices can be even better. With the correct accessories, you can push your kit to new limits.

iPhone speaker docks

01. Gear4 Angry Birds Speakers
Price: £50 - £70
URL: gear4.com
Works with: Everything
Aux in: Red Bird only

These aren't going to compete with the others here in the sound stakes, but just look at how cool they are! As well as the Red and Black birds, you can get a green Helmet Pig. The Red Bird has a 3.5mm jack, so you can connect other audio sources too.

02. Logitech S715i
Price: £99
URL: logitech.com Works with: iPhone, iPod touch
Aux in: Yes

As well as pumping out the best sound you're going to get for under £100, Logitech's dock has a built-in battery and comes with a carry pouch, making it the perfect portable sound system whether you use it in the house or outdoors.

03. Philips Fidelio DS3020
Price: £49
URL: philips.com
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch
Aux in: Yes

At its modest price point, this diminutive and stylish dock blows the competition clean out of the water with its audio prowess. A great choice for listening to your music in a small room, such as your study, student halls or bedroom.

04. Klipsch iGroove HG
Price: £100
URL: klipsch.com
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch
Aux in: Yes

If you listen to a lot of music that benefits from powerful, thumping bass, look no further than this speaker, which lets you enjoy dance and R&B at its most immersive. And we love its unassuming, swept-back form.

05. Memorex Mini Alarm Clock Radio
Price: £47
URL: memorex.com
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch
Aux in: Yes

This is the perfect size for a bedside table. Dock your iPod touch or iPhone, and wake up to find it fully charged with your own music playing. The audio is quite good considering it's coming from such a small unit, and the 3.5mm aux-in jack means you can connect your iPad for its tunes too.

iPhone speaker docks £100+

01. B&W Zeppelin Air
Price: £499
URL: bowers-wilkins.co.uk
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch (docked), iPad (AirPlay)
Aux in: Yes

This king of iPod docks may have a royal price tag to match its stature, but it really is worth every penny. It looks great, sounds awesome and - thanks to AirPlay - works wirelessly with your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad too. Your ears will thank you forever for getting one of these.

02. Altec Lansing Octiv 650
Price: £130
URL: alteclansing.com
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch
Aux in: Yes

Don't be fooled by its minimalist, understated exterior - the Octiv 650 is a great value dock that packs in a brace of video outputs so you can enjoy your favourite flicks and programmes from your iPod or iPhone on a regular TV. The on-board EQ helps you tweak the sound output to match what you like to listen to. It's cleverly packaged too.

03. Creative Ziisound D5x and DSx
Price: £280 (D5x), £140 (DSx)
URL: uk.creative.com
Works with: Everything
Aux in: No

Meaty, beaty, big and beefy, this dock and subwoofer combo is the perfect partner for enjoying music and movies on your iPad, iPod touch or iPhone. Because it's completely wireless, you can listen cable-free. This also gives you the option of adding extra speakers - making it ideal for multi-room or even home cinema set-ups.

04. Arcam rCube
Price: £350
URL: arcam.co.uk
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch
Aux in: Yes

Thanks to a £150 price drop, the cleverly packaged rCube is brilliant value for money, combining portability and flexibility with hi-fi quality sound. The best thing about the rCube is that you can daisy chain additional units together cable-free; all you need to add are the optional rWave USB Music Streaming Dongles (£80 each) with Kleer wireless tech.

05. Revo Axis
Price: £200
URL: revo.co.uk
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch
Aux in: Yes

Armed with DAB, DAB+, FM and internet radio, the Revo Axis is so much more than a regular iPhone or iPod dock. The front panel comes complete with an easy-to-use touchscreen display and menu system, which is matched by a great audio performance that belies its size.

iPad docks

01. Altec Lansing Octiv 450
Price: £82
URL: alteclansing.com
Works with: iPad

The Octiv 450 is a great little charging stand for your iPad, and its built-in speakers are perfectly competent for playing back music or TV programmes, say. Its meagre footprint makes it perfect for small desks or kitchen worktops.

02. iHome iD9
Price: £97
URL: ihomeaudio.com
Works with: iPad

The sound from this smart, compact speaker isn't as full as even the slightly cheaper Octiv 450, but it's by no means bad - and it has great stereo separation. It has a great hidden feature, though: a 10-hour built-in battery for tunes on the go.

03. Philips Fidelio DS9010
Price: £349
URL: philips.co.uk
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Our current favourite speaker system for iPhones, iPads and iPods - bar none. Yes, you can spend more and get even better, more balanced sound, but for our money, the richness and punch of this dock is well worth the significant cash investment.

04. Apple iPad Dock
Price: £25
URL: apple.com/uk
Works with: iPad

Apple's official dock for the iPad doesn't have any speakers in it - it's just a handy place to put your device to charge it and keep it at a useful viewing angle. Yes, it's expensive, but its simple good looks and surprising level of stability means it gets the nod.

05. KitSound iPad Dock
Price: £6
URL: kitsound.co.uk
Works with: iPad

If you don't fancy shelling out 25 quid for the Apple dock, consider this little bargain from KitSound. At only £6, it does pretty much the same thing for a quarter of the price. If you can live with non-Apple accessories, it's a steal.

iPhone and iPad cases and keyboards

iPhone cases

01. Griffin Survivor
Price: £17
URL: griffintechnology.com
Works with: iPhone 4/4S

Protection doesn't come much more robust than this: the Survivor is designed to meet or even exceed UK and US military standards of toughness! It'll make your iPhone 4/4S resistant to being dropped and offers some protection from sand and rain. There are also versions of this case for the iPod touch and iPad 2.

02. Incipio Feather
Price: £14
URL: myincipio.com
Works with: iPhone 3G/3GS or 4/4S

If you're not keen on adding much weight or bulk to your iPhone, check out these super-slim back covers. Available in shiny or matte finishes, the Feather leaves the connectors and buttons easily accessible, while keeping the back of your iPhone protected from knocks.

03. Knomo iPhone Wallet
Price: £35
URL: knomobags.com
Works with: iPhone 3G/3GS/4/4S

Why carry a phone case and a wallet, when you can combine the two in a stylish leather folder? Pop in a couple of important cards, slide your iPhone into the designated pouch and you're ready to go. You'll need to take your iPhone out of the case to use it, though.

04. Belkin Leather Pull-Tab Sleeve
Price: £11
URL: belkin.com/uk
Works with: iPhone 3G/3GS/4/4S

If you don't want to cover up the sleek lines of your iPhone when you're using it, but need some protection for it in your pocket or bag, this sleeve could be just the ticket. Extremely robust, it's got a gauze window to check the time, and a tab to get at your phone easily.

05. ArtWizz SeeJacket Alu
Price: £20
URL: artwizz.de
Works with: iPhone 4/4S

This aluminium case adds more protection than a plastic shell, without adding much extra weight or bulk. The inner rubber lining grips the phone and protects from bumps.

06. Pro/Tec Executive Leather Case
Price: £7
URL: kondor.co.uk
Works with: iPhone 3G/3GS or 4/4S

A smart leather case doesn't need to cost the Earth: for under a tenner, you get a robust and business-like flip case. Make sure you get the correct one for your model of iPhone.

iPad cases

01. Apple Smart Cover
Price: £35/£59
URL: apple.com/uk
Works with: iPad 2

We couldn't not include this, could we? A cover, automatic screen switch and two-angle stand, it's wonderfully versatile. Yes, it's pricey and doesn't protect the back of the iPad 2, but as a piece of engineering it's still the best iPad cover out there.

02. Belkin Verve Folio Stand
Price: £34
URL: belkin.com/uk
Works with: iPad 2

It looks the part, the built-in magnet switches the screen on and off automatically, and it's relatively thin as far as leather folder cases go. What's more, it offers all-round protection for your iPad and will stand in landscape at a variety of angles. Pure class.

03. Orbyx Leather Folder case
Price: £29
URL: orbyx.com
Works with: iPad

This oozes class with a splash of fun thrown in: the black or brown leather exterior is complemented by a bright green or pink lining inside. It's a good fit, and will prop your iPad at a nice angle for typing or watching videos.

04. Incipio Destroyer
Price: £28
URL: myincipio.com
Works with: iPad

If it's solid protection you're after, solid protection you shall get. This sturdy shell bolts together, holding your iPad in a vice-like grip. It's for the original iPad only - for the iPad 2, have a look at Gumdrop's similar Drop cases.

05. iLuv Flex-Gel Case
Price: £11
URL: i-luv-uk.co.uk
Works with: iPad 2

If you're after a gel back cover for your iPad 2, you've countless options. But this trumps them all, because it hugs your device so tightly where many others are a bit loose around the edges. The matt surface gives you a nice amount of grip, and there are five colours.

06. iLuv Smart Back Cover
Price: £27
URL: i-luv-uk.co.uk
Works with: iPad 2

So you love the Apple Smart Cover, but want to protect the back of your iPad 2 as well - what do you do? Why, you get one of these, of course. It clips on, adding minimal extra thickness to your iPad 2, but excellent all-round protection.

07. Speck HandyShell for iPad 2
Price: £27
URL: speckproducts.com
Works with: iPad 2

As well as a protective shell, this gives you a genius fold-out clip. It's clever because it does so many things: use it to grip your iPad, hang it up, or stand it in portrait or landscape orientations. Or if you're more musically inclined, flip the clip right out and you've got an easy way to hold your virtual guitar!

Headphones

01. Apple In-Ear Headphones
Price: £45
URL: apple.com/uk
Works with: Everything

You'd be forgiven for thinking, given how lacklustre the white headphones you get with the iPhone and iPod are, that we're mad for suggesting buying Apple's premium set. But actually, they're the best in-ear models we've tried at this price.

02. Sennheiser HD 518
Price: £72
URL: sennheiser.co.uk
Works with: Everything

Because these over-the-ear cans are open-backed, sound doesn't bounce around inside the cup in the same way as with closed-back models - resulting in audio that is as crisp as it is gutsy. What's more, they're really comfortable to wear for hours at a time.

03. Sony MDR-NC200D
Price: £172
URL: sony.co.uk
Works with: Everything

This is the only set in this list that includes active noise cancellation. Powered by a single AAA battery, the smart, three-mode noise cancellation works well on something like a train journey, and the overall sound quality from these headphones is excellent.

04. Etymotic hf3
Price: £100
URL: etymotic.com
Works with: Everything

The super-clean, balanced and neutral sound from these in-ear buds may not be to everyone's taste, but if you like your music as uncoloured as possible, these are stunning. You could also treat yourself to custom moulded earbuds (shown) for an extra £70.

05. Sennheiser PX 210 BT
Price: £92
URL: sennheiser.co.uk
Works with: Everything

It's difficult to fully grasp how liberating it is to have wireless headphones until you've tried them. This superb Bluetooth set - like its fancier brother, the MM 450 Travel - sounds terrific, and works great with everything except the original iPhone and iPod touch.

Input

01. Wacom Bamboo Stylus
Price: £25
URL: wacom.eu
Works with: Everything

Whether it's to write, paint or sketch on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, there are times when you need more precision than your finger can offer. And Wacom's 6mm tip is as small and precise as you can get with the screen on your device. It's beautifully weighted to feel like a pencil in your hand, and though it's costly as far as styluses go, it's the best there is.

02. Just Mobile AluPen
Price: £15
URL: xtand.net
Works with: Everything

This stylus is solid, chunky and easy to hold. It's got a thicker tip than the Wacom Bamboo Stylus, making it perhaps more suitable for artists' use. It's also a good deal cheaper than the Bamboo Stylus, but doesn't feel it when you've got it in-hand.

03. ZAGGfolio for iPad 2
Price: £80
URL: zagg.com
Works with: iPad 2

OK, so this isn't cheap, but it's our favourite keyboard and protective case combo for the iPad 2. A lovely detachable keyboard slots into a thin protective cover and stand.

04. KeySonic KSK- 3201MacBT
Price: £38
URL: keysonic.de
Works with: Everything

Whether it's a quick iMessage or longer piece of prose that you're writing, you'll almost certainly be quicker and more comfortable with an external keyboard than the on-screen one. This one gets the balance between compact size and ease of typing spot on.

05. Logitech Tablet Keyboard
Price: £50
URL: logitech.com
Works with: Everything

If the prospect of typing on a compact keyboard like the KeySonic one doesn't thrill you, take a look at Logitech's excellent desktop-size offering, which comes complete with carry case that doubles as a clever stand for the iPad.

Power

01. Mophie JuicePack Plus
Price: £27
URL: mophie.com
Works with: iPhone 4/4S

Pop your iPhone 4/4S into one of these battery cases and you'll almost double the length of time you can use it for, thanks to the 2000mAh battery. The case helps protect your phone from bumps and scrapes as well, though it also adds some bulk.

02. Proporta USB TurboCharger
Price: £43
URL: proporta.com
Works with: Everything

It may be big and a bit weighty, but the whopping 5000mAh battery in here should fill an iPhone several times over, and will also charge an iPad. A great companion to take with you if you're expecting to be away from power outlets for long periods.

03. Griffin PowerJolt Plus
Price: £13
URL: griffintechnology.com
Works with: Everything

Make sure you never arrive at your destination with a dead iPhone, iPad or iPod touch: plug one of these into your car's lighter socket and your device will charge. It's even got a feed-through socket on it, meaning you can connect more than one thing to a single socket.

04. Kensington PowerLift Back-Up Battery, Dock & Stand
Price: £33
URL: kensington.com
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch

A bit of a multitasking marvel, this one - not only will it stand and sync your iPhone or iPod touch, but it'll charge it on the go thanks to its 1200mAh battery. It's perfect for FaceTime or other calls, so be sure to take it with you whenever you head out the door.

05. Griffin PowerDock Dual
Price: £32
URL: griffintechnology.com
Works with: Everything

You get three things in one, here: an iPhone/iPod charger; an iPad charger; and a tray for your keys or coins. The PowerDock Dual is the ideal place to leave your iOS devices to charge - both when you're at home or at work.

06. iDAPT i4
Price: £37
URL: idaptweb.com
Works with: Everything

If you've got several devices - be they Apple or otherwise - the i4 lets you charge them all at once. By adding different tips to the unit (it comes with one dock connector, you can buy more from the website), you can connect three bits of kit, and the USB port allows you to charge a fourth, too.

Music making

01. Alesis iO Dock
Price: £139
URL: alesis.com
Works with: iPad

There are plenty of excellent accessories to add music input and output to your iPad or iPad 2, but the iO Dock brings them all together in a single package. The XLR and quarter-inch jack inputs mean you can connect a range of equipment, and these are complemented by MIDI inputs and outputs. Add a foot pedal socket, composite video out and two quarter-inch main outputs, and you've got a fantastic package.

02. IK Multimedia iRig
Price: £22
URL: ikmultimedia.com
Works with: Everything

Forget buying lots of costly effects pedals for your guitar: get an iRig and the AmpliTube app for a whole range of different guitar sounds right there on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. It's also a great way to record those guitar licks you've been perfecting straight into GarageBand. An absolutely essential add-on for any guitarist with an iOS device.

03. IK Multimedia iRig MIDI
Price: £46
URL: ikmultimedia.com
Works with: Everything

Where the first iRig is designed for connecting guitars to the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, the MIDI version lets you hook up any MIDI kit - such as keyboards, synthesisers and foot pedals - to your device. What's more, because it uses the CoreMIDI system, it'll work with a whole host of iOS apps.

04. Numark iDJ Live
Price: £80
URL: numark.com
Works with: iPad

Mixing music like a real DJ no longer requires you to shell out hundreds of pounds on a set of decks, a mixer and lots of vinyl. The iDJ Live links to the excellent djay iPad app (£13.99), letting you control your tunes using a tactile pair of decks, with basic mixing controls in between. And while your revellers dance away to the playing track, the included splitter cable means you can cue up the next in your headphones.

Officials in Luxembourg, home of Amazon's European HQ, have decided to slice ebook VAT which could cause a drop in the price of digital books across Europe.

The great book pricing divide has long caused headaches for ebook readers and sellers alike - there's no VAT on printed books in the UK, but digital books are subject to an extra 20% tax.

In Luxembourg, the tax has been slashed from 15 per cent to 3 per cent - under the current rules, European readers pay the tax based on the country the vendor is based in and Amazon is one of the biggest players in the e-reading space, thanks to it's hugely successful Kindle.

All change please

Although the rules are set to change - in 2015, consumers will have to pay the VAT rate based on the country they live in, the VAT reduction will see UK-based booksellers at a distinct disadvantage over the next three years.

The UK government has always railed against reducing or abolishing the tax on ebooks because, aside from being loathe to give up all that lovely money, it wants to stay in line with EU law.

David Gauke, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, told MPs, "Under EU law, VAT on electronic books must be charged at the standard rate."

However, Luxembourg isn't the only EU country to have decided to cut ebook VAT - France is set to follow suit - which leaves the UK in a rather tricky situation, particularly come 2015.

The multi-talented iPad was just as essential to the rise of the ebook as the dedicated Kindle e-reader, according to one ebook conversion company.

Jouve, which specialises in converting books to digital formats and is one of only two Apple approved conversion houses for the iBookstore, reckons that both devices were equally important to digital reading's success, despite the low-cost Kindle's specialisation.

When asked which device had greater impact on the take up of ebooks, Jouve President and CEO Pierre-Vincent Debatte said, "I hate to say it, but I'm going to have to sit on the fence regarding this issue."

"I'd have to argue that it's a combination of the two devices which has really spurred on the growth in ebook sales."

Comfy fence

"There was always going to be a tipping point that was reached when affordable tablets, reader and multifunction devices allowed customers to take their whole collection of books with them in one practical device," he continued.

"Sony was one of the early leaders in the ebook world, but the Kindle and the iPad have had a much more recent impact, both in terms of sales and notoriety."

Content with content

What it all comes down to, says Debatte, is content. He thinks manufacturers can put all the digital bells and whistles they like on devices but if the content isn't up to scratch, they won't have a hit on their hands.

"Good content speaks for itself. Of course there are a huge number of potential display options available with ebooks (text size, fonts etc.) that can really improve the reading experience, and there's certainly massive scope for enriched and enhanced content.

"But at the end of the day readers are interested in good content first and foremost: any enhancement has to come as a corollary to that."

And is there a future for the ad-supported ebook which Amazon currently provides in the US but is yet to make its way across the pond?

"People forget that paperbacks very often used to contain print adverts in some markets, and still do in others, so that is certainly a future model. As we've seen from the ad-supported Kindle, readers are happy to tolerate advertising if it does not obstruct their experience of the book."

The US has joined Europe in investigating ebook price-fixing claims with a spokesperson for the Department of Justice noting in a statement that it was looking into "anticompetitive practices involving ebook sales".

This follows the EU's announcement earlier in the week that it was looking at five of the biggest publishing companies: Hachette Livre, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin and Macmillan, and also Apple.

Illegal agreements

If the US follows the same tack as the EU, then it will be investigating "whether these publishing groups and Apple have engaged in illegal agreements or practices that would have the object or the effect of restricting competition".

If it is found that the sale of ebooks actually breaches competition rules, then it will mean a massive shake-up in the way ebooks are sold – and it could also mean that we will get a difference in ebook pricing across many online retailers, much like we see with real books at the moment.

Price fixing in the tech world is not unknown. The last major scandal was with television manufacturers back in 2009, when an executive from LG was jailed for his part in a conspiracy to fix the prices of LCD panels in TVs and computers.

Best ebook readers for the UK: 1-5

We love ebooks. They may be rubbish for swatting wasps but they're great in lots of other ways: they're convenient, they're brilliant for travelling and they don't take up much space in your house.

Forget all that stuff about the death of the book: ebooks are giving it a whole new lease of life, providing more ways to read your favourite writers than ever before. From E-ink to LCDs, thin readers to tablet computers, these are the ten ereading devices you need to know about.

1. Amazon Kindle Keyboard 3G - £149

Best ereader for: serious ebook buyers

When Amazon unveiled its latest Kindles, the existing third generation Kindle became the Kindle Keyboard and the Wi-Fi model disappeared. The third-gen Kindle is still our pick, though: it's more comfortable to hold than the newer Kindles and its ergonomics are spot-on. Battery life and storage space are two months and 3,500 books respectively, there's a wee speaker for audiobooks, Read-to-me and tunes, and of course there's Amazon's enormous ebook library and WhisperSync synchronisation with the various Kindle apps. The 3G modem's largely pointless - when have you ever needed a book so badly you couldn't wait until you were near a WiFi hotspot? - but the Kindle Keyboard remains the E-Ink ereader to beat.

Amazon Kindle Keyboard review

2. Kobo eReader Touch - £109

Best ereader for: all-round competence

Kobo eReaders are new to the UK, and they're very welcome arrivals: the eReader Touch is a genuine rival to the new Kindles, particularly the Kindle Touch. It looks better, has a nicer user interface and has a better range of typefaces, and unlike Amazon's touch-screen device you can actually buy one in British shops. If you're considering a Kindle, we'd strongly recommend checking out the Kobo first before you make up your mind.

Ebook readers aren't just about technology, of course: they're about content too, because nobody's going to shell out for an ebook reader they can't get any books for. Kobo's got that covered too: while we found a few gaps in the catalogue, the big hitters were present, correct and no more expensive than Amazon. There's also a good range of apps so you can read your purchases on other devices too.

Read Kobo eReader Touch review

3. Amazon Kindle Wi-Fi - £89

Best ereader for: cut-price Kindling

The keyboard isn't the only thing the new Kindle's lost: battery life is down from two months to one, storage is down from 3,500 books to 1,400 and there's no speaker, but the Kindle DNA is intact: the reading experience is perfectly pleasant, you can sync with the various Kindle apps and getting new books is a doddle. As our in-depth review notes, "If you want a straightforward dedicated ereader, it's hard to see past the neat form factor, superb book choice, amazing screen and eye-catching price of the Amazon Kindle."

Read our Amazon Kindle review

4. Amazon Kindle Touch - Price TBC

Best ereader for: Kindle fans who'd rather wait for a touch screen

It's not here yet - the US gets first dibs - but we know what we're going to see: a New Kindle without the faintly horrible buttons, with a faintly horrible silvery case and with a nifty touchscreen. The US price is $99, and once tax and other odds and sods are taken into consideration we'd expect a £100ish price here too.

5. Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS-T1 - £130

Best ereader for: Kindle haters

The Sony Reader PRS-T1 Wi-Fi is a light and thin ebook reader that doesn't quite measure up to the competition. If the only two specifications you care about are the weight (167 grams) or the thickness (9.5mm) then this might be your best option. However, if you care about an accessible interface, extra features beyond the basic book store, and a reasonable (slightly higher) price, the Kindle 4 is a better bet.

Available in red, black, or white, the Reader is a stylish and svelte ebook reader that felt comfortable during several long ebook reading sessions. You can borrow books from your local library, download free Google Books selections (including many Dickens classics), and play music files.

Read our Sony Reader PRS-T1 review

Best ebook readers for the UK: 6-10

6. Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-350 - £140

Best ereader for: champion hagglers on tighter budgets

Sony's pocket-sized pal boasts a 5-inch E-ink screen, 2GB of memory and a claimed 2 weeks of battery life. There's no Wi-Fi - you transfer books via USB - and there's no touch screen, but the buttons are nice enough and the aluminium casing comes in silver, pink and black. The PRS-350 supports EPUB (including DRMed ones), PDF, Word, TXT, TRF and BBeB ebooks.

As with its big brother the PRS-600, haggle hard: a new version is imminent.

Hands on: Sony Reader Touch review

7. Elonex 621EB eBook Reader - £90

Best ereader for: people going on really, really long journeys

Specs-wise the 621EB is a fairly bog-standard e-reader - it has a six-inch E-ink screen, weighs 180G, plays MP3s and can store around 1,000 ebooks, or more if you add a 16GB SD card; it supports EPUB, PDF, TXT and HTML and works with Adobe Digital Editions, so you can use it with non-Amazon ebook shops - but the USP here is battery life, with a claimed 3 months between charges. We'd take that with a pinch of salt - at 1,000mAh the battery isn't as powerful as a Kindle 3's 1,750mAh, which is good for a month or two - but the 621EB is still a reasonably priced, reasonably good e-ink device.

Read our Elonex 621EB eBook Reader review

8. Bookeen Cybook Opus eReader - £70

Best ereader for: really tight budgets

Bookeen's ebook reader keeps things simple, and the price has plummeted: from around £200 last year it's now on sale for £69.99 at Waterstone's. Natively supporting EPUB, TXT, PDF, HTML, JPG, PNG and GIF files, this white reader with rounded edges was doing the keyboard-free thing before Amazon caught on and automatically flips the screen when you turn it on its side. There's no WiFi connectivity so transferring books onto the Opus has to be done manually, but its built-in 1GB capcity can be increased by using a Micro SD card.

9. Apple iPod Touch 8GB - £169

Best ereader for: portability, games and media joy

Apple's iPod may seem an odd choice for an ereader article, but if you don't fancy E-ink then the Touch's retina display offers the best reading experience we've seen on an LCD device. It's not just about Apple's iBooks, either: there are iOS apps for Kindle, Kobo and less well-known players such as Stanza together with a growing number of books-as-apps, although you'd have to be a masochist to attempt reading magazines via Apple's Newsstand app. Factor in the iPod's many other strengths - music, movies, games, iMessage, photos, web browsing, video recording, AirPlay - and the iPod Touch is a serious contender.

Read our iPod touch review

10. Blackberry Playbook 16GB -£249

Best ereader for: people who quite fancy a tablet

We haven't gone mad: while the Playbook hasn't been the hit many expected, price cutting means at £249 it's well worth considering if you fancy doing your e-reading on a tablet. There isn't a Kindle app but there is a Kobo one, and of course its web browser means that you can use Google's cloud-based ebook store too. The Playbook's seven inches strike the right balance between screen size and portability, and as RIM irons out initial problems it's becoming a pretty nice tablet too. Just ask Amazon: its forthcoming Kindle Fire is essentially a Playbook running Amazon's own software.

Read our BlackBerry Playbook review

Hot on the heels of its Kobo ereader launch last month, WHSmith has unveiled the Kobo Vox, a colour touchscreen ereader complete with Wi-Fi connectivity and fairly palatable price tag.

It's almost impossible not to draw comparisons to Amazon's Kindle Fire; both big up their ereader credentials, offer a 7-inch screen, run on Android, have similar apps and come with relatively low tablet prices.

The Kobo Vox's 7-inch screen is touted as anti-glare, so you should be able to read comfortably even in bright sunlight and if your peepers get tired, there are 42 font sizes to choose between.

WHSmiths is also keen to point out that Kobo is Facebook's only official ereading partner so if you're desperate to share your love of Twilight or boast about how far through Game of Thrones you are, it could be the reader-cum-tablet for you.

From the ashes

It's not quite so heavily customised as the Kindle Fire, so you don't have to go through Amazon's curated app store and have access to more Android apps.

With 8GB of storage, expandable memory and Wi-Fi connectivity, it's not exactly going to take top spot in our best tablets in the world list (we do have one, you know), but the WHSmith Kobo Vox could be one of the best bargain slabs.

One thing the Vox does have over the Kindle Fire is its UK availability: the Kobo Vox UK release date is today and you can nab it from WHSmith shops or online with a UK price of £169.99.

10 best iPad and iPhone apps for mobile working

Employers are finally seeing sense. With rising rents and longer commutes taking their toll, they're realising that, in many roles, we can be just as productive away from our desks. Indeed, for many people an open-plan workspace is the least productive environment of all. Why not leave it all behind and work on the move instead?

Apple is one of a growing number of companies looking to take advantage of the great spread of wireless access. Forthcoming updates to Pages, Numbers and Keynote, its iOS and OS X office apps, will use Wi-Fi and 3G to synchronise the work you do on the move with that on our Macs back home or at the office.

With this in mind, we set out to discover whether we really could leave our desk behind and work on the move. The 10 apps we pre-loaded on our test devices - which excluded Apple's own office suite - have been designed to work as seamlessly as possible with regular Mac or PC applications, so we could switch from mobile to desktop depending on where we found ourselves.

The results, as you'll see, prove that by investing just shy of £30 - less than the cost of a daily ride to work for many - we could kit ourselves out with a fully functioning mobile office.

01. Quickoffice Pro HD

Price: £13.99
Works with: iPad

Apple's iWork apps have been praised for their look and feel, but many actually prefer Quickoffice Pro HD. It dispenses with Pages', Numbers' and Keynote's visual clutter to present a clean, professional interface, while beating Apple to the cut by already fully integrating cloud synchronisation courtesy of Google Docs.

Where Apple offers separate apps to create text documents, spreadsheets and presentations, Quickoffice bundles the three together. If you need to use two or more Apple apps, you'll make a tidy saving by going for this instead.

Further, while the latest versions of Apple's own office tools can export in Microsoft formats, they still default to their own native file types, so if you're using iCloud to synchronise documents with a Mac for which don't own the equivalent OS X apps, you'll have to convert them first. Quickoffice uses industry standard formats from the off, so there's no extra step to go through when sharing your documents.

It's up to you where you store your work. When you have no net connection you'll naturally work locally, but if you have a 3G-enabled iPad or a Wi-Fi connection then you can work directly from a remote server.

At the time of writing, the options were Google Docs, Dropbox, box.net, MobileMe, Huddle, SugarSync, Evernote and Catch. Apple has announced that it will be discontinuing the MobileMe iDisk service so we would expect to see this option disappear in an update, but that leaves us with six diverse alternatives offering a range of benefits.

Business workers with Google Apps accounts can work directly on documents shared with other team members, while Dropbox subscribers with the desktop client installed on their Mac or PC will enjoy simple integration between their working devices, with documents created on the iPad showing up on their home machine and vice versa.

Files can be organised into folders within the app itself. The editing environment is clean and easy on the eye, with a number of smart navigation tools. Run your thumb down the right-hand edge of a text document and its constituent pages are shown as expanding thumbnails. Work on a spreadsheet and as you switch back and forth between its various pages they'll curl up and down like pages in iBooks.

Equally neat is the way that you align cell data in the spreadsheet app: it presents you with a tic-tac-toe board about which you drag sample text to align it left, right and centred at the top, middle or bottom of the cell. Overly long entries can be wrapped, if you choose.

It's not a complete desktop replacement, of course. The choice of fonts is limited to seven rather pedestrian options in sizes ranging from 8pt to 72pt, and while there's a library of 18 shapes ready to be dropped into your presentations, none of the modules has the layout abilities of Numbers, Keynote or Pages.

It is, however, more than up to the job of taking a project from concept, through notes to final polished product ready to be emailed or printed directly. At £13.99, it's nothing short of a bargain – a fact that helps soften the blow of realising you'll have to shell out an extra £6.99 if you want it on your iPhone, too.

02. GoodReader for iPad

Price: £2.99
Works with: iPad

'GoodReader' is an understatement. This aptly-named app is a catch-all viewer for PDFs, Microsoft Office documents, iWork files, Safari archives, images, video, audio… you name it and GoodReader can open it.

Its interface is beautifully designed and bristles with so many features that in the hands of lesser designers, it could easily have been overwhelming.

There's a neat slider for changing the screen brightness in this app alone (so you don't have to change the overall system setting from the multitasking bar), and the navigation elements let you slide through your pages, skip straight to a numbered location and set bookmarks.

If you're reading a lengthy and complex PDF, there's even an option to strip out the images so that you're left with just the text, making this a great way to keep up with whatever reports you might need to read on the train home.

Annotation tools are grouped on a sidebar menu, along with simple graphics, such as lines, arrows and circles, and changes can be saved to the original file, or to a copy that GoodReader creates itself, preserving your master.

When you've finished work, you can compress the results into a self-contained ZIP file and email it directly from the app itself. For anyone who needs to do a lot of reading for their job, this is one of the few apps we'd call totally essential.

03. LogMeIn Ignition

Price: £10.49
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Great though it is, the iPad isn't quite the all-rounder that a desktop PC can be. It's well-endowed with plenty of highbrow business apps, but for some tasks you still need access to your regular Mac or PC, even when you're away from base.

LogMeIn Ignition works in concert with a free utility app on your Mac or PC. (Upgrading to the utility's £41.95 pro edition gets you the added benefit of printing from anywhere in the world.) Download and install it, and it'll check in with the LogMeIn site, updating the service's servers with its IP address and details of your broadband router.

So far, so simple. The clever bit comes when you hit the road. Leave your computer switched on while you're working on the move and the client app on your iPhone or iPad uses these details to find the computer over the net, allowing you to see the screen and control both the remote keyboard and mouse.

So, if you've forgotten to email a file that you need right away, you need only log in from the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot and you can mail it out to your iPad.

It does have its downsides, of course. Although LogMeIn features wake-on-LAN to rouse your Mac or PC from sleep when you need to use it, your machine will continue drawing a small amount of power even while sleeping. Relying instead on regular cloud or online storage would let you shut it down completely.

Further, although it's recently had its price cut by a third, LogMeIn Ignition still costs a not-inconsiderable £10.49 to achieve what Mac users can largely do for free with Apple's own Back to My Mac service.

So, is it worth it? Absolutely. The time saved in not having to return to the office to collect a forgotten file, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing you can access all of your files from anywhere in the world at any time, is incalculable.

04. Penultimate

Price: £1.49
Works with: iPad

Penultimate is a brilliantly simple way to scribble things down. With a finger or stylus, you can draw directly onto its beautifully rendered pages.

There are three pen weights in six colours, along with three types of paper – graph, lined or plain. You can install further paper types for free from the in-app Paper Shop, where you'll also find a selection of charged-for styles, including music sheets, design pages and paper-based games. The paper packs range from 69p to £1.99.

It's smart enough not to be confused when you carelessly lean a wrist on the screen, and mistakes can be excised selectively or en masse by clearing the page. Pages are organised into virtual books and can be printed from the app, saved to your Camera Roll, or emailed as a PDF with or without the paper design. Penultimate is a wonderful creativity tool – it's fun to use, and easy to correct mistakes.

05. Wunderlist HD

Price: Free
Works with: iPad

Things, the long time champion task manager, has been trumped by Wunderlist. How? Things costs £6.99 on the iPhone, £13.99 on the iPad and £34.99 on the Mac. Buy all three and you've spent £55.97. Grab the iPad and separate iPhone version of Wunderlist, as well as the desktop version, and you won't pay a thing, yet it's far from underpowered.

As well as looking great on every platform, it lets you set deadlines and priorities to help you keep on top of your jobs. Tasks can be organised into lists, and each installed version of the app synchronises with the others over the web.

Things can only do this over a local network, while rival The Hit List does it online, but charges for it. It emails you a list of tasks for the day each morning and, in the opposite direction, you can set tasks by sending an email to the Wunderlist servers.

06. Skype

Price: Free
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Skype is an old hand on the iPhone, and has now finally arrived on the iPad, where it uses the larger screen to display your contacts as proper thumbnails.

For iPad users, the immediate benefit is the fact that it adds telephony features to the device, while significantly undercutting regular landline or mobile rates for international calls. It also lets you send texts for 5.6p, rounding out the forthcoming iMessage offering, which will only send messages to other iOS 5 users.

Pair it with an online number and your contacts can reach you on the same line whether you're sitting at your desk or working on the move. Available in 23 countries, including the UK, US and Ireland, numbers cost £11.50, $18 or €17.25 per quarter, respectively.

Renting a number also affords you free voicemail and means you don't have to give out your mobile number to anyone but your friends and family.

07. PlainText

Price: Free
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

PlainText is an enigma. On the one hand it's the most feature-poor app we've ever recommended; on the other it's one of the best writing environments available.

Stripped of all formatting options, font menus, word counts, rulers and tools, there's nothing here to stand between you and your words. You can even do away with the default sidebar, leaving only the workspace and minimal ad banner that helps keep the app free (you can remove this too, for £1.49).

The second secret to its success is the way it hooks into Dropbox, through which it saves your work to the cloud, and from which it'll synchronise with your Mac or PC. Having supplied your Dropbox credentials, you can sit back and type, and let it get on with the business of uploading every time you pause, while you just think about the writing.

08. SugarSync

Price: Free
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Billed as 'your own personal cloud', SugarSync is like a hard drive in the sky. Similar to Evernote and Dropbox, it comes in iOS, Windows and OS X flavours; installing it on all of your devices means they'll all be able to share the same set of data.

Pick the folders you want to synchronise on your computer and SugarSync will copy them to its online storage and sync them with each of your other devices. It's one of the simplest and easiest ways to get images onto your iPad for use in documents and presentations, separating them out from your synchronised folders into a dedicated Photos area.

For PC users and Mac owners without iPhoto who can't take advantage of iCloud's forthcoming image synchronisation, SugarSync's image upload tools make short work of transferring photos and screengrabs back to your computer. It's a hassle-free way to work.

09. Evernote

Price: Free
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

If all you want to do is tap out a shopping list, the iOS Notes app will suit you just fine. For anything more ambitious, look to Evernote.

You can type notes directly and organise them into folders, where they'll be backed up on Evernote's servers and be available through the browser, iOS client and desktop app. Get into the habit of using it to take minutes or jotting down quick ideas when you're at your desk and those same sketched thoughts will be at your fingertips on the move; you can use your commute productively to flesh them out.

Every note is indexed and filed by date. You can go further and organise them into discrete collections, called notebooks, and describe them using keywords to help you search.

The real power comes in pairing it with the desktop client. Allow that to add an Evernote button to your browser and you can clip web pages directly to your account. It's the quickest way to build up a digital scrapbook.

10. Dropbox

Price: Free
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Dropbox is more than a simple online storage tool. Set all of your Macs or PCs to log in using the same credentials as your iPad or iPhone and your files will be synchronised between all three.

Files that you create while out and about using Dropbox-connected tools will already be waiting on your hard drive when you get back to the office. Not only is this convenient, it's also great security against losing your iPad, since your work will be backed up both online and on your computer.

As well as a file manager, the Dropbox client is a first-class viewer, rendering text, PDFs and spreadsheets well. It's also free for up to 2GB of storage.

More attractive ebooks could be on their way to a Kindle near you, as Amazon Kindle Format 8 (KF8) will come with HTML5 support.

The big news here is that publishers will be able to make ebooks a lot more exciting, using interactive elements and snazzier layouts.

Ebook designers will be able to make use of CSS3 support and fixed layouts, as well as embedded fonts for a wider variety of typefaces. Books will also be able to have drop caps (which is when the first letter of a paragraph is enlarged to add a bit of variety).

There's also the option to include floating elements and bullet-point lists as part of the 150 new formatting options, which will all add a bit more interest to the whole Kindle experience.

Fire in the hole

Unfortunately for us UK dwellers, the Kindle Fire will be the first Kindle product to support KF8, which means no flashily designed ebooks for us just yet.

It makes sense, though – the Kindle Fire is the first of the line up to offer an all-singing, all-dancing colour touchscreen, so expect gorgeous looking art books, picture books and comic boo… er, we mean graphic novels.

However, support for the new format is set to roll out over the next few months, taking in existing software and hardware as it goes.

One of the benefits of a short musical attention span used to be that you could sell your out-of-date CDs, tapes and LPs on once you'd got over that disco phase (see also: nu-rave, techno, trip-hop, opera), but in the digital era, once you've bought an MP3 you're kind of stuck with it.

Or, at least, you were before ReDigi came along, a new service promising to recycle your digital media via an online marketplace.

The cloud-based system allows you to buy and sell music for no extra cost, with the company's Verification Engine ensuring that only digital files you've legally bought are used on the site - so no songs copied from other people, no files ripped from CDs and, presumably, no dodgy recordings of your friends doing karaoke.

Easy being green

To verify your tracks, you have to upload them using ReDigi Music Manager, which is a simple drag and drop affair from iTunes, Windows Media Player and the like.

The music manager also makes sure that only one file remains in transit - so you can't make copies of the digital file, it's moved from library to library as it's sold on.

But from the bands' points of view, doesn't this just amount to single-share file sharing? Not so; ReDigi says it gives "a significant portion" of its proceeds from each sale back to the artist.

Also for sale are brand new tunes, with a library of over 11 million songs apparently available to buy.

It's still in limited beta, so you'll need an invite to start using ReDigi, but with over 92,000 followers on Twitter, we don't imagine it'll be too short on users when you finally get in.

WH Smith has entered the electronic books market and the 21st century by sealing a deal with Kobo to sell its ereader in the UK.

Update: Two versions of the Kobo ereader will go on sale at WH Smiths; the first being the touchscreen Kobo Touch, with the more basic Kobo Wi-Fi providing a budget option.WH Smiths has also confirmed that the Kobo Touch UK release date is 17 October, with UK pricing set at £109.99. Meanwhile, the Kobo Wi-Fi provides a cheaper option, with a price tag of £89.99.

As well as the e-ink based hardware, the deal gives WH Smith customers access to Kobo's digital library which includes over 2.2 million titles and one million free books - Smiths is claiming this as the largest ebook catalogue in the UK.

Bookish

It seems that the UK's book vendors are finally cottoning on to the ebook revolution; just last month, Waterstone's announced that it will release an ereader in 2012.

No doubt spurred on by the success of the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook in the US, CEO of WH Smiths, Kate Swann, said the move will "complement" the company's traditional paper-based business.

Week in Tech: Amazon updates the Kindle range

Next week will be all about Apple, but this week it's Amazon's turn to shine: the firm has unveiled three new bits of Kindle kit that should delight customers and annoy rivals - or at least, they should in the US. For the time being, it seems, the best kit is US-only.

When Amazon boss Jeff Bezos took the stage, the word "tablet" was on everyone's lips - but instead of showing off the rumoured Kindleslab, he showed us a brand new Kindle instead.

The Kindle Touch keeps the e-ink display that makes e-readers special, but replaces the keyboard with a primitive touchscreen. It's no iPad, but it's perfectly capable of spotting finger taps to turn pages and bring up menus including the new X-Ray feature, which downloads relevant content such as explanations of places, terms or events. It's cheap, too: just $99 (£63) for the Wi-Fi version, and $150 (£96) for the 3G model.

That's not the cheapest new Kindle, though. That honour goes to the Kindle - there's no suffix - which is just $79 in the US.

Unfortunately crossing the Atlantic puts the price up to £89, although as Amazon told us that's because the $79 version is ad-supported, which is a service that isn't an option over here. When you compare the UK and US prices of the ad-free Kindles, things don't look so bad: the US price is $109, which works out at around £84.

Once again this Kindle does without a keyboard, although this time there's no touchscreen: instead, there are a couple of buttons and a four-way joystick.

There's good news and bad news about release dates: while the basic Kindle will arrive on UK doorsteps from the 12th of October, there's no sign of a release date for the Kindle Touch or the new Kindle tablet, the Kindle Fire.

Did we say Kindle tablet?

Breathing new Fire into Kindle

As Marc Chacksfield explains, "It's a 7-inch device that comes with Android, albeit a version that has been heavily altered by Amazon to make the best use of the company's e-shopping spine." Specs are reasonable - dual-core processor, IPS screen with gorilla glass, just 413g in weight - but the real secret is the software, which looks rather like Apple's Cover Flow.

It's the Amazon Kindle Fire.

The excitement moved our columnist Gary Marshall to channel Noddy Holder and burst into song. "So here it is, Merry Christmas / Everybody's having fun / Apart from all the Android firms / Who are probably chucking themselves off bridges right now," he sang.

"The original was a bit catchier, but you get the gist: unless Amazon's playing a great big joke and the Kindle Fire is as slow as a snail, then as far as the oh-so-lucrative Christmas shopping period in America is concerned Motorola, RIM, HP and the rest might as well pack up and go home."

Marshall predicts a two-horse tablet race this Christmas, with Amazon and Apple taking the lion's share of sales. Can tablets such as the PlayBook compete? Er, perhaps not, writes Chris Smith. RIM's Android app support looks disappointing, and "it's difficult to see how the PlayBook... can compete with the Kindle Fire even if the price points were similar."

The Fire is half the price of RIM's tablet. As Marshall puts it: "The Kindle Fire's going to fly off the shelves in the same way BlackBerry PlayBooks don't."

Kindle Fire owners will get two cool things: free cloud-based backup, and WhisperSync for movies and music. WhisperSync is the service that knows where you are in a book and lets you start from where you left off on other devices.

Unfortunately, we're not sure whether UK customers will get these services, as some of Amazon's US products aren't available over here: its cloud music service hasn't launched here yet, and while we can sign up for Amazon's premium delivery service Prime, we don't get the free streaming video US prime customers get - even though Amazon owns Lovefilm, which offers a UK video-on-demand service.

Will we get the Kindle Fire with the full complement of goodies - and if so, when? Amazon won't say, and we're not holding our breath: the original Kindle came out in 2007, and it didn't hit the UK for another two years.

UPDATED: Amazon UK has issued a statement, which has been included

Amazon has announced that the cheapest ever Kindle will be coming to the UK for the not insignificant price of £89.

Sounds like a good deal, until you register that the US's cheapest Kindle is $79 – a straight conversion of which is approximately £50.

We've asked Amazon to clarify why we have to pay so much more; it looks as though the reason is that the $79 Kindle is an ad-supported ereader, so you save on the cover price but you have to put up with adverts. That's not an option here in the UK.

A spokesperson told TechRadar: "Operating costs differ by country, but as with all products on Amazon, we work hard to offer customers the lowest possible prices.

"Regarding pricing, I would also like to clarify that the $79 Kindle includes special offers in the US...Special offers are not currently available in the UK."

Wallets taking a hit

So the more accurate equivalent Kindle in the US is the $109 basic model without ad support - that translates to £69. Factor in 20 per cent VAT and you are getting much closer to parity.

The new Kindle UK release date was also revealed – if you want to shell out that £89, you can pre-order the ereader today, for delivery on 12 October.

This nets you a QWERTY-less Kindle with Wi-Fi connectivity, which weighs in at a crazily light 170g.

Amazon also announced a tablet, the Kindle Fire, and two Kindle Touch touchscreen e-readers, no word yet on a UK release date or pricing for these slates.

Amazon has updated its Kindle ereader range with two new Kindle Touch additions, complete with touchscreens.

CEO Jeff Bezos took to the stage to announce the Kindle Touch - an e-ink ereader with a touchscreen that uses an IR touch system and does away with the Kindle's traditional QWERTY keyboard.

Rather than hitting buttons, you'll just tap the left or right portion of the screen to turn pages, and uses a new X-Ray feature to show facts and relevant links to what's going on in the book rather than simple word definition look ups. Amazon also promises "extra long battery life.

Pricing times

What's more exciting is the price - Bezos says the Wi-Fi only Kindle Touch will launch at $99 (£63), although we wouldn't be surprised to see it land in the UK at at around £90.

There's a 3G version too, of course, which will set you back $150 (£96) but offers you the same free 3G connectivity as the existing 3G Kindle - so no extra network fees or tariffs.

The new Kindle Touches will go on pre-order in the US today with shipping starting on 21 November - no word yet on a UK release date.

5 of the best portable iPhone speakers

Whether you're planning to go down to the park for a picnic with friends and family, or are having some people round for a barbecue, it's nice to add to the ambiance with a bit of background music.

We've picked five portable sound systems and put them through their paces to see which makes the best outdoor companion. They're all battery powered and are designed to be portable, so many come with a carry case, strap or handle.

But each has its own strengths that may make it perfect for you, so just because we pick a single winner, don't simply ignore the others - we've chosen these five in particular from a long list of possible contenders, so they're all worth your consideration.

Battery-powered docks aren't your only option, of course. You can get speakers that draw their power from your iOS device, such as the £25 Griffin Travel Speaker.

Then there are several passive iPhone holders available, which boost the sound coming from its built-in speaker without the need for batteries. However, passive amplifiers have the disadvantage that the sound they're boosting isn't great in the first place - not a patch on the audio you'll get from a proper speaker dock like these. Oh, and if the great British weather doesn't hold for you, none of these are waterproof…

Altec Lansing Orbit MP3 IM227 - £25

Gear4 Explorer-SP - £50

Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 - £80

Logitech S715i - £95

Sony RDP-X80iP - £120

The five on test are all battery powered, four from internal cells you charge from the mains, the last on three AAAs. This, along with the fact that we've chosen them with portability in mind, means you can easily take them out of the house and power up your tunes.

Portable iPhone speakers tested

Test one: Sound quality

While it's important that these speakers are easy to carry around, you don't want something that makes your music sound rubbish. The good news is that none of these five commits crimes against music. But the old adage of getting what you pay for rings true, with the costlier speakers pushing out the best sound.

At the top end of our price range, the Sony is our joint favourite for the audio it produces. The bass really complements the crisp mid and high ranges, giving a depth to your songs without overpowering things.

Better still, there's a built-in equaliser with five presets you can use to tweak the sound, and it'll go plenty loud enough to provide the soundtrack to your picnic or garden party.

Cheaper sounds

If you're not keen on shelling out £120 for the Sony, you can come down the price scale here without sacrificing too much in the way of sound quality. The cheaper Logitech S715i is equally impressive, providing a detailed overall picture with nicely defined bass plus clarity at the higher end.

Pushing up the volume isn't a problem for it, either. There's no built-in EQ, but don't forget you can still use your iPhone or iPod's presets.

Coming down to the cheaper of the two Logitechs, the sound does take a knock, the treble being noticeably muddier in comparison to the S715i, though the bass remains well-defined.

So for the £80 price tag, you're still getting a very good sound system - remember you're not going to be listening to both in quick succession like we have, which serves to highlight such differences. It's got a 3D sound option too, which does a reasonably good job of giving the audio more depth, at the cost of some clarity. And like the Sony and Logitech S715i, it's plenty loud enough.

Likewise, the Gear4's got the power to go nice and loud, though we noticed that the bass did start to distort as you got the higher volumes. At normal listening levels, however, the overall picture is nicely balanced. We found it was improved by switching on the 3D setting, which helps pick out the treble a bit better.

And finally we come to the little Altec Lansing Orbit speaker. We have to admit that we thought long and hard about whether it was fair to include such a dramatically different product alongside some of these audio heavyweights, but as soon as we heard it, we knew it deserved its place in this group test.

Okay, something this small is never going to be able to go all that loud (though you'd be surprised by how much noise it can produce), and you aren't going to get any real bass of note, but the overall picture you get is far more detailed than we'd expected from such a small speaker, and spoken word is clean and crisp, making this a great choice if you want to listen to a sports match while you're in the park.

Verdict

Test two: Portability

Three things matter here: size, weight and robustness. The smaller and lighter the dock is, the less of a pain it's going to be to lug around the place.

The Sony is both big and heavy - far from ideal for taking to the park or beach, but fine for in the garden. Ditto the Logitech S715i.

The Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 and Gear4 strike a good balance between size and weight, but the Logitech wins.

Without question, the most portable here is the Altec Lansing, though we were concerned the cable grip could damage the wire over time and that the power switch could get pressed in your bag rather too easily. The plastic grilles behind the Gear4's material mesh feel a bit flimsy - not a dealbreaker, but less robust than all the others.

Verdict

Test three: Extra features

Because these speaker docks are all portable, they come with helpful extras to aid you when taking them out and about.

When you buy the Gear4 or either Logitech model, you get a soft carry pouch in the box, which protects the dock to a certain extent when you're flinging it carelessly into your bag as you're rushing out the door. They're simple, and reasonably effective at protecting the dock from scrapes, but don't have carry handles to speak of.

One nice touch of the Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 is that its power adapter is designed to fit in the docking bay inside the pouch while you're transporting it. The tiny Altec Lansing doesn't bother with a case and makes do with just a wrist strap for carrying it, while Sony has gone for a grip handle cutout in the back of the dock, making it easy to pick up quickly.

All bar the Altec Lansing have some form of on-board controls, from the Logitech S715i's basic volume buttons to the Sony's more sophisticated touch controls for your music. To complement these buttons, all except the Altec Lansing have remote controls.

You might wonder why you'd want to take a remote on a picnic to zap a dock that's only a few feet away from you, but they do give more control options than what's on the docks themselves. They're also good when you're having a barbecue, so that you can skip songs playing through your device on the terrace when you're cooking down the bottom of the garden.

And don't forget that these speakers aren't just for use outdoors - when you bring them inside, the remote's a nice addition if you don't want to get up from the sofa.

Lastly, none of these speakers are limited to iOS devices either. All have standard 3.5mm aux-in capability so you can plug in other phones or MP3 players, though in most cases you'll need your own cabling.

Verdict

And the best portable iPhone speakers are...

Gear4 Explorer-SP - £50

As we said right at the start, these five docks all have their strengths and are worthy of your consideration. Which you decide to spend your money on has to depend on where you plan to use it.

If you're just after something you can fling in a bag and take with you everywhere so that you can enjoy your tunes whenever you fancy, look no further than the Altec Lansing. It won't weigh you down or take up much room in your bag, and because it's so cheap, you'll likely be less worried about it getting damaged or stolen.

But sound-wise, we wanted more than you can get from such a small box. On that front, there's little to choose between the Sony and the Logitech S715i, both of which do a sterling job. But equally, we mustn't forget we're testing picnic speakers, which can't be too heavy, given all the other paraphernalia you're likely to want to take along with you. The Logitech S715i and the Sony are too heavy for us to recommend as true picnic speakers.

However, for something around the house, we can't recommend either of these highly enough. In fact, the S715i is now in our Tap! Top 10 list of accessories for your device.

And so we're left with the cheaper (and, crucially, lighter) of the two Logitechs and the even cheaper, if slightly heavier, Gear4. On a pure audio basis, we felt the Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 picked out the bass better, but then we loved the crispness of the treble coming from the Gear4, especially in 3D mode.

Not a great deal to choose between them there, then. But because these speakers are going to be taken out and about, you don't want one that's so expensive you're going to be worrying about it constantly.

Ultimately, then, for summer picnics and barbeques, the Gear4 balances portability, sound quality and price.

Why Sony reckons it can beat the Kindle

The Kindle may look like it's already got the ebook market sewn up, but Sony believes it has what it takes to steal Amazon's digital book crown.

TechRadar met with Tad Kitsukawa, the managing director of S.A.R.L (Sony Digital Reading Platform), and Fujio Noguchi, Sony's senior general manager for VIAO and mobile, at the launch of the new PRS-T1 Reader Wi-Fi and found them in bullish mood.

They said there were four good reasons why they could still beat the Kindle. So is their confidence well founded?

1. It's lighter

That's one key advantage right away, says Noguchi-san. He's right: the new PRS-T1 is much thinner than its better-known competitor. For that matter, it's also prettier, coming in black, white and a rather melodramatic shade of red.

"We've reduced the weight of the PRS-T1 to just 168g by removing all the heavy components," he told us. "Other Readers weigh over 200g - especially the Kindle (241g). That's about the heaviest ebook reader around now."

Sony says it managed to slim the PRS-T1 down to 8.9mm by jettisoning the original model's aluminium chassis for a glossy plastic shell. While that may smack of cost cutting, Noguchi says the real reason they had to lose the shiny bodywork was because it was reducing the sensitivity of the Reader's Wi-Fi receiver - an essential fix if the unit was to work seamlessly with Sony's online bookstore, which opens for UK business in October.

Not that the aluminium finish has gone completely. A vestigial strip still lingers above the function keys. "It looks cool and feels nice," says Noguchi.

2. It supports ePub, the open ebook standard

While the upcoming Reader store takes the Sony ebook experience closer to that offered by Amazon, there's one key difference: Kindle favours the Mobipocket standard while the Sony Reader embraces the open platform ePub format.

"Open access is very important," says Noguchi. "It means that users of the Reader Wi-Fi are not locked to a single ebook store." They have a choice of suppliers (in the UK this includes Waterstone's and WH Smith), not to mention books from Google and public libraries.

Noguchi says that the latter is increasingly becoming a factor in the US where large numbers of people are now reading ebooks from public libraries.

Digital book lending in the UK may be off to a slow start (restrictions that insist ebook owners visit their local library in order to download from a PC probably don't help), but it could yet catch on.

"Why would you want to stick to one store for your books when you can have a choice?"

KINDLE KILLERS? Sony's Tadamasa Kitsukawa (left) and Fujio Noguchi (right) believe they have what it takes to beat Amazon's Kindle

3. Harry Potter is on side

Sony is prepping a themed Harry Potter edition of the Reader Wi-Fi. Details have yet to be announced, but a special limited edition model will come with a voucher to download the first Harry Potter ebook, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, free of charge from Pottermore, J.K. Rowling's online destination for all things Potterish.

This could make the Reader Wi-Fi a very hot item with Potheads pre-Christmas.

4. It supports pinch and multi-touch

"No one else can do this kind of stuff on an ebook reader," says Tad Kitsukawa. "Our reader supports swipes, pinches and finger notations."

The Sony Reader Wi-Fi uses an infrared matrix around the edge of the screen to make swipes and assorted screen gestures possible. There're 20 IR blasters located along each edge of the bezel.

Having a touchscreen interface on an ebook device makes for a convincing book-like experience: you can swipe to turn a page (no need to lick), zoom in and out by pinching your fingers and tap a word to access its meaning from one of the two built-in English language dictionaries. You can also use a digit (or stylus) to casually make notes on a page.

The colour e-ink question

Sony says full-colour e-ink is on the cards, it just doesn't know when it'll become a reality. "Every time someone asks me when we will launch an ebook reader with colour, I say the same thing," confesses Noguchi. "I say it'll be in three years. When I was asked last year I said it would come in three years. Next year I'll still be saying the same thing. I do think it'll come, though. Maybe in three years…"

But will tablets kill the ebook market before Sony can take down Kindle? The men from Sony don't think so.

"From our point of view we think they complement each other," says Kitsukawa. "Actually, we hope people buy both, of course."

Waterstone's is set to launch an ereader in spring next year as it looks to take on the Amazon Kindle and its phenomenal ebook selling success.

Details of what company will make the hardware and exactly when the gadget will hit the shelves are few and far between, but the company's MD, James Daunt, told Radio 4 that the ereader project was "well down the planning line".

"We in Waterstone's need to offer you a digital reader which is at least as good, and preferably substantially better, than that of our internet rival, and you will have a much better buying experience purchasing your books through us," said Daunt.

Nook envy

He also explained that the company wants to emulate the success of Barnes & Noble's Nook in the US, which he reckons has managed to claw back book buyers from Amazon's all-encompassing Kindle by linking it with their physical stores.

The Amazon Kindle has proven very popular with readers, and Amazon announced in May that it now sells more Kindle books through Amazon.com than print books.

But with the Kindle approaching its fourth generation – likely to take the form of a tablet rather than a pure ereader – has Waterstones left it too late to compete?