Christmas Blessings And Holiday Gift Guide 2010: Sharper Image Literati EReader Review And Giveaway!

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The 20th Sponsor in the 2010 Christmas Blessings and Holiday Gift Guide is Sharper Image.

One hobby of mine that I haven’t been able to much lately is reading.  When I do get the time, I find curling up with a book to be both relaxing and entertaining.  I had been curious about eReaders since they’ve hit the market, but I had not quite taken the splurge to invest in one.  After all, I was quite content with being able to read with something solid in my hand that I can touch and feel and be in the moment.  When I had the chance to review an eReader, I was all over it to see what the fuss was all about!

When the Sharper Image Literati eReader arrived at my door, I was shocked to see it came in a ginourmous box that resembled a book!  This wireless electronic Reader was inside the box, carefully sealed and protected in a plastic clamshell container in which took me some time to get into.  In the box included the eReader, black case, charger, USB cord, and instruction manuals.  I was instructed to charge the eReader for 6 hours before using, which was a little disheartening only because I wanted to see how it worked right away.  Good thing I was headed to a Christmas party that day so the wait didn’t seem as long and the Literati was fully charged when I came home.

When I powered up the Literati, I enabled the wireless setting and was guided to do two software updates.  Within a good 10 minutes and restarting the device after each update, it was good to go!  The eReader came preloaded with 25 classic books to my delight!  I really can’t get enough of reading Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, and the like so this was right up my alley.  Since my kids are homeschooled, these are books that would be great for supplementing some of their school work with and to read together for fun.  Also, when you sign up on Kobo Books, you automatically are entitled to 125 free ebooks.  That’s a lot of reading power and I couldn’t wait to pick and choose among my favorites to start out with first!  You can either download the books onto your eReader wirelessy or using the provided USB cable.

One of the things I was hesitant about using eReaders was the possibility of straining my eyes while reading.  With the Literati, you have the option to make the text larger or smaller and changing the font to suit your preference and comfort level.  This wireless eReader is only 1/2″ wide making it extremely portable and fits in your hands quite nicely.  There are touch sensitive arrows on each side of the eReader so you can easily tap it to turn the pages backwards or forwards without delay.  This eReader has a large size, 7″ inch screen that displays color making it easy on the eyes and pleasant to read.  When you’ve finished reading for the time being, all you have to do is power off the device and it will automatically bookmark your page for you.

I’ve found the Literati Reader to be straight forward and extremely user friendly.  I didn’t hardly have to refer to the user manuals to know my way around using this eReader.  It has a Qwerty keyboard to easily type in a book that you are searching or wanting to read and gives you buttons that will get you directly to the home and menu screen.  You can even insert a SD card into it to store up to 8G of books, magazines, and news onto the eReader.  When it’s fully charged, it should give you up to 8 hours of reading time, much less if you’re downloading things wirelessly.

I’d have to say my favorite things about the Literati is the night mode reading feature.  My husband is very sensitive to light of any kind when we’re sleeping and I can quietly read on the Literati without him even having a clue or detecting that the eReader is on!  The night mode blackens the screen and the text pops with the white text. I don’t notice any reduced discomfort reading in the dark and how unobtrusive it is for night time reading.

Overall, I’ve been very happy with the Sharper Image Literati eReader!  Now I can bring several books along with me when I travel in one compact device.  I love having access to over 2 million books at my fingertips and being able to stock my library to read on the go.  The illustrations are crystal clear through the screen and I even like the quotes they display when they’re loading the next chapter.  Of course, there also is the perk of no more paper cuts or accidentally torn pages.  One of the only recommendations I have is to have the display show how much battery life and charging time is left.  There’s been a couple occasions where it powered off prematurely before I could finish a chapter or plug it in time.

Where to Buy: You can purchase the Sharper Image Literati Reader for $129.99 at Macy’s, Kohls, Bed Bath & Beyond, and online at www.literatireader.com.

Giveaway Time (required entry): A lucky Blessings Abound Mommy reader will win a Sharper Image Literati EReader!  All you have to do in order to be qualified for a chance to win is to leave a comment on what ebook you’d read on the Literati first if you won!

10 Extra Entries:

1. Blog about this Blessing with a link back to this giveaway post!
2. Enter any other Blessings Abound Mommy Christmas Blessings and Holiday Gift Guide Extravaganza Giveaway!
3. Place my Blessings Abound Holiday Gift Guide button on your blog!  Copy and Paste the following code:

<a href=”http://akblessingsabound.com/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/lily_fair/BlessingsAboundMommyHolidayGiftGuideButton.png” border=”0″ alt=”holiday gift guide,christmas,blessings abound mommy,mom blog,mom blogger”></a>

1 Extra Entry Each (to be earned after required entry has been fulfilled):

• Like Blessings Abound Mommy Facebook Fan Page.
• Like the Sharper Image Literati Facebook Page.
• Write on the Sharper Image Literati Facebook Wall that you entered to win a Literati Reader on Blessings Abound Mommy with a link back to this post.
• Subscribe to my blog. Current subscribers count too!
• Enter any other giveaway on Blessings Abound Mommy and leave a comment with which other giveaway you entered.
• Twitter about this blessing with a link back to it and leave a comment that you did with your twitter id.
• Follow me on Twitter at @akblessings.
• Follow Literati on Twitter at @literatireader.

Please leave a separate comment for each item that you have completed stating that you have done so.

One winner will be chosen via Random Drawing. Winners who I am unable to contact and who doesn’t claim their prize within 48 hours of being sent their winning email notification and me posting the winner of the prize in the winner’s section will forfeit their prize and prize will be held in a live contest following failure to claim. Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! This Blessing is open to bloggers and nonbloggers alike. You have from now until January 9th at 11:59 PM (Alaska time) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. I will randomly pick one winner and announce it here on my blog shortly after January 10th! Blessing open to USA and Canada only!

You can also enter to win one from these fab blogs:
Southern Bella’s Ways to Save

Kindred Spirit Mommy

Blommi

Crazy Coupon Mommy

The Mom Jen

Feisty Frugal and Fabulous

*Product and information was provided free of charge in exchange for this post from Sharper Image Literati and doesn’t affect my views or feedback of the product or service. This post is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.