If you’re in the market for an eBook reader and are baffled by the dozens of models on offer then hopefully I can help. Having reviewed a good number of the eBook readers on offer in the UK, I’m well placed to help you wade through the morass of marketing terms, claims and sheer nonsense that comes with every launch.

The first thing to note is that the UK eBook market isn’t actually as packed as it first appears. In fact it can be boiled down to the Sony PRS 505, the iRex range and the rest. And when I say “rest” I’m talking about the BeBook, Cool-er, Cybook Gen 3 and the Elonex eBook now on sale through Borders. Don’t be fooled by the slight modifications to their cases; beneath the exterior they’re all essentially the same device.

Basically, manufacturers buy the reference design from US-firm Netronix, tweak the hardware and software, slap their name on the case and sell them on. Currently at the top of this pile of identi-books is the Cool-er which is based on Netronix’s latest spec and so boasts double the RAM of its compatriots, a nicer screen and a faster processor making it noticeably nippier than the rest. If the Cool-er’s lurid colours and dedication to sexing up reading aren’t to your taste, then I suggest you take a gander at the elegant Sony PRS 505 – which sits at the top of our A List.

My objection to the current crop of eBook readers has always been the price. Getting yourself into the eBook game is probably going to cost £190 or more, before you factor in the ridiculous cost of the eBooks themselves. Spending that sort of money requires reward. The device in your hand should feel special, it should make you smile every time you reach for it. This is a roundabout way of saying it shouldn’t feel like something they just showed you how to make on Blue Peter. Alas, the current crop of eBook readers don’t appear to have learned this lesson and too often feel cobbled together.

The Sony PRS 505 is fantastic because it feels like £190 worth of kit. It’s beautifully designed, feels solid in the hand and looks like something that belongs in your study. If this is important to you, then you really only have one option at the moment.

Business users may be better off considering something by iRex. These readers feature 8in touchscreens – as opposed to the 6in found on other models – which allow annotation and there’s wireless. They’re also going to cost you over £400, which is something to bear in mind.

The other thing to be wary of are the formats. The eBook market’s littered with dozens of the buggers and no eBook reader supports them all. The BeBook has the broadest support, at the cost of build quality and design. The Cool-er and Sony PRS 505 support the fewest. As it stands, the majority of eBooks sold through online stores, including WH Smiths, Borders and Waterstones, arrive in the ePub format which needs to be unlocked using Adobe’s free Digital Editions software. Once done that eBook can then be read on five different devices, though these can be changed at will. It’s easily done and well explained by the software, so don’t worry about that, just make sure that whatever reader you go for supports the formats you’re likely to be using.

The other issue, of course, is price. It may surprise you to know that eBooks are typically the same price, if not more expensive, than their paperback equivalents. The reasons for this are complex, incredibly stupid, and ultimately irrelevant. Just be prepared to pay quite a lot for you eBooks. There are lots of sites offering out-of-copyright books for free – which just about covers all the classics – though ropey formatting is sometimes an issue. I suggest Project Gutenberg as a start.

Of course, you don’t do yourself any harm by hanging fire for the next generation of readers. Touchscreens, colour displays, and faster rendering are going to be the pillars of the next crop of readers and could make them far more appealing to the fence sitters. And we’re still waiting for the Kindle to rock up here. Still, I hope some of this helps, and if you have any more questions give me a shout in the comments.

We’ve also got a comprehensive feature covering all the basics, reviewing all the readers, and giving you the lowdown and the issues holding up the adoption of eBooks.