MobileRead Forums - Which one should I buy?

Sony PRS-600 for PDF Magazine Scans?

andycorleone — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:03:46 GMT

Hi, I would like to buy a Sony PRS-600, I want to Scan some of my magazines and read them in my Loooooooong Commuting.

What is the experience with this kind of Scan PDF, Can I read the Pages just fine or the text and image would be unreadable. thanks

What eBook reader should I buy (Spain)

mkrndll — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:10:59 GMT

Hey!

I'm looking for my first ebook reader device. I've read a lot of info in the forums and the wiki, but I get lost in the crazy amount of information and the one-sided reviews. Another main issue I have is that everything I read seems to be regarding to US customers, but I can't find reliable information about how ebooks work in Spain.

:help:Can you help me?:help:
I'm looking for an eBook reader device that has the following features (by order of importance):

has access to a good store with recent non-fiction titles in English (at least)
costs under 500$ (the lower the better).
has good support for Spain
supports some kind of notation or, at least, highlighting.
is readable under (direct) sunlight
reads PDF's with science notations and, ideally, graphs.
big screen, but low weight.
long battery-life
the ebooks from the store are DRM-free
the lower the price of the ebooks the better
is able to play music

I didn't add it first, but obviously, the better the resolution and the amount of grays, the better ;).

Thanks for your help! :2thumbsup

New to all this, help choosing please :)

arekieh — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:37:57 GMT

Hi everyone,
Im in the market for an ebook reader after seeing that the kindle2 has come to canada. Here are the features i want:

Heres what im interested in:

Kindle2: newspapers downloaded directly each day :), RSS feeds, but no good PDF support and dont know about txt

Sony pocket reader: library access (awesome), html, pdf and txt support
-no newspapers
-no rss

unless there is a workaround i am unaware of.

basically what i want is something that can reader PDF, html, and txt. Preferably be able to get newspapers on it, and preferably have rss feeds as well. The sony library access is awesome but not a necessity. what do u guys suggest? basically the only thing turning me off from the kindle 2 right now is the fact that there are too many functions disabled in canada like wispernet and the pdf conversion stuff, no browser, no internet other than wikipedia etc. Sony reader looks awesome but lack of newspapers kinda turns me off as well. But then again Kindle doesnt have the exact newspaper i want (edmonton journal) but they do have the globe and mail.

Overall what do u guys think is the best thing to get? I would preferably like to spend a max of $250, but id be willing to go to $300 for something better.

the device needs to be thin and light with a good UI similar to sony/kindle.

Im in canada so please help me out on that basis

prs-600: questions on font support and price

YepYep — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:37:08 GMT

Hi there,

After reading this website for quite a while, I'm still not sure how e-readers, and in particular the Sony PRS-600, support fonts. A large amount of the pdf's I read have characters like the ones you see in the attachment. I.e., with strokes above vowels and dots underneath consonants (also note the 'superscript c'). A font like Gentium supports all of this, so if the primary font does of the device does not support it, is it possible to change the font?

In addition, I would love to hear your input on the price of the PRS-600. Do you think 400CAD is fair? Do you think it might drop in the near future? Should I wait for a next generation of devices anyway? Your input is much appreciated..

Attached Thumbnails

Not sure what one to get

marc146 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:50:25 GMT

I'm an avid reader and have a groaning book shelf.

I am studying programming and have decided to pick up an e-book reader to help my back instead of lugging round loads of technical books but I am stuck for choice. I also read a lot of scanned technical books and cram sheets in pdf format so I need a reader that can support this.

I intend to get a reader for Christmas and like the Sony PRS-505 but most of my e-books will initially be the digital copies that come with the books I buy, I am not sure what readers will play these books without any DRM issues.

any help would be appreciated

P.s. I am in the UK and cant afford more than about �200, I have found the PRS-300S for �150 but again don't really know if my e-books will work or what constitutes a good reader; I asked in my introduction post and I appreciate the people who replied but this seems a more appropriate place to post this question.

Thank you

Today I got the coolest birthday gift!

bcgirl — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:32:58 GMT

I was looking and searching for different ebook readers but I dont need to look any longer. Today is my birthday and I was surprised by a iPod Touch, a gift from both my sons. Am so happy. Now looking for cool books. Where do I go? I found and downloaded Stanza. Books on Board is cool with new books, but are those reasonable priced books?

Best Reader for Research?

scientificwriter — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:39:22 GMT

I have a huge amount of scientific papers as PDF files to read and I am looking for a paperless solution that doesn't fatigue my eyes. I think an e-book device of some sort would help me achieve this. What devices can you recommend me?

Some argue that screen size is important for reading academic papers in PDF (e.g. http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...2&postcount=14) and students have complained about limited means of annotation (http://registrarism.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/ebooks/). I think I have to agree with screen size, but I am not sure if annotation is necessary for my purposes. I simply need to get a lot of reading done, efficiently and anywhere I choose to go, without dragging piles of paper with me.

I suppose that I'm looking for a reader with good support for the PDF that accurately displays tables and figures, and provides an enjoyable reading experience (more or less zoom-free). Any ideas?

/SciWri

Looking for Jetbook locally - Any help?

quinnsmum — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:40:14 GMT

Hi friends,

I'm looking to pick up a jetbook for my son who reads a lot. We do a LOT of classic, public domain off of Gutenberg.org, and I'm not wanting to print out stuff all the time. The Jetbook looks like just the thing for us. We don't do internet, music, or anything else on it... just the simplest of ereaders will do for us right now.

Does anyone know what stores might carry this so we don't have to order online? Someone else suggested Bed Bath and Beyond, but just from a few phonecalls it seems these are online only at BBB.

We're looking for simplicity... and above all, low price. The Jetbook seems to fit this bill.

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/ima...t/thankyou.gif
Carol in SE Michigan

Is 505 better than 600 for any reason other than the screen?

et1976 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:43:43 GMT

Contemplating a second hand 505 as my first reader to save a bit of money - may upgrade in a year or so if I get on with it. However, it's not much cheaper than the 600, and I can't find any reasons why people seem to prefer the 505 over the 600 other than those who don't like the 600 screen.

Am going to try the 300 vs the 600 in store at the weekend to see how they compare, and if I still like the 600 screen I think I will get that, unless I have missed something else which makes the 505 'better'?

Jetbook vs Sony PRS300 - Which?

ac9ts — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:35:56 GMT

I'm new to ebooks (having read on my PDA) and have been doing my fair share of investigating/reading and have narrowed my choices down to the Jetbook and the PRS300. They are both in my price range. I'll skip the Jetbook Lite because of the battery bump. I like the SD of the Jetbook but am not sure if I'll ever come close to filling it.

The question is; has anyone sat the two models next to each other for comparison? I've seen the Sony but not the Jetbook. I admit, the screen flash on the page turn will take getting used to. I've read there is no flash during Jetbook turns. I'm looking for an unbiased opinion on the two models with regard to actual use (reading).

Thanks,

Tom

BenQ K60 nReader

PhunkyBob — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:34:46 GMT

Hi !

I'm new to eBooks.
I would like to buy a eBook reader soon, but I'm not in a hurry.

I want to wait for the most suited device.

The "matrix" on this site (http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix) is a great tool to make comparison between all the devices.

I've just found that BenQ will sell a new eBooks reader : K60 nReader
Does anyone have informations on it ?

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/2961...r-ebook-reader

Quote:

The nReader K60 measures 175 x 122 x 11mm and it weighs in at a reasonably light 220 grams. It has a 6-inch touch screen electronic paper display that uses SiPix Microcup technology. The screen has a native resolution of 800 x 600 pixels with 167 dots per inch and it can display 16 grey scales

[...]

The nReader K60 features 2GB of built in memory (good for about 4000 books) and it has a microSD card slot that accepts memory cards up to 16GB in size. It also has a micro USB port and a full-size USB 2.0 port and a 3.5mm audio jack.

It supports a wide range of file formats, most notably ePub, PDF, TXT and HTML files as an eBook reader, but it also displays JPEG, BMP, GIF and PNG images and it plays back MP3 audio files.

Although the nReader K60 comes with built in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, the secret sauce so to speak is actually the USB port at the top of the device

[...]

BenQ claims up to 7500 pages per charge

This is the kind of reader I'm looking for...

Favourite e-reader and why?

sherrymac — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:34:07 GMT

Now that the Kindle is finally available here in Canada I`m ready to make a purcahse. But, first, thought I`d check with everyone to see what device is a favourite. Kindle or Sony reader 505. Who has the best selection of books?
Can a kindle be used to download a book from another site, besides Amazon?.
I believe that the Sony can be used for everything - is that correct?

Thanks for any and all help.

Now what? Kindle in Canada changed my mind

bcgirl — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:45:41 GMT

I set my mind to get the Sony 505 but today I heard on the news that the Kindle is coming to Canada. What are the pros and cons. Its almost same price , Sony is $ 299 and the Kindle will be $ 311.
Any suggestion what would be a good choice? Love to hear from you!

Eco Reader - first impressions

paul1403 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:00:11 GMT

For those of you, especially in Australia, who are unsure of which reader to get, let me share with you some of my thoughts a few days after getting an Eco-Reader.

Let me start off by saying I am extremely, enormously, totally, unequivocally happy with it. It is everything I hoped it would be. :)

I have umm-ed and ahh-ed about which reader to get, and when Kindle was released internationally I thought Aha! That�s The One!, what with the Aussie dollar heading for the stratosphere, and all�

But then I thought, hang on� maybe not� let�s think about this for a bit�

I decided that what I really wanted was
1. A reader that would accept a range of formats, not just one proprietary type.
2. A reader that would accept books from a range of outlets, both here and overseas.
3. A reader that has a six inch screen.
4. A reader that is Australian sold and supported. I didn�t want to have to pack it up and send it somewhere overseas if something went drastically wrong. Similarly, I didn�t want to have to call some help desk/sales department at four in the morning to make sure the time difference was catered for in order to speak to a (real, live, English-speaking) person.

The only one that ticked all those boxes was the Eco-Reader. Sure, the price of the Kindle (and a few others) was a lot better, and sure the Eco-Reader doesn�t have whispernet, or whatever, to download direct onto the machine, but I thought the higher price was acceptable in light of all the other plusses it had.

So, I took the plunge and ordered it one Sunday afternoon via the website. By lunchtime Friday it was sitting at home waiting for me.

By dinner time Friday I had the first book loaded up and was reading it quite happily.

It came already charged, already in its snazzy leather jacket, and already loaded with 21 books. These consisted of the usual suspects (1984, Moby Dick, Pride and Prejudice [sans Zombies], and so on) as well as some refreshingly Australian works, including My Brilliant Career, For The Term of His Natural Life, and one of Henry Lawson�s works (I would have preferred Banjo Patterson, but that�s just me J ).

So far it has been able to handle anything I have thrown at it. The PDF file I tried did have, as has been mentioned in these forums, teeny tiny writing that could not possibly be read. However, the zoom function took care of that problem. The text is now quite readable, although the page lengths seem to have been screwed up� some screens are full of text, some are not, some only have one line in them. This is not a problem, however, apart from the extra number of page turns this requires.

The only problem occurred on Friday evening. For no apparent reason the unit locked up on me. Totally. I couldn�t get any button to work. Even plugging it back into the USB port on the computer made no difference. Prising the unit from it�s cover revealed a tiny hole marked RESET. I unbent a paperclip, inserted it into the hole, pushed, and this reset the reader. Problem fixed. So far (touch wood) this has not happened since.

The display is crystal clear, and perfectly readable. It looks, as has been commented before, just like a printed page. I guess a bigger range of available fonts, as troykm suggested in an earlier review, would be a good idea, however I tend to use only a small number of fonts in MS Word, so too many more would probably be a waste of time. Still, a few more would be good.

I have used it on the bus commuting to and from work only a couple of times so far, so I have not yet had any comments from fellow travellers, many of whom read books as well. I suspect I will get my fair share of puzzled glances from time to time.

So, in conclusion, let me say this.

Get one.

Now.

Paul,
Canberra, Australia

Device for Safari Books Online? Does it exist?

DerekTheGeek — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:20:35 GMT

Hi All,

I have a subscription to Safari Books Online. As most of you know you have to be online to read the contents of Safari Bookshelf. I find that my Tablet PC is just too heavy and awkward to sit and read throughout the house. What I am looking for is a device that I could use to read the Safari Books Online content.

Here is what I need ...

1) WiFi is a must
2) At least 7" screen (1024x768)
3) Web Browser

I find the eBooks devices (Sony, iLiad, et c..) have very readable e-Ink displays. Do any of these devices have web browsers that can be used for Safari Books Online? It is important to note that Safari Books Online does have a mobile version of their site so a browser does not need to support flash, though it would be nice if it did so. I have used various Tablet PC's but I found their form factor just to big and heavy for long term reading. In addition in most cases the LCD is very tiring on the eyes. Hence my desire to find an e-Ink type display.

Thank you for any suggestions.