Hi I am totally new to the ebook world. i live in ireland and it is not available there. I am travelling to New York (Manhatton) in a few weeks and want to buy an ebook as I am an avid reader. I have looked at the different posts and see the Sony, Cybook and Kindle mentioned. The Kindle appears to be out of stock so it is between the other 2. I will be reading fiction and need the simplest model. Which one should I get? Where in New York can I get it and what price? Have seen an Ebookman advertised on an English site - what is this like?

The only one you can buy in a shop (in the US) is the Sony Reader. The CyBook Gen3 has to be ordered online (www.bookeen.com). I'm very happy with my CyBook.

I think one of the most important issues to look at when choosing a device is what kind of content you'll be reading and where you're going to get it. There are several different formats out there and various stores to buy from. Each reader supports different formats. If you're mostly looking to read publc domain or Creative Commons works, then you shouldn't have trouble finding books in the right format for free for any of them. You can find a comparison of which formats are supported by which device here:

Comparison Matrix (http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix)

I own a Kindle and love it but I don't think I would buy one if I were outside the US. It's a great reader and I found it worth waiting a few weeks but unless you have a US credit card, you can't use the Amazon store which is one of the great benefits of the device. The wireless access, of course, wouldn't work, but you could still download books and load them via USB like the other devices. Personally I don't think it's necessarily worth it, though.

Before the Kindle came out, I was planning on getting a Cybook. It supports a fair number of formats and you would have a warranty at home. It also supports dictionary lookup which is a nice convenience to have. (It was actually Kindle's ability to search content, lookup words in the dictionary and do Wikipedia search that turned my head from the Cybook.)

The Sony has similar issues to the Kindle with store access and warranty. In addition, its Connect software is Window's only and it doesn't have any sort of search or dictionary feature. If it did, I'd have one. Those features were important to me, but they may not be to you. As you said, you're looking for the simplest reader. It's gorgeous and also the least expensive of the devices by a fair amount. It's also the only one you could get in a store to take advantage of the exchange rate. You may have to look a bit to find it in stock (There have been issues with all of them being in short supply since they all use the same screen), but there are lots of Sony stores and other shops that carry them.

Have seen an Ebookman advertised on an English site - what is this like? I have not seen much here on the Ebookman (discontinued in 2002), but there is a Franklin eBookMan (http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Franklin_eBookMan) wiki entry.

Hi Slainte,

I think maybe my eBookwise reader is about as simple as it gets. (Inexpensive also, at $139.) It doesn't do anything other than show books in .imp format, not much in the way of graphics. I've been getting my reading material at www.ebookwise.com, the same place where I ordered the reader device. I like getting books there, because I don't have a lot of time to be fooling around with converting formats, etc. Instead I prefer to spend my few stolen moments actually reading. The book downloads are quick. The device if VERY user friendly. If you are only interested in a device for reading, then this might be one for you to investigate.

One caution: I am having trouble with the device not reading it's smart media card. I'm waiting to hear back from eBookwise about what they will do about it.

Hi Slainte,

I think maybe my eBookwise reader is about as simple as it gets. (Inexpensive also, at $139.) It doesn't do anything other than show books in .imp format, not much in the way of graphics. I've been getting my reading material at www.ebookwise.com, the same place where I ordered the reader device. I like getting books there, because I don't have a lot of time to be fooling around with converting formats, etc. Instead I prefer to spend my few stolen moments actually reading. The book downloads are quick. The device if VERY user friendly. If you are only interested in a device for reading, then this might be one for you to investigate.

One caution: I am having trouble with the device not reading it's smart media card. I'm waiting to hear back from eBookwise about what they will do about it.

Don't forget to look here at MobileRead. There are lots of books in IMP format here and all are free.

Dale

Don't forget to look here at MobileRead. There are lots of books in IMP format here and all are free.

Dale

Yes indeedy! And I love that I can sort out only my type of books at this site instead of plowing through all of the formats. I wish there were more hours in the day to read. :book2:

I can't help but think how these books and the ones at Proj Gutenberg would have been lifesavers if they had been available in e-books when I was working on my undergrad English degree a few years ago.

Hi Slainte,
One caution: I am having trouble with the device not reading it's smart media card. I'm waiting to hear back from eBookwise about what they will do about it.

For completeness' sake, in case anyone wondered, Fictionwise emailed me instructions on how to fix the problem. The device had to be reformatted, and is reading the memory card just fine now.:thumbsup: