I found this site a week ago while searching for information the iLiad. Needless (perhaps) to say this has been the most informative site/forum on ebook readers I've stumbled upon! :thanks:

Thanks to this forum I believe I'm making an informed decision: I'm going for the Sony PRS-505 :2thumbsup!.

In the spirit of info sharing, so others may know my considerations:

Originally I was aiming for the iLiad, but the high price (almost triple the Sony), the size (too big to conveniently take along in my pocket) and the battery life in particular changed my mind...

Wrt to choosing between the cybook and the sony, the sony looks nicer ;) and has a better button layout. Other than that, it's just tossing a coin... I've been changing my mind continuously the last few days (causing much stress and agony), so making the final decision will hopefully bring some rest (that is, until the device finally arrives!).

As a final note, even though I'm in Europe and thus might experience warranty issues, if it breaks I can buy a new one and still have spent less than I've otherwise would have buying an iLiad, so it's all relative... Also, it helps that Sony apparently announced they would bring the PRS-505 to Holland this year :)

So, thanks again everyone, I hope in time I can be as much of help as you all have been!:thumbsup:

Congrats on your choice. I have a Sony also and am very happy with it and I'm sure you will like it a lot.
There are always going to be trade offs with any technology. The point is not to stress over what a device can't do, but enjoy what it can.

Let us know how you like it when you get it. :)

If you want to change your mind once more (I'm kinda sadistic), here are some really cool pictures of the Cybook, compared to a real book :
http://blog.lesenfantsdelo.com/tag/bookeen/
The article is in French, but you can still have a look at the pictures.

For info, a friend of mine took the pictures. He has been using the Cybook for a while and loves it. (for my part, I'm going for the iLiad, because of the big screen and the ability to write on it)

Please tell us your experience with the Sony once you get it ! I'm eager to see it :)

If you want to change your mind once more (I'm kinda sadistic), here are some really cool pictures of the Cybook, compared to a real book :
http://blog.lesenfantsdelo.com/tag/bookeen/
The article is in French, but you can still have a look at the pictures.


It looks wonderful, it was a close call actually, but in the end usability (navigation buttons in particular) was the deciding factor...

BTW: What helped me enormously was a tip in some other thread; I printed out all three readers (iLiad, Cybook and Sony) in real size, put it on cardboard and cut it out in order to get a feel for actual size/handling. That really helped (since I can only touch/see the iLiad here in NL) put all 3 in perspective...

I hope you enjoy your iLiad, it's certainly a very nice reader! (I feel doubt rearing its ugly head again... :chinscratch:)

Hey, that was a really good idea !!! I would never have thought of it. For my part, the bigger it is, the better it is. Actually, some years ago, I was tempted to buy an A4 ebook reader.

Are the Sony and Cybook very different in size ? I read somewhere that it's not easy to flip the pages on the Cybook if you hold it in your left hand.

The difference between the cybook and sony is (judgment based on my paper models) is that the sony is slightly shorter and a little bit wider. That does give it little bit more appeal tho... Button placement also looks nicer, you have a round nav button on the left and two nav buttons on the right so however you hold it, you should be able to easily navigate pages (in contrast to the cybook). All of this is based on hearsay however, I haven't actually tested this :)

Wrt to the A4 reader, if it would be foldable and thus easy to transport, I'd get one in an instant :D. But alas, it is not to be (yet)...

The CyBook is exactly the same size as a standard paperback book (but a lot thinner, of course). I'm sure that was a deliberate design choice.

I hope you enjoy your Sony Reader as much as I enjoy mine. When you get it, I highly recommend using libprs500 (http://libprs500.kovidgoyal.net/) - especially for the cool features like downloading RSS feeds and easily converting files. Although for converting PDFs you should definitely use PdfLrf (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13135).

Although navigation is probably easier on the Sony, I don't have any problems navigating my cybook. True it's a bit harder with the left hand but not to the point that it's annoying. You couldn't read a pbook with only your left hand either.

The difference in price is there of course, on the other hand do not forget that the Sony does not support the mobipocket format !!

The difference in price is there of course, on the other hand do not forget that the Sony does not support the mobipocket format !!

And nor does it have dictionary lookup, the ability to load your own fonts, proper support for font families, a user-replaceable battery, and a world-wide warranty, all of which the Gen3 does. Yes, the Gen3 is more expensive but it is (IMHO, speaking as a former Sony owner) well worth paying the extra for.

And nor does it have dictionary lookup, the ability to load your own fonts, proper support for font families, a user-replaceable battery, and a world-wide warranty, all of which the Gen3 does. Yes, the Gen3 is more expensive but it is (IMHO, speaking as a former Sony owner) well worth paying the extra for.

Actually, not that it is a major reason for choosing it, the Sony does represent more of a 'challenge' in terms of hacking (to add those functions you mention). When I'm not in the mood for reading I can fool around with the reader OS-wise. Admittedly the same goes for the Cybook...

OTOH, seeing all the comments about the Cybook, I believe in the near/not-too-far future I'll 'convince' my wife she too absolutely needs a reader, which coincidentally will be a Cybook... :wink:

OTOH, seeing all the comments about the Cybook, I believe in the near/not-too-far future I'll 'convince' my wife she too absolutely needs a reader, which coincidentally will be a Cybook... :wink:

Well Riedje, that's all we hoped to achieve here :)

...AND let's not foget that the Sony has 200 megs of internal memory, which leads to FRUSTRATION because there's more room in having to decide what books to put on the unit!

(Harry, the above comment was really for you...all in good fun.:))

Don

...AND let's not foget that the Sony has 200 megs of internal memory, which leads to FRUSTRATION because there's more room in having to decide what books to put on the unit!

(Harry, the above comment was really for you...all in good fun.:))

Don

I use a 2GB SD card on my Gen3, Don, and with about 180 books on it at present (most of them my multi-book omnibus editions) am currently using a little under 200MB of space on the card. I don't think that storage space is really an issue on any of these readers.

I use a 2GB SD card on my Gen3, Don, and with about 180 books on it at present (most of them my multi-book omnibus editions) am currently using a little under 200MB of space on the card. I don't think that storage space is really an issue on any of these readers.

I absolutely agree with you. If anything, it's now only a matter of convenience, perhaps only one of preference.

I see all our Readers in the future equipped with more ram, because it's relatively cheap to install and the storage capacity just keeps going up, anyway.

Somewhat of a sidebar: Back when I had a pocket PC, I loved ubook for its capability of reading multiformat files. I would love to see a Reader - yours or mine or one in the future - that can do this.

I also hunger for a Gen3 to add to my nice Sony Reader.

Don

And nor does it have dictionary lookup, the ability to load your own fonts, proper support for font families, a user-replaceable battery, and a world-wide warranty, all of which the Gen3 does. Yes, the Gen3 is more expensive but it is (IMHO, speaking as a former Sony owner) well worth paying the extra for.

I've got all 4 of the big four devices (OK, I'm nuts)...I started out with Kindle, then Iliad followed by Gen 3 and Sony.

For my money the Sony is the best buy. Forget about the looks (although many have commented that it rocks appearance-wise), the controls and menus and ease of use and display is the best out there, especially for the price.

Gen 3 has some bugs in the current software (it can erase bookmarks and 'forget' your place in a book). My biggest gripe with Gen 3 is that finding your place in a book is difficult. This is because the page number is not displayed, only a progress bar. This despite the fact that you can type in a page number and the Gen 3 will go there. But the current page number is not displayed so you are fishing in the dark as to 'where you are' currently.

I read the same book on several devices and without a numerical frame of reference as to where I am in the book from the Iliad, Sony or Kindle, I would have a terrible time finding my spot in the Gen 3.

Gen 3 is definitely number four in ranking. Sony and Iliad are the easiest to use and have the most features. Kindle is a little behind but the wireless, search and built-in dictionary elevates it.

Gen 3 has a delete button prominently displayed on the side of the device but it is not activated with the current firmware! I get the feeling the device was hurried onto the market without taking the time to go through extensive user testing that the other devices must have had before release.

Maybe the new firmware will correct some of the Gen 3's problems, but right now the Sony is hard to beat. Plus it is the cheapest of the big 4 eink devices , and it's the only one that is not sold out more often than not.

I think you made the right choice. Just be prepared to do some conversions to get the books you want into lrf format.

I've had my Sony for about a week and the battery meter has yet to go below full charge. With Gen 3 or Kindle it drops down to 80% or less in one day. And with Iliad it is down to 75% charged within 20-30 minutes of use. I wonder why Kindle and Gen 3, not to mention Irex, can't create a battery with the extremely long life of the Sony.

Here's what a reviewer had to say about Gen 3:
'To be honest, the current firmware feels like it was rushed to the market too soon, and it handles more like a beta version than an actual commercial version. The device does seem to have a lot of potential, as long as Bookeen continues to release updated firmware versions to fix many of the current issue and adds several features to make the device a highly capable e-book reader.'

Full review here: http://www.tfot.info/articles/1013/cybook-gen3-e-book-review.html

@Kingston : Very interesting post, Kingston (although you ARE indeed a bit nuts, or very rich ^^). Since you know very well all four main readers on the market, would you be interested in making an article on them ? (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23034)

@Riedje : when are you receiving your Sony ? :) It's hard to wait, once the decision is taken and the order is done, isn't it ? :D

Gen 3 is definitely number four in ranking. Sony and Iliad are the easiest to use and have the most features. Kindle is a little behind but the wireless, search and built-in dictionary elevates it.


Well, that just goes to show that different devices appeal to different people. I too have owned both a Sony and an iLiad, and for my money the Gen3 "wipes the floor" with both. It is the only device out of the four which allows you to load your own fonts and fully supports font families. For me, that's an essential feature.

I completely disagree with your view that the firmware is "unfinished" - certainly it could be improved, but that's true for all the devices. The Gen3's Mobi Reader is way ahead of the iLiad's (why can't you display a book's cover picture on the iLiad?) and the mere fact that they do support the Mobi format put all the other devices ahead of the Sony for me.

Horses for courses, etc.

Well, that just goes to show that different devices appeal to different people.

Absolutely. I regard the iLiad as a different class, personally. It's like the difference between a laptop and a UMPC. The iLiad is larger and harder to tote around. Plus it has the boot time and battery issues. It has great features and can do a lot more than most readers, but I think of it as a work/study tool rather than a replacement for tossing a novel in my handbag.

Of the smaller readers I put Cybook and Kindle as practically neck and neck and the Sony a distant third. Sony could close that gap with some serious work on their firmware, but for now I regard them as a barebones device.

Absolutely. I regard the iLiad as a different class, personally. It's like the difference between a laptop and a UMPC. The iLiad is larger and harder to tote around. Plus it has the boot time and battery issues. It has great features and can do a lot more than most readers, but I think of it as a work/study tool rather than a replacement for tossing a novel in my handbag.


Yes, those are exactly the reasons that I replaced my iLiad with the Gen3. Although the iLiad is undoubtedly a more flexible and "open" system, and very good if you want to read A4 PDFs, it's too big to carry around everywhere with you, and the 45s boot time is too long if you just want a quick reading session.

@Riedje : when are you receiving your Sony ? :) It's hard to wait, once the decision is taken and the order is done, isn't it ? :D

I (finally!) received it saturday morning and I haven't been able to put it down, this weekend I've read 5 novels on it to my immense satisfaction.

To be honest, I'm kinda in shock still, I don't know how to describe what I feel, it's somewhat scary... I've been blown away by this piece of technology, I'd be hard pressed to remember any other device arousing similar feelings (except of course the almighty Commodore 64 in the 80s!). I love technology and I love reading (even more), so this is somewhat of a dream come true :)

Anyway, this starts to sound like the ramblings of a junkie, so I'd better stop before I say something really embarrassing... :)

PS: Reading with device approaches pbook reading so much I caught myself a number of times trying to turn a page by flipping the page (which ofcourse wasn't there). My wife saw this happening and immediately started laughing at me... Anyone else experiencing this (the page-turning, not per se the laughing wife ;) )?

I fully understand your enthusiasm, riedje. I feel overwhelmed sometimes, when I simply LOOK at my Reader (Sony PRS-505) and realize I have almost 200 books in it's internal memory and with 75 megs left. AND, I have an option to add so many more books if I want to via internal memory cards.

As an aside, I don't think it matters too much what device one has - Sony, Gen3, Kindle, etc. - if we like the unit we bought, then we're going to be dogmatic about loving the device of choice. That's human nature. :)

I love e-Readers!!:)

Have fun.

Don

@Riedje : Lucky you ! I don't know when my iLiad will be here. And Commodore 64, that was indeed something :)
Now, I want pictures ^^

As an aside, I don't think it matters too much what device one has - Sony, Gen3, Kindle, etc. - if we like the unit we bought, then we're going to be dogmatic about loving the device of choice. That's human nature. :)

Plus, in my opinion, none of them are actually bad. We all value some features over others and that comes out in our critiques and our buying decisions but even though I love my Kindle, I'd happily read books on a Cybook or a Sony.