[Mickey330]

Hi, Jackie -

I'll give you my impressions of the DR800SG in regards to your questions. Just be warned ... I REALLY like my DR800, which I bought/use mainly to "just" read novels. With that said:

Originally Posted by jjansen

1) If possible I would like to keep my novels separate from my technical PDFs. I would like to access my technical PDFs through the folder structure only.

If you do the "folder hack" on the DR800 (add a line to the .ini file), you can keep your PDFs separate from your novels by putting your novels into the main "Book" folder and your PDFs in the "Personal" folder. The IREX will not dip into the Personal folder when it shows you a book list. So, this kind of answers part of your note 2 (keeping PDFs separate from novels).

Originally Posted by jjansen

2) I would like to access my novels both through the folder structure and also through indexing of author and title and date. Collections, tags or genres would be great but I haven't seen that on either device. I would prefer not to see my technical documents in my list of titles or authors. I don't want to have to index or scan all my books every time I power on.

As long as you keep your technical stuff separate from your books (using Book and Personal folders), they won't be "mixed" together in a title/author list. For now, the DR800 only indexes those files you have already opened - but that is supposed to change with a new update (scheduled for April release). That's good, in that if you have lots of books - it won't take that long to index. It's bad in that if you do a sort on the author, it only sorts (for now) on the indexed books. Bit awkward. You can still do a search for title or author from the home page...

You can create your own sub folders on the SD card, so you can file by genre or author (see my post (#9) that has pictures of my folders: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75646). The handy part is that no matter HOW you arrange the books - within that main Book folder - the DR800 will still show them all in a sorted list from the home page.

Originally Posted by jjansen

3) The search feature within a novel is important to me. A dictionary would be nice. (are the devices even here?)

The DR800 has no dictionary function. It does have two different search functions. You can search from the home page for an author or a title and you can search, from within a book, for any word/phrase.

Originally Posted by jjansen

4) Ability to open mulitple books at once and be able to return to the page I left off would be good. I don't mind using bookmarks for this if that is what I need to do.

The DR800 remembers where you've last been in any book. You'll have to browse to the book, but once you've opened it, it'll be where you left off. There is a bookmark function also.

Originally Posted by jjansen

5) With my Sony I often read with one hand and I switch hands sometimes. This is very easy to do on the 505. I don't think that iRex even has this capability in their latest announced firmware. Correct me if I am wrong.

Sigh. On this one, you are correct. The DR800 will only rotate the screen 90 degrees (the flip bar will be on the bottom). I did read talk on someone's post here (don't remember who/when) that there would be an update to make this fully rotational. But, for now .... nope.

Originally Posted by jjansen

6) I very much like the 800 screen size but I am concerned that navigation becomes awkward. I certainly don't want anything larger than the iRex. I actually liked the size of my Sony and both these readers are larger.

The screen size is THE main reason I like the DR800. It is awesome (not to mention very crisp). I don't find navigation awkward. I use the stylus (or the flip bar) to navigate to a book I want to read. Then, I read the book using just the flip bar. I like the stylus because it makes browsing the device faster (I have a Sony PRS300 also). But, once I'm in a book, the IREX screen is wonderful and it "disappears" as I read the book. Did I mention I LIKE the reading experience?

Originally Posted by jjansen

7) Screen clarity is important to me. The new Sony's aren't clear enough for my eyes. I assume that with the Wacom tablet both readers will be similar and hopefully similar to my 505 clarity.

The clarity of the screen is great. As I said, I also have a PRS300, and I find them to be equal (while others have said the PRS300 compares well to a 505). I know that I have dry eyes and I can - and have - read comfortably on this device for hours (as reading is what I do ... can't stand TV).

Originally Posted by jjansen

Any comments, particularly about the folder structure vs the indexing etc. would be great. Does anyone in the US know if they have the iRex on display at any of the Best Buys? I will be in Boston in April.

Thanks again............................Jackie

I don't know whether Best Buy will have one in stock in April.

I hope this helps. As I've said, I bought the DR800 to read on. I don't care about wireless, touchscreen or multifunctions. I want to read a book (well, and be able to access library books - which the DR800 can). The screen is great on this and, using the stylus, navigating to my book is painless - and then I can just read.

Happy reading.

Marilyn