Hi.
It's been a long time since I wrote something on this forum, but never left reading it from time to time.
Anyway, I own a Jinke Hanlin V3 that I bought back in november 2008. It's been a total revolution for me and the most useful piece of technology I've ever owned. I've used it almost every day during all these 5 years. It still works like a charm.
A lot of things have happened in the ebook camp in all these years, and now I'm considering retiring it and buying something a bit more modern. First model that came to mind was the new Kindle PW 2, but I think it doesn't match all my criteria.
There are several conditions I want in my new ebook:
- 6" e-ink is a must. I don't need bigger and I don't want a smaller screen. I already own an iPad 3 and an iPhone 4S, so I want an e-ink device, and the crispier and best e-ink display there is. I assume it'd be an eink Pearl screen.
- Illuminated screen: Seems to be a huge step forward in the ebook world, as the Kindle PW and others (Kobo Glow, Onyx Boox i62HD, Cybook Odyssey HD,...) have it and everybody seems to agree is better than a conventional non-illuminated one. I'd like to know if it's that big of a deal.
- ALL my books are in FB2 format. I'm spanish and the V3 has had a huge following here (under the Papyre brand), so almost all ebooks you can find are in this format. I have a 20.400 (that's not a typo) high quality ebook Calibre library (and growing) in FB2, so it's a big plus for me that the ebook could read this format. I don't need any online ebook store, as I have books to read for 20 lifes. Here is were the Kindle fails, unless I jb it and install some FB2 reader as Coolreader.
- I want total control over the layout of the page: margins, font and font size, line spacing, etc. I like my pages how I like them, and I want to be able to change every parameter to my taste. I think I've managed to get a great page layout that suits my liking: tight margins and line spacing like a paperback edition, great footnotes and nice font (DejaVu Seriff). A page sample of my page layout:
- Availability in Spain. I don't mind ordering online, but must be a EU vendor as I don't want to deal with customs.
- I'd like the e-reader to have some kind of active community and support and it should be as bug-free as possible. I remember when I first tried my V3 it was a buggy piece of hardware, but due to the fantastic spanish and russioan community it evolved to be a fantastic e-reader.
- Price: Around 150€ or less. Not critical.
After doing some research, the Kindle PW 2 has some pros (mainstream e-reader so a lot of support, huge community, great quality e-reader, fantastic price, amazon.es availability, good form factor and looks nice and weight very little). It also has its cons though: FB2 is a no-no unless jailbroken, amazon ads (YUCK!!), and I don't know how far I can customize it.
How about other alternatives as the Cybook Odyssey HD, Onyx BOOX i62HD, Pocketbook 602, etc?.
Is the upgrade from my V3 worth it?
Thanks in advance.