I've posted here about a year and a half ago asking for advice on a ereader device and had originally settled on the Kindle 2. In the end, I held off purchasing it for many reasons including little new science fiction novels, money spent elsewhere, new products, etc.
I'm now back again to ask for advice and this time I might actually end up purchasing a device mostly to use as a ebook reader.
Background
Right now, I only have about a dozen ebooks purchased from Lulu.com and Mobipocket's e-store (PDF and MOBI formats). My current bound collection is almost all science fiction and thriller/mystery novels. About half is Star Trek and the rest are from other universes. I'm hoping to purchase any future books in as ebooks rather than fill my small bedroom's shelf with more printed volumes.
What I'm Looking For
I would like the price to stay in the $150 - $200 range. The most I'll pay is $260. So far, the only readers I've seen for that price range is: Sony PRS-300, BeBook Mini/Astak Pocket Pro, SmartQ 5, SmartQ 7, and SmartQ V5. Other considerations: Kindle 2 and Nook. I'm wavering between the Sony PRS-300, BeBook Mini/Astak Pocket Pro, and the SmartQ 5. I'm leaning towards the SmartQ 5.
I'll definitely need to be able to read PDFs as two particular series I'm following is only available in print and PDF. MOBI's also needed. I assume the current ebooks I have are protected, but don't know for sure. I assume future ebooks I purchase will likely also be protected/DRM'ed.
Concerns/Questions
For the dedicated ebook readers, I don't like how the PRS-300 can't be expanded via a SD card. While the Mini can. As I already own a netbook and a touchscreen PMP, I know how portable the ereaders can be. What about durability of the screens? Are they easily scratched? What about dropping them and the screen cracking?
NewEgg states that the PRS-300 supports ePUB DRM and PDF DRM. Is this true? If I blow the text size up, does the PDF reflow well? What about page numbers? Does the page numbers change depending on text size or does it stay the same like on a real hardcopy novel?
The SmartQ 5 seems really appealing to me right since for the price of a low-end ereader, I can also read graphic novels/comics, surf the web, type up some notes, store the books on a SD card, color screen, etc. The drawbacks are mainly battery life, size, and weight. I see this fulfilling my want for a portable internet device that I can lug with me when I don't need the computing of my netbook but don't want to be stuck on a 3-inch screen of some overpriced phone (or iPod). Even though I'll spend most of the time reading on the device, having WiFi on the go without having to open up my netbook is appealing.
I've read and heard that the default ARM-version of Ubuntu lags and isn't completely translated to English. I know others have put on other distros ranging from Mer to Android. Which OSes run smoothly on the Q5? Can I use a USB mouse with it? What about a USB keyboard? Is host USB functionality available (being able to use a USB keyboard for example on a cold start)? How easy is it to load a new OS on the device (mainly USB booting)?
I assume I won't be able to read any of my current ebook novels using FBReader? How about using Calibre? If still no, then what will read them?
I don't know if I missed any other questions, but I put down all the ones floating around my head for the last few days. Tell me if something above isn't clear and I'll try to make it clear.
