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Alisa · 04-07-2008, 01:17 PM

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

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.

04-07-2008, 01:17 PM	#3
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	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 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.