Recommend a device for a novice europe/mid east resident

[Gooner]

Right!

Absolutely new to this business, and quite frankly lost in it even with a few hours of reading on the subject behind me. Never thought picking a device could be so complicated. Always expected a common file format between devices, and access to all books on the web from all devices. Turns out, every brand is trying to go for a monopoly. Enough of this nonsense though.

I'm looking for an e-book reader for my father. He's in his 60's, lives in Europe and the Middle East, and occasionally Canada. Travels a lot. Now I'd normally buy the best rated device and call it a day. However it seems that each device is suited better for a certain country, i.e. Kindle for the States.

All I want is a good device, that will not be out of date in a year or two. Can handle as many formats as possible. The ability to buy as many books as possible. My father reads all kinds. Mainly though; Journal studies, non-fiction books, biographies, and fiction when he fancies it in that order. Also reads books in French, English, and Arabic. Not so sure how that'll work out, as I've literally haven't read in any of the devices' specification lists of multi-language support. Or is not important in e-book readers? Files are similar to images rather than text?

I've read that the Bebook hasn't got a dedicated server, thus giving it a larger verity of sources to get e-books from. My only problem is that, I live in Montreal-Canada, and haven't been able to find a shop that sells BeBooks. I'm travelling on Monday to visit my father, so ordering online is out of the question. Absolutely no time for delivery. The only devices sold in the major electronic shops, are the Sony readers, and Kobo at Chapters. Though I might find an individual with another brand on craigslist, or the market place in this forum.

I think that's about it. Recommendations, and if possible tips on where to purchase said recommendations in Montreal would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Gooner

[jehane]

Hi Gooner

The only device that really tries for a monopoly is Amazon. Generally all other devices read epub format, although B&N has its own version somehow. I'm not sure of the detail as I've never looked at it myself. However... from what I've read here I believe that in Europe (ex-UK), epub is the most common format by a long way. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. So any device *other* than the Kindles should be fine. Even the Nook is ok, since the unusual DRM is on the books rather than the device, as I understand it. However the Nook doesn't seem too popular outside of the US.

Sonys, Kobos and Pocketbooks all read epub. I don't know about multi-language support, although I guess I would be surprised if the Kobos at least didn't support French, since they are a Canadian brand. Also if you are purchasing in Montreal I imagine only ones that have French language support would even be available. There is a French language forum here - I'm certain they will have more definitive answers. There have been occasional threads here about Arabic language support - maybe do a search?

There are other devices I haven't mentioned, mainly because I don't know which are e-ink or not. There is a wiki here that has a matrix - I think it might be linked in the sticky? Well worth looking at that for a comparison of devices.

When I was looking, I found it very worthwhile having a look through the forums of individual devices - this gave me a good idea of what sort of problems were being encountered and what the devices were like.

btw, "out of date" means different things to different people. It's fairly certain that within a year of your purchase there will be a newer model available. However that doesn't mean you can't continue to use your one. There are plenty of people still using Sony 505s and original Kindles - you only have to look at the respective forums to see that.

[Poppaea]

If I were in your shoes I'd buy him a Sony 950. It is big enough for reading magazines on it and still small enough to make it nice for travelling. Also the Sony gives you a very natural reading experience due to its absolutly glare-free!! touchscreen. There is wifi on board for him to buy content. He can buy in every online store in England or France with it as the most used format here in Europe is epub.

For the Arabic, the PRS 950 can handle it as long as it is in PDF format. It will not be able to read an Arabic epub.

I guess, the perfect device for him seems to be one of the Pocketbooks, due to their multilanguage abilities, but you said it should be something you can buy instantly in Canada. Their new models even have a text-to-speech function in Arabic!

Poppaea

[Gooner]

Thanks both of you for the reply!

@jehane: I did spend 'some' time on the wiki page of all the readers put along side each other with their specs. I didn't get much from it, since it was obvious I was out of my depth.

I checked the forum, and came to the same conclusion as you poppaea. I think the Sony is the best choice. Shame about the availability of the pocketbooks! I would've snapped that right away. Although I was going for the 650 model, now that you mention the 950 and its wifi capabilities, I think I'll splash my cash on that one instead. Having said that, I haven't seen that model that often in shops. Hopefully I can get my hands on one tonight.

Cheers for the input guys. Very kind of you to share your knowledge. Will update this thread before or after I make a purchase.

Gooner