What e-writer to buy and where(europe)?

[LcLk]

Hello everyone!

Firstly I want to congratulate you all on a great community,
I've been researching for two weeks on what reader to buy and there
Is lots of info available but there are still some questions I wanted to ask:

I'm a college student who wants an eink device to read slides, textbooks and notes, and write notes with a pen.

Currently I'm aiming for a Sony prs t1 or t2(if it turns out to be much better)
Or a pocketbook 912/903 /hanvon n800
My main problem is where to buy these devices, which will probably be the deciding factor.
I live in Ireland so I have been searching around but with shipping most get very expensive.

So could you direct me towards a good online store or help me decide between the mentioned readers?

Thanks all

[Paveuta]

Hi,

I cannot help you on where to buy, but Easons has got the t1 on display if you want to play with it a bit.

I got the T1 for my birthday and I am trying to use it for work to take notes and to read documents on the go.

The note taking capability I don't think would suit a student, the big issue for me is that you cannot rest your hand on the screen while writing, and while it's fine for me to jot down while in meetings, I don't think it would suit you heavily scribbling while attending lectures.

There are a few threads on note taking, there are some devices that recognize the stylus and "deactivate" the rest of the screen so that you can rest your hand on it with no problem, look them up, I think one of them is the hanvon n800 you mention.

Hope this helps a little bit.

[jojoba]

If you're going to read and annotate PDFs and power point presentations for college, I strongly recommend a tablet. E-ink readers are not well suited for that purpose.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jojoba

If you're going to read and annotate PDFs and power point presentations for college, I strongly recommend a tablet. E-ink readers are not well suited for that purpose.

Absolutely correct. The iPad is the standard recommendation for reading and annotating PDFs. It's superb for the purpose.

[LcLk]

I won't be going for a tablet as two main features I need are battery life and price.
I don't want to spend more than 200euro, Max 250 on a device.
I would consider a nexus 7 but the lack of dedicated stylus isn't appealing
I have used a stylus on an iPad before and didn't like it very much, it was large and awkward.
Therefore I want an ereader with a wacom stylus preferably., like pocketbook or hanvon.
I don't mind the difficulty of having to zoom into pdfs and lack of colour as long as I have a long battery life on the device.
The problem with hanvon and pocketbook is where to buy one


And regarding the prs t1, if it were rooted are there any apps that could implement a software palm rejection? I'm sure it wouldn't be ideal but its price and availability would make up for it.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by LcLk

I don't mind the difficulty of having to zoom into pdfs and lack of colour as long as I have a long battery life on the device.

Unfortunately I'm pretty sure you'll change your mind when you try it. Having to scroll around a page to view it is just incompatible with the slow refresh rate of an eInk screen. It's totally unlike an LCD screen, where you can smoothly scroll the screen around a large page.

I'd strongly suggest that you try it before committing to a purchase.

[LcLk]

I would like to test a pocketbook before commuting but I know of no stores stocking them in Ireland.
I'm not inclined to a tablet as I plan on reading a lot, both text books and leisure reading.
I think a 9 inch would be fine for pdfs, and when held horizontally it should make even the most detailed PDF readable.

I would also plan on doing a lot of sketching and drawing on the device, ideally it will replace notepad and books completely.

And if I ever need to flick through a PDF that requires a lot of zooming I can always use my Android phone.

Thanks for your input thus far harryT, jojoba and paveuta, I really appreciate it

[jojoba]

Originally Posted by LcLk

I would like to test a pocketbook before commuting but I know of no stores stocking them in Ireland.
I'm not inclined to a tablet as I plan on reading a lot, both text books and leisure reading.
I think a 9 inch would be fine for pdfs, and when held horizontally it should make even the most detailed PDF readable.

I would also plan on doing a lot of sketching and drawing on the device, ideally it will replace notepad and books completely.

And if I ever need to flick through a PDF that requires a lot of zooming I can always use my Android phone.

Thanks for your input thus far harryT, jojoba and paveuta, I really appreciate it

The more I read your posts, the more I think tablet. 'Replacing notepads and books completely' would, I believe, be an extremely frustrating experience with an e-ink device. I do love e-ink readers. I have two of them and they are fantastic for leisurely reading. For any serious academic work, they would drive me up the wall.

Budget wise, you will probably be able to get a 1gen iPad or a second hand tablet. They should be more than sufficient for your purposes.

You can have a look at a couple of my previous threads with regard to pdf reading
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=156702
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=156791

I spend hours reading on my iPad every day, and I don't have any issues with it. And flicking through research article on a phone sized device (and flicking through pdf-s is something you're likely to be doing regularly in college) is a royal pain in the butt, IME.

I second Harry when he says definitely try stuff out before purchasing.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jojoba

I spend hours reading on my iPad every day, and I don't have any issues with it. And flicking through research article on a phone sized device (and flicking through pdf-s is something you're likely to be doing regularly in college) is a royal pain in the butt, IME.

I second Harry when he says definitely try stuff out before purchasing.

Yes, we're trying to save you from making the mistakes that WE made. We're speaking with the benefit of having "been there, done that" .

[LcLk]

Thanks for the advice.
I guess e-ink just isn't ready for my needs yet.
Tablets do seem the way to go for working with pdfs and taking notes.
But I'm not really interested in buying one at the moment as their isn't a great selection of them available with digitizers. Ever since I have begun working with a bamboo tablet on my PC i find the capacitive pens to be inaccurate.

So i guess i might go for just an ereader for now.
I do like the ability to root the Sony prs-t1, but I've heard the pocketbook 360+ being praised a lot.
What would be your choices or a dedicated ereader? Formats are not an issue as i would be starting a new collection anyway.

[Shopaholic]

Originally Posted by LcLk

What would be your choices or a dedicated ereader? Formats are not an issue as i would be starting a new collection anyway.

My suggestion would be for you to take a look at the various ebook stores to look at the selection they carry that's available to your country and go from there.

I love my Sony but I also really like my Kindle. I'm in Canada and can download books from my local library with my Sony. I can't do that on a Kindle because it's only for Americans. If that's something you might be interested in, it's something to think about.

There's form factor & whether you like how the unit looks & feels or not. Buttons or touch, ability to carry lots of books - the Sony makes use of a micro SD card whereas the Kindles don't. Warranty & support are important considerations for some. Ease of assistance for tech support & if necessary, returns is something to consider.

I'd suggest you look at some Youtube videos to see reviews & see how people like their device. There's lots of things to consider but it comes down to what your preferences are not anybody elses.

The Nook isn't something I'd recommend to someone outside the US. Some people like the Kobo but personally, I don't. There's too many bugs with the device & the software. I want something that works out of the box not something where I have to constantly plug the holes in a leaking damn which is how I think of their unit. Constant patches to fix things that should have worked properly in the first place. Yes, it's my strong opinion but I'm not alone in thinking it. YMMV.

[HarryT]

If you're now considering a reader for fiction only, I'd recommend the Kindle Touch. Amazon have the best bookstore and the best customer service in the industry, by far.

[LcLk]

Thanks for the advice.
I may be going to New York in September so I will see what I can find then, both the Kindle and Sony sound promising so far