Looking for lots of space and freedom in Australia, basically.

[cantankerous]

Hi, I'm just wondering which eBook reader the experts think would suit my situation best. I was going for a Kindle, until I learned that there is a very limited selection in Australia (and that everything costs money...?), so can you help me?

here's the criteria, I suppose:

- I live in Australia
- I need an eBook reader that will let me upload free eBooks and .pdfs from my computer, preferably through a USB cable
- WiFi/3G access doesn't matter to me in the slightest - I'll be using it to read, and if I can upload eBooks from my computer with a USB cable, I'll have absolutely no need for WiFi. Also, I fly a lot and don't want to accidentally crash a plane.
- I have like 1 powerpoint in my room, so it would be a battle between my mobile phone and my eBook reader as far as charging goes - the more battery life, the better!
- I am clumsy and drop things
- I am a poor uni student... I current have $3 in my bank account >.<

Are there any eBook readers out there that might suit what I need?

[cantankerous]

Thinking of getting an iRiver Story on account of them being compatible with PPT files. Are there any common problems with them?

[neilmarr]

Hya Cantankerous. Check out the new Kogan (free shipping in Oz and it seems to be Oz-dedicated, handling a whole heap of formats). Bought one yesterday for a friend and colleague in Adelaide. Will report back once she's given it a whirl. Cheers. Neil

[ProfCrash]

The K3 will work fine for you. It is light weight, inexpensive, and can download material easily enough in Australia. You can get the WiFi version for $50 less then the 3G WiFi version. You won't crash any planes with it because it is easy to turn off the WiFi when flying.

Amazon claims that its battery will last a month if you are not using the WiFi or Whispernet. A reasonably priced case will protect your device quite nicely.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by cantankerous

I was going for a Kindle, until I learned that there is a very limited selection in Australia (and that everything costs money...?)

Whatever else you may think about the Kindles, that much is factually *incorrect*; you can get as much free content for Kindle as any other reader. And, yes, you *can* buy DRM-free ebooks from other bookstores. Just because Amazon doesn' roll over and play dead for Adobe doesn't mean Kindles can only get books from them.

Don't take my word for it; just go to Munseys.com or to Gutenberg or to the ebook section right here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/ebooks.php?forumid=128.

Or, for that matter, there's the Amazon free books:
http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=12838255...011&sort=price

And if you don't mind dropping a few bucks, check this out:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DVD-25-000-cla...item45f0c27499

Have fun!

[Logseman]

fjtorres, you've mentioned that DVD more than once and it's getting more and more tempting. Did you buy it? How well-formatted are the books? Does calibre recognize them finely?

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Whatever else you may think about the Kindles, that much is factually *incorrect*; you can get as much free content for Kindle as any other reader. And, yes, you *can* buy DRM-free ebooks from other bookstores. Just because Amazon doesn' roll over and play dead for Adobe doesn't mean Kindles can only get books from them.

Actually just to add to this, Amazon have roughly 400,000 paid titles for Australians. Last I read Kobo has 50,000 paid titles (not sure how many are available to Australians). All honesty I doubt there are many ebooks that Amazon don't have that other ebook stores do.

Now back to the OP, you have one power point, well you can charge your ereader via USB cable plugged into your computer, may take longer than through the power point but at least it will charge.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Logseman

fjtorres, you've mentioned that DVD more than once and it's getting more and more tempting. Did you buy it? How well-formatted are the books? Does calibre recognize them finely?

Yes; I've bought it multiple times.
In PRC (for Kindle) and ePub for the PB360.

The latest ePub version (25,000) came as 2 DVDs and the eubs all have proper metadata and a working TOC.

All it is is a DVD bundling of the Munseys content; just drop by Munseys and see what the books look like.
I've been buying Black Mask/Munseys DVDs since long before the lawsuit. I have the LIT edition and even Sony and PDF editions.
At those prices even one good book pays for it.

Frankly, I don't know why some ebook vendor doesn't talk to Mr Moynihan about bundling his books with their reader; instead of 100 (yeah, right!) raw Gutenberg TXT files, just slip in a DVD with a quality ePub (or PRC, LRF, or PDF) library in the box.

So many missed opportunities; no wonder Amazon is eating everybody's lunch.

[Chris Crouch]

Originally Posted by cantankerous

I was going for a Kindle, until I learned that there is a very limited selection in Australia (and that everything costs money...?)

It used to be the case that books at Amazon that were free to the US cost $2 for the rest of us. They changed that a couple of months ago.

As others have pointed out, Amazon is far from the only or best source for free books though - there are plenty of great free books right here on Mobileread for instance.


I have a Kindle 3 and really like it. It came to about AU$175 including postage.

The Kogan is $189, but comes with a case so in real terms it's actually a bit cheaper. The Kogan does have the older not-quite-so-nice e-ink display.

[sabredog]

One reader not mentioned as yet is the Kobo. Locally available and locally supported. Price wise it sits close to both the K3 and the Kogan.

For Kogan hands on comments, click link below;

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum....cfm?t=1492253

[estrial]

Hi there! I too, am a poor uni student from Australia. I made my choice with getting the kindle and had been loving it ever since. Yes there is the frustration of geographical restrictions when buying from the amazon stores, but it is also probably the biggest selection of ebooks available to us Australians still anyway. You can always still upload your own books onto the kindle. You can get freebooks from Feedbooks directly on to your Kindle if you got the 3g version too! and turn it off at will when you want to.

Lastly, the pdf support has been working pretty well for myself. I thoroughly enjoy the fact that I can darken the words on the pdf with the new kindle software to view the words better. If you have a phone that charges with the micro USB, they can share the same charging station

I don't know if a ebook cover is going to do much for a drop, I have never let it fall more than 5cm. Maybe you'll find some shock resistant one somewhere.

My angst at the moment is that it reboots by itself randomly(but amazon is releasing a firmware update soon and I had been avoiding it crashing by not letting it go below 30% battery charge (btw this had happened to me only 3 days ago for about 4 times and had not yet happened since I've charged it, im inpatient)) Amazon is also non-contactable from Australia by Mobile phone, but if you have a landline their customer service is highly commendable. Otherwise, I find the kindle a truly enjoyable product.

I was skeptical with the kogan when I saw it, but both Kobo and Kogans are alternative to cheap ebook readers. However, I do not think the Iriver is a good choice at all... before I bought the kindle, I was in and out jbhifi and harvey normans to play with the Iriver. I found the price too high do justify what it does. It is not only sluggish and some what irresponsive, but also the main screen was hard to navigate.

edit *My 2nd choice over kindle would probably be the new Sony range. But I like the key board thing on the kindle that most people probably hate ._." and do not like touch screens on a eink screen device.

[uclaser]

I am currently on a pinch I went to the Sony store today and had a play with the new prs 350 and 650. I don't know if its just me but the screen quality on the Sony seemed to be better than my K3. I am sooo confused now. Return the K3 and get the Sony or ignore the difference in screen quality and stick with the K3. I read quite alot so screen quality is very important to me.

[estrial]

hey uclaser, what shop in melb did you play with the new prs350 and 650? I would love to have a play with them too.

[uclaser]

Hey estrial, its the sony store in the city. The one on Bourke and Elizabeth St, the Galleria. It is on the second floor, above the food court. Went there just now and tried with the prs650. I don't know if its just me but the prs650's screen quality looked better than my K3

[AprilHare]

Originally Posted by cantankerous

Hi, I'm just wondering which eBook reader the experts think would suit my situation best. I was going for a Kindle, until I learned that there is a very limited selection in Australia (and that everything costs money...?), so can you help me?

here's the criteria, I suppose:

- I live in Australia
- I need an eBook reader that will let me upload free eBooks and .pdfs from my computer, preferably through a USB cable
- WiFi/3G access doesn't matter to me in the slightest - I'll be using it to read, and if I can upload eBooks from my computer with a USB cable, I'll have absolutely no need for WiFi. Also, I fly a lot and don't want to accidentally crash a plane.
- I have like 1 powerpoint in my room, so it would be a battle between my mobile phone and my eBook reader as far as charging goes - the more battery life, the better!
- I am clumsy and drop things
- I am a poor uni student... I current have $3 in my bank account >.<

Are there any eBook readers out there that might suit what I need?

That's funny, I'm in Australia with a liseuse - I'm still looking for space and freedom!
Go on down to your local Sony store (?) and check out the Sony Reader. Then realize you don't have any money - save up for one!