Poll: Which ePaper device will you get?

[CommanderROR]

The forum has been a bit quiet these past few days, so I thought I'd put up this poll and see whether I can get a few more people to vote than on the Piracy/ebook Poll...

Please post your reasons and if you choose option 4 then give us an idea what you're waiting for.

[rlauzon]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

Please post your reasons and if you choose option 4 then give us an idea what you're waiting for.

iRex Iliad - my choice. It seems to be the only one that is available (or will be soon) in the U.S. and doesn't to be based on DRM.

Sony Reader - Unit doesn't natively support PDF which means protected PDFs won't be of any use. Sony has a poor track record on DRM and don't see Sony changing their stripes anytime soon. The Sony Reader seems to be built on a business concept of "we control the content" which is uncompetitive - which means "bad" for the consumer.

Hanlin V2 (or V8) - I don't see this available in English and the U.S.

PDA/Smartphone - This is what I am currently using. Unfortunately, PDFs don't display well on the tiny screen. Text and RTF content works fine, though.

[fireproof]

I normally read using a Palm TX, but I'm really interested in having an eInk device -- but a borrowed Sony Librie showed me just how horrific strict DRM could be. So the iRex is appealing, with its open formats and simple file transfer (that was the other thing about the Librie: even if you could get your own files into the correct format, it wasn't simply a matter of copying the resulting file onto a memory stick... you had to use a special tool, etc. Bleah!)

[Laurens]

If I'm going to get a device in the next few months, it will definitely be the Sony. The iRex is way too expensive. If the price comes down after a while, I might reconsider.

[ElaHuguet]

Definitely the Iliad, for one main reason, and several smaller ones: screen size. I have been waiting for years now for a book-sized screen, not smaller, not larger. I might be quirky, but I think a standard paperback is the ideal size for comfy eye travel (both across and down). I copied the Sony Reader's and Iliad's size onto an A4 paper and it was clear to see: the Reader is still too small.

The fact that the Iliad has a Wacom-type touch screen is great, too, although I won't be using it much other than for "just a second while I scribble your phone number down", but my husband will probably be doodling his icon designs on it. If my area's newspaper becomes e-suscribable, count me on for that too. And I have too many txt and html files to start converting the lot to some other format, it's time-consuming enough as it is, too make sure they're xhtml and not just standard html, but if the Reader's screen size had been "decent" (IMO), I might well have bought it for cheapness sake.

The fact that the Iliad is so expensive IS a hiccup in the decision process, but the other readers just don't provide what I want, so I'll be forking out my euros, with any luck, in a week or so.

Ela.

[TaKir]

I prefer Jinke V8/V2. Now V8 supports english, russian and ukranian very fine, supports them in txt, xhtml, and UI can be in theese languages too.

I suppose, Sony and Jinke will be available at the same time in Russia, but V8 is cheaper, has 2-nd screen, more open, doesn't make me buy any stupid content and so on.
And I can watch the changes, taking place with V8 now - and I like this changes!

To pay $800 for Irex - it is too much for a book I need. I really needn't touch screen, wifi, drawing in a book.

[High 5]

It's the Iliad for me.

A batterylife that is longer than the 10 minutes (on a good day) that I get out of my Cybook sounds very good.

The price is not much of a problem.
I read very much and -dare I say it- I do not buy every book that I read.
The money I save by reading ebooks more than makes up for the price I pay for an ebook reader.
I have had an Hiebook,a Cybook and one of those old readable Sherman tanks: the Rocket ebook.

The problem with a lot of readers is that they offer lots of extra's that you don't need and will hardly ever use.
All I want is an ebook reader that can handle lots of formats like txt, doc, pdf, xhtml etc, that I can 'fill' fast and easy with the books I want to read and that doesn't give me a "battery low" message every 10 minutes.
The Iliad seems to offer all that.
And further more it is a Dutch product, same as myself

[CommanderROR]

naughty boy High 5...:-)

You're really lucky though...I guess as a resident of the Netherlands you'll be one of the first to receive an Iliad. What's you VAT like? We have 16% here which is pretty heavy...it makes those 549€ into 635 or something without adding any value...
Maybe iRex will relent and stick to the price they gave Alexaner (549 incl. VAT, excl. Shipping) instead of 549 excl. everything like they told me.

Well..we should know soon.
Somehow i've got a nasty conflict of interests going right now...
I'd like it to be next week already because then we could hope for the release of the Iliad, but I've also got a holdiday right now (2 more wekks actually) and don#t want them to pass because after these holidays I'll be pretty busy preparing for my final exam I'm taking this summer...and then "real life" will start, looking fo a job and stuff like that...yuk...

[Kosst Amojan]

I'm going with Sony for several reasons:

1. Familiarity, we all know Sony and they're generally reliable, even though it's owned by Phillips, IRex is still a new company

2. Price, I graduated from college last spring and the loans are coming in, 'nuff said.

3. Not made by damn dirty commies, I don't buy chinese products, period. I don't care how much they pretend to be capitalists, any success on their part still supports their government.

[High 5]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

naughty boy High 5...:-)
<snip>
What's you VAT like? We have 16% here which is pretty heavy...
<big snip>
...and then "real life" will start, looking fo a job and stuff like that...yuk...

Yes, well erm.. anyway, the VAT or BTW as it is called out here is a nice and easy 19% for all electronic (consumer)goods and gadgets.
And about that real life, well you get used to it after a while.
Work is ok.
Really.
It is.
Yep.
I am going to have to lay down for a while now.

[CommanderROR]

19% is not really nice...we'll probably get that high next year...

Oh, btw...you do realize that the "naugthy boy" comment was because of the "I don't buy all my books" comment? Just so you don't get the wrong idea...^^

[High 5]

Originally Posted by Kosst Amojan

3. Not made by damn dirty commies, I don't buy chinese products, period. I don't care how much they pretend to be capitalists, any success on their part still supports their government.

I knew a guy once who became a vegetarian for much of the same reason.
He didn't like animals that much but he really, really hated plants.
Your last argument won't play much of a role for most ebook readers and buyers I think.
The price is something else entirely.
For ebooks to finally get the breakthrough they deserve, ebook readers will have to become much cheaper than $500.
Most people would rather buy an Xbox 360 for that kind of money.
Sad, ignorant and narrowminded people ofcourse but nevertheless...

[ribrdb]

I want to go with the Iliad, mainly because of the openess and the touchscreen. I like to be able to underline, circle, etc. in my books, and I'm hoping I'll be able to do that.

[High 5]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

19% is not really nice...we'll probably get that high next year...

Oh, btw...you do realize that the "naugthy boy" comment was because of the "I don't buy all my books" comment? Just so you don't get the wrong idea...^^

With my looks I hear that a lot.
No really I knew that.

Fact remains that I get most of my books from newsgroups and places like Gutenberg project.
(I still believe that Laurens Janszoon Koster invented the printing press. That German guy only had a better pr-agent. But that's an other discussion entirely)
Secretly I think that a lot of readers here have at least one or two books that they didn't buy in a store.
I also think that this is a major sellingpoint for ebook readers.

[marc59]

Difficult: voted Sony, but the Hanlin could be good as well. The more familiar Japanese brand name won even though I see its disadvantages. No doubt the iRex is technically the best machine, but the price is just too high - which is no surprise: owner Philips has a long tradition in introducing excellent and innovative electronic equipment and an equally long tradition in making them commercial failures. For those who want to spend their money on the iRex, do it as soon as possible. It won't be available for long, I'm afraid.