i wish there were an eink reader for under $200

[netseeker]

Originally Posted by galavanter

No sunshine at the moment in Los Angeles, but this shot is outdoors with natural light. Hand held, both camera and ebooks. The first shot was under a fluorescent light bulb.
[..]
Now you owe me your opinion.

Thank you for the picture. Actually the JetBooks display is better readable than i had expected. I'm using an E-INK reader because i'm sittting in front of LCD's the whole day and got headcache whenever i've read in the evening (or night) using a LCD (Palm). Another reason was the better readability in the sunshine. I haven't tried the JetBook until now...

[Lemurion]

I have never seen a Jetbook in person, but from the pictures I have seen and my experience with both non-backlit LCDs and E-Ink I am willing to stipulate that the display quality is at least comparable to E-Ink.

Until recently three things really stopped me from recommending the Jetbook, format support, price, and the LCD display. The format support has been more than remedied in the recent firmware update, and the current availability at $179-199 is a good sign, but I'm still not sure about LCD because of battery life. If they dropped the MSRP to $199 I would be more interested, but I do have to say that it has matured greatly since it was first introduced and is becoming much more of a contender.

[galavanter]

Here's your sunshine shots netseeker. The first with the sun on the Kindle, yes that is THE Sun. Second shot shows the sun on the jetBook, and the third I have angled them so the sun is just off both their screens.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Just buy used. I got a Kindle 1 in great condition off of Craigslist in March for $200.

Personally, I would not buy a reader that did not support ePub.

[netseeker]

Originally Posted by galavanter

Here's your sunshine shots netseeker. The first with the sun on the Kindle, yes that is THE Sun. Second shot shows the sun on the jetBook, and the third I have angled them so the sun is just off both their screens.

Thank you once again. I'm really a little bit surprised at the quality of the jetbooks LCD.

[netseeker]

With the new BeBook Mini we finally might get a $200 device: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45811.
Would one buy it for <=$200?

[Over]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

Given that we've reached the Moon, 'great heights' simply MUST include distances of 240,000 miles. If we plug in values for a large MMPB (say Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged") and sufficient energy to get beyond the Moon's gravitational pull and into Earth's, we find that it will probably enter Earth's atmosphere between 5,500 and 7,000 MPH (I may be a 'bit' off as I tend to estimate for lower values). Clearly, at that velocity, your typical MMPB will NOT survive the fall.

Derek

It won't even fall, burning out when it enters Earth's atmosphere.


About the topic, if taking out MP3 player, wi-fi, touch screen, etc would make it (ereader) less expensive, I would prefer it. Although I wouldn't want any size inferior to 6in.

I carry my Cybook everywhere. It has the leather M-Edge cover, excellent quality. I guess buying two ereaders just to have one backup would be a little bit exagerated. I'm careful with my ereader (I don't throw around the bag where I carry it nor let it be under the sun too long), but that's it. Things are to be used. If portability is one of the strong points of having an ereader, I will do that. (I didn't carry books with me before I got my Cybook, so it's no surprise that now I read more than before).

[basschick]

i'm not careful with my backpack - not at all. i throw it, i put heavy things on top of it - really heavy. my friends aren't particularly careful around it, either. i cram it between things. i carry random shaped things inside it, some with hard edges. i don't want to change my lifestyle just to keep from breaking my cybook. a second, reasonably priced reader would solve my worries.

[Over]

Originally Posted by basschick

i'm not careful with my backpack - not at all. i throw it, i put heavy things on top of it - really heavy. my friends aren't particularly careful around it, either. i cram it between things. i carry random shaped things inside it, some with hard edges. i don't want to change my lifestyle just to keep from breaking my cybook. a second, reasonably priced reader would solve my worries.

Come on, being just careful enough to not put really heavy weights on top of it or sitting on it is hardly changing your life style.

Although I know the importance that women give to purses, backpacks and such... :P

[Andybaby]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Personally, I would not buy a reader that did not support ePub.

It does support epub through conversion which is in the Epub spec.

[netseeker]

Originally Posted by Andybaby

It does support epub through conversion which is in the Epub spec.

Where? I've read all three specifications and did not found any explicit hint for conversation providers.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by netseeker

Where? I've read all three specifications and did not found any explicit hint for conversation providers.

See New IDPF format: Which software companies are aboard—and how .epub will help publishers:

In implementing .epub, software companies handle files in one of two ways:

1. The software imports .epub and converts it to an end-user proprietary format. There are a bunch of reasons why a company might do this, the main one being that it wants its format to do things that aren’t covered or possible in .epub.

2. The software simply reads (or renders) .epub files that a user can use, similar to how your iPod “reads” MP3 files.

I'm not actually sure anyone is doing #1, but that was the original intent. Calibre is trying hard with ePub to MOBI, but it fails because MOBI does not have some needed capabilities (ePub to LIT via Calibre might be even closer). It would be possible for Amazon/MobiPocket to extend MOBI to support ePub via method #1, but they no longer seem interested in doing so.

[netseeker]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

See New IDPF format: Which software companies are aboard—and how .epub will help publishers: [..]
It would be possible for Amazon/MobiPocket to extend MOBI to support ePub via method #1, but they no longer seem interested in doing so.

You are right, wallcraft and i already know those statements. But there is a difference between "software companies can handle epub via conversations" and "It does support epub through conversion which is in the Epub spec.".

My point is: The specification(s) itself doesn't mention the topic "conversion" and it's just wrong to say anything else.