Absolute best eBook reader?

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Kameli

How well configurable is that? I occasionally read books lying on my side so I want text to go from up to down instead of left to right when looked from devices point of view. Is it possible to use that "tilt to turn" when in such position?

Yes it is.
The tilt angle is configurable.
You can tilt in various directions and the device still reacts.

Originally Posted by Kameli

I take tehre is option to not orient text automatically but how easy/hard it is to configure device to different orientations when motion sensor is active?

There are 5 options - four directions and an Auto rotate.
When the "tilt to turn the page" option is active, you simply select one of four directions.

Originally Posted by Kameli

For example I read book on my left side then turn to my back so I want change text from up to down to left to right. How fast I can change text orientation?

2 seconds, three button presses.
Press OK, select rotation, press for direction,

When lying on the side, you will want to choose 70° tilt angle, when reading with reader in horizontal position, you will want to set the tilt angle to about 30°.
The tilt angle can be set from 20° to 70° with 5° step.

It is really just a very clever hack and I do not use it personally, but this version of FBREader is about the 12th release of "wrist pageturn" edition, and both developers listen[ed] carefully to the needs of users that use this feature.
I personally use this version of FBReader, because you can set all 37 styles of text (as defined in FB2 speciffication (but you are really interested in "Regular paragraph", "chapter" and perhaps a couple more styles)) and for each style there are 14 parameters you can set.

1. font
2. base font
3. bold
4. italic
5. vertical displacement
6. allow hyphenation
7. hyperlink type
8. space before paragraph
9. space after paragraph
10. left indent (practically left margin)
11. right indent
12. first line indent
13. text alignment
14. line spacing

You can name set of styles and save it for later use.

[richman]

I would say the best for me would be IPAD if I needed to read pdf's in color with diagrams medical, law, technical stuff.

This topic of which is BEST ereader is very fluid and changes every few months if you want the latest and greatest.

I have the 505 sony for over year and I liked it because paper books print was becoming too small for me in different lighting situations and with the sony I could change the FONT size so that I could read the words without glasses. Battery life is 2 or 3 weeks on one charge. With the exception of pdf's that are technical it's great for pleasure and mediation type reading.

If you were thinking of spending 400-500 dollars I would choose the IPAD over the Iliad or kindle DX , because IPAD is multi-use device and ILIAD only has 10 battery life in black and white and IPAD is 10 battery life in color and nice touchscreen.

The question has to be personal about "best ereader" because we all read different type books and tend to read in different locations/lighting conditions etc. But it is valid for everyone to say what they love at the moment and why we recommend a certain ereader so it can spark new ways of doing stuff and possible limitations that a person never thought about before, or heads-up so they don't buy something that has "problems" that they had.

[ChrisC333]

Originally Posted by Xtt

Basically, I'm looking for the best eBook reader you can buy or the one that most closely approximates reading an actual book.

Hi Xtt,

As others have said, there is no overall "best" reader because people are all different, the circumstances under which we like to read are also different, and even books themselves vary in style and format. Here’s some options:


Firstly, there is not really any uniform standard for what ‘an actual book’ is. Printed books can range from tiny pocket versions to huge densely illustrated ‘coffee table’ style books or reference volumes. Some have nothing but text, yet others may be mostly illustrations. They can vary enormously in size, weight, layout, format, content and so on. Many ereaders have reduced capability once you get away from straight text. If you extend the formats out to include all the online reading that most of us do now - forums, blogs, zines, news urls, research sites, and so on - then the notion of finding something that’s “like a book” starts to become a lot less relevant.

What may be more important is not whether it looks or feels like a particular type of paper book, but simply whether it can deliver the desired content in a clear and comfortable manner. And all of those factors are variable. For instance, a small reader might do a fine job on text yet be almost useless for a heavily illustrated book or technical manual. A big unit might display all the diagrams, columns, tables and colours perfectly and be ideal for reading online magazines and news sites, yet be awkward to carry around, and so on. Much of my reading doesn’t need to be especially ‘book-like’ so I cheerfully accept a wide range of options and experiences.


These are the methods that I use, and my reasons for using them. Others will have completely opposite yet equally valid views.


1. Pbooks.

The closest approximation to a “real book” is ---- another real book. Fortunately they still make them. So for some situations I’ll still buy a printed book in preference to an ebook.


2. iTouch

For its small size, the iTouch does an amazing job of delivering readable content. Before I bought one (mostly intending it for music) I would not have believed that I would be able to read on it for more than a few seconds. Since then I've read several complete books on it with surprising ease and comfort. For the occasions when portability is the main requirement then my iTouch is a clear winner. It fits with ease into my trouser pocket, and I find it fine to read on, even with my old eyes.

3. iRiver Story

E-ink 'Kindle clone'. Same size as the Kindle but runs epub files which is my currently preferred format. Light and portable, although too big to fit in my pockets. It might fit into some jacket pockets or a handbag, but I don't wear jackets or carry bags. Easy to hold and read from. It’s a good reader but not especially versatile. It’s now mostly used by my wife to read novels. It comes top of her list because it’s light and a comfortable size, and it isn’t too computer-like. She spends a good chunk of her work ing day with computers so enjoys a change of view at home. It’s bottom of my list because it doesn’t handle colour, complex layouts or a variety of formats. Neither view is right or wrong overall, we just have different requirements.

4. Acer 10” netbook

A roughly similar size and weight to a solid hardback book. The text can be rotated to portrait mode if that seems more comfortable. A good all round compromise that isn’t too heavy (for me anyway) and is very versatile. It allows me to surf the net using wifi, get all the original colour and layout of whatever I’m looking at, plus giving me great freedom to catalogue my collections any way I want. A wide range of software can be installed, allowing me to read books in any format I choose, bought from whatever store I like. It’s also convenient for writing as well as reading. If a book has DRM that disables direct printing then I could print screenshots of selected passages instead.

5. HP 12” Tablet

This one has a 12” touch screen that can be used upright like a regular laptop or swiveled through 180 degrees and folded back across the keyboard to make a tablet. It’s heavier than most pbooks (although I do have some books that are considerably heavier) but that doesn’t bother me. Weight isn’t a problem for me until it gets well past the usual weight of small laptops. I can lie on the couch, prop it against a leg and read hands free, or hold it on my lap if I’m sitting in a chair. It would be bottom of my wife’s preferred list of our readers, but it’s top of mine.


So that’s just a few options. Only you can decide which one of the many on offer suits you. Whichever you choose, keep saving for the next one, because these are still early days and the next few years will see many more gadgets coming to the market. Good luck.

EDIT:

The pic below is really only good for size comparison. E-ink and regular screen are hard to photograph together, because they each respond differently to both flash and ambient light. And I didn't do much of a job at overcoming that. In reality, the e-ink reader (white plastic, top right) looks dark grey on light grey rather than black on white, and the other screen have much starker and brighter white backgrounds than the photo suggests. Apologies for my poor photography.

Cheers,

Chris

[kaas]

@XTT
About battery life for the pocketbook 360: Pocketbook uses the common ( alas false) approach to state it in page turns. After opening a book and continously turning a page without doing anything else, you would achieve 7000 page refreshes. This is unrealistic in a common day use scenario. I read several hours a day and my battery lasts for more than two weeks. Your mileage may vary according to your reading/ usage habits.

I can only recommend you the pocketbook as a very configurable, STABLE (what a relief after my cybook gen3) reader which is updated with new features and bugfixes quite frequently.

cheers,

kaas

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kaas

I can only recommend you the pocketbook as a very configurable, STABLE (what a relief after my cybook gen3) reader which is updated with new features and bugfixes quite frequently.

Have you updated your CyBook to the current v1.5/2.0 firmware? That appears to be completely stable.

[kaas]

@HarryT

No, I got rid of it before the update...

cheers,

kaas

[bob1xxx]

Well even if I had unlimited funds (ie like hitting 126 million mega million lotta jack pot tomorrow ) I still be cheap B*stard and refuse to over spend on anything I don't have to and will always look for a good price performance value. For what I like to read (text only novels, sci fic, biography, history etc....) no fancy adobe graphic laden pdf files my aluratek libre pro suits me well. I like it excellent screen, file format compatibility, compact take everywhere size and weight it easily fits in a pants or jacket pocket. But if did win the lotto I'd might get a Kindle DX so I could download the daily new paper, read it on the fly and at the end of the day save a tree..... but thats is maybe only if I won the Lotto

[johnnycb]

My Aluratek Libre is impressive and Ive only bought it yesterday! runs full pds pictures and all! all you have to do is turnoff reflow and its amazingly easy to read and with no lag at all!

All I can really speak about is my libre, since well Ive only had minor chances at the others

but let me tell you this! - Dont spend that much money becuase in a year or less these ebook readers will be in color and cost half the price!

its up to you anyway, I wish money was no object to me but its all good

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by johnnycb

but let me tell you this! - Dont spend that much money becuase in a year or less these ebook readers will be in color and cost half the price!

No they won't. Mass production of colour eInk screens is well over a year away.

[pboss]

PVI predicts mass-production to start 4Q 2010. But I'm with Harry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co8VmN6PoRo

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by ChrisC333

Here’s some options:

2. iTouch


3. iRiver Story


4. Acer 10” netbook


5. HP 12” Tablet

Chris,

Thanks for your pictures. Which leads me to a question: The e-ink reader in your picture seems to have the whitest background. The backlit LCDs all seem to have a greenish, Ectaco jetBook-like background. Is that an optical illusion in the pictures (like maybe because the pics were taken outdoors), or is that something you accomplished with the reader apps in the iPod Touch and PCs, using special background settings? The ereader apps I've used on my PCs (Calibre with various CSS background changes, and Kindle for the PC) have a background that's just a little too bright.

[mrkarl]

I just got the cheapest one I could buy from a store localy and see if I even like the experience....based on that it's the best for me

[ChrisC333]

Originally Posted by jj2me

Chris,

Thanks for your pictures. Which leads me to a question: The e-ink reader in your picture seems to have the whitest background. The backlit LCDs all seem to have a greenish, Ectaco jetBook-like background. Is that an optical illusion in the pictures (like maybe because the pics were taken outdoors), or is that something you accomplished with the reader apps in the iPod Touch and PCs, using special background settings? The ereader apps I've used on my PCs (Calibre with various CSS background changes, and Kindle for the PC) have a background that's just a little too bright.

Apologies for the poor picture quality - it's pretty much an optical illusion.

It proved to be difficult to photograph them all together because their display characteristics are different. I was only using a tiny pocket camera, and everything I tried gave bad results on at least some of the devices - either from the flash, light reflection, or whatever. No one light condition seemed suitable for photographing them together.

That pic was a compromise in that it was more or less inaccurate for them all. It was taken outside but under the cover of a verandah. So the result is a combination of flash and the natural light. It was really only to show the relative sizes but, as you say, it does give a misleading impression of the displays. I'll add an edit.

Cheers,

Chris

[HarryT]

The appearance of an eInk screen varies considerably with the lighting conditions. In bright light (eg outside, in sunlight), the background will appear almost white; in poor artificial light, it can appear quite a dark grey.

[tablettweet]

If you are interest in wireless e-reader How about Kindle 2 global wireless, But if not how about Bookeen 5 inch e-reader. Here is what i think about this two e-book reader.

If you like to read an e-magazine and interest in wirelessly download your e-book anytime anywhere without pay monthly service fee. go with Kindle ! - with the Amazon’s DTP service, you can assure that Kindle will be one of the international e-book reader that open to immense of publishers – Independent or major one. But on the other hand, the Kindle is very expensive international e-book reader compared to the Bookeen.

If you like the simplicity, One e-book reader for one task and don’t care about wirelessly download or accessing the internet. Maybe Bookeen will be the perfect choice for you. It’s simple, smart and the cheapest among this three international e-book reader. Just buy an e-book online using your PC or MAC and then transfer it to your Bookeen and that’s it – your e-books are on the go.