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Old 11-26-2007, 03:52 PM   #1
jabuckley
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simple needs

I am an avid book reader. I average a book a week. I only read just before going to bed. I don't like reading books on a computer because it strains my eyes. I have lots of pdf books that I have never read. The Kindle announcement renewed my interest in ebook readers. I have been all through this forum reading about all the readers. Lots of pro's and con's, lots of opinions. But my needs are very simple:

NON-issues:

Battery life
Aesthetics
File formats and conversions
DRM
Weight
WiFi, network connectivity
Bluetooth
Pictures, graphics, artwork
Music
Non-free books
Dictionary lookups and other non-essentials
Protective covers
Boot time
Power management
Highlighting / selecting text
Touch screens / stylus pens

IMPORTANT issues:

Download free ebooks
Convert file format if necessary
Transfer book using USB
Read
Bookmarking would be nice, but not necessary.
Page turning should be fast
Adjusting text size, font type, line spacing
Recharging using USB or included power adapter
4x6 reading area, like a standard paperback book
Sharp, clear text
Easy on the eyes, no strain
Memory card expandability

I may be asking for too much. Readers have come a long way since they were first introduced. If I can get a reader to fit my needs from between $300US and $350US, I would be pleased.

Thank You
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Old 11-26-2007, 04:09 PM   #2
mocelet
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jabuckley View Post
<snip>
IMPORTANT issues:
<snip>
4x6 reading area, like a standard paperback book
<snip>
This one alone rules out all e-ink readers except the iLiad, and the iLiad doesn't really meet this either. 4"x6" is ~10" diagonal, most e-ink is 6" diagonal, and the iLiad is 8.1".

That said, if you crop the margins from a paperback book it is much closer to 8" diagonal.

If you really want 10" diagonal then you will need a tablet PC type solution, which will be an LCD screen and you then lose "Sharp, clear text" and "Easy on the eyes, no strain"

All your other "must haves" are met by all e-ink readers on the market (as far as I can remember)
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Old 11-26-2007, 10:19 PM   #3
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If you are in the US, then there are three options that all use the same identical 6" E-Ink screen: Sony PRS-505, Bookeen Cybook, Amazon Kindle. The Sony has a newer screen controller and can do 8 level grey scale (vs 4 level in the other two). Page turns is the fastest available with E-Ink and should be comparable between the three. The Sony is the cheapest, and you can probably get it before Christmas (and see one in person first at a Border's bookstore). There is no compelling reason to pay more in your case for the others. Note that you will need to use the software from this site to convert many of your e-books for the Sony.

If you are outside the US, the Bookeen is probably your best choice - even though the lack of access to the Sony and Amazon e-books stores is not an issue for you.

None of these are very good with PDFs - you are much better off with a reflowable format. With a reflowable format, the 6" screen is big enough (and you can change the font size as needed, the larger the font the fewer words per page).
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Old 11-26-2007, 11:05 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mocelet View Post
This one alone rules out all e-ink readers except the iLiad, and the iLiad doesn't really meet this either. 4"x6" is ~10" diagonal, most e-ink is 6" diagonal, and the iLiad is 8.1".

That said, if you crop the margins from a paperback book it is much closer to 8" diagonal.
Err, your math is off. 4"x6" is barely over 7" diagonal. (Check your Pythagorean Theorem.) The 6" e-ink displays are close enough for the OP's wants.

A 10" diagonal would correspond to, for example a 6" x 8" display, which is huge.

Last edited by DrMoze; 11-26-2007 at 11:08 PM.
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Old 11-26-2007, 11:12 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mocelet View Post
This one alone rules out all e-ink readers except the iLiad, and the iLiad doesn't really meet this either. 4"x6" is ~10" diagonal, most e-ink is 6" diagonal, and the iLiad is 8.1".
Um, (4*4)+(6*6)=52, and the square root of that is 7.2,
not 10.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mocelet View Post
if you crop the margins from a paperback book it is much closer to 8" diagonal.
Under 7, usually, for the text area: standard six-inch screen. But margin cropping is more than most people want to bother with, really.
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Old 11-27-2007, 02:26 AM   #6
mocelet
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Originally Posted by DrMoze View Post
Err, your math is off. 4"x6" is barely over 7" diagonal. (Check your Pythagorean Theorem.) The 6" e-ink displays are close enough for the OP's wants.

A 10" diagonal would correspond to, for example a 6" x 8" display, which is huge.
Duh me. Yes, I realised this as I fell asleep last night.

Ignore me, or at least my maths...

Sorry
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Old 11-28-2007, 09:52 PM   #7
jabuckley
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Thanks folks. I ordered a Sony PRS-505. For my needs, I think it will work splendidly. I will be downloading lfr books either from here or manybooks.net or the gutenberg project, or any other place I can find free books.

Thanks again.
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Old 11-28-2007, 10:23 PM   #8
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Another place to look at is Munsey's.
www.blackmask.com

I would recommend avoiding Manybooks. The quality is disappointing.
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Old 11-29-2007, 02:06 AM   #9
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Another place to look at is Munsey's.
www.blackmask.com

I would recommend avoiding Manybooks. The quality is disappointing.
I've downloaded from Manybooks and then did my own conversion.
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Old 11-29-2007, 03:04 AM   #10
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Thanks folks. I ordered a Sony PRS-505. For my needs, I think it will work splendidly. I will be downloading lfr books either from here or manybooks.net or the gutenberg project, or any other place I can find free books.
My needs are very similar to yours.
I am very satisfied with Sony Reader PRS500

There are many, many books freely downloadable from the net. Just search this forum.
Do not forget to check
http://craphound.com/
or
http://www.baen.com/library/
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Old 11-29-2007, 05:54 PM   #11
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I would recommend avoiding Manybooks. The quality is disappointing.
In what way? I read some books from Manybooks but did not notice anything special. But I have not read so many books from other places so I have not so much to compare with.
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Old 11-29-2007, 05:57 PM   #12
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They're just a bit rough, is all -- they're machine translations of Project Gutenberg texts, and have the usual issues associated with that process.
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