Best ebook reader??

[rado3105]

Hi I am planning to buy some ebook reader, I was thinking about Sony ebook reader 505 or Irex Iliad, but I am not sure. I want from that device to read well pdf documents( I have a lot of magazines in pdf). Can you help, what reader now is best to buy?

[iiee]

The sony is crap for pdfs. There is no zoom option which means you have to squint at a4 sized pdf files on a 6 in screen. I would recommend the new Iliad book version if you have the money the hanlin v3 if you dont. I dont know much about the cybook but that might be worth a look as well.

[llasram]

Originally Posted by iiee

The sony is crap for pdfs. There is no zoom option which means you have to squint at a4 sized pdf files on a 6 in screen.

Well it's not quite all that bad, at least on the 505 with the firmware update. The 500 and pre-update-505 had some PDF rendering glitchs which made PDFs harder to read than necessary, but now even letter/A4-sized PDFs are quite legible, especially if you rotate to the half-page landscape view or use the reflow feature. In fact, I'd say the Reader now has the best PDF support of all the 6" devices.

[Professor]

Hanlin V3 is very powerful in formats and languanges, and it has the best price-performance ratio. I have got one for my study, it works very well. Thanks!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Professor

Hanlin V3 is very powerful in formats and languanges, and it has the best price-performance ratio. I have got one for my study, it works very well. Thanks!

But how good is it at reading A4 PDFs, which is the original poster's specific requirement? NO 6" device does that task "well" - there's just no good way to display an A4 page of a screen with only 1/6th the area of an A4 page.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

But how good is it at reading A4 PDFs, which is the original poster's specific requirement? NO 6" device does that task "well" - there's just no good way to display an A4 page of a screen with only 1/6th the area of an A4 page.

If the document can be reflowed then it will work well on a 6" Sony but nothing else supports reflow. Documents with lots of text and no need to have the image in a particular point on the screen with respect to surrounding text are candidates for the reflow solution. Certainly this makes it document specific it may still be a good solution for the original request.

Dale

[kesey]

Originally Posted by Professor

Hanlin V3 is very powerful in formats and languanges, and it has the best price-performance ratio. I have got one for my study, it works very well. Thanks!

Professor, as a guy who is looking to buy an e-reader, I find your posts quite unhelpful. If you have something useful to say about the Hanlin V3 please say it. Telling the world ad infinitum that "it has the best price-performance ratio" is nothing short of a load of bleeding cobblers. Worse it sounds like sad hype from a party with a vested interest.

For an example of a helpful post I would recommend the following by rachelandrews: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27618

[taildragger-j3]

On a slightly different tack, how much of a practical difference is there between the 500 & the 505. I've read some of the comparisons, but I'm still not sure. I don't mind buying a used 500 at a good price if the quality of the reader is adequate. If there's a substantial difference between the 500 & the 505, I'll have to save my pennies a little longer, I guess.

[HarryT]

The screen is the main difference. The 2nd gen "Vizplex" screen of the 505 is dramatically better than the 1st gen eInk screen of the 500. Better contrast, a lighter background, and virtually immune to the "ghosting" that 1st gen screen generally have. Much more readable, especially in poorer lighting.

[MickeyC]

Hi and welcome to the Forum. Good luck making this decision. I got a Sony 505 back in January and really like it,

[biltron]

By chance I have both. I bought the Iliad and then somebody shortly after gave me the Sony 505 as a gift. Anyhow, there are certain advantages of each. First, the Sony has MUCH better power management and the battery lasts many many times longer than the Iliad. the Iliad's bigger display makes a significant difference and is a real positive. I also like the page turning control on the Iliad much more. The Sony is easier to carry around. With the new firmware update the Sony turn-on and off times are nearly instantaneous, while it take maybe 10 seconds for the Iliad to start up. Sony now allows you to reflow PDFs, which is actually a better solution in some ways than the Iliad. When resizing pdfs in the Iliad, part of the page is not visible. Anyhow, before I end up rambling, there are plusses and minuses with each. If I were going to choose only one, I would buy the Sony because it is less expensive and the battery life is so much better.

[yolle]

Originally Posted by biltron

while it take maybe 10 seconds for the Iliad to start up.

is that correct? Because I've heard it takes around 45 second for the iliad to start up, so 10 seconds would actually be great...

[HarryT]

You've heard correctly; the iLiad does take about 45s to boot.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The screen is the main difference. The 2nd gen "Vizplex" screen of the 505 is dramatically better than the 1st gen eInk screen of the 500. Better contrast, a lighter background, and virtually immune to the "ghosting" that 1st gen screen generally have. Much more readable, especially in poorer lighting.

This used to be true but now there are more differences and it is hard to say which is the main difference. The latest release of firmware for the 505 supports ePUB and reflow on PDF documents. The 500 does not support these. This may now be the major difference depending on your needs.

Dale

[Professor]

My ebook reader is Hanlin V3, I have used it for a month. It has everything I need, and it works very well.