Looking between Hanlin, Onyx BOOX and Sony / Iliad etc

[Xiaopanda]

HI all,

Just looking for advice,

I read on an ancient PDA (Jornada 565) mostly read in prc (or conterted to prc) and LIT.... Heaps out there for these formats!

Want to "upgrade" to a dedicated E-ink reader, and want to know what anyone else thinks!

[emellaich]

See: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix

for a detailed comparison.

I'm partial to to my Kindle2, but that seems to be a poor option since you already have 'heaps' of books without needing access to a store and since you live in Singapore. The next choice would probably be Sony, but again the strength of Kindle2/Sony are partly based on their excellent book stores. So, if you don't need access to specific stores, I look towards cheap.

The two cheap choices, in the US, are the Jetbook and the Astak EzReader. I'm not sure what happens with costs/shipping to Singapore. You'd have to look into that. The Jetbook isn't an eInk device, but it is (was?) on sale for $169 at newegg and the current owners seem to really like it. The Astak EzReader is the Hanlin under the Astak name. It has been on sale for $229 at Fry's but I don't know what the current price is. Search for EzReader. If these folks don't ship to Singapore, then I don't know about prices there.

Most eInk readers (except for Amazon/Kindle) are manufactured by Hanlin or Netronix. In general, I have read some good things on these forums about Hanlin. However, many of the comments seem to be based on the spec's not on actual user experiences. The other major manufacturer is Netronix and they make many of the other readers out there. I had an early generation Netronix reader, the Cybook, and wasn't too pleased. The button pushes required were a bit too firm. It wasn't clear if this was Netronix's fault or the Cybook software. More recent users have given the Cybook better marks.

Regarding the Irex devices. My second hand impression is not that positive. It appears that they win the spec war in many cases. You can order a larger screen + touch screen + .... However, it doesn't appear that the actual user experience is really that smooth. I'm not convinced eInk is ready for those features yet in terms of durability and response speed. Furthermore, the prices are clearly a premium.

[lemon lime]

I'm from the Philippines. I ordered a Bebook because that seemed to be the easiest and cheapest to get shipped here. It's US$279.99 plus US$15 for FedEx shipping. If you can wait a month or two, the 5" Bebook mini will become available, and it's rumored price is only US$200.

[Xiaopanda]

Hi Emellaich,

Thanks for the reply...
Not too concerned with the postage, I simply assume it's going to be around $50-80 USD, which works out cheaper than a return flight anyhow.

I kinda agree, my partner has a Kindle 2, which is great but a little bulky and not so pretty, with a lot of funtions that just don't work outside the US.

Not sure that the E-Ink is totally up to consumer standards yet, but there seem to be a heap of prototypes at Cbit (The Samsun papyrus, Onxy BOOX, etc..) and smaller, single purpose devices out there.

I'm still happy with my PDA, but I can clearly see that when Plastic Logic and Fujitsu (with colour E-enk) enter the fray, it's gonna be a consumer bonanza!

If only they could work out DRM for loaning, transfering, sharing etc......BLISS!

[Xiaopanda]

Now I have an Astak, Still gonna keep my eyes open and thanks to everyome who contributed!!

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Xiaopanda

Now I have an Astak, Still gonna keep my eyes open and thanks to everyome who contributed!!

Congrats!

(and I'll always keep using my Loox for reading, even if I ever do buy an e-ink screen...)