Advice needed: BeBook or Sony or another reader?

Kettricken · 09-03-2009, 11:30 AM

I would like to have your advice about buying an ereader... I'm a bit in doubt between the BeBook and Sony PRS 600, both available in Dutch stores. I hope there are people here with experience with both, and can help me make my decision. I've only seen/held the BeBook, because the Sony is only available from a big online store.

I'm living in the Netherlands, so the device should support ebooks I can buy here, in Dutch and English. Also, I would like it to support stuff from suduvu, gutenberg, etc (will probably be the main part I'm reading).

Also, I would like a 6'' screen, 5'' just seems a bit too small and bigger ones than 6'' seem more difficult to take.
Important: it has to be easy on the eyes, I want to buy it mainly because eInk seems to improve reading comfort. A nice, clear screen is important (hence my questions on the Sony).

In the Netherlands, both devices are €299, so no difference there. My thoughts and questions on both devices:

BeBook:
Seems to support a lot of formats, and I liked the way it read when I tried it, but I see a few cons on this site concerning that it has to be properly formatted because the system might crash (due to firmware or battery??). Open Inkpot seems to be better software, but does it support the same number of formats? Are there limitations concerning DRM and what are the consequences? Are there drawbacks in general?
Does it support ADE properly?

Sony PRS 600:
The design looks nice, Sony is an established brand.
I just have a few questions: how is the reading quality? I've heard the screen is more 'fuzzy' because of the extra touch-layer. Also, I've heard that there is a 'glare' on the screen which also diminishes reading quality. Furthermore, I can imagine that the screen will have fatty fingermarks on it because of the touchscreen.
As I'm not able to actually see it before I buy it (it's only available in a big online store), I would be grateful to have your thoughts on this.
And what about the formats it supports? Mobi and Epub with and without DRM? .doc, .rtf, .pdf?
Do you have to buy from the Sony store (and is that possible from the Netherlands) or can you just put any kind of ebook on to it?

About PDF's:
Many books I download (often freebies from publishers) are in A4-PDF format. I usually read 'normal' fiction books without specific fonts/pictures/tables/etc. I've seen it's not difficult to convert from PDF to DOC or RTF if it's mainly text and you don't want to do a lot of extra formatting. Is there a difference in reading pdf on Sony or BeBook?

Also, I'm trying to buy this for the longer term. Which of the ones do you think will be most reliable in this matter?

Thanks!

Greg Anos · 09-03-2009, 11:59 AM

I cannot speak for the SONY machine, but the BeBook/Openinkpot combination is a good one. Handles RTF fairly well (I don't like it's hypenation decisions, but otherwise OK.), HTML nicely, EPUB fine (non DRM'ed), and Mobipocket (non DRM'ed). It'll handle TXT, but lots of txt has weird control character setups (which bothers all readers.)

PDF is a horse of a different color. 5" and 6" e-ink screen are just not good PDF devices. Reflowable text helps, but it is not reflowable, both are not good answers...

Openinkpot will never handle DRM, by design.

Kettricken · 09-03-2009, 12:12 PM

Is it possible to strip the DRM off of the ebook?

HarryT · 09-03-2009, 12:13 PM

What eBook are you referring to?

wallcraft · 09-03-2009, 12:22 PM

I use OpenInkPot on my EZ Reader Basic (Hanlin V3, same as BeBook). You can get a idea of how well it will display your ebooks by using the Windows or Linux Desktop versions of FBReader. The OpenInkPot version is fully up to date, and includes many of the customization options of the Desktop version. Note that new users of FBReader are often put off by the default setup, you really need to customize the font, font size, margins, line spacing, etcetera to get an idea of what it will do. With OpenInkPot you also get the option of long pressing the file selection key to bring up CoolReader instead of FBReader (when both support the ebook format). See File Navigation: Hanlin V3 vs OpenInkPot for how the file interface differs (not by much overall). This also discusses ebook formats to some extent.

Note that MOBI and ePub are not rendered the same in FBReader as in a "native" Reader like MobiPocket or ADE. FBReader started out supporting no CSS at all, instead using a global set of user provided layout preferences. Recent versions (including the OpenInkPot version) support a subset of the CSS used by ePub (and MOBI). Purists don't like the partial support, and I preferred the original simple screen layout but can live with the current approach. You should try a few ePubs in the Desktop FBReader to see what you think.

wallcraft · 09-03-2009, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kettricken

Is it possible to strip the DRM off of the ebook?

For ePub, see Adobe ADEPT DRM for EPUB circumvented. Use mobidedrm.py to strip the DRM from MOBI. I don't know if this is legal in the Netherlands. When done for personal use on ebooks you bought it seems harmless enough.

Kettricken · 09-03-2009, 02:50 PM

Thanks for the answers so far. Downloaded the FBReader, but haven't got any ePubs yet to try out. Word documents look fine, though.

Haven't got a clue as to the legalness of stripping DRM in Holland, probably not, it's only for private use, however.

Any thoughts on the BeBook-Sony dillema, or is a Cybook Gen 3 maybe a better option? It seems that doesn't really support a lot of formats...

09-03-2009, 11:30 AM	#1
Kettricken Dodo Ffan Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Netherlands Device: BeBook	Advice needed: BeBook or Sony or another reader? I would like to have your advice about buying an ereader... I'm a bit in doubt between the BeBook and Sony PRS 600, both available in Dutch stores. I hope there are people here with experience with both, and can help me make my decision. I've only seen/held the BeBook, because the Sony is only available from a big online store. I'm living in the Netherlands, so the device should support ebooks I can buy here, in Dutch and English. Also, I would like it to support stuff from suduvu, gutenberg, etc (will probably be the main part I'm reading). Also, I would like a 6'' screen, 5'' just seems a bit too small and bigger ones than 6'' seem more difficult to take. Important: it has to be easy on the eyes, I want to buy it mainly because eInk seems to improve reading comfort. A nice, clear screen is important (hence my questions on the Sony). In the Netherlands, both devices are €299, so no difference there. My thoughts and questions on both devices: BeBook: Seems to support a lot of formats, and I liked the way it read when I tried it, but I see a few cons on this site concerning that it has to be properly formatted because the system might crash (due to firmware or battery??). Open Inkpot seems to be better software, but does it support the same number of formats? Are there limitations concerning DRM and what are the consequences? Are there drawbacks in general? Does it support ADE properly? Sony PRS 600: The design looks nice, Sony is an established brand. I just have a few questions: how is the reading quality? I've heard the screen is more 'fuzzy' because of the extra touch-layer. Also, I've heard that there is a 'glare' on the screen which also diminishes reading quality. Furthermore, I can imagine that the screen will have fatty fingermarks on it because of the touchscreen. As I'm not able to actually see it before I buy it (it's only available in a big online store), I would be grateful to have your thoughts on this. And what about the formats it supports? Mobi and Epub with and without DRM? .doc, .rtf, .pdf? Do you have to buy from the Sony store (and is that possible from the Netherlands) or can you just put any kind of ebook on to it? About PDF's: Many books I download (often freebies from publishers) are in A4-PDF format. I usually read 'normal' fiction books without specific fonts/pictures/tables/etc. I've seen it's not difficult to convert from PDF to DOC or RTF if it's mainly text and you don't want to do a lot of extra formatting. Is there a difference in reading pdf on Sony or BeBook? Also, I'm trying to buy this for the longer term. Which of the ones do you think will be most reliable in this matter? Thanks!

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09-03-2009, 11:59 AM	#2
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,248 Karma: 35000000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	I cannot speak for the SONY machine, but the BeBook/Openinkpot combination is a good one. Handles RTF fairly well (I don't like it's hypenation decisions, but otherwise OK.), HTML nicely, EPUB fine (non DRM'ed), and Mobipocket (non DRM'ed). It'll handle TXT, but lots of txt has weird control character setups (which bothers all readers.) PDF is a horse of a different color. 5" and 6" e-ink screen are just not good PDF devices. Reflowable text helps, but it is not reflowable, both are not good answers... Openinkpot will never handle DRM, by design.

09-03-2009, 12:12 PM	#3
Kettricken Dodo Ffan Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Netherlands Device: BeBook	Is it possible to strip the DRM off of the ebook?

09-03-2009, 12:13 PM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	What eBook are you referring to?

09-03-2009, 12:22 PM	#5
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	I use OpenInkPot on my EZ Reader Basic (Hanlin V3, same as BeBook). You can get a idea of how well it will display your ebooks by using the Windows or Linux Desktop versions of FBReader. The OpenInkPot version is fully up to date, and includes many of the customization options of the Desktop version. Note that new users of FBReader are often put off by the default setup, you really need to customize the font, font size, margins, line spacing, etcetera to get an idea of what it will do. With OpenInkPot you also get the option of long pressing the file selection key to bring up CoolReader instead of FBReader (when both support the ebook format). See File Navigation: Hanlin V3 vs OpenInkPot for how the file interface differs (not by much overall). This also discusses ebook formats to some extent. Note that MOBI and ePub are not rendered the same in FBReader as in a "native" Reader like MobiPocket or ADE. FBReader started out supporting no CSS at all, instead using a global set of user provided layout preferences. Recent versions (including the OpenInkPot version) support a subset of the CSS used by ePub (and MOBI). Purists don't like the partial support, and I preferred the original simple screen layout but can live with the current approach. You should try a few ePubs in the Desktop FBReader to see what you think.

09-03-2009, 02:50 PM	#7
Kettricken Dodo Ffan Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Netherlands Device: BeBook	Thanks for the answers so far. Downloaded the FBReader, but haven't got any ePubs yet to try out. Word documents look fine, though. Haven't got a clue as to the legalness of stripping DRM in Holland, probably not, it's only for private use, however. Any thoughts on the BeBook-Sony dillema, or is a Cybook Gen 3 maybe a better option? It seems that doesn't really support a lot of formats...

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