Wanting to dive in, don't know where.

LandSurveyor · 01-01-2010, 04:51 PM

Hello all,
I got hooked on Ebooks with my first PDA, A Palm IIIc. I still have an old Palm machine but mostly use a WM machine for ebooks at present. Most of my ebooks are the free stuff from MemoWare as they have a large stock of the musty old nonfiction I prefer.
I am interested in the new E-ink machines as I like the readability and low power use (my Axim is a battery hog).
I have absolutely no idea what reader I should buy yet as I want as much flexibility in formats as possible. Down here, I have only SEEN one ereader for sale and that was a Sony in Walmart, of all places. I don't think they know what to do with it as it was displayed with the MP3 players. Price was about 95 bucks for those interested. Don't know what model it was.
Anyway, I am glad you have this site here as I will be very interested in reading your opinions and experiences and hope this will guide me in making a choice.

Again, glad to find you guys,
Mark

lilac_jive · 01-01-2010, 04:56 PM

95 bucks???? Whoa! Usually these things start at $199!

PennyPie · 01-01-2010, 04:59 PM

When?

MickeyC · 01-01-2010, 06:48 PM

Hi Mark and welcome to MobileRead

LandSurveyor · 01-01-2010, 07:25 PM

This was last weekend as I was shopping with the family. I should have paid more attention I guess. I just checked Walmart.com and their prices are all as expected. If I go back by there this weekend, I will look again. Can't exactly see that as leaping off the shelves around here.

Thanks for the welcome.

dreams · 01-01-2010, 07:46 PM

Welcome to MR, LandSurveyor

$95! Wow, if it was a Sony at that price, I'd grab it fast!!

Check out our MR Wiki and the E-book Reader Matrix for lots of information to help you make a decision. In the Wiki you can follow a link to each of the devices for more information.

kennyc · 01-01-2010, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

95 bucks???? Whoa! Usually these things start at $199!

Might have been a heavily discounted clearance 505....man would that be a find!

Oh welcome to MR!

There is a ton of information on the wiki about the different devices

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_devices

and the comparison matrix: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix

LandSurveyor · 01-01-2010, 09:59 PM

Nice wiki. Very helpful. I notice regarding formats that, as I expected, .doc files are a bit of a morass. I have encountered this before with ebook programs on my Palms. The ebooks I have are mostly in Palm doc format. If a Sony or other reader can't read these natively, will a conversion program, such as this Calibre I have read about, be capable of converting these files?

dreams · 01-02-2010, 03:53 AM

I haven't used Calibre yet, but MR member, kovidgoyal, has a download site with a demo, and MR has a Calibre forum. Many, many members are extremely happy with using Calibre for all their ebook needs.

PennyPie · 01-02-2010, 06:50 AM

Quote:

will a conversion program, such as this Calibre I have read about, be capable of converting these files?

Yep! Easily, TOO! I'm not a techy type & Calibre is very easy to use to convert to a number of formats. There's lots of advanced stuff, for those so inclined, but to just convert to your preferred format is VERY easy & fast as well!!!!

LandSurveyor · 01-02-2010, 02:58 PM

Went back and looked at that Sony in Walmart. Had to get the clerk to get the box out. It's a 300c. Gotta say, it looks somewhat flimsy for a Sony product. The price is OK but I think I'll pass for the time being and stick with my Dell until I learn more about these devices.

I expect that when I do purchase one, I will want to get Calibre as well.

dreams · 01-02-2010, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LandSurveyor

Went back and looked at that Sony in Walmart. Had to get the clerk to get the box out. It's a 300c. Gotta say, it looks somewhat flimsy for a Sony product. The price is OK but I think I'll pass for the time being and stick with my Dell until I learn more about these devices.

I expect that when I do purchase one, I will want to get Calibre as well.

If that 300 is $95 .. have you considered purchasing it and reselling it? They usually sell for $199... not sure about a sale price point.

EDIT: did it look like this? MR Wiki 300

kennyc · 01-02-2010, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LandSurveyor

Went back and looked at that Sony in Walmart. Had to get the clerk to get the box out. It's a 300c. Gotta say, it looks somewhat flimsy for a Sony product. The price is OK but I think I'll pass for the time being and stick with my Dell until I learn more about these devices.

I expect that when I do purchase one, I will want to get Calibre as well.

Hmmm, I'm far from sure what this is then. I can't imaging a new PRS 300 priced at $95 so I'm thinking it must be something else some Sony PDA maybe?

Just color me

LandSurveyor · 01-02-2010, 04:30 PM

Nope, I looked at the picture in the wiki and that is indeed it, as confirmed also by the package label. Since Walmart only lists the newer models, I can only conclude that they made some sort of deal with Sony to clearance them out.

kennyc · 01-02-2010, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LandSurveyor

Nope, I looked at the picture in the wiki and that is indeed it, as confirmed also by the package label. Since Walmart only lists the newer models, I can only conclude that they made some sort of deal with Sony to clearance them out.

But the 300 just came out in the last few months. It's new, the current model so doesn't make sense.

01-01-2010, 04:51 PM	#1
LandSurveyor infrequent visitor Posts: 20 Karma: 502444 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Southeastern USA Device: Samsung smartphone, HP Touchpad, searcing for the best e-ink device	Wanting to dive in, don't know where. Hello all, I got hooked on Ebooks with my first PDA, A Palm IIIc. I still have an old Palm machine but mostly use a WM machine for ebooks at present. Most of my ebooks are the free stuff from MemoWare as they have a large stock of the musty old nonfiction I prefer. I am interested in the new E-ink machines as I like the readability and low power use (my Axim is a battery hog). I have absolutely no idea what reader I should buy yet as I want as much flexibility in formats as possible. Down here, I have only SEEN one ereader for sale and that was a Sony in Walmart, of all places. I don't think they know what to do with it as it was displayed with the MP3 players. Price was about 95 bucks for those interested. Don't know what model it was. Anyway, I am glad you have this site here as I will be very interested in reading your opinions and experiences and hope this will guide me in making a choice. Again, glad to find you guys, Mark

01-01-2010, 07:25 PM	#5
LandSurveyor infrequent visitor Posts: 20 Karma: 502444 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Southeastern USA Device: Samsung smartphone, HP Touchpad, searcing for the best e-ink device	Intro and E reader @ Walmart This was last weekend as I was shopping with the family. I should have paid more attention I guess. I just checked Walmart.com and their prices are all as expected. If I go back by there this weekend, I will look again. Can't exactly see that as leaping off the shelves around here. Thanks for the welcome.

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01-01-2010, 04:56 PM	#2
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	95 bucks???? Whoa! Usually these things start at $199!

01-01-2010, 04:59 PM	#3
PennyPie Cocoa & Toast...mmmmmm... Posts: 275 Karma: 1000 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ohio Device: Sony PRS-700, iPhone	When?

01-01-2010, 06:48 PM	#4
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,732 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi Mark and welcome to MobileRead

01-01-2010, 07:46 PM	#6
dreams It's about the umbrella Posts: 25,112 Karma: 56250158 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony 505\| K Fire \| KK 3G+Wi-Fi \| iPhone 3Gs \|Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF	Welcome to MR, LandSurveyor $95! Wow, if it was a Sony at that price, I'd grab it fast!! Check out our MR Wiki and the E-book Reader Matrix for lots of information to help you make a decision. In the Wiki you can follow a link to each of the devices for more information.

01-01-2010, 09:59 PM	#8
LandSurveyor infrequent visitor Posts: 20 Karma: 502444 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Southeastern USA Device: Samsung smartphone, HP Touchpad, searcing for the best e-ink device	Nice wiki. Very helpful. I notice regarding formats that, as I expected, .doc files are a bit of a morass. I have encountered this before with ebook programs on my Palms. The ebooks I have are mostly in Palm doc format. If a Sony or other reader can't read these natively, will a conversion program, such as this Calibre I have read about, be capable of converting these files?

01-02-2010, 03:53 AM	#9
dreams It's about the umbrella Posts: 25,112 Karma: 56250158 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony 505\| K Fire \| KK 3G+Wi-Fi \| iPhone 3Gs \|Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF	I haven't used Calibre yet, but MR member, kovidgoyal, has a download site with a demo, and MR has a Calibre forum. Many, many members are extremely happy with using Calibre for all their ebook needs.

01-02-2010, 02:58 PM	#11
LandSurveyor infrequent visitor Posts: 20 Karma: 502444 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Southeastern USA Device: Samsung smartphone, HP Touchpad, searcing for the best e-ink device	Went back and looked at that Sony in Walmart. Had to get the clerk to get the box out. It's a 300c. Gotta say, it looks somewhat flimsy for a Sony product. The price is OK but I think I'll pass for the time being and stick with my Dell until I learn more about these devices. I expect that when I do purchase one, I will want to get Calibre as well.

01-02-2010, 04:30 PM	#14
LandSurveyor infrequent visitor Posts: 20 Karma: 502444 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Southeastern USA Device: Samsung smartphone, HP Touchpad, searcing for the best e-ink device	Nope, I looked at the picture in the wiki and that is indeed it, as confirmed also by the package label. Since Walmart only lists the newer models, I can only conclude that they made some sort of deal with Sony to clearance them out.

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