Yet Another New Member and "Help me decide" (Spain)

[javimm]

Hi.

I'm new to this forums and new to ebooks. I'm an avid paper reader though, so I think it's time to get one ereader. I've been reading all this weekend about ebooks and the choices I have here in Spain.

After doing my research, I think I have two clear options:

- Hanlin V3.
- Cybook Gen3.

I'll probably buy from www.apoloxxi.com, as they seem to be located in my city so I could even go there and buy it in person.

I've decided to discard the Sony as an option as it isn't officialy sold here, and it's 350 euros and seems to be more "closed" than the other options. I'm planning to spend 300 euros on the device, so that's the reason of the two choices.

I want to read (free or even buy ) novels, and pdf from scaned text. I know that big pdfs it's a no-no, and that they are a pain to read, but I've seen videos on Youtube and it's not that bad. I think Mobipocket support is nice if I want to buy books. I'll be buying novels in spanish. I don't read comics or manga. I do read technical texts, but those I need are in pdfs.

What I know:
- Hanlin V3: Lots of formats supported, but Mobipocket support is not that great at the moment (please confirm that). I can get it for 300 euros, with cover, hand strap, 2 GB SD Card, charger, and 200 e-books (I think they are free), and some other things. I can get this device in the spanish version that is called Papyre 6.1, but I think I could go with the Hanlin directly.
For reference here's the store page for it:
http://www.apoloxxi.com/epages/apolo...s/Hanlin-V3-R2

- Cybook: Less formats, but Mobipocket seems to be better supported. It seems that more people has it than the Hanlin. At the same store, I can get it with the cover, and 50 Ebooks, but no SD Card and no charger, for 300 euros too. I've read that the screen of this ereader has been reported to break easily.
http://www.apoloxxi.com/epages/apolo...Cybook-Bookeen
The link is for the Cybook without the leather cover, that goes for 280 euro. With cover, the same package is 300 euros.

Well, on paper I think that the deal on the Hanlin seem a lot better, considering all the pluses you get, but I don't know which device is actually better.

Any ideas?. Feel free to recommend me other devices, or even to make me change my mind on the Sony.

Thank you very much.

[HarryT]

The Gen3 supports MobiPocket REALLY well, and PDF pretty well too, in that it allows you to "pan" over the page of an A4/Letter document. The Hanlin supports more formats, but it doesn't support them as well, from what people have posted here.

I'm extremely happy with my Gen3; I don't think that there's any evidence to suggest that it's more fragile than the Hanlin.

BTW - in the UK the Gen3, with a case, can be bought from W.H.Smith's for £179 - €233. I don't know if they ship other countries, though. Do you know anyone in the UK who could buy one for you?

[wallcraft]

I would not include the free ebooks in your decision. Better versions will be available for free download from here, or FeedBooks, or ManyBooks (to name just 3 sources).

The Gen3 and Hanlin have the same screen, and although the device case could have an effect on screen breakage I don't think there is any reliable data suggesting the Gen3 is worse than the Hanlin in this area. Always get a protective cover through, because the screens are fragile.

[javimm]

That's a sweet price, HarryT, but unfortunately I read somewhere in their site that they don't ship outside UK, but accept orders from other countries but they ship it to a UK address. I don't know anybody in the UK that could send it to me either, so I'm stuck.

I'm planning to buy a case if the e-reader doesn't come with one. I don't plan to carry it on a bag. I'd use the ebook to read in the subway in my way to work and back home, and I don't carry any bag to work, so I'll carry it in my hand, just as I carry my paper books. Feels more secure to me.

The ebooks they list can probably be downloaded from free as they are very old titles: Poe, Dumas, etc.

Seems that the Gen3 is preferred...
Thanks.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by javimm

That's a sweet price, HarryT, but unfortunately I read somewhere in their site that they don't ship outside UK, but accept orders from other countries but they ship it to a UK address. I don't know anybody in the UK that could send it to me either, so I'm stuck.

Might be worth asking on the Gen3 forum if anyone in the UK would buy one for you, in return for, say, up-front payment by PayPal. All the regulars here are a pretty trustworthy lot.

[JSWolf]

What is it you mean by closed? If you mean formats, then you'll find the Gen3 more closed then the V3 or 505/700.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Do you know anyone in the UK who could buy one for you?

If only we knew someone in the UK. Hmm... Perhaps there is someone on the forum from that fine land.

BOb

[bbusybookworm]

I believe one of our members in the UK, NetSlut has offered to receive and post the reader in the Past. it may be worth your while to send a PM.

Or you could post a BUY request in the Flea Market and see if someone is willing to Post it to you. You should be able to pay for it yourself, so you would not have to send the full amount.

There are a few Forwarding agencies in the US which allow you to purchase and have items forwarded to you, so there might be a similar service available for the UK.

Still, If Apollo XIII is in your city, it may be worth paying a little more for the convenience of getting it faster, and having the reassurance of the retailer being nearby to deal with possible issues.

[javimm]

Thanks for all the input.

I don't know if WH Smith includes a case with the reader. If they don't, I'll have to buy it and it's not cheap. Adding that to the cost of shipment to Spain, it's getting close to the price I'll have to pay here, maybe +-30 euros less. In that case, I'd rather buy it here if any problem arise with the reader.

Some more comments about the two devices?. Nobody has said that I'd better buy the Hanlin than the Cybook.

[HarryT]

The price from WHS does include a case.

[TimCotterill]

I've had a BE Book (Hanlin re-badge from Endless Ideas BV) and it is excellent. Support for Mobipocket is fine, no problems so far, just the quality of the books them selves is some times not what it should be.

This device supports a huge number of formats, is easy to use has long battery life and comes preloaded with about 200 e-books (10 are in spanish).

[orwell2k]

Originally Posted by javimm

Hi.

I'm new to this forums and new to ebooks. I'm an avid paper reader though, so I think it's time to get one ereader. I've been reading all this weekend about ebooks and the choices I have here in Spain.

After doing my research, I think I have two clear options:

- Hanlin V3.
- Cybook Gen3.

I'll probably buy from www.apoloxxi.com, as they seem to be located in my city so I could even go there and buy it in person.

...

Any ideas?. Feel free to recommend me other devices, or even to make me change my mind on the Sony.

Thank you very much.

Two good choices, and I think apoloxxi usually has some OK prices.

Of course I like my BeBook, and you can read my review here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30913

And see some pics of PDF display (A4 formats) here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...31110&p=278574

I'm very happy with BeBook, and has been pointed out it probably is the most flexible for formats, although some format support is better than others. I don't mind the Mobi support, because I'm confident it will improve - it is OK, but could use some extra features (font substitution, page formatting, better search and bookmarking, yes - dictionary, etc.). Apparently the CyBook does a better Mobi implementation, but I don't have one to compare.

The other format support on BeBook is very good - HTML and CHM are quite nicely formatted, FB2 rocks (that's good! - I really like FB2 so I'm more than happy with their FBReader support), TXT/RTF/Word is not bad, but I think not great on any device (no real formatting support, so display depends on source format - hit and miss).

I was most impressed with PDF - especially A4 handling, as I mostly have work docs in A4 format. I haven't had a good look at the CyBook PDF pan feature, but didn't like that mode on my PDA (although that screen is much smaller, so it may work well on a 6" display). The preset zooms on BeBook have handled most A4 PDFs well - I expect in the future the zoom feature may have more gradations (say 6 zoom levels) to give more flexible viewing, but I'm only guessing/hoping so don't take it as gospel.

Page turn/screen refresh is about 1 second (someone complained that BeBook was half the speed of 505 for page turning, so I thought I'd mention my estimate of the time here - to me it's fine). Battery life is astronomical - easily a week with daily usage, probably more (I haven't come close to testing it yet!).

Check out my review and PDF examples and compare with what you can find on other devices. Either way, welcome to the eInk club (soon) - once you start, you'll love reading on eInk devices.

Cheers!

P.S. I shouldn't say it, but I hope you don't go Sony. I'm so glad there are viable choices for the average user now (other than Sony, iRex and that crazy Kindle thing). The format restrictions, and more importantly, the bizarre sales and support restrictions of Sony just baffle me.

[javimm]

Thanks for the informativ info, orwell2k.

Nice pictures there of the pdf. It's really nice to see how the e-ink devices render the image.

I'm pretty sure that if I finally decide to buy one, that it'll be one of the two mentioned. I'll wait until Christmas to see if I really want to get one and pay the 300 euros they cost.

I cut a piece of paper to get an idea of the dimensions of the screen, and they are smaller than I thought, even compared to a pocket paperback book.

Well, I'll let the excitement pass to see if I really want one, and then decide :-). If they were in the 200 euro range, I'd buy one right away...

Thanks again,
Javier.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by javimm

I cut a piece of paper to get an idea of the dimensions of the screen, and they are smaller than I thought, even compared to a pocket paperback book.

The CyBook itself (ie the actual machine) has almost exactly the same width and height as a standard paperback book. As you say, the screen itself is rather smaller.

[hpkeong]

Hi:

I have tried Mobipocket on Hanlin V3 and it works perfectly! As I know, Hanlin V3 suppoorts the most languages of Europe..so why hesitate?

I have been using V8 for 4 years and V3 recently...excellent performance and it is well protected with Leather Cover..which is shipped together with the products and protect the unit perfectly.

Cheers