Short List to Final Choice: Help?

joyjoy61 · 07-18-2010, 01:13 PM

Hi, university student here, looking to buy my first ever ereader, and hoping for a little advice. For the last month I've been looking, trying to collect data, trying to figure out which would be the best option for me, but I am seriously over my head. I've got it down to a short list now; can anybody help?

What important to me is having the best visibility possible inside and in high sunlight, but I also really like the idea of a touchscreen for ease of use. I'm not really interested in a secondary colour screen. Being able to read many different file formats and a long battery life are also important. All the normal things that make an ereader, I think (plus touch screen), which might be whats making it so hard to find the best option. The original price of the ereader also isn't that important to me, as I will probably end up buying second hand.

My short list right now is (in no real order):

BeBook Neo / Boox 60
Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS-600
Sony Portable Reader Daily Edition PRS-900
Hanvon WISEreader N518
Hanvon WISEreader N526
Pocketbook 302
Pocketbook 360

Any help would be appreciated.

clintbradford · 07-18-2010, 02:06 PM

What will the majority of "books" be that you are reading? ePubs? pdf files?

joyjoy61 · 07-18-2010, 03:22 PM

My local library lends out PDFs, ePubs and .lit files and mostly what I buy are PDFs. But, with regards to my school books, they're in any file format the university can get them in. They're a part of the resources for students with disabilities and can vary pretty widely (though I do have a program that "prints" to PDF files, which I can use to convert most things).

Mickey330 · 07-18-2010, 08:58 PM

Hi, joyjoy61-

Much as I love mine, I have to recommend you take the PB360 off your list - it doesn't have touch screen capability. Though it's great for reading 'bout near any format...

Oh, and unless you read text only PDFs (which most e-readers can re-flow), most 5" and 6" readers don't do PDFs all that well. It's designed for, in the USA, consistency on 8"x10" paper. If you don't zoom in on them - they are way small to try to read. And, if you DO zoom in on them, they are hard to read (paging all over the place to read the file). So, there's a lot lost if you're trying to read PDFs with graphics, charts, tables, pictures, etc.

If you want PDF readers, I recommend you go with the Sony PRS-900 (on your list) or the Kindle DX (not a touch screen, though). I have neither, but I imagine they'd be better than the smaller e-readers.

Good luck with your search.

Marilyn

JimMcLaren · 07-19-2010, 04:45 PM

I can tell you that if you are reading PDFs you want to stay away from the Sony 600. You can't keep zoom levels between pages which makes reading PDFs practically impossible.

I read a fair number of PDFs on my Pocketbook 302 and it does a passable job. I would like a bigger reader but cost was a factor in not getting that. If I read PDFs which don't reflow (textbooks and program documentation) I will read in landscape mode. Then I zoom to width or maybe a little more and find I like the text size. I have one of my keys programmed to move forward (instead of next page) so it will just pan the current page down, not move to the next page. But that doesn't work all the time so I have to move the page manually using the touch screen.

From what I've seen the Boox has better PDF support but I didn't want a reader that required me to use a stylus.

banjobama · 07-20-2010, 04:11 AM

I vote Onyx Boox 60. If I was going to get another reader, that one would be it.

07-18-2010, 01:13 PM	#1
joyjoy61 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: none	Short List to Final Choice: Help? Hi, university student here, looking to buy my first ever ereader, and hoping for a little advice. For the last month I've been looking, trying to collect data, trying to figure out which would be the best option for me, but I am seriously over my head. I've got it down to a short list now; can anybody help? What important to me is having the best visibility possible inside and in high sunlight, but I also really like the idea of a touchscreen for ease of use. I'm not really interested in a secondary colour screen. Being able to read many different file formats and a long battery life are also important. All the normal things that make an ereader, I think (plus touch screen), which might be whats making it so hard to find the best option. The original price of the ereader also isn't that important to me, as I will probably end up buying second hand. My short list right now is (in no real order): BeBook Neo / Boox 60 Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS-600 Sony Portable Reader Daily Edition PRS-900 Hanvon WISEreader N518 Hanvon WISEreader N526 Pocketbook 302 Pocketbook 360 Any help would be appreciated.

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07-18-2010, 02:06 PM	#2
clintbradford Older ... slower ... Posts: 450 Karma: 1924 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Jurupa Valley CA US Device: Kobo, Kindles 2/3/Keyboard/Fire/Fire HD, HDX.	What will the majority of "books" be that you are reading? ePubs? pdf files?

07-18-2010, 03:22 PM	#3
joyjoy61 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: none	My local library lends out PDFs, ePubs and .lit files and mostly what I buy are PDFs. But, with regards to my school books, they're in any file format the university can get them in. They're a part of the resources for students with disabilities and can vary pretty widely (though I do have a program that "prints" to PDF files, which I can use to convert most things).

07-18-2010, 08:58 PM	#4
Mickey330 Addict Posts: 378 Karma: 1107420 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Western New York state (USA) Device: Kindle Oasis & the Kindle app on iDevices	Hi, joyjoy61- Much as I love mine, I have to recommend you take the PB360 off your list - it doesn't have touch screen capability. Though it's great for reading 'bout near any format... Oh, and unless you read text only PDFs (which most e-readers can re-flow), most 5" and 6" readers don't do PDFs all that well. It's designed for, in the USA, consistency on 8"x10" paper. If you don't zoom in on them - they are way small to try to read. And, if you DO zoom in on them, they are hard to read (paging all over the place to read the file). So, there's a lot lost if you're trying to read PDFs with graphics, charts, tables, pictures, etc. If you want PDF readers, I recommend you go with the Sony PRS-900 (on your list) or the Kindle DX (not a touch screen, though). I have neither, but I imagine they'd be better than the smaller e-readers. Good luck with your search. Marilyn

07-19-2010, 04:45 PM	#5
JimMcLaren Addict Posts: 260 Karma: 1014230 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Onyx Boox T68, Kobo Aura HD, Pocketbook 302, Pocketbook 912, Nook HD+	I can tell you that if you are reading PDFs you want to stay away from the Sony 600. You can't keep zoom levels between pages which makes reading PDFs practically impossible. I read a fair number of PDFs on my Pocketbook 302 and it does a passable job. I would like a bigger reader but cost was a factor in not getting that. If I read PDFs which don't reflow (textbooks and program documentation) I will read in landscape mode. Then I zoom to width or maybe a little more and find I like the text size. I have one of my keys programmed to move forward (instead of next page) so it will just pan the current page down, not move to the next page. But that doesn't work all the time so I have to move the page manually using the touch screen. From what I've seen the Boox has better PDF support but I didn't want a reader that required me to use a stylus.

07-20-2010, 04:11 AM	#6
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	I vote Onyx Boox 60. If I was going to get another reader, that one would be it.

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