Wants to upgrade the PRS500 - Pandigital , Ipad , PRS350/650 ? Please advice

[alophind]

Hi there ,
I ride everyday by train to work around 40 minutes.
Currently I carry with me the PRS500 and books and ipod for movies.
I was playing with the idea of upgrading to one device that will contain both worlds and have very good quality screen (If I liked the prs 505 screen , all the mentioned above should be better , no ?!)

I like the size of the prs 500 (fits exactly into my bag) and I'm afraid the 650 will be too big (or the 350 too small)

I dont know how comfortable is the ipad for reading (its getting hot , no ?!)
and how'se the pandigital screen is ? because it can play mpeg4.

Also , will I be able to use the converted sony books i have on those devices?

thank you.

[viviena]

Of course it depends on the dimensions of your bag, but I'd be surprised if the 650 was that much bigger than your 500, as the 650 only has the one slim row of buttons, whereas the 500 has the navigation buttons at the side and bottom -- from pictures, the 500 actually looks fatter to me. The 650 is lighter, I'm sure.

The screen on the 350/650 is definitely much better.

As I use public transport a lot, the 350's size and weight is ideal for me, but yeah, a 5" is too small for some.

Reviews of the Pandigital are mixed. From what I understand, the hardware is adequate but the software is poor, and the touchscreen poorly implemented. You might want to seek out some reviews for yourself though. If you're interested in the Pandigital, perhaps also consider the Pocketbook IQ. The IQ is similar in hardware except for a slightly faster processor, but the (ebook) software is supposed to be virtually similar to those found in Pocketbook's eink models, which are by all accounts very, very good.

If your ebooks are in the BBeB format, you'll probably have to convert them. If they're in EPUB, no problems.

[JadePriest]

I just picked up a pandigital for my wife but have googled some reviews and they do not sound too promising. Someone in my thread told me about nookcolor. It is coming out this month might want to look at that as an option as well.... So many things to think about before spending the money Good luck and let us know what you decided to buy

[alophind]

I just want a device which is comfortable for reading books and watching MP4 (itunes like) vids .
Btw , about book formarts , currently all my books are sony format (i converted them from HTML) , can I change it to epub ?!

[viviena]

Ah, you're probably looking at a tablet then.

As for book formats, sure it's easy to convert. Since they won't have DRM, just use Calibre.

[alophind]

is the tablet good solution after i've been used to the prs 500 ?

[viviena]

Well, if you want a device to play videos, then you'll have to rule out the eink devices such as the prs-500. (Or carry two devices, one eink and one LCD.) There are some LCD-based ereaders that can play videos, but the cheapie ones do a poor job of it. Tablets are LCD-based and somewhat more expensive, but they can play videos better and can perhaps provide a better reading experience.

I suppose then the question is, if you really want the one device that doubles as an ereader and a video player, can you get used to reading on an LCD screen? (Eink won't be an option for watching videos.) Some people can, some people can't. Would you really rather read off an eink screen? This is something you'll have to figure out yourself.

If you decide to investigate the tablet option, there's the iPad, and there's various Android tablets which range from cheap to expensive. Lurk in their forums here if you're curious about how people like reading on these types of devices.

[tyche]

The PRS-650 is basically the same size (actually a little smaller) as the PRS-500. If you're comfortable with carrying the 500 in your bag, the 650 will fit right in. In you're looking for something a little smaller, the 350 is quite nice and still readable.

Switching from e-ink screens to an iPad is a marked difference. For one, you won't be fitting in your bag like you did with your 500. Depending on where you do your viewing, an iPad with an lcd screen suffers from sunlight washout and glare. Tablets like an iPad are really portable computers with far more functionality than a dedicated reader. You pay an extra price for this so as long as you have needs for what it can do (playing videos for example) it's worth investigating. I would do a little research, watch some youtube videos of reviews and go to a store and try one out first.

[alophind]

Originally Posted by tyche

The PRS-650 is basically the same size (actually a little smaller) as the PRS-500. If you're comfortable with carrying the 500 in your bag, the 650 will fit right in. In you're looking for something a little smaller, the 350 is quite nice and still readable.

Switching from e-ink screens to an iPad is a marked difference. For one, you won't be fitting in your bag like you did with your 500. Depending on where you do your viewing, an iPad with an lcd screen suffers from sunlight washout and glare. Tablets like an iPad are really portable computers with far more functionality than a dedicated reader. You pay an extra price for this so as long as you have needs for what it can do (playing videos for example) it's worth investigating. I would do a little research, watch some youtube videos of reviews and go to a store and try one out first.

then i think ill go for the prs650 and keep watching vids on my ipod.
I hope ill get used to the touch screen because i really like the prs500 nav button

[Rebo]

If you are considering LCD tablets such as the Pandigital and iPad, you should also check out the Nook Color. The Nook color has a hot processor and a superb capacitive IPS touch screen similar to iPad. It is priced at $250. The Pandigital is of a lower tier; the screen is lower resolution resistive screen and the processor can be lacking for web browsing.

[boswd]

I concur, the nook color is in between the Pandigital and the iPad, it's specs are very impressive, the screen clarity judging by it's resolution of 1024 x600 with and LG IPS panal should be outstanding also with a great processor run Android 2.1 upgraded to 2.2 next year.

Based on specs alone this is a steal at $250

This sounds like it would suit your needs

I'm pretty excited.

[alophind]

Where can I get the Nook Color ?
I've searched best buy and frys , didnt see anything.
Ill be in vegas for 7 days , Will I manage to get one on time ?!

[alophind]

I bought the PRS350