Looking for 7" colour eReader

[Greensabre27]

Hello. I've just joined this site and thought I'd see if anyone had any thoughts on what I'm looking for. Basically, what I really want in an eReader is a 7" (that's just the right size for me) colour touch screen. I want colour so that I can not only read books, but can use the device to store all my pictures. I'd prefer it not to be hideously expensive (say under $400, anyway). And it needs to be able to read ePubs and pdfs, 'cause I already own several of them which I had purchased for my Sony PRS600 touch that I just lost while on a trip. :-(

From looking around on the web, there are a number of options (so many it makes my head spin) that look promising, though most of them aren't even out yet. I'm kind of interested in getting a tablet, too, at some point, so one that could act as an eReader may work for me. At the moment, I'm leaning towards getting a Pandigital Novel (black) and use it for a year or two while I wait and see how all the others shake out.

Other options that look interesting to me are:
Samsung Galaxy Tab - looks lovely, but considerably more expensive. More the sort of thing I'd be looking at in a year or 2.
Archos 7 - Looks like a reasonably priced starter tablet, but I can't find anything to tell me if it can act as an eReader for my ePubs.
Viewsonic Viewpad 7 - Somewhere between the Galaxy and Archos 7 in price, not sure when it'll be out and again, can it read ePubs?
Elonex 710EB - Looks nice, but they have one of the worst - least informative - websites I've ever seen. No real details on specs or release date.

I think I saw a few more out there, but you probably get my drift. So, leaning towards the Pandigital Novel (black) as a cheap "starter" for now. Anyone have a better idea? Thanks.

[fjtorres]

Archos has an entirely new line built off Android 2.2 including a 7" and a 10.1 incher.
Announced prices under US$300.
Pocketbook has a 7in Android tablet announced at IFA and that one is a 4x3 format.
Both should let you install reader apps for the various cross-platform DRM schemes as well as Aldiko. And more apps to come, no doubt.
Spec-wise, the Archos is by far the most promising (1GHz CPU, dedicated 3d GPU, capacitance touch screen, USB client *and* host, HDMI-out).
Can you afford to wait a month or so?
Lots of Android webpads are coming.
And then, early next year, the WinTel Tablets are coming.
Everybody was a piece of the action.

[Greensabre27]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Archos has an entirely new line built off Android 2.2 including a 7" and a 10.1 incher.
Announced prices under US$300.
Pocketbook has a 7in Android tablet announced at IFA and that one is a 4x3 format.
Both should let you install reader apps for the various cross-platform DRM schemes as well as Aldiko. And more apps to come, no doubt.
Spec-wise, the Archos is by far the most promising (1GHz CPU, dedicated 3d GPU, capacitance touch screen, USB client *and* host, HDMI-out).
Can you afford to wait a month or so?
Lots of Android webpads are coming.
And then, early next year, the WinTel Tablets are coming.
Everybody was a piece of the action.

Ah, the Archos one you're talking about would be the Archos 70, I assume. That does look promising and yes, I can wait a month or two. I do believe that has now bumped the Pandigital Novel off of the top of my list. Thank you!

[carld]

There are strong rumors that Apple is coming out with a 7" iPad, though I've no clue when that might actually happen, maybe pre-Xmas, maybe not. I'd hold off on buying an Android tablet just yet. There are lots of them coming down the pike. Give the market a chance to build some competition, and you'll probably find some great deals on a nice device.

Color e-ink is getting closer, but still some time away.

[Greensabre27]

Originally Posted by carld

There are strong rumors that Apple is coming out with a 7" iPad, though I've no clue when that might actually happen, maybe pre-Xmas, maybe not. I'd hold off on buying an Android tablet just yet. There are lots of them coming down the pike. Give the market a chance to build some competition, and you'll probably find some great deals on a nice device.

Color e-ink is getting closer, but still some time away.

lol. I seriously doubt I'm *that* patient. One of the problems with technology is that there's always something better coming along. I think the Archos 70 will suit me just fine for now(or within the next month or so, when it hopefully actually comes out) and in a year or 2 I can look around at what's available and upgrade if I feel so inclined.

[aleccj1]

I would not recommend any of the Archos tablets, as none of them can fully access the Android Marketplace. All they have is Appslibs, which has much less applications available.

If I were you, I would wait until sometime around the holidays, as that's most likely when the Notion Ink Adam will come out. It has Nvidia Tegra 2, Android 2.2, a swiveling camera, and can support full HD video (due to the Tegra 2). Also, it will come with a custom UI that's supposed to be optimized for the larger screen and multitasking. If you want to spend a little more money, you can buy the Pixel Qi version of it, so that you can have a low power, full color LCD and something that resembles e-ink. The battery life of this is supposed to be excellent, last I heard it's supposed to be around 10 days with the "e-ink" turned on.

Hope I helped.

[carld]

This might also be of interest. 13 alternatives to the iPad. The Samsung Galaxy Tab looks pretty sweet. Samsung says they plan on selling 10 Million of them and capturing 1/3 of the slate market. We'll see. Actually, a lot of these are interesting devices.

[fjtorres]

The Galaxy will be sold through Telcos. With attached data-plans. No WiFi-only version.
One third of the slate market? Doubtful; the slate market is looking to be heavily biased towards in-home use. The telco contract is going to be more of a drag than a plus for sales.

[Greensabre27]

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone!