HowToDecide™ Quick Decide Guide™ for E-Book Readers

[hughes]

Originally Posted by Zarich

The nook color doesn't show up anywhere in the reading experience category. Why is that?

Also you list as a con for the kindle that screen rotation is manual, yet you do not list that as a con for the sony pocket.

Good catches, Zarich. Fixes:

1. Added the NOOKcolor to ereaders with fair reading experience along with the other LCD-based ereaders.
   
2. Added con that Sony Pocket screen rotation is manual, not automatic, in the reading experience factor.
   Related: Per HarryT's suggestion, I'm considering migrating screen rotation out to its own factor.

[hughes]

Originally Posted by well69

The Nook does NOT have the eInk pearl screen last I checked... Could have been updated, but I doubt it.

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's correct. Only the Kindle 3, Kindle DX, and Sony 350, 650 and 950 currently have Pearl screens.

Ok, I see the misconception on my part: The screen technology used prior to E Ink Pearl was not a previous generation of E Ink Pearl, but actually E Ink Vizplex. I corrected the ereader reading experience factor and also added a reference regarding E Ink Pearl Vs E Ink Vizplex.

Thanks, well69 and HarryT.

[hughes]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Accelerometers (ie auto screen rotation) are one of those "love 'em or hate 'em" features. I find them to be very useful, but some people dislike them intensely. Whether an accelerometer is a pro or a con depends entirely which camp you fall into, so it would be as well to give the user the choice of specifying whether or not they like them.

I've moved screen rotation out of the pros and cons for reading experience and into its own screen rotation factor. One can now separately select ereaders for each of the following:

ereaders that can rotate automatically via an accelerometer
ereaders that can rotate manually
ereaders that cannot rotate

Thanks, HarryT, for this suggestion.

[Zarich]

I am not sure fair is fair for the nook color.
It has a far better glare reduced screen for reading.
It has a very high DPI. But I guess to each their own.

[ProfCrash]

I don't think anyone is going to really agree with an excellent, good, fair type rating for e-readers. There are many people here who are very devoted to their readers.

I would suggest that you let people choose the features that are most important to them and then have the devices rated based on the ones that meet most of those criteria.

So someone looking for an e-reader with touchscreen, no wifi, pearl screen, and expandable memory would have a result of excellent returned for the Sony 650 and a Poor for a Kindle. Someone looking for an e-reader with 3G, TTS, and Pearl Screen would get an excellent for a Kindle and a Poor for a Sony 650.

ie make the ratings reflect the features that are important for the user and not based on reviews and subjective opinions of a particular e-reader.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by hughes

Good catches, Zarich. Fixes:

1. Added the NOOKcolor to ereaders with fair reading experience along with the other LCD-based ereaders.
   
2. Added con that Sony Pocket screen rotation is manual, not automatic, in the reading experience factor.
   Related: Per HarryT's suggestion, I'm considering migrating screen rotation out to its own factor.

Fair reading experiences? This may come as a shock but not eveyone feels reading on an LCD is straight from the AntiChrist. I find reading on the nook color a fantastic ereading experince. Is this your opinon because you can't state it as fact. Crisper text, true contrast ratio, much better for low light and dark, eink does not compare. and I love eink

i would say something along the llines as "Does reading on an LCD bother you? If not"

[boswd]

Originally Posted by hughes

Ok, I see the misconception on my part: The screen technology used prior to E Ink Pearl was not a previous generation of E Ink Pearl, but actually E Ink Vizplex. I corrected the ereader reading experience factor and also added a reference regarding E Ink Pearl Vs E Ink Vizplex.

Thanks, well69 and HarryT.

Also you may want to go and look at a nook eink after their latest update, their screen is on par with the Pearl screen.

also your reviews you posted for the nook eink are outdated. when it was originally launced it was no secret is was rushed to market and had its share of bugs etc. but it went through a series of update to not only iron out the bugs but to add some extra features. So it would be best to have the most updated reviews to reflect the device that is out today. The nook eink is not the same device now compared to the one that was at launch

here is a review from Cnet who David Carnoy (an avid reader) kept a watchful eye on the nook and has updated his reviews to reflect the improvements. here is a quote from that review

Editors' note: This review has been updated extensively to account for changes in the Nook's features and performance resulting from firmware upgrades on April 23, 2010, and November 22, 2010, as well as the availability of the third-generation Kindle and the Nook Color. Note that user reviews prior to April 23 and November 22 reflect the earlier respective versions of the firmware.




http://reviews.cnet.com/e-book-reade...?tag=mncol;lst

[hughes]

Hi ProfCrash, I appreciate the feedback:

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I don't think anyone is going to really agree with an excellent, good, fair type rating for e-readers. There are many people here who are very devoted to their readers.

Agreed. There is no excellent, good, or fair rating for the alternative ereaders. It's only within the factors that such terms appear. For example:

How good is the reading experience on the ereader?
How well does the ereader function beyond reading (apps and games)?

There may remain some subjectivity, but the guide tries to sort through the issues via descriptions and pros-and-cons lists within each factor. Mistakes or adjustments may also remain to be made, and I welcome everyone's suggestions in that regard.

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I would suggest that you let people choose the features that are most important to them and then have the devices rated based on the ones that meet most of those criteria.

So someone looking for an e-reader with touchscreen, no wifi, pearl screen, and expandable memory would have a result of excellent returned for the Sony 650 and a Poor for a Kindle. Someone looking for an e-reader with 3G, TTS, and Pearl Screen would get an excellent for a Kindle and a Poor for a Sony 650.

ie make the ratings reflect the features that are important for the user and not based on reviews and subjective opinions of a particular e-reader.

Yes, that is indeed the intention. It may be that I need to adjust the interface or labeling to make this more clear.

Clicking on any factor's plus icon reveals selectable values, allowing one to express just such criteria as you suggest. Further, once such selections are made, the URL hash is adjusted, allowing one to share the specific criteria with others via a single URL.

Although "expandable memory" is not yet a factor, the guide is very close to covering your two examples:

touchscreen, no wifi, pearl screen yields the Sony Pocket 350 and the Sony 650.
e-reader with 3G, TTS, and Pearl Screen yields the Kindle 3G+WiFi and the Kindle DX.

Note: In place of "Pearl Screen," I clicked the upper range (best, very good) for the reading experience factor. One might argue that I should surface Pearl explicitly as a factor, and perhaps I'll change it at some point. The current rational is that newcomers initially will prefer to express the importance of the reading experience at a more abstract level; later they may dig deeper into the pros and cons and learn the rationale for the best-through-fair classifications for the reading experience factor.

[hughes]

Originally Posted by Zarich

I am not sure fair is fair for the nook color.
It has a far better glare reduced screen for reading.
It has a very high DPI. But I guess to each their own.

I placed the NOOKcolor in the "fair" category for reading experience because it lacks the clarity of its E Ink Nook siblings in the "good" category, and shared LCD screen technology with the other occupants of the "fair" category.

If there's a case to be made for distinguishing its screen or other reading experience details above the other LCD-based ereaders, please let me know, and I'll assign a suitable "pro" to it.

Thanks, Zarich. Appreciate the input.

[hughes]

HowToDecide™ Quick Decide Guides™ for ereaders now covers the Sony Touch (PRS-650) and Sony Daily (PRS-950).

Corrections and suggestions are welcomed. All factors should be reasonably accurate except for how favorable are the ereader reviews, which I've not yet researched for the 650 and 950. If you have any outstanding review references (favorable, mixed, or unfavorable), please send them my way.

Thanks to delphin and natasha_fawn for requesting Sony 650 and 950 coverage.

[John F]

It would be useful to me if there was some grading based on reading options (font, margins, line spacing, headings, spacing between paragraphs, ...).

[hughes]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

One common question that is asked, and you may be able to answer in your lists, is the range of font size each device is capable of, perhaps with 3 visual examples at minimum/mid/largest size.

I've added a factor for the number of font sizes that come with the ereader:

• ereaders that come with 6 fonts
• ereaders that come with 8 fonts

Thanks, GeoffC, for the feedback. Couple follow-up questions:

1. Does anyone know the number of fonts that come with the iPad, Velocity Micro Cruz R101, or PocketBook IQ 701?
   I need data for these.
2. "Visual examples at minimum/mid/largest size" sounds great, but does anyone know a source for these?

[hughes]

Originally Posted by John F

It would be useful to me if there was some grading based on reading options (font, margins, line spacing, headings, spacing between paragraphs, ...).

Hi John F, thanks for the suggestions. Help me understand a bit better... I've added a factor for the number of font sizes that come with the ereader. Are you suggesting a factor for each of the other items you mention, or an aggregate factor on "reading options", or maybe some pros and cons to add to the "reading experience" factor? When and in what ways would these controls matter to you, and what values would like to see (or not see) for each item?

Thank you.

[happygirl]

My best suggestion to anyone trying to "decide" is to check with your local library, even ours here in small town USA has four different readers available to check out for 10 days. In addition we can utilize an I PAD at the library.

This way perhaps you can actually decide by seeing, touching, and playing with the readers themselves. Everyone has a different expectation and desire for their technical devices.

I have found that so far the two "problematic" readers Augen & Cruz, I have purchased have been okay. Now in saying that...I live in a state forest (lots of read time), I am not a "tech" person and am perfectly happy running XP on a Toshiba Satellite. I am not in need of something that does much more than functions to download books, check email, and occasionally hit social and news sites. I am on satellite feed so my internet is ALWAYS slow, which makes me much more paitent with my readers speed I think.

The Cruz being ANDRIOD, I am able to watch YouTube (via Sky Fire not the preloaded App) and check out both DRM and Non DRM books (using Adobe which I set up and Overdrive).

Augen I am still playing with as it just arrived and I am setting it up for my nephew (15) to read books on...he is a total book worm (good boy!).

I hear Kindles are the bomb, I have scheduled to check one out next week. So we shall see...I don't want to buy books, why would I do that? LOL....

[hughes]

Originally Posted by boswd

Fair reading experiences? This may come as a shock but not eveyone feels reading on an LCD is straight from the AntiChrist. I find reading on the nook color a fantastic ereading experince. Is this your opinon because you can't state it as fact. Crisper text, true contrast ratio, much better for low light and dark, eink does not compare. and I love eink

i would say something along the llines as "Does reading on an LCD bother you? If not"

Hi boswd, see my response to Zarich regarding NOOKcolor's reading experience classification. I'm open to arguments and (preferably) references/evidence supporting that the claim that NOOKcolor's LCD screen is as good as you say for reading, but my current understanding is that E Ink (Pearl or Vizplex) screens are widely preferred for ebook reading.

Those who value other aspects for which the NOOKcolor excels, such the ability to read in low-light situations, will be served selecting other factors, e.g: Can the ereader be read in the dark without auxiliary light?

Appreciate the feedback, nonetheless.