Definitely out of my league

[alice_85]

Ok, so I agree with getting more acquainted with features but I'm not sure what features I need to familiarize myself with before next year. What should I be researching? Do I want to focus more on where to acquire books or on the tech specs? Or if it's a combo of both what key factors should I focus on??

[brecklundin]

not sure I con come up with a consise list of what exactly to look into so I'll do more of a stream of consciouness thing here.

First, think of what you want to use the reader for as well as what you need to use the reader to accomplish. If you are like me the two can diverge juuuuuuust a bit.

I re-read your initial post and see you mention being a Lit major. I would bet you are gonna need a reader that handles PDF's well for at least a couple assignments a semester. And, as you mention, most other reading will likely be out there somewhere in any format. In fact for a lot of the classics you can find them well formatted here on MR as well as places like Feedbooks.org, Project Gutenberg or similar sites, all FREE of charge since they are likely to be public domain.

One thing is contact the school and find out where they stand on ebook versions for their courses. I would ask about formats...PDF, EPUB, MOBI...etc...some will have DRM and other won't but save a couple formats it's possible to format-shift if you find the right links and such. PDF can be the "fussiest" depending on the sort of PDF it is you are dealing with. So, I guess learn about the formats.

Still, there is the future as well as other courses which might offer ebook versions. If you like to write margin notes, that will be an important feature not only just that the reader support it, but also not all devices handle margin notes in the same fashion. Will you be happy with a reader with an on-screen "soft keyboard" or would you prefer to hand write your notes. One thing is, so far I am not aware of any dedicated readers which will do HWC (handwritting conversion to plain text) on the reader. There are a few readers which have been promised in Q1 with touch screens in large formats as well.

Right now the one which sounds like it will have potential is the reader from Plastic Logic. It's supposed to have a full 8.5"x11" display panel as well as touch. The target market is business people but I am willing to bet students will like it as well. But it's going to be eink and also likely to cost around $500 or AWWK, even more...no real word yet.

Also, not all readers handle each format in the same fashion. I would pay attention to that sort of detail. A reader with a good full refund policy is important as it can be difficult to find readers out in the retail world. Though Walmart, Fry's, Target, Best Buy, even Bed bath and Beyond carries at least on brand of reader. The nice thing about handling a reader is you get an idea of the display, how the menu system works and as important, how the reader feels in your hands.

For me I learned I did not care for eink (the first couple generations of Kindles) because the contrast was not easy on my eyes under my normal lighting conditions. Outside though almost ANY eink display is really nice.

I am happy with LCD based displays so I am waiting for an all in one tablet/slate style device like the Archos 9 only using a newer variation of LCD from a company called Pixel Qi. Still I am going to invest in a Pocketbook 360 as my everyday knock around 5" reader. Look for a device from Microsoft called the Courier (it's super slick!! And for a student it looks really nice). here is a Google search for the Courier:

http://news.google.com/news?sourceid...ed=0CBsQsQQwBQ

Thing is, I doubt the Courier will be around for at least another 8-12 months. But boy a device with an active digitizer (Wacom style touch screen, needs a special pen but it's worth it) running an application like One Note or even one called EverNote under Win7 would be super device as you could read books on it, do most of your coursework AND run existing Windows apps, including the various ebook reader apps so DRM becomes a lot less of an issue.

I'm sorry, I am meandering a lot here...sorry about that, it's just me... hehehehe...

For sure find out the book lists for your courses now. This will give you time to see what formats your device needs to support. Think about battery life, The huge advantage of eink panels is the LOOOONG battery life. But know using a touch screen will cut into that battery life a fair amount. Will you be reading under bright lights or in darker libraries where eink might need some help from an external light. And at the same time just read threads that feel right to you...hopefully they won't degenerate too quickly into "...no this is better because I LIKE IT..." threads. I like the News section here on MR, you will just need to sift through the detritus commentary that has been accumulating there for a while. This "which Device" section is GREAT once you get a handle on the jargon. There is also the MR Wiki link at the top of the page...LOTS of good terminology info there.

Oh, one thing to remember, is if you don't own a Kindle or iphone/touch (and it seems soon as it's released, there will be a Windows based reader application for Kindle format books) you can't buy Kindle books. And to read Kindle format books most, but not all, can be fixed to read on other devices, but that is getting ahead of things for now. I'm licky since I own a Kindle I can buy Kindle books and when possible "do things" to the files and read on my prefered devices, not my Kindle.

I really hope that makes some sort of sense. It's not too well thought out since there is just so much to cover...if you are more confused than when you started, then I did it right!! hehehehehe....most of all ASK QUESTIONS because there are a LOT of smart folks here who can offer so many ideas to consider.

PS: speel chak is not working for me right now, so any spelling errors are not my fault...

[neilmarr]

You can opt for a pretty cheap Book Armour cover, by the way, Alice, which reports here suggest takes some pretty hard knocks. My advice, though (as a grandfather now dealing with three-year-olds a second time around) would be to keep your reader on that high shelf where you store your priceless Dickens first editions. (Alternatively, put your three-year-old on a high shelf where he can get up to no mischief.)

Conversion to ePub is as easy as pie with Calibre. Once you download the free software, you can make conversion automatic when you transfer a book to your reader with a single, one-time click. Even I can handle it -- and I'm a chap who still can't operate the new coffee machine.

And, yep, the Sony (and others) have external memory. Really, though, it's probably not necessary unless you're on a world cruise. You can keep your permanent main library in your PC and/or laptop, downloading volumes whenever needed (they never go away), and just carry the few dozen books you really need on a regular basis.

Good luck ... and do let us know your decision. Neil

[Ea]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

Conversion to ePub is as easy as pie with Calibre. Once you download the free software, you can make conversion automatic when you transfer a book to your reader with a single, one-time click. Even I can handle it -- and I'm a chap who still can't operate the new coffee machine.

Except it can only convert DRM free books
Many/most books are sold 'infested' with some kind of DRM that will have to be removed first. It's not very difficult, and from the OP's description, I am sure she will manage that perfectly well.

[alice_85]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

My advice, though (as a grandfather now dealing with three-year-olds a second time around) would be to keep your reader on that high shelf where you store your priceless Dickens first editions. (Alternatively, put your three-year-old on a high shelf where he can get up to no mischief.)

Ah yes but that would require me to have any Dickens and since a bad first experience I won't read him until I am forced to in school.

As for all of the information you guys have been so awesome to share with me:
I've pretty much got the jargon, and based on the other programs to convert things around I have come fairly close to a decision. I have to make sure it works with my Mac but I'm thinking possibly the Sony 900(not yet released) as a distinct possibility. I like the hand writing features and the slightly larger format. However I am probably going to wait until that convention in January that was mentioned by brecklundin earlier. That way I know if there's going to be a huge breakthrough at the beginning of next year.

So based on that, what converter software do I want to learn before then so that I can start learning how to strip DRM and change the format of a book? I'd like to be ready now so that later I don't have to stress. You guys are amazing though, just in case you didn't already know!!!!