Confused

[sparky750]

Firstly hello guys, it's my first post so please be gentle

I came across this site whilst researching which reader to buy, I live in the UK and use macs (i do have windows installed in fusion but i hate it) Which is the best reader for me to buy? I mainly enjoy new releases from the likes of Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Dale Brown etc.
My main reason for wanting a reader is i work away an awful lot on oil rigs etc where weight is restricted so carrying 4-5 paper backs is a nono. Looked at the Sony 505 and the BeBook not sure which has the best mac support / workaround, for example i've found some books on mobipocket that look quite recent from authors i like is it as simple as buying the book i want then dragging an dropping onto my chosen reader?

Any advice would be gratefully received, i'm not the most computer literate person but i get by. I'd just like things to be simple in an itunes kind of way- see a book i like buy it and drop it onto my device. As an aside i'd ideally like to get the device over the weekend in time for my next offshore trip but this isn't really a deal killer.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by sparky750

Firstly hello guys, it's my first post so please be gentle

I came across this site whilst researching which reader to buy, I live in the UK and use macs (i do have windows installed in fusion but i hate it) Which is the best reader for me to buy? I mainly enjoy new releases from the likes of Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Dale Brown etc.
My main reason for wanting a reader is i work away an awful lot on oil rigs etc where weight is restricted so carrying 4-5 paper backs is a nono. Looked at the Sony 505 and the BeBook not sure which has the best mac support / workaround, for example i've found some books on mobipocket that look quite recent from authors i like is it as simple as buying the book i want then dragging an dropping onto my chosen reader?

Any advice would be gratefully received, i'm not the most computer literate person but i get by. I'd just like things to be simple in an itunes kind of way- see a book i like buy it and drop it onto my device. As an aside i'd ideally like to get the device over the weekend in time for my next offshore trip but this isn't really a deal killer.

Hi,

first criteria, given your specific situation, probably is about size of the reader. The majority is 6", about the size of your standard paperback.
There are some bigger ones, specialised for A4 PDFs for example, about the size of A4/letter.
And there's a new trend: More mobile units, 5". A bit smaller than standard paperback.

Second criteria is about the book format you prefer (.pdf, .lit, .prc, .pdb, .lrx - there are tons of it unfortunately). In my opinion, it's not that important. Most of the common books you'll find in all the formats.
I'd suggest, doing an actual simulation: Check out the 10 books, you'd purchase next. And check, in which format they are available for what price.
Usually, Amazon has the biggest library and is about 15% cheaper than the others. So Kindle 2 might be an option as well. (Kindle DX probably will be too bulky for you). You can purchase Kindle 2 via Ebay and use it in Europe without problems.

Mac won't be an issue. Depending on format and reader you may need some workarounds, but it's not complicated at all.
Just an example:
All readers, which are capable of .prc (Mobipocket) use a unique PID (kind of a serial number). You can define 3 or 4 PIDs per account, depending on the webshop. Usually 1 is your PC, 1 is your ebook reader. Another 1 could be your spouse's reader, a mobile phone, or something like that.
You can use the Mobipocket application (Mobipocket Reader), but you don't have to.
When purchasing a book, it's modified to the PIDs you've defined in your account. It only can be read on those specific units. Then you simply can drag and drop that book to your reader's internal memory or memory card.
(You can strip the copy-protection = DRM = Digital Right Management of most of the formats and then convert them to other formats.)

All of the common readers will do their job. Personally, I don't like BeBook's design and clearly prefer Sony 505. Others on this forum love their BeBook because of the huge variety of formats.

So: Check out the books you prefer and in which format you'll get most of them. Then choose a reader, capable of working that format. I don't think, the bigger ones will be an option, so you have to decide between 5" or 6". I think, both should be acceptable. Even a 6" reader is thinner than 1 paperback and about the same size.
When you've decided about your preferred format but don't know which reader to choose: I've commented 8 of them in my thread "8+ reader...". I'll add reader #9 in a few days, my first 5" unit Cybook Opus.

[sparky750]

Thanks for that reply i went and purchased a 505 today managed to buy a book from WH SMITHS and load it on using windoze in parallels. I just need to find the best place to purchase them now I found a pretty cheap site last night but alas i then slept and forgotten