Pocketbook 902/3 the right choice?

Vicarious · 02-08-2011, 02:36 PM

Hi there,

As most others writing in this forum I am thoroughly at a loss as to which ereader I should get. After hours of trawling through dozens of posts here (very, very informative btw) I think I want either the Pocketbook 902 or 903 (still not clear exactly what more the 903 offers). However, they are very expensive, so before buying I'd like to make sure I'm right.

The reader I'm looking for would be solely for reading (no multimedia, no games, music, internet, etc). It needs to support everything I can throw at it very well (text/image pdf, txt, epub, mobi, basically as much as possible).
I'm a student so I would like to be able to make some kind of a mark on the document so I can refer longer note-taking in a book to that position in the text. Highlighting PDFs would be much appreciated if I can export the highlighted pdf to my laptop. Actual note taking is optional, but unless I can quickly and easily write longish (+-150 word) notes to all formats and export them to the laptop then forget it. However, if necessary I could well do without all annotation if it meant lower cost or better pdf-reading functionality (reflow, margins, columns, etc. Pdf handling is especially important).
I went for the 90x over the 60x because I rather suspect (without having ever compared the sizes in real life) that the bigger screen would make a better reading experience, especially for non-fiction university works. Should anyone think otherwise, I'm listening intently.
On a quick aside: I noticed that the Kindle DX, and others too perhaps, can also be fitted with 3rd party operating systems/apps/etc. I am in no way adverse to such things; anything which produces the above described ereader at the lowest possible cost.

So, am I making the correct decision here or is there a more appropriate reader?

Thanks a ton for all input

SkyDream · 02-08-2011, 03:53 PM

Forget note taking with 902/903. You can mark lines and that's all.

Vicarious · 02-08-2011, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkyDream

Forget note taking with 902/903. You can mark lines and that's all.

Ok, thanks, that's good to know. Marking lines, is that akin to underlining? Could I export the underlined documents to a laptop?
How does the 90x series's annotation (this line marking) compare to that of the Kindle DX(G) especially in regards to text pdfs?
I see you have both devices, which do you think is best suited to the above described specifications?

polly · 02-08-2011, 08:25 PM

You might take a look at the Sony series. The touch screen makes it easy to select text and highlight and you can write notes either with the on screen keyboard or the stylus. Sony imposes a word limit on DRM material; since I don't export notes, I can't comment too much on that.

You should be aware that none of the e-ink screens do a very good job with taking notes, as there's a visible lag between making the mark and seeing it appear on the screen.

You really do need the larger screen for technical PDFs to display well. Sony does a good job handling PDFs, but none of the readers are going to do a great job with diagrams, tables, and other such objects in a PDF. You might also want to look at some of the tablets, depending on what's most important to you. You lose the really good screen for reading, but gain color and a faster response time.

Vicarious · 02-08-2011, 08:48 PM

polly, thank you very much

After lots more trawling I think the 950 may be exactly what I'm looking for. A 6" was too small, a 9.7" too big and expensive. The 950 also offers seemingly great annotation and seems to play all formats but mobi.

Noah98 · 02-08-2011, 09:13 PM

I'd go with the Sony 950. I think quality control is also an issue with the Pocketbook brand.

SkyDream · 02-09-2011, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicarious

I see you have both devices, which do you think is best suited to the above described specifications?

Neither !

Better take a look at Sony 650 or 950. Those are really good ereaders.

lalebarde · 02-19-2011, 08:30 AM

But you cannot download free ebooks.

HarryT · 02-19-2011, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lalebarde

But you cannot download free ebooks.

What do you mean "you cannot download free ebooks"? There are huge numbers of free ebooks available - look in our "Book Uploads" are, for a start!

02-08-2011, 02:36 PM	#1
Vicarious Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: none	Pocketbook 902/3 the right choice? Hi there, As most others writing in this forum I am thoroughly at a loss as to which ereader I should get. After hours of trawling through dozens of posts here (very, very informative btw) I think I want either the Pocketbook 902 or 903 (still not clear exactly what more the 903 offers). However, they are very expensive, so before buying I'd like to make sure I'm right. The reader I'm looking for would be solely for reading (no multimedia, no games, music, internet, etc). It needs to support everything I can throw at it very well (text/image pdf, txt, epub, mobi, basically as much as possible). I'm a student so I would like to be able to make some kind of a mark on the document so I can refer longer note-taking in a book to that position in the text. Highlighting PDFs would be much appreciated if I can export the highlighted pdf to my laptop. Actual note taking is optional, but unless I can quickly and easily write longish (+-150 word) notes to all formats and export them to the laptop then forget it. However, if necessary I could well do without all annotation if it meant lower cost or better pdf-reading functionality (reflow, margins, columns, etc. Pdf handling is especially important). I went for the 90x over the 60x because I rather suspect (without having ever compared the sizes in real life) that the bigger screen would make a better reading experience, especially for non-fiction university works. Should anyone think otherwise, I'm listening intently. On a quick aside: I noticed that the Kindle DX, and others too perhaps, can also be fitted with 3rd party operating systems/apps/etc. I am in no way adverse to such things; anything which produces the above described ereader at the lowest possible cost. So, am I making the correct decision here or is there a more appropriate reader? Thanks a ton for all input Last edited by Vicarious; 02-08-2011 at 02:58 PM.

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02-08-2011, 03:53 PM	#2
SkyDream Wizard Posts: 1,377 Karma: 9400 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Europe Device: PRS-650, iPod touch 4G, iPad 3	Forget note taking with 902/903. You can mark lines and that's all.

02-08-2011, 08:25 PM	#4
polly Evangelist Posts: 454 Karma: 270240 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS 650, PocketBook 360, Astak PocketPro (RIP), Tungsten T3	You might take a look at the Sony series. The touch screen makes it easy to select text and highlight and you can write notes either with the on screen keyboard or the stylus. Sony imposes a word limit on DRM material; since I don't export notes, I can't comment too much on that. You should be aware that none of the e-ink screens do a very good job with taking notes, as there's a visible lag between making the mark and seeing it appear on the screen. You really do need the larger screen for technical PDFs to display well. Sony does a good job handling PDFs, but none of the readers are going to do a great job with diagrams, tables, and other such objects in a PDF. You might also want to look at some of the tablets, depending on what's most important to you. You lose the really good screen for reading, but gain color and a faster response time.

02-08-2011, 08:48 PM	#5
Vicarious Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: none	polly, thank you very much After lots more trawling I think the 950 may be exactly what I'm looking for. A 6" was too small, a 9.7" too big and expensive. The 950 also offers seemingly great annotation and seems to play all formats but mobi.

02-08-2011, 09:13 PM	#6
Noah98 Eccentric Posts: 510 Karma: 342150 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Florida Device: The nook, ipad 3, Kindle Fire HD (8.9), Kindle Paperwhite	I'd go with the Sony 950. I think quality control is also an issue with the Pocketbook brand.

02-19-2011, 08:30 AM	#8
lalebarde Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Sony PRS-950SC daily edition	But you cannot download free ebooks.

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