MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Should I buy an eBook reader? If so, according to my needs, which one?

calvarez · 12-09-2007, 12:01 AM

First of all, I'm new to the site

I am a grad student in computer science who needs to read a lot. I have a large collection of computer graphics programming eBooks on PDF (and a few in CHM). These e-books are usually large in size, have lots of pictures, figures, complex formatting, etc. Eventually, if the technology is satisfactory for me, I would like to stop buying paper textbooks and just buy the eBook version of my textbooks.

I am tired of having to read on my laptop. Don't misunderstand me, I love my lappy, it's a MacBook Pro

But I would like something that can be handled as easily as (or close to) a book, without having to carry a 15'' laptop or read on an LCD screen. I've tried using my PDA for this (a Zaurus SL-5500), but 1) the screen is so tiny, I'm tired of the horizontal scrolling and the low resolution, and 2) the PDF reader software available for it are not that great at displaying my PDF files properly (sometimes the layout gets messed up or some figures won't show).

My questions are:
A) Will an eBook reader do the job for me? (by this I mean, is an eBook reader a good replacement for having a physical library of books? Is it a better option than just reading my PDF files on my laptop, or on my PDA?) I know this ultimately will depend on me, my habits and preferences, but I would like to hear what you guys think.

B)Is the PDF/CHM software in these eBook readers good enough? Will they open large files (25MB+)? Are they robust at rendering PDF/CHM files, including figures and layout? (in other words, is it as good and reliable as reading the PDF on a computer with Adobe Reader 8.1?)

C)If so, which one would you guys recommend? If an eBook reader is for me, I can allocate $250-350 for it (I've noticed most are in that range). Again, what I care the most is:
(1)Correct rendering of PDF and CHM formats
(2)Being able to import all of my non-DRM'd PDF and CHM files (if I need to convert them to some other format, that's fine, as long as the layout and figures are kept reasonably well after converting)
(3)In general, having enough freedom for getting eBooks on my device. It's OK if some of the books obtained through the device's service are DRM'd as long as I can still put non-DRM'd eBooks in it, or eBooks from other stores such as Amazon, etc.

Thanks for your input! I know I'm asking a lot.

12-09-2007, 12:01 AM	#1
calvarez Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: None yet!	Should I buy an eBook reader? If so, according to my needs, which one? First of all, I'm new to the site I am a grad student in computer science who needs to read a lot. I have a large collection of computer graphics programming eBooks on PDF (and a few in CHM). These e-books are usually large in size, have lots of pictures, figures, complex formatting, etc. Eventually, if the technology is satisfactory for me, I would like to stop buying paper textbooks and just buy the eBook version of my textbooks. I am tired of having to read on my laptop. Don't misunderstand me, I love my lappy, it's a MacBook Pro But I would like something that can be handled as easily as (or close to) a book, without having to carry a 15'' laptop or read on an LCD screen. I've tried using my PDA for this (a Zaurus SL-5500), but 1) the screen is so tiny, I'm tired of the horizontal scrolling and the low resolution, and 2) the PDF reader software available for it are not that great at displaying my PDF files properly (sometimes the layout gets messed up or some figures won't show). My questions are: A) Will an eBook reader do the job for me? (by this I mean, is an eBook reader a good replacement for having a physical library of books? Is it a better option than just reading my PDF files on my laptop, or on my PDA?) I know this ultimately will depend on me, my habits and preferences, but I would like to hear what you guys think. B)Is the PDF/CHM software in these eBook readers good enough? Will they open large files (25MB+)? Are they robust at rendering PDF/CHM files, including figures and layout? (in other words, is it as good and reliable as reading the PDF on a computer with Adobe Reader 8.1?) C)If so, which one would you guys recommend? If an eBook reader is for me, I can allocate $250-350 for it (I've noticed most are in that range). Again, what I care the most is: (1)Correct rendering of PDF and CHM formats (2)Being able to import all of my non-DRM'd PDF and CHM files (if I need to convert them to some other format, that's fine, as long as the layout and figures are kept reasonably well after converting) (3)In general, having enough freedom for getting eBooks on my device. It's OK if some of the books obtained through the device's service are DRM'd as long as I can still put non-DRM'd eBooks in it, or eBooks from other stores such as Amazon, etc. Thanks for your input! I know I'm asking a lot.