Quote:
Originally Posted by barium
I welcome any thoughts from someone who knows about ebook readers. There's so many out there, it's difficult to choose. I'm considering several factors, and I'm hoping to find a reader that:
Hm, that's a long list. Any thoughts at all?
I was leaning towards the Kindle, since it's inexpensive for a reader with a nice screen and a wifi radio. I haven't used one yet, so I don't know how many of the criteria above it satisfies. I probably won't get a Kindle, though, because I don't like being tied to the Amazon format, and I don't like the level of control Amazon seems to have over the device. I don't want them knowing what I read or when I read it, and I don't want them deleting anything from my device or my computer under any circumstances.
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Your list first, comments second.
*Is as easy to read at night without a lamp as an iphone/ipad
No e-ink reader is able to be read without a light source.
*Can browse a calibre content server over wi-fi
That would be the Nook, Kindle, Sony 950, and I think Kobo. There are probably others that I am missing.
*Flips pages quickly (i.e. as little of the e-Ink refresh lag as possible)
They all have a similarly quick refresh rate. Kindle has the fastest but I doubt that the difference is all that noteable.
*Can be easily held in one hand
All of the 6 inch models are easily held in one hand.
*Is relatively durable and water resistant
None of them are water resistant. If you drop them in water or a large amount of beverage on them you are screwed. They are all pretty durable although the Sony fans will love telling you about the superiority of the casing.
*Is no more expensive than the cheapest Kindle
Kindle is the cheapest. Nooks and Kobos are $10 more
*Can access wikipedia and a good dictionary quickly and easily
Kindle is the best with the dictionary in your price range but the Nook and Kobo both have a dictionary. They can all connect to wikipedia but it is not the greatest of service.
*Is compatible with epub, mobi, PDF, lit, doc, and rtf
All but Kindle nativly. Nook and Kobo in your price range. Kindle if you are willing to strip DRM and convert files.
*Offers easy navigation of a large library
Nook and Kobo in your price range
*Offers easy navigation of detailed tables of contents
All of them. TOC is more dependent on the Publisher then it is the reader
*Offers a convenient way to click on links to another page in the book (e.g., footnotes)
Kindle is the best for this in your price range. Nook and Kobo are able to do it but it is a bit more work. Sony is the easiest with the touchscreen but all models are out of your price range.
*Permits entry of annotations that are saved to the ebook file
Kindle is the best with this in yor price range. Nook and Kobo can do it but it is a bit of a pain. Sony is easy to do it with but the models are out of your price range.
*Functions perfectly without communicating with the manufacturer's servers
All of them work perfectly without communicating with the stores servers although most of them require you to conennect once if you want to use the WiFi or 3G capability.
Your concerns about Amazon should be shared across all of the e-readers. If you buy a book from any of the bookstores there will be a record of what you read. If you buy a Nook or Sony or Kobo and buy books from their stores, there will be a record of what you read. Realisticly speaking, no matter what you do, short of pirating material, there is going to be a record of what you purchase. Additionally, all of the bookstores are able to delete books from their store and their archive. Publishers are able to pull books from the stores and archives. The only way to avoid this problem is to save a copy of the file on your harddrive so that the books are saved by you and always available for you.
Also, none of the bookstores can remove a book from your computer. People who had stored 1984 on their computer were able to reload the book on their Kindles.
Finally, all e-readers are tied to a format and most of the major bookstores are tied to a DRM. If you buy from Sony or Kobo you will be tied to the Adobe DRM. If you buy from BN you will be tied to BN EPub DRM, which is different then the Sony and Kobo EPub Adobe DRM. There are a few bookstores that do not allow DRM on the books that they sell but they are few in number and carry more indie authors because Publishing Houses insist on DRM for most of their books.
If you do get a Kindle you will quickly find that the bookstore is pretty impressive and that you are not tied to that bookstore. There are many stores that sell Mobi files that can be read on a Kindle. There is also the ability to strip DRM from EPub books sold at other stores and convert them to a Mobi file. If you are willing to strip DRM and convert files you will find that the format means nothing.
Based on your specific comments about Amazon, I would say the Nook is the best device for you in your price range. I actually think you would really like the Sony 950 but that is well outside of your price range.
If you want something backlight you are going to have to look at the LCD screens and those are all more expensive. The cheapest one that I know of with the services you want is the Nook Color and it costs $250.