Hi everybody,
I am thinking about getting my first dedicated ebook reader and I need your expert advice.
As I mentioned in
my introduction, I am a self-confessed GNU/Linux geek (
FSF and
EFF member) which, at a minimum, means that
1) my future ebook has to work well with the GNU/Linux operating system (at least recognized and mounted as an external storage device) - in my case Ubuntu GNU/Linux.
2) I will never read any DRMed books - on principle.
So far, I have been reading my ebooks on my
Nokia N800 Internet Table and my
Nokia 5230 smartphone.
Other than that, this is what I would like to see in my soon-to-be-purchased ebook reader.
3) the capability to read ebooks in Russian, including in UTF-8 encoding
4) A high quality screen -
size matters less than the ability to display a text in a crisp, high-contrast, and no e-ink "flutter" page turning manner.
5) This is not crucial, but I would be really delighted if I could read my books in the dark (when my wife sleeps next to me) so a back-light capability would be immensely appreciated, but not crucial (I can always use my N800 or N5230 for that)
6) Most of my ebooks are in EPUB, FB2 or TXT format, but it would be nice to be able to read PDFs too.
7) ALL I want to do is read books and I don't need an mp3 player (got that already), a games console (got that too), a photo viewer (got that), an Internet browser, a movie viewer, an agenda, calendar or toaster (got all of them already). I don't *mind* extra capabilities, but I just don't need them. I want a device to
read books.
8) Since I spend roughly 80% of my time on my computer anyway, I really don't need a wifi capable device. Sure, I would not mind it, but I really don't need it.
9) From what I have read, TFT is really better than E-Ink. The ideal screen for me is what I see on my Nokia 5230 - bright, clear, high-contrast black an white screen - I just love it.
10) So far, but only from reading reviews, the closet thing to my criteria I have seen seems to be the ETACO Jetbook mini. However, this ebook reader seems to have major quality issues with a screen-freezing problem which is yet unsolved. Also, the ETACO Jetbook mini does not come with a sturdy case or a screen protector. Lastly, the ETACO Jetbook mini cannot be read in the dark which, as I mentioned, is not crucial for me, but would be a major "nice to have".
I purchased an
Ematic 7-Inch TFT Color eBook Reader for my daughter and its ok, but I am not impressed by the quality of the screen. Neither to I like the fact that it does "everything" (radio, recorder, movie-viewer, mp3 player, calendar etc.). At $89 it is cheap though. But it really does not feel solid at all, and the reviews on Amazon indicate that it's battery is of poor quality. I would much prefer a unit running on exernal AAA or AA batteries (like the ETACO Jetbook mini).
Anyway, sorry for the long post. What ebook reader would you recommend for me? I suspect that my ideal ebook reader would be a laptop/notebook running calibre under Ubuntu GNU/Linux, but I think I want a dedicated ebook reader too. So which one would come closet to what I want?
Thanks a lot for your pointers,
Farhad