Decided to get into ebook reading last year. Looked at all the dedicated ebook readers and decided $150 (price at the time) was a lot to pay when I wasn't sure if I would be happy without a "paper" book.
Since I already had an iPhone, I decided to use it for a few months. If my reading experience on there would work, then I would look at an upgraded ebook reader.
To my surprise, I loved the handiness of the iPhone as an ebook reader and my reading experience wasn't less satisfying without a physical book. And I loved that I could try so many new authors for free and then support them when I liked their stories.
So I decided it was time for a bigger screen.
I was thinking that the ebook reader market might be like the PDA market, where people stopped buying them because their functions were starting to be available in cell phones so people didn't want to carry two devices. If the comparison were true, eventually tablets would take over from ereaders for many people. Also, I liked that I could just download an app for each ebook store and buy from any instead of being restricted.
So I decided on a tablet. I already had an iPhone which I liked but I was curious about Google Android Tablets as many were less expensive with more features than the iPhone. Also, I wanted to compare them and see how my web sites displayed in both systems.
I did some research and settled on the
Archos 70 tablet at JR.com. I chose the 8GB version rather than the 250 GB to save weight since ebook reading would be a major use of it. I felt I could always add a 32GB SD card if I needed more space.
I felt the 7" screen (vs iPad 9.7") would be handier for for ereading. I liked that it had features like HDMI, USB, SD Cards, that the iPad lacked. And the price at $270 was much better than the $520 that the iPad sells for here.
Once it arrives, I will let you know how I like it.