MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - decision time. hanlin vs cybook? anyone who's tried em? can you search in a book?

nairbv · 03-21-2008, 03:21 AM

@natethegreat:

mobipocket DRM is cracked? where do you find the software to crack it? I mean, ... if the DRM can be removed then you can play mobipocket files on absolutely any device (including the hanlin), since, if the DRM can be removed, the file can be converted to any format. I didn't get the impression that mobipocket DRM was so easy to remove. I mean, ... isn't that the whole point of the DRM??

@Alisa:

Yeah, I also find it shocking the lack of availability of a decent e-ink ebook reader. I'm pretty sure only the kindle, the cybook gen3, and the iliad have dictionary lookup (I'm assuming on the iliad since it has touch screen but I don't actually know that it does). Only the kindle and iliad have ways to input text, and then the cybook does it with a navigational button to highlight a word you want to lookup.

and, I'm pretty sure only the amazon and iliad (assuming again on iliad) will actually search a book for quotes, since those are the only two that can actually input text.

I think I read somewhere on here too though, ... that some of these, (maybe the sony?) claim they can take 2gb SD cards but people say if you put more than 5-10 books on it, the device freaks out and won't work, or slows down to the point of being unbearable. false advertising in my mind. I'd like to put a few gigabytes of documents on SD cards and always have them with me. That's the half the point of these things in my mind, the whole idea that I can have a library in my pocket. If I can only have a few books on it, can't search it, and can't conveniently look up words, ... what's the advantage over pbooks? saving a couple of pounds?

I'd probably go ahead and by a cybook if: 1, they were responsive, and 2, if I didn't have to pay for it months before I could buy it. It seems like the company could go belly up at any moment, and all the people who pre-paid would just be shit out of luck. It sounds shady. Besides, I hardly stay in one place long enough to have an address that I could order it to and then wait that long.

I'd have already bought a hanlin v3 if they would have sold it to me at the price quoted on the English version their web page. Now I'm feeling a little weirded out by them.

I'm somewhat inclined to buy an iliad, but $700 is a lot of money to pay for something I've never even seen.

I don't like the kindle, because I'm pissed at amazon for shitting on their customers... buying mobipocket and then adding a new deliberately incompatible ebook format, but also I'm not in the US so their wireless service is useless to me.

I in general don't like the idea of sony or amazon since they're so US-centric, but maybe the sony is starting to look a little better. If no first-rate device is available yet, at least I could be paying less money for whatever second-rate device I buy. I want *something* to read on, and hopefully the sony would at least be that.

I don't know though..... again, .... if I can't really fill it with gigabytes of books and documents, then what's the point?

oh... and I can't remember if sony supports chinese fonts. I don't want to buy a device that only handles roman characters. I know they all support it in PDF files, but I hate PDF files. I want native support for chinese characters. I know the hanlin has this, and I've read that you can install chinese fonts on the cybook. the iliad has a chinese version, but it uses some different "ids" that doesn't permit shell access. I'm not sure if you can get chinese characters on the european version. I'm not sure about the sony or kindle.

I'm a little frustrated that after wasting all this time researching these things my search hasn't been fruitful. maybe I need to stop thinking about it until there's something better on the market. I've got plenty of pbooks anyways (and should be studying for my chinese classes, not reading english at all). it's really hard to stop thinking about it though.

03-21-2008, 03:21 AM	#21
nairbv Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 15 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: still looking for an ebook reader device	@natethegreat: mobipocket DRM is cracked? where do you find the software to crack it? I mean, ... if the DRM can be removed then you can play mobipocket files on absolutely any device (including the hanlin), since, if the DRM can be removed, the file can be converted to any format. I didn't get the impression that mobipocket DRM was so easy to remove. I mean, ... isn't that the whole point of the DRM?? @Alisa: Yeah, I also find it shocking the lack of availability of a decent e-ink ebook reader. I'm pretty sure only the kindle, the cybook gen3, and the iliad have dictionary lookup (I'm assuming on the iliad since it has touch screen but I don't actually know that it does). Only the kindle and iliad have ways to input text, and then the cybook does it with a navigational button to highlight a word you want to lookup. and, I'm pretty sure only the amazon and iliad (assuming again on iliad) will actually search a book for quotes, since those are the only two that can actually input text. I think I read somewhere on here too though, ... that some of these, (maybe the sony?) claim they can take 2gb SD cards but people say if you put more than 5-10 books on it, the device freaks out and won't work, or slows down to the point of being unbearable. false advertising in my mind. I'd like to put a few gigabytes of documents on SD cards and always have them with me. That's the half the point of these things in my mind, the whole idea that I can have a library in my pocket. If I can only have a few books on it, can't search it, and can't conveniently look up words, ... what's the advantage over pbooks? saving a couple of pounds? I'd probably go ahead and by a cybook if: 1, they were responsive, and 2, if I didn't have to pay for it months before I could buy it. It seems like the company could go belly up at any moment, and all the people who pre-paid would just be shit out of luck. It sounds shady. Besides, I hardly stay in one place long enough to have an address that I could order it to and then wait that long. I'd have already bought a hanlin v3 if they would have sold it to me at the price quoted on the English version their web page. Now I'm feeling a little weirded out by them. I'm somewhat inclined to buy an iliad, but $700 is a lot of money to pay for something I've never even seen. I don't like the kindle, because I'm pissed at amazon for shitting on their customers... buying mobipocket and then adding a new deliberately incompatible ebook format, but also I'm not in the US so their wireless service is useless to me. I in general don't like the idea of sony or amazon since they're so US-centric, but maybe the sony is starting to look a little better. If no first-rate device is available yet, at least I could be paying less money for whatever second-rate device I buy. I want something to read on, and hopefully the sony would at least be that. I don't know though..... again, .... if I can't really fill it with gigabytes of books and documents, then what's the point? oh... and I can't remember if sony supports chinese fonts. I don't want to buy a device that only handles roman characters. I know they all support it in PDF files, but I hate PDF files. I want native support for chinese characters. I know the hanlin has this, and I've read that you can install chinese fonts on the cybook. the iliad has a chinese version, but it uses some different "ids" that doesn't permit shell access. I'm not sure if you can get chinese characters on the european version. I'm not sure about the sony or kindle. I'm a little frustrated that after wasting all this time researching these things my search hasn't been fruitful. maybe I need to stop thinking about it until there's something better on the market. I've got plenty of pbooks anyways (and should be studying for my chinese classes, not reading english at all). it's really hard to stop thinking about it though.