Background:
I've been haunting these forums for a few months now, but haven't registered or posted yet. I hate to put up yet another "help me!" post, but I haven't seen any that correspond exactly to my list of wants and needs.
I'm a long time voracious reader. My husband has been encouraging/urging/pushing me toward getting an Ebook reader. (Mostly so he doesn't have to carry all my reading material on our vacation trips, I'm sure.) I have a feeling this will be my Christmas present. :-)
I've been hesitant to get one, mostly because looking at a computer screen for a long time definitely gives me a headache. With the new eInk technology, that seems to alleviate those issues.
My local library had a couple readers to check out and try (the Kindle and the Nook Color). I find that the Kindle's eInk screen is easy on the eyes, while whatever the Nook Color uses gives me almost immediate headaches. Also, the operating system on the Nook drove me crazy immediately, and I soon found limitations and things that annoyed me with the Kindle as well.
So far, the best option I've seen is the Pocketbook 360 Plus, but it doesn't seem to have much (if any) support available on the web, and from what I've seen on the forum here, the manufacturer seems to be doing less and less support. I've also not actually been able to get my hands on one, and I'm not sure how a 5" screen will be for reading. The 6" Kindle screen seemed about right, but definitely was lacking in most of the other areas I wanted.
I should also mention that I live in the United States, as that affects support and availability.
Needs:(More or less in order of priority)
(1) FAST refresh/page turn. I read VERY quickly, and I was constantly waiting on the Kindle for page turns.
(2) Easy on the eyes. (Probably eInk, unless some of the other tech will do the same.)
(3) Less black flash on page turns. I noticed that after a half hour or so of reading on the Kindle, the flash of the screen had started to hurt my eyes. If I read more slowly, this probably would not be an issue. I wouldn't mind an animated page turn, either.
(4) Customizability. I'm a techie and like to be able to tweak things "just so".
(5) Good technical support (software updates, etc.) and warranty from the manufacturer.
(6) Ability to drag and drop files from computer to put on reader without needing to add software to my computer.
(7) Multitude of file types. Mostly what I read now is from Gutenburg, so .txt and .html are a must.
Preferences: (not in any order)
(1) Case of some sort available to protect the screen.
(2) Not too many buttons. (QWERTY keypad not needed!)
(3) Relatively light. Similar to a paperback book, easy to hold with one hand.
(4) Screen size similar to reading size on a normal paperback book.
(5) Case with reading light available to purchase. (That's the one thing I really liked about the Kindle.)
(6) My husband would prefer that if it has buttons on both sides (like the Kindle) that you can customize it to have buttons on the left turn the pages back, and on the right turn the pages forward.
Things I don't care about at all:(1) Internet access. I expect that I'll mostly be loading the device from my PC, to make organizing things easier. If it has free access, that's fine, but I won't pay extra for it.
(2) Fancy color options. Plain old black or grey or white is fine for me.
(3) Ability to do anything other than read books. It is kinda fun if I can play games on it as well, but if it does that, my husband will want to be playing with it and I'll have to get a second one for myself!
Anyway, thanks for reading through all of that. If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them! Also, if you can give me a link to the device you suggest, that would help me out a lot.
Thanks!
LH