[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by SmokeAndMirrors

There's an issue though. No way I am getting a Kindle. Or a Nook. Which brings me to my first and most important criteria for an e-reader.

You should ignore the lock-in attempts and evaluate Kindle & Nook as devices, rather than as adverts/promotions for proprietary lock-in companies. They really can be used for a lot more content than Amazon or B&N would like. (That said, I don't want a Kindle because epub is a more versatile format than .mobi, and I don't like the extra size the keyboard brings; I don't want a Nook because the extra size & battery drain of the non-e-ink screen part, and because its support for sideloaded books--the ones not bought from their store--is shaky.)

1. Open-source. I am a total nerd over this. I run Linux on my desktop and my netbook, and I have an Android phone which is soon to be rooted. I hate DRM, and I hate "walled gardens." I don't want a device that tries to lock me out of my own possessions or prevent me from purchasing elsewhere. An e-reader which has a DRM-free store would be a major, major plus in my book. I know I can strip the DRM, but I don't want to support a company that practices that as a rule.

No ebook reader connects easily-and-simply to non-DRM stores, but books from non-DRM stores can be used on ANY e-reader. Kindle is worst for lock-in; DRM'd books from Amazon can't be read on non-Kindle (dedicated) ereaders, and you can't buy DRM'd ebooks from anywhere else & read them on the Kindle. (Without stripping the DRM. Which, I suspect, is not going to be something you fret about, but that doesn't mean you want the hassles.)

2. Price. I'm looking for affordable. $150 and under.

I suggest dropping this requirement. Not that I have anything specific in mind, but if you like (love) reading, and you find the device that has the features you want, pay *whatever* it costs. It'll be worth it. Don't settle for not-quite-right in order to save $25.

3. Travel-friendly. Apparently some e-readers with internet connectivity don't work outside the US? I travel a lot.

Kindle, Nook & Sony 950 are the only ones I know that have internet at all. (I could be wrong, in which case I'm sure someone will step in & correct me.)
E-ink on a 6" screen is not good for web browsing--you can check your mail, look up things at wikipedia, read text-heavy sites... but the multimedia support is pretty much nil, and the slow refresh speed means you can't (effectively) do chat or compose long messages.

An e-reader is *not* going to be a good web-browser; non-US support is secondary to that.

4. Preferably with news and magazines as an option. I wouldn't call it necessary, but I'd like it.

Those are options you can arrange for yourself with the right software; Calibre (and possibly other things) can set up subscriptions of RSS feeds, and magazines can be bought from several ebook stores. If it's not a big important feature, I'd suggest skipping it while you look for what is important, and then figure out how much news/mags you can get later.

5. Wifi would be good. If there's something that's not a Kindle which has free 3G that would be cool, though. As long as there is a way to turn off the wifi/3G to preserve battery.

Everything that has wireless internet has a way to shut it off. Nothing but the Kindle has free 3G. (Sony has it--but only to connect to their store.)

6. I'd prefer touch-enabled over a physical keyboard.

Touchscreens are trendy; more e-readers are getting them. I prefer buttons on the side, not a keyboard, but I'm not looking for internet or note-taking ability.

7. Something that reads a variety of formats would be a major plus.

The Sonys support .epub, .pdf, .rtf and .txt.
Nook supports .epub and .pdf.
Kindle: .mobi/.prc, .pdf and .txt.
Jinke ereaders (multiple brand names): .epub, .pdf (those two can do ADE DRM), .mobi... and claims to support .doc, .html, .txt and .fb2, but the one I have, those are all badly supported. (Anything that hyphenates the word "years" is not what I call format support.)

8. And of course, it would be grand if it played nice with Linux, or ran Linux itself... since everything I own is Linux.

I b'lieve most of them have a Linux kernel. You might look into the Open Inkpot project, which is open source firmware for the Jinke readers.

I was looking into the Kobo Touch. Does that sound like a likely candidate for me? If there is something coming out in the next month or two likely to fit my needs, that would be good to know.

Can't browse the internet on a Kobo; you can only access their store.

Also, do e-readers with wifi typically allow you to browse? I sometimes have readings assigned that are listed in a repository on the school website, which you then download and view as a PDF/Doc Viewer.

Won't work. Most don't have download, don't support javascript & other in-browser special displays. You'd have to download the documents on a computer & then sideload them to the ereader.

And PDF support ranges from "mediocre" to "atrocious" on all ereaders; this is mostly because of how the PDFs are made. (My PDFs work beautifully on my ereaders... because I make them with pages sized for 6" screens.)

If you intend to read a lot of PDFs for academic/research, you need a larger screen, like the Kindle DX; trying to read letter-sized PDFs on a 6" screen is a recipe for madness. You can do a few of them, but you're really not going to want that as a permanent method.

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I've been reading a Sony PRS-505 for a few years, and recently mostly-switched to a Pocket EZ-Reader, with a smaller screen. I read *constantly.* If you're going to have a netbook with you most of the time, you don't need wireless support on your ereader.

Worth noting:
1) No e-reader is really good for academic support. The navigation software doesn't support flipping back & forth between multiple books or chapter sections; the bookmarking/annotation options are rudimentary; display of PDFs is, charitably, limited. E-readers are designed for leisure reading, and they're incredible for that; using them for anything else takes creativity and causes frustration.

2) You haven't mentioned storage capacity. While it mostly doesn't matter (the idea of anyone *needing* an 8gb memory card for ebooks is ridiculous), it's worth being aware of while you're looking at what's available. Some readers support cards; some don't.

3) Most people who like reading, like whatever ereader they decide on. The joys of OMG 200 BOOKS IN MY POCKET ALL THE TIME outweigh whatever annoying idiosyncrasies they've wound up getting. They have pros and cons, but those are less important than "how important is it to you, to always have a book at hand?"