MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Looking for inexpensive e-reader w/ good collection management

ProfCrash · 09-27-2011, 10:20 AM

Honestly, it comes down to personal preference. Go to a Best Buy or Staples and play with the different devices. Buy the one that you feel most comfortable with. They are all good quality devices, that hold alarge number of books, have good battery life, and have a ton of books available for them.

I have three Kindles and love them all. Amazon is making an announcement this week and that could include the K4 with a touch screen. We will know Wednesday.

What I want:
1. E-Ink screen that minimizes eyestrain. (I have bad eyesight and thus place reading materials within a few inches of my face, which causes eyestrain quickly.)

All of the major e-readers have an e-ink option and all have the PEarl screen.

2. Inexpensive- under $150

You can get a Kindle WiFi for $114 in the US.

3. Memory expansion- I plan on having as many books as possible, ie in the thousands.

The Kindle can hold 3,500 books without expanding memory. That more then meets the requirement of holding thousands of books on a device. The Nook and Sony have memory card slots. You are more likely to need the memory card for a Nook because the vast majority of memory is set aside for books from BN.

4. Good collection management- I'd like to be able to categorize stories by author/genre/etc in easy to access folders. I don't want to have to scroll through all my books just to find the one I need.

All of the e-readers have this. I have a series of collections on my Kindles that work very nicely. Books can be placed in multiple collections to make finding them easier.

5. Small form factor- Can be held in one hand and carried around; will fit in a large purse. I'm not really a fan of the larger physical keyboards because it seems like they add unnecessary bulk. If it's a well-designed keyboard I'll try it, but the Kindle keyboard and others like it just look ridiculously annoying.

All of the e-readers are going to fit in a large purse and can be held in one hand. The K3 fits easily in a medium size purse, so no problem with a large purse. I hold my K3 with one hand. Heck, I hold my DXG with one hand. I happen to like the keyboard but that is a personal thing. My point is that the keyboard does not make the K3 so heavy or klunky you need two hands.

6. Supports multiple formats/or will read books from various sources. I'm still sort of hazy on all the ins and outs of ebook formats, conversion, and so forth, but I know I'd like to be able to put fanfic from online on the e-reader.

Format does not matter. The Amazon ebook sotre carries over a million titles, youc an down load free books from websites such as Mobile Reads in Kindle format, you can check out library books with a Kindle, and there are a decent number of smaller book stores that sell Mobi books without DRM. So the lack of EPub is not a problem for the Kindle. There are more stores that sell EPub books but for the most part, there are the same number of titles available in Mobi as in EPub and they are priced the same in the US.

7. Durable and/or available accessories to protect it from getting broken 8 seconds after purchase.

All of the major e-readers are going to be fine. A protective cover will help and you can even get covers with lights for reading in darker places. I have not heard of any of the e-readers on the market having problems with breaking too fast. I have a K1 that still works fine. Plenty of Nook Classics and Sony 505s are running around.

09-27-2011, 10:20 AM	#11
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	Honestly, it comes down to personal preference. Go to a Best Buy or Staples and play with the different devices. Buy the one that you feel most comfortable with. They are all good quality devices, that hold alarge number of books, have good battery life, and have a ton of books available for them. I have three Kindles and love them all. Amazon is making an announcement this week and that could include the K4 with a touch screen. We will know Wednesday. What I want: 1. E-Ink screen that minimizes eyestrain. (I have bad eyesight and thus place reading materials within a few inches of my face, which causes eyestrain quickly.) All of the major e-readers have an e-ink option and all have the PEarl screen. 2. Inexpensive- under $150 You can get a Kindle WiFi for $114 in the US. 3. Memory expansion- I plan on having as many books as possible, ie in the thousands. The Kindle can hold 3,500 books without expanding memory. That more then meets the requirement of holding thousands of books on a device. The Nook and Sony have memory card slots. You are more likely to need the memory card for a Nook because the vast majority of memory is set aside for books from BN. 4. Good collection management- I'd like to be able to categorize stories by author/genre/etc in easy to access folders. I don't want to have to scroll through all my books just to find the one I need. All of the e-readers have this. I have a series of collections on my Kindles that work very nicely. Books can be placed in multiple collections to make finding them easier. 5. Small form factor- Can be held in one hand and carried around; will fit in a large purse. I'm not really a fan of the larger physical keyboards because it seems like they add unnecessary bulk. If it's a well-designed keyboard I'll try it, but the Kindle keyboard and others like it just look ridiculously annoying. All of the e-readers are going to fit in a large purse and can be held in one hand. The K3 fits easily in a medium size purse, so no problem with a large purse. I hold my K3 with one hand. Heck, I hold my DXG with one hand. I happen to like the keyboard but that is a personal thing. My point is that the keyboard does not make the K3 so heavy or klunky you need two hands. 6. Supports multiple formats/or will read books from various sources. I'm still sort of hazy on all the ins and outs of ebook formats, conversion, and so forth, but I know I'd like to be able to put fanfic from online on the e-reader. Format does not matter. The Amazon ebook sotre carries over a million titles, youc an down load free books from websites such as Mobile Reads in Kindle format, you can check out library books with a Kindle, and there are a decent number of smaller book stores that sell Mobi books without DRM. So the lack of EPub is not a problem for the Kindle. There are more stores that sell EPub books but for the most part, there are the same number of titles available in Mobi as in EPub and they are priced the same in the US. 7. Durable and/or available accessories to protect it from getting broken 8 seconds after purchase. All of the major e-readers are going to be fine. A protective cover will help and you can even get covers with lights for reading in darker places. I have not heard of any of the e-readers on the market having problems with breaking too fast. I have a K1 that still works fine. Plenty of Nook Classics and Sony 505s are running around.