[seajewel]

I've been stoked to upgrade this year, but so far I'm pretty disappointed in all the offerings. I know it's impossible to really get everything I want, but I almost feel like waiting yet another generation before upgrading!

I want a device that has: physical page turn buttons, especially on the side (like the PRS-505 does on the right), matte casing, Wi-Fi, a web browser (to download from cloud services like Dropbox/Sugarsync), and touch.

It doesn't seem like a very extensive list, and yet it seems impossible to fulfill. The T1 has a glossy casing and not enough (in my opinion) page turn buttons. The Kindle No-Touch doesn't have touch, and there are a few reports of bad screen quality on the kindle forum. B&N Nook STR doesn't have a browser, or only a weird hidden browser that doesn't support downloading epubs. Kindle Touch has no physical page turn buttons at all.

i was still going to get the Kindle for the 3G alone, but now that 3G is restricted to Wiki and Amazon, I don't want to pay $50 for it. I thought about the Nook STR but i don't like the stock limitations, and I'm confused about the rooting options.. something about new hardware now that will be bricked if you try to root? I could be wrong on that, but I found it all confusing, don't like the lack of a browser (which makes no sense to me if they're not providing 3G for free anyways..) or the restriction of only 250mb of non-B&N content.

The T1, maybe with some new hacking to allow Android apps, is basically what I'd decided on, despite a few shortcomings (glossy case, fixable by DecalGirl I know, but I'd prefer to have the option to use it naked, not enough page turn buttons, and not enough customization options.. more fonts is nice, but ability to upload my own fonts, and to change margins/line spacing/indents would have been nice), but then.. I was reading on my 505 and realized I still love it. Of course there have been advancements in screen tech and Wi-Fi would be nice to get new books without having to hook it up. but it works SO WELL. and it has held up so well. It doesn't look "new".. the page turn buttons on the right have darkened a bit (so you can see I do prefer side page turn buttons) and there are a couple of chips on the top of the reader, but hey.. it looks ALMOST as good as new. and for something that I've used for more than three years very heavily, being a voracious reader, it's almost miraculous to me that it works so well, looks so good, and keeps on going. (Compare my iphone, which has been treated well, and the sleep button is breaking after only a year and is likely unfixable).

So my very long, boring thoughts on the new generation of E-Ink Readers aside.. I'm curious who still uses their 505, and are you going to upgrade this time around? Or are you still waiting? and if so, for what feature?

Maybe I'll just get a Kindle Fire just for fun, and wait on the matte epub-reading wi-fi e-ink touch reader with side page turn buttons (I'd like customization options like more fonts, indents, line spacing, margin options as in Stanza, but I can live without that). Maybe next year..