Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingston
I have all 4 of the US-sold eink devices plus the Jetbook. The Kindle is slower in opening menu items than Gen 3 or 505.
|
This is very interesting and exactly what I wanted to know.
Quote:
But much to my delight, I found that using the Calibre program with a lit file (after removing the drm) makes a letter-perfect copy in lrf format, with all the photos, clickable TOC and everything else included, just like you bought the book from Sony itself. But your conversion is drm free, and can be used on another device in the future should your needs change.
The 505 has the best menu structure and layout of controls, matched only by the Jetbook.
Get the Sony if you don't mind doing conversions. I can buy a book from Fictionwise and have it ready to read on the Sony is less than 5 minutes.
|
Hmm so this is pretty interesting to me. I won't open too much discussion here on conversion of DRM material, but I did research the combination of ConvertLIT and Calibre and could certainly manage that easy enough.
At this point here are my thoughts on the 3 main devices I'm considering.
Bookeen Cybook Gen3- Lightest Reader.
- Best font options.
- A little buggy for a $400 device I'm hearing.
- Just seems unpolished for a $400 device compared to other offerings.
- Will always be a very 3rd party kind of device - not necessarily good or bad.
Sony PRS-505- Least Expensive of the 3.
- Most readily available and from multiple vendors.
- IMO the best hardware design for how I intend to use an ebook reader.
- About tied for best UI along with the Kindle.
- Sony in general (good hardware, history of really annoying philosophy around DRM and proprietary formats.)
- To use mobipocket would need to convert - I don't mind converting as needed so not really an issue, but something to keep in mind.
Amazon Kindle- Whispernet service with access to Wikipedia, google, instant buying of books, etc.
- QWERTY Keyboard - this is good and bad for me and right now I'd say it's more on the bad side, but I've not spent time with it so it's hard to really say.
- Probably the most supported, most likely to continue being supported device of the 3 because Amazon has devoted *so* much effort to this project.
- About tied for best UI along with the 505.
- Conversely I don't like feeling so tied into Amazon.
- It is and always will be ugly IMO.
- Most expensive, but only barely more than the Cybook.
- A bit less battery life than the other 2 devices, though still respectable.
So thinking it through as I write up the list and tossing my own personal bias on it all - after all, it really comes down to personal preference - I'm leaning towards the Sony PRS-505. Wow... never would have thought that actually as I tend to shy away from Sony these days hehe.
I'll let all that simmer in the back of my mind tonight and maybe tomorrow make a final decision. Thank you all very much for the input - it's definitely appreciated and whatever I end up deciding in the end I'll certainly be sticking around here and hopefully become a part of this community.
EDIT: I can get the 505 with shipping for under $280 USD. That's a pretty significant difference from the $400 tag on a Kindle and nearly as much for the Gen3. That may really be the final point that moves the 505 into the winner's circle.
~Shadowplay~