MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - The screen on my PRS-500 finally cracked, considering replacements

kichigai · 03-27-2012, 06:43 PM

Well, my PRS-500 finally bit the dust. Right now I'm looking into possible replacements for it, and I actually have a fairly decent set of features I'm looking for. Right now I'm looking at the Nook Simple Touch, and the latest generation basic Kindle, but I'm open to other possibilities (I'm just afraid I've been out of the game so long I really don't know where to start with other e-readers).

Things I want the most out of my e-reader:

Reading PDFs — Primarily text. I know reflow is garbage, but sometimes this is all I have to work with, and 98% of the time it's readable on my PRS-500, so how bad can newer devices be?
Reading ePubs — The unencrypted kind. I had just put "A Princess of Mars" on my reader...
Landscape Mode — On occasion some of the documents I'm working with contain some images that really ought to be viewed at 800px width, and not 600px width.
Library books — I do get books from my library, on occasion. Our local library uses OverDrive, which employs Kindle DRM, as wells as Adobe DRM on PDFs and ePubs. Their compatibility page seems a bit out of date...
E-Ink display — I strongly prefer an eInk display, or some similar technology. If I wanted a tablet, I'd be looking at an iPad right now. If I wanted color, I'd just use my phone (and its stunning SAMOLED screen).
Text document support — I often am reading screenplays or other related documents to various productions I'm working on (scripts, interviews, logs, etc.) and it would be nice if there was support for at least RTF or DOC, but I'm willing to give this one up and convert the files to ePubs if I can get a better deal.

I'm pretty easy to please. My price range is about $70-130, depending on features and value for money. I'm leaning towards ad-free versions of things, but depending on how unintrusvie the ads are, I may just pay to remove the ads later (if that's possible).

I'd like to stick with a six inch screen, but I'll go smaller if the price is right. I'm not really interested in going too much bigger, unless I'm getting something worthwhile out of all that extra bulk.

A web browser would be really nice, but it's not a deal-breaker, and I like to think that a touch screen is really convenient if I ever use the on-screen keyboard or dictionary, but I'm willing to give that up if the price is right (or other features make it worth my money). I don't have a whole lot invested in any particular store, yet. I've only got one book tied down to the Sony Reader store, and I'm willing to give it up.

Right now, for simplicity sake I'm looking only at new readers. But if I can get a really good one used, I'll consider it (like, say, a Sony PRS-950. I hear those are particularly good). I just don't know what the used market is like for these things, and if they're even worth buying used.

All in all, the Sony Reader T1 sounds like a good reader for me, but it sounds like Amazon and Barnes and Noble have the better content deals, and seem like better deals at a lower price point. The Kobo Wireless seems too basic for me, and I don't know what to think about the Kobo Touch. Am I missing something in my price range that deserves a second look? Are there things about these readers I should know, but don't know?

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

03-27-2012, 06:43 PM	#1
kichigai Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Minnesota Metro Device: PRS-500	The screen on my PRS-500 finally cracked, considering replacements Well, my PRS-500 finally bit the dust. Right now I'm looking into possible replacements for it, and I actually have a fairly decent set of features I'm looking for. Right now I'm looking at the Nook Simple Touch, and the latest generation basic Kindle, but I'm open to other possibilities (I'm just afraid I've been out of the game so long I really don't know where to start with other e-readers). Things I want the most out of my e-reader: Reading PDFs — Primarily text. I know reflow is garbage, but sometimes this is all I have to work with, and 98% of the time it's readable on my PRS-500, so how bad can newer devices be? Reading ePubs — The unencrypted kind. I had just put "A Princess of Mars" on my reader... Landscape Mode — On occasion some of the documents I'm working with contain some images that really ought to be viewed at 800px width, and not 600px width. Library books — I do get books from my library, on occasion. Our local library uses OverDrive, which employs Kindle DRM, as wells as Adobe DRM on PDFs and ePubs. Their compatibility page seems a bit out of date... E-Ink display — I strongly prefer an eInk display, or some similar technology. If I wanted a tablet, I'd be looking at an iPad right now. If I wanted color, I'd just use my phone (and its stunning SAMOLED screen). Text document support — I often am reading screenplays or other related documents to various productions I'm working on (scripts, interviews, logs, etc.) and it would be nice if there was support for at least RTF or DOC, but I'm willing to give this one up and convert the files to ePubs if I can get a better deal. I'm pretty easy to please. My price range is about $70-130, depending on features and value for money. I'm leaning towards ad-free versions of things, but depending on how unintrusvie the ads are, I may just pay to remove the ads later (if that's possible). I'd like to stick with a six inch screen, but I'll go smaller if the price is right. I'm not really interested in going too much bigger, unless I'm getting something worthwhile out of all that extra bulk. A web browser would be really nice, but it's not a deal-breaker, and I like to think that a touch screen is really convenient if I ever use the on-screen keyboard or dictionary, but I'm willing to give that up if the price is right (or other features make it worth my money). I don't have a whole lot invested in any particular store, yet. I've only got one book tied down to the Sony Reader store, and I'm willing to give it up. Right now, for simplicity sake I'm looking only at new readers. But if I can get a really good one used, I'll consider it (like, say, a Sony PRS-950. I hear those are particularly good). I just don't know what the used market is like for these things, and if they're even worth buying used. All in all, the Sony Reader T1 sounds like a good reader for me, but it sounds like Amazon and Barnes and Noble have the better content deals, and seem like better deals at a lower price point. The Kobo Wireless seems too basic for me, and I don't know what to think about the Kobo Touch. Am I missing something in my price range that deserves a second look? Are there things about these readers I should know, but don't know? Thanks for any advice you can give me! Last edited by kichigai; 03-27-2012 at 06:46 PM. Reason: Forgot to mention something!