Quote:
Originally Posted by alexo
Hello people,
I am looking for recommendations for an e-reader suitable for an older (70-something), non-technical person.
Due to eyesight problems that come with age, I'd like to get her a unit with a big screen (I'm thinking 8-10"), an E-ink or similar technology that provides high contrast and is easy on the eyes (not LCD) and an ability to easily change fonts and font sizes.
Because the books she reads are available from various online libraries in various formats, the unit should work with foreign fonts and languages (Russian in particular; right-to-left language support is a big plus), be able to display lots of formats (TXT, PDF, DOC/RTF, HTML plus the common e-book formats) and feature easy transfer of files from a PC to the e-reader.
Other features that I'd like it to have is a long battery life between charges, easy and intuitive operation and, if possible, reasonable price.
I'd like to state in advance that I have zero prior experience with e-readers so I will rely mostly on your expertise. Please recommend responsibly 
Thank you!
PS,
A cursory search revealed the following models with large screens:
Amazon Kindle DX / DXG
Onyx International Boox M9x
PocketBook Pro 9xx
Ectaco jetBook Color
Asus DR-900
Will one of these fit the bill? |
My mother is 87 and she is happy with a 6" screen. She has some pretty severe eye problems which is why I got her a kindle 3 when they first came out. The text to speech was what attracted me but she has never used ut.
Still nice that I can buy or email her books as she lives on the opposite coast and has never shopped online.
She visits annually and when she left her kindle at my sister's I leant her a 5" Sony 350 ereader. She seemed to like this as well or better and had no problem reading on it for several hours a day.
Larger screen is good, but overall size and ease of use are very important to the elderly
Not much support for right to left languageAFAIK, but if Russian books are available from the library they can probably be read.
BTW if you are in Canada as I am there are no kindle library books available in most libraries. And if she non-techical I wonder how much of a priority .rtf and html etc. files are to her.
I'd recommend a Sony but lots of other good choices I am sure.
Future Shop is generally competitive in pricing and is usually good about returns if you make the wrong choice.
Helen