I'm shopping for an ereader for the first time. I'd wait for a few months, but I'm moving to Costa Rica next month and book availability there is tough.
I've checked the matrix and read up a bit, and succeeded in knocking off the iRex options (budget is $400 or less) and Sony (leery ever since they tried to foist atrac on the world). I'd really appreciate if someone could confirm my impressions and answer the questions I have left.
I searched online for the last 15 books I've read to see what ebook formats they were available in, since I've never read/bought an ebook:
- 6 books not available in any format
- 6 books were mobi, Kindle & pdf
- 2 books were Kindle & mobi
- 1 book was Kindle & pdf
- 1 book was Kindle only
1. Does Amazon have a lot of books not available anywhere else? They don't make this obvious and it seems like it would be a selling point. If it's all the same, I'd go for something that can handle drm mobi w/ native pdf support over the Kindle. (I read the post about stripping mobi drm for use on Kindle and I don't trust Amazon to ignore it since they own Mobipocket - but I wouldn't use Whispernet at all)
2. Do (most) pdfs convert well to mobi or Kindle? I know pdf is really meant for mimicking printed paper.
Here are some specific impressions & questions on the contenders:
Bebook
- Supports a lot of formats, but is it quantity over a quality? Maybe only pdf/mobi support matters, but I have some computer books in chm that I wouldn't mind reading.
- Usb 1.1 is slow, but does it matter for small files?
Cybook
- Saw a video review and really liked the UI
- Multiple font sizes is nice, but does it really work? This would be a big bonus, to be able to really customize the experience. (I know this doesn't apply to pdf)
eSlick
- Great price, but may be vaporware
- PDF reflow looks cool, but would it work on all pdfs (that aren't just scanned pictures)?
- Is PDF reflow worth picking one device over another?
- No mobi support - can mobis be converted to pdf well? It seems backward, but if it worked than it might be worth the savings in price.
Kindle
- Their drm is skeevy (feels like renting books if I can't move them off the device- there must be hacks around this)
- Love the ability to take notes (I mark up all the books I own)
- USB 2, SDHC are big plusses
- Wireless functions useless outside US
- It's fugly
I'll keep reading & researching, but any wisdom that y'all can share would be greatly appreciate.
Arp