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Old 03-07-2009, 11:44 AM   #1548
dcalder
Zealot
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Posts: 127
Karma: 9856
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Device: Sony PRS-300/Kindle Keyboard/iPad Mini
Dictionary feature valuable? Not so much...

Quote:
Originally Posted by AbFabGab View Post
I just wanted to agree with Harry.
"you don't realise the value of until you have it"

I have the 505 and I absolutely LOVE it
but I can see where the dictionary feature
would enhance my reading experience.
Just had to add a word of caution from the opposite point of view: IMHO, the dictionary feature (I have the OED plus another dictionary - I don't even remember which - on the Cybook) is of very limited value. I think that I may have used it once or possibly twice in total, other than when I've been demonstrating the Cybook to someone. That's over the year plus that I've owned and used my Cybook. In that same time period, I've probably referenced my hardcover OED half a dozen times. So... I don't think that someone who doesn't already regularly reference a dictionary while reading would necessarily do so on their ebook reader. It's definitely not a deal-making-or-breaking selling point, as far as I'm concerned.

I'll also note that I happily turned my Cybook over to my mother once I received my BeBook. The Cybook's software may be slightly more stable - and the ability to read Overdrive Mobipocket library ebooks is a rather nice bonus - but the BeBook's hardware (which is the same as the Astak EZ Reader's) beats the Cybook hands down. The buttons are much more comfortable to use, either left- or right-handed and I actually *like* the fact that it's slightly heavier - it feels significantly less fragile and also a bit more familiar, like holding a paperback. It takes the best part of the Sony - the multiple buttons - and the best part of the Cybook - a wider range of format support - and combines those features.

When I gave my Cybook to my mom, it replaced a Sony 505 that she'd been using. The Sony's buttons were nicer - and I'll probably upgrade my mom to a BeBook or EZ Reader eventually to make up for that - but the Cybook feels much more comfortable to hold because it *isn't* cold metal. If only I could get the Cybook software and the BeBook/EZReader hardware, I'd have a nearly ideal device...
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