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Djehuty · 03-22-2009, 06:52 PM

My apologies for posting so many questions in such a short time. This will be the last, at least for a while.

I've been trying to puzzle out which reader to buy, and I'm beginning to wonder whether I should buy anything just now. I definitely want one -- one book read on a Kindle 2 had me hooked -- but it seems they all have some truly impressive drawbacks.

A brief list of my e-book needs: Good screen quality, reliability, good PDF support, Mobipocket support, able to use it in the US and Canada. Wireless, dictionary lookup, annotation, and so forth are nice but not necessary.

Please tell me if I have any of this wrong, or if I should re-think any of these conclusions....

Kindle - Pro: Looks nice, works well, large selection through Amazon. Con: Forever limited to Amazon only, very poor PDF support, incompatible with Canada.

iRex iLiad - Pro: Nice large screen, PDF and Mobipocket. Con: Very expensive, poor tech support and customer service, poor battery life, service requires shipping to Europe.

iRex Digital Reader - Pro: Very large screen, PDF and Mobipocket. Con: Astonishingly expensive, poor tech support and customer service, poor battery life, slow and buggy, service requires shipping to Europe.

Cybook - Pro: Mobipocket and PDF, cheaper than the iLiad. Con: Only four shades of grey, same price as the Kindle (which seems high), service requires shipping to Europe.

BEBOOK / EZ-Reader - Pro: Supports just about every format in the universe, less expensive than most. Con: Only four greyscale shades, rebranding of Chinese product through companies I've never heard of, who knows what will happen if it needs service or support.

Sony PRS-505 - Pro: Looks good, good screen, good PDF support, good tech and customer support, good warranty (which none of the others seem to have). Con: No Mobipocket support, therefore only a rather small selection of current books available.

Maybe I'm making too much of the various drawbacks, but I'm actually beginning to regret sending my Kindle back -- even though I wouldn't be able to use it after I move to Canada!

So, in a word:

03-22-2009, 06:52 PM	#1
Djehuty Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: none	Should I buy a reader at all? (Help!) My apologies for posting so many questions in such a short time. This will be the last, at least for a while. I've been trying to puzzle out which reader to buy, and I'm beginning to wonder whether I should buy anything just now. I definitely want one -- one book read on a Kindle 2 had me hooked -- but it seems they all have some truly impressive drawbacks. A brief list of my e-book needs: Good screen quality, reliability, good PDF support, Mobipocket support, able to use it in the US and Canada. Wireless, dictionary lookup, annotation, and so forth are nice but not necessary. Please tell me if I have any of this wrong, or if I should re-think any of these conclusions.... Kindle - Pro: Looks nice, works well, large selection through Amazon. Con: Forever limited to Amazon only, very poor PDF support, incompatible with Canada. iRex iLiad - Pro: Nice large screen, PDF and Mobipocket. Con: Very expensive, poor tech support and customer service, poor battery life, service requires shipping to Europe. iRex Digital Reader - Pro: Very large screen, PDF and Mobipocket. Con: Astonishingly expensive, poor tech support and customer service, poor battery life, slow and buggy, service requires shipping to Europe. Cybook - Pro: Mobipocket and PDF, cheaper than the iLiad. Con: Only four shades of grey, same price as the Kindle (which seems high), service requires shipping to Europe. BEBOOK / EZ-Reader - Pro: Supports just about every format in the universe, less expensive than most. Con: Only four greyscale shades, rebranding of Chinese product through companies I've never heard of, who knows what will happen if it needs service or support. Sony PRS-505 - Pro: Looks good, good screen, good PDF support, good tech and customer support, good warranty (which none of the others seem to have). Con: No Mobipocket support, therefore only a rather small selection of current books available. Maybe I'm making too much of the various drawbacks, but I'm actually beginning to regret sending my Kindle back -- even though I wouldn't be able to use it after I move to Canada! So, in a word: Last edited by Djehuty; 03-22-2009 at 07:32 PM.