Hey all,
I've been lurking for a while but this is my first post. I've done a lot of research on the various options out there and was just hoping to get some feedback. I think it's come down to the smartQ 7 and the soon-to-be-released-hopefully Astak Mentor line.
I am a PhD student looking for a reader with the following:
1. Budgeted for a poverty-stricken graduate student (<$300, sorry Iliad and DX!)
2. Portable/commute-tough
3. Ability to mark-up, take notes directly on a PDF
4. Ability to read letter-size (a4) PDFs that are about 65% text, 35% charts/tables without too much trouble/tinkering (i.e. I have limited time to run them through various converters)
5. Nice ability to quickly search/sort a large # of PDFs
6. Web connectivity would be nice, but optional.
7. Preferably Eink/Pixel Qi, though I am willing to go in faith with an LCD.
Except for this last point, I think the Q7 would fit the bill and I think the upcoming Mentor line would also fit the bill. I am not sure whether the EB600 Grace/Swifty lines would work as well for PDFs as the EB900 or not.
Are there any other good candidates I am missing? I am aware of the great LCD/E ink debate, but was hoping that if there were any other options, you might provide some guidance. Also, I know there’s a lot of new large readers coming out: would any others fit the bill? I can wait.
Thank you!
P.S. FWIW, I hate reading outside and in the dark