Hello everyone,
I'm 25 years old from Romania (Europe).
I'm interested in buying an eBook. I'm currently at the stage where i
think I know what I want. So, I would ask of you to give me some advice.
The purpose of my eReader would be mainly literature (belletristic), some pdfs with small pictures (chess problems), and, not so importantly, technical IT manuals (SQL, web etc). File formats are not such a big issue, as any file can be converted to .rtf, even .txt if necessary (for literature). As for pdfs, rebuilding the entire file with changed page size is feasible if the need arose.
I'm not interested in DRM support. The web is full of free eBooks. Classical literature ftw!
Oh, one more important thing: I would like the possibility to read books written in different languages, many with non-Latin characters (Romanian, French, Finnish, maybe Arabic and Japanese at some point
).
I've been browsing the forum and wiki for a few weeks
, also other websites, gathering information on eReaders.
I'm looking to buy a 6" eInk device. I've narrowed down to: Sony PRS 505, BeBook, CyBook Gen3(?).
Honestly, I'm inclined more towards the Sony, because a colleague of mine has one, and has had only praise for it. (He promised that tomorrow he'll bring it at work, so I could see it
)
I'm not sure about it being too old, though, seeing that 505 already 2 years of age. Alternatives would be the soon-coming 300(5"-too small & no SD) and 600(touchscreen not too tempting, and may be generating reflections).
Both of these are not very appealing. Actually, is there any reason to release new models? Isn't the eInk screen identical? Is it just a market initiative?
Also, I'm not just yet ready to push out BeBook, mainly because of continuous grow(firmware updates). The wide format support, as I said, is not a big plus, as I'm not afraid to experiment with converting.
What I don't like about it is the left-positioning of the page turn buttons.
The mp3 player functions of these 2 devices seem useless. More weight to hold.
About Bookeen's products. Opus is 5", which seems kind of small. Gen3 is ugly IMHO, but this is not a reason
. Maybe I would consider it, if someone were to recommend it.
As I said I am open to any advice you could give me.
About ordering, there are some issues.
The 2 Europe devices: CyBook, BeBook are deliverable directly to Romania, from the official sites.
The Sony I can buy from eBay, with it's total price (product, transport, customs, VAT) being about 50 euros (65 USD)
cheaper than the Gen3 and BeBook (which both are around 300 euros).
Are the 50 euros worth it, or should I go with the Sony? (this is more a rhetoric question than an ultimatum
)
Thank you for your attention. Awaiting answers with great interest.
P.S.: Forgot one question:
When changing a page, the eInk screen resets to fully black, then displays the next page.
It sounds like it's very disturbing, when immersed in the plot of a good novel.
Are there any eReaders without this drawback?