Quote:
Originally Posted by Vivan
I'm hoping to buy my first eBook reader, but know absolutely nothing about them. I've looked at the Sony PRS 300 and 505 and they both look good, but I don't really know about any non-Sony ones.
I'll be reading an assortment of books - the store (Sony store etc.) is not important. I'll probably be getting a lot of books, though being a slow reader as I am, I probably won't be having thousands on there at once (at least not at first). Don't really know what to expect - my only experience with eBooks is seeing other people with them on the tube - though I've been planning to get back in to reading and real books take up space/ are expensive.
I live in the UK so Kindle isn't an option.
Don't know if I want a 5' or 6', though I suppose 5' would be nicer. Would like it to be light and as small as possible. Would love an SD card slot but not 100% necessary...
Suggestions please?
EDIT: Actually weight is not an issue - I like solidly built gadgetry.
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I'm in Germany, but having Kindle is no problem at all.
You state, you won't use the (Sony) store, so Kindle works perfectly fine.
You don't have to use Amazon's bookshop (but you can use it and download via PC), but can buy Mobipocket books for example.
Or you can convert books via "calibre" for Kindle.
The only thing not working in Germany/UK is Whispernet.
There are rumors though about Kindle being available in UK before end of this year.
Concerning 5" vs. 6":
Personally, I find 5" a bit small. If you check the pictures, measurements of housings aren't that different.
Some claim, those 1.5" exactly would make the difference. You may be able to put a 5" unit into your trouser's pocket, 6" might be too bulky.
For me, those 1.5" don't matter at all, I carry my reader(s) in my suitcase or with my Notebook.
So I don't care that much about measurement of housing. But measurement of display IS important. And 5" for some books/formats simply means, not having enough information per page available.
To me, 5" simply is a 2nd source reader, but not the sole one. Many users agree, lots of others are perfectly fine with their 5" unit.
You just should check, whether the (slightly) smaller housing actually will have any benefit for you.
Concerning tips for selecting your reader:
I've got Sony 300, 505, 600 and 700. Personally, I clearly prefer 505 and 600. I don't like the "plastic frame" of Sony 300 and display of Sony 600 is superior to Sony 700.
I can recommend Kindle 2 as well. Kindle DX probably doesn't make any sense, as you already consider significantly smaller units.
Given your description, iRex probably won't have any advantage and is more expensive.
You may want to check out Cybook Gen 3 and Cybook Opus as well.
For the 5" units, I slightly prefer Cybook Opus over Sony 300, mainly because of the auto-rotation feature. And Cybook Gen3 may be a nice alternative to Sony 505.
BTW: Sony 505 is "end of life", but shouldn't worry about that. You'll find extremely low prices for Sony 505 for the remaining units on stock.