Hello,
I'm just starting the process of researching ebook readers, and I'm lost! Right now I'm not even sure what I should be looking for.
For now, I just read free books I've downloaded from Google Books or Project Gutenberg. I don't anticipate spending much money on ebooks, as there are so many free classics out there. I'm not even sure what questions to ask at this point.
At first I thought I really wanted something with back lighting, so I'd be able to read at night. I'm not completely opposed to a book light, but the ones I've seen for ebooks run around $50, and if I break down and spend $270 on an ebook reader, I won't be able to spend an extra $50 on a light. But I suppose the extra light is something I could save for, after I've bought the reader.
Price is important for me. I'm still saving for an ebook reader, but I figure I'll be able to spend around $200. If I need to go up another $50 or so, I can, it will just take a little longer.
I don't know what ebook formats I should look for... I have Calibre downloaded, so I can probably convert ebooks to a different format if I need to, but it would be nice if that wasn't always a necessity. (I'm reading on my Palm T/X right now, so most things I want to read have to be converted.)
My Palm has a pretty small screen, so I think I would be content with a 5" reader. I've never actually seen an ebook reader in person, so I haven't quite grasped how big they are, other than through pictures. I do realize it will be much bigger than my Palm, but I am hoping to stay as compact as possible. I'm not completely opposed to going for one with a 6" screen, but from what I've seen the bigger the screen, the higher the price.
I don't need an ereader to play mp3's, I'd just as soon keep my small mp3 player for that. It doesn't need to have any wireless connections, as I don't mind downloading the books to my computer, then transferring them to the reader through USB.
I don't really think I need an SD slot, although I'm not opposed to having one. From what I've seen I could easily fit 100 books on any ebook reader out there, and that's more than I can imagine having at one time, anyway. I mean, I wouldn't be reading that much (probably a book a week, or so), and I'd just as soon store the books on my computer and transfer them to the reader when I'm ready for them.
My library will soon be offering ebook downloads, and those are epub with the adobe DRM. (Do I have those terms correct?) It would be nice to be able to download those books, but it's not absolutely necessary.
I saw that ereader.com has the eSlick with $100 worth of free ebooks, but I don't think that would work with the library books. And if I could find something cheaper, I'd prefer that as I could get it sooner. (I probably won't be getting anything for a few months, as I'm just starting my search. And I usually mull over things like this for a while before coming to a final decision.
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Does anyone have any other suggestions for things I should look for in an ereader? I figure once I know what kind of features I should look for, then I can narrow down the choices. I'd love any help anyone here can offer!
Oh, one thing I like on my Palm is if I'm reading and come across a word I'm unfamiliar with, I can click on it and it gives the option to look it up in the dictionary. I'd really like this option in an ebook reader, if possible. It doesn't need a touch screen, but if there is some way to select text through buttons, and look something up in a dictionary, that would be helpful. It's not mandatory, but it would be nice.
Also, I don't make any notes in the book or highlight, so that's not important. Although now that I think of it, if highlighting were an option, that would be nice. But it doesn't make or break it for me.
I can't think of any other questions at this time.
Thanks!