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Dellaster · 03-11-2010, 02:45 PM

Hi Hamish. I had similar criteria to you when I was discussing with a couple people what would be my ideal e-reading device. My reading is nearly 100% long-form prose (novels), so what I wanted was something that presented that re-flowable text in the best possible manner while being easy to hold and operate.

The list of essentials I came up with was surprisingly short, but seemingly unlikely to appear on the market. Roughly in order of importance:

Screen Size - 7-8 inch. An 8" reader would be closer to the size of a book page; it's about 78% greater area than a 6" screen (depending on relative aspect ratio). Larger screens (9-inch and up) run into unavoidable conflicts with #3 below.
Readability - contrast/non-glare at least as good as the Kindle 2, which is close to the limit for my eyes, for long reading sessions.
Form Factor - not much, if any, bigger or heavier than the Kindle 2. For holding the thing during long reading sessions. Should be able to hold one-handed for extended periods of time.
ePub - I like Mobipocket well enough, but ePub appears to be the future. And it's an excellent format for re-flowing text.
Controls - page turn buttons on both left and right sides like the Kindle 2. So I can swap which hand I'm using during long reading sessions.

Things not essential:

PDF Support - Never use 'em. Any long-form fiction in PDF can be easily converted to a re-flowing format like ePub. (Barring unbreakable DRM, that is.)
Wireless - loading the device over USB from my computer is plenty good enough.
Dictionary - I have never, ever used dictionary look-up on my Kindle 2. If it's in English, I can read it just fine.
Annotation - I have never made notes in the long-form prose books or ebooks I've read.
Other Bells & Whistles - I like silence while reading, so an mp3 player is a waste; no need to view image files; etc.

At that time I had yet to hear of the Sony 900 or the iRex 800. I was pretty stoked when I did. Unfortunately, the Sony fell down on essential point #2 (readability). The iRex, with the Wacom touch sensor behind the e-ink screen (subjectively, I think it looks a bit more readable than the Kindle 2), doesn't fall down until essential point #5, my least essential desire for the perfect e-reader. The flip-bar control is only on the left side.

Good enough, I decided, so I bought the iRex. I'm very happy with my decision so far. I would like to be able to turn the pages with my right hand, but I've found that I can live without that ideal feature. The flip-bar is far, far better than the Cybook Gen3's 5-way button, at least.

Something closer to my ideal may come out in the future, but at the moment iRex's DR800 is much closer to that ideal than anything else out there.

03-11-2010, 02:45 PM	#8
Dellaster 本の虫 Posts: 242 Karma: 344 Join Date: May 2008 Location: USA Device: Kindle3, DXG, Fire · iPad, iPod	Ideal for "just reading" Hi Hamish. I had similar criteria to you when I was discussing with a couple people what would be my ideal e-reading device. My reading is nearly 100% long-form prose (novels), so what I wanted was something that presented that re-flowable text in the best possible manner while being easy to hold and operate. The list of essentials I came up with was surprisingly short, but seemingly unlikely to appear on the market. Roughly in order of importance: Screen Size - 7-8 inch. An 8" reader would be closer to the size of a book page; it's about 78% greater area than a 6" screen (depending on relative aspect ratio). Larger screens (9-inch and up) run into unavoidable conflicts with #3 below. Readability - contrast/non-glare at least as good as the Kindle 2, which is close to the limit for my eyes, for long reading sessions. Form Factor - not much, if any, bigger or heavier than the Kindle 2. For holding the thing during long reading sessions. Should be able to hold one-handed for extended periods of time. ePub - I like Mobipocket well enough, but ePub appears to be the future. And it's an excellent format for re-flowing text. Controls - page turn buttons on both left and right sides like the Kindle 2. So I can swap which hand I'm using during long reading sessions. Things not essential: PDF Support - Never use 'em. Any long-form fiction in PDF can be easily converted to a re-flowing format like ePub. (Barring unbreakable DRM, that is.) Wireless - loading the device over USB from my computer is plenty good enough. Dictionary - I have never, ever used dictionary look-up on my Kindle 2. If it's in English, I can read it just fine. Annotation - I have never made notes in the long-form prose books or ebooks I've read. Other Bells & Whistles - I like silence while reading, so an mp3 player is a waste; no need to view image files; etc. At that time I had yet to hear of the Sony 900 or the iRex 800. I was pretty stoked when I did. Unfortunately, the Sony fell down on essential point #2 (readability). The iRex, with the Wacom touch sensor behind the e-ink screen (subjectively, I think it looks a bit more readable than the Kindle 2), doesn't fall down until essential point #5, my least essential desire for the perfect e-reader. The flip-bar control is only on the left side. Good enough, I decided, so I bought the iRex. I'm very happy with my decision so far. I would like to be able to turn the pages with my right hand, but I've found that I can live without that ideal feature. The flip-bar is far, far better than the Cybook Gen3's 5-way button, at least. Something closer to my ideal may come out in the future, but at the moment iRex's DR800 is much closer to that ideal than anything else out there.