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Originally Posted by Freddy Bastiat
1. I've got my eye on the 5" Pocket Pro, but have since seen discussions of the 6" model recieving a number of "enhancements". Portability is of some importance for me, but readability is probably ranked higher in my evaluation. Is the 6" reader more "readable" than the 5"? Readable for me is comfort of viewing, how it feels in your hand, flow of text on screen, page turns, etc. I will do most of my reading at home (inside or outside on my deck) or at kid's soccer games. I may, on occasion, even throw it in my backpack for an extended trip into the backcountry.
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Both size screens are equally readable. You need to change pages a bit more frequently with the 5", but not enough to be a nuisance. Weight of the reader is certainly a factor, as is ease of page turns. I really like the fact that my 5" fits in my pocket and has a handy scroll wheel on the side for turning pages.
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2. I noticed that the new 6" model handles hyperlinks. Does the 5" model not handle hyperlinks? I need more background on this feature.
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The 5" model handles hyperlinks just fine. In books and magazines, hyperlinks are most frequently used for the table of contents. On the 5", the page forward button (the #0) moves you through the hyperlinks.
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3. Will the 6" model come with it's own cover like the 5"?
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According to the Astak release, it will come with a cover.
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4. I read a lot of pdfs currently on my computer - well, actually I usually end up just printing them off and binding them...part of the reason I'm considering getting an e-reader in the first place because I'm starting to have this stuff pile up. How well does each model handle pdfs where the text is from a scan (older books)? I don't expect much from this because I understand how scanned pdfs are displayed and can't really be reflowed as text. But are e-readers a good option for reading these types of files at all?
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Take a look at whether your pdfs were scanned as images or OCRed as text. If they were scanned as images, you might have a hard time with them on a reader, because they are seen as pictures. If they were OCRed, they might reflow without any problems. Charts, graphs, diagrams, and tables don't reflow in any way that's useful on a 5 or 6" reader. To see what yours are, open them in Adobe Acrobat, click on Select in the toolbar and see if you can copy and paste words from that document. If you can, it was probably OCRed. If you can't, it's seen as an image unless you run it through OCR yourself.
Alternatively, run them through Calibre and convert them to another format, like ePub. If the resulting document is readable on your computer, it will probably work just fine on a 5 or 6" screen.
If you do want to read pdfs with complex text, lots of graphics, etc, you'd probably be better off with a 9" model.
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5. What is the best way to recieve RSS feeds from websites and then reformat them to place them on the device?
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The best way is with Calibre. It has "recipes" that are designed to scrape the free stuff from hundreds of different websites and then reformat what comes out into books that you can put on the device. The resulting magazines tend to have lots of hyperlinks.
Not meaning to plug Calibre too much, but it's also an excellent program for organizing your books and loading them on a reader.
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6. Given my questions, which model would you recommend?
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That's a tough question. You said early on that you value readability over portability. In that case, you might be happier with a 6". I went for the 5" mostly because I wanted something that I could easily carry in my pocket and because I didn't especially like any of the 6" models available then. My plan has been to wait until the new generation of readers comes out this year to supplement the 5" with a 6". The 5" was a portable stopgap that I could carry around after I got a "real" reader with a clear touch screen. I've found that the smaller screen doesn't bother me if I read it in landscape mode.
I'd recommend going somewhere with Sony 5" and 6" on display. They should give you a feel for screen size and how often you would have to change pages. The 5" PEz is almost exactly the same size as the Sony 5"