Hi All,
This is my first time posting after a lot of time lurking. There's lots of interesting stuff to read on here!
I spent a lot of time (my wife might say too much time!) doing research, mostly on reviews, trying to narrow things down. I'm paralyzed by the variety of readers, the variety of DRM-protected formats, the idea that the e-reader I get now isn't going to be able to read the books I can get in the future, and the thought that a new e-reader might mean losing all my old books.
(Yes, I know you can hack the DRM out and reformat as needed, but I'd prefer my e-reading to be legal--I'm a US resident. I don't need the e-reader police coming and zapping me because I opted to make an epub Stephen King into a mobi.)
As far as what I want out of an e-reading device, I guess my first priority is something that file-wise is going to be there for me in the long haul. I fully expect to upgrade readers just like I upgrade computers and phones, but I want to make sure there's a good chance I can take my e-books with me when I make the device change, at least for awhile.
After that, I'm not as picky. Screen size isn't make or break for me, nor is font size. I don't plan to put MP3s on it, that's what an Ipod is for. The only kind of PDF I'd use would be entirely text, like scanned pages of an English journal. I don't care about a touch screen, unless that screen makes it harder to read.
Limited internet would be nice, maybe to take a break and tweet about what I am reading, check e-mail, or hit up a news site. But it's not a requirement, as my phone can do that, but not, sadly, e-read.
I think I'd like removable storage, or at least know I can store e-books I don't need right now on my reader on my computer or external hard drive.
I go back and forth on note-taking. I kinda want it, but I don't exactly note-up books now. And if I can't export the notes, it's useless to me.
I like the idea of being able to use the library, but if they don't have books I like to read or are tied up all the time, it's not going to see a lot of use.
Price is a consideration, but I'm willing to pay more for a better machine within reason (no $400 reader for me). I'd hate to pay $100 for a Libre and hate it, when I can afford to go up to Kindle2 level.
In terms of what I was thinking, I'm more or less down to a Sony, nook, or Kindle2, but I'm open to other ideas.
I initially hated the nook, but the recent firmware update changed my mind, as it was a lot faster and added the limited internet to make it stack up with the Kindle2 better. But I'm terrified of all the service issues I've been reading about, including this new thing with the cracked buttons.
I almost got a Sony 300, but I don't like that it doesn't have the removable storage. I liked the 600 better, but I thought the touch screen was harder to read on, at least in the store. It also seemed a little slow. However, it does have the card slot (and is on sale at a deep discount this week). I also didn't like what I read about Sony's software.
In terms of the Kindle, I love the bookstore and the company, but the fact that they basically only support their own file type and no one else does worries the hell out of me.
If you've read this far, thank you. That's what I've manged to come up with. I've REALLY spent a lot of time on this, and I feel like it's time to just pick a reader and start reading. Any advice based on what I've said above would be appreciated.
Thanks again,
Rob