Thanks for all your help, guys.
I'm still trying to decide, but I have made a few decisions. First, I now definitely know I want one with e-ink. But, I think all of your suggestions are e-readers with e-ink, so that's a moot point I guess! Second, I've kind of given up on handwriting recognition for now. Of the ones I can find with it, they either are too expensive or just for one reason or another don't seem right.
Based on all your suggestions, I have been searching around the web researching and now have a subject-to-change list of ones I'm likely to end up getting:
Most Appealing At The Moment - Nook. First, boswd, your post was fantastic and very informative, so thank you a lot. But I didn't just base this off one post. The nook seems like it may not be perfect, but it may have the best combination of what I'm looking for. What I'm reading in reviews about Kindle is how it really tries to restrict usage to only its e-book store, which has frustrated other users and I'm sure it will me. nook also restricts usage, but from what I'm reading is a little more open. I know Amazon has the biggest store at the moment, but the nook is apparently good with more than just one bookstore, making the selection actually larger. I also like the idea of free first chapter reading at the B&N store, free hour of reading in a B&N physical store, and free coupons for Starbucks and stuff. It also has a dictionary and can take notes and stuff, and I think I can live with a small touchscreen keyboard. Plus, it's so cheap at the moment I can hardly believe it. This does not mean I've made up my mind already; though I could be on my way to it unless I find something bad I didn't know about the nook or better I didn't know about the others.
Close second - Bebook Neo/Onyx Boox. I really want this one. It has a stylus and though it doesn't do handwriting to text, you can handwrite on it, as well as draw and stuff, and take notes and more. So it has a lot of good features. There are two main problems though - One is that it still apparently costs $300 - twice as much as the nook. Can I justify that just for the ability to write with a stylus? I don't know but probably not. Two is that from what I've read you can only order it directly from the manufacturer for the U.S. and they're European. Apparently this means I can't return it under any circumstances (!
) and there's going to be a hefty shipping and customs charge added to my order which would make it a good bit more than $300. Also, for a tech newb like me, downloading books may be harder on this device than the nook. And, just browsing their forums real fast, it seems to get a dictionary in it you have to manually download it, which may be easy but for me may be hard. And it I have to do that trouble just for an in-device dictionary, what other trouble may I be in for?
A Slightly Farther Away Third - Kindle 2. I really like the look of this one. I even like the name! I like the ease of usage on it, which from reviews it seems to be the easiest of all to use. But, as I said above, the file format/bookstore thing turns me off. For someone like me who is not good with all that stuff, I can see myself getting annoyed when I want something on it and it won't work or I have to pay money to buy it from Amazon when it's free elsewhere. Now, that doesn't mean I don't like this one! It's still a very viable option and in my Top 3.
Pretty Much Out Of The Running - Sony PRS-600 and 900. I have nothing against Sony, I promise! Just the reviews make me weary of them. The 900 is I think a little too big for me, and the most expensive of all. It does have some great features, but I just don't think it's for me. The 600, I've heard terrible things about the screen, and I've also heard Sony's store isn't great. It actually costs more than the nook now, so I just don't think I'm at all interested in the Sony one. I do like that it supports many file formats but that's not enough for me to want it I don't think. If I'm going to really go for one that supports many file formats, I'll probably spend the extra and go with the neo.
So, unless some other one I haven't paid attention to pops up, I'm probably going to get a nook, neo/boox or a Kindle2. That's what I've narrowed it down to, which is sort of funny since that very first review I read had those as the top 3. But I used all of your input to help narrow it down, and will continue to since I'm so new to it.
I'm going to a B&N tomorrow to see the nook if they have it so I can try it out, and maybe try a Target to see if they have a Kindle display? I don't think neo would be anywhere on display.
I don't think there's any questions I have about the Kindle at the moment, but I still have a few about the neo/boox and the nook:
-Can you do landscape, 2-page view on the nook? I thought I wouldn't want landscape view, but I just found out today that in landscape you can have 2 pages appear as it looks when you're reading a physical book, and I'd really like that.
-On the nook, does the colour screen on bottom go black or go off while you're reading? I really hope so, cause it could be a deal-breaker otherwise. It would be very distracting and annoying to me to have that colour screen on bottom while I'm reading on top, especially at night when I'm reading in low light in bed, which is where I often read.
-nook does support the web, right? I thought it did but some reviews say no, that only Kindle does. Not that I really need it, but I would want it to browse bookstores and stuff, and maybe wikipedia.
-nook wi-fi vs nook wi-fi/3g. What's the big difference? I'd much rather get the cheaper one obviously, and I thought wi-fi was better than 3g?!? Does 3g just make the internet available in more places or something?
-As for neo/boox, what is the difference between the two? Are they both available in the U.S.? Does anyone have either one? Were you worried about the no-return policy and how are you liking the device?