Quote:
Originally Posted by basschick
i had thought that since ereader was a sony format, that the sony 505 would be able to read it, and since the sony seemed to cover everything else i wanted, i was planning to get one.
but i just read at books on board that the sony won't read it. in fact, as far as i can tell, the sony 505 can't read anything at books on board, and that mobipocket is the format of choice there.
so... that leads me back to the question i thought i had answered for myself. what is the best reader that
1. reads text files (preferably without annoying conversion)
2. has a large selection of current books available widely
3. can read html or other formats found on the older stuff at baen, gutenberg, etc?
4. can read simple pdfs (no images or weird formatting)
5. has no backlight, no shiny screen
6. not too large - i read everywhere 
i appreciate your help on this. i'm a complete newbie about electronic readers, but if i don't get one, we're going to drown under a huge and ever-growing pile of books - and besides, when you want a new book suddenly in the middle of the night, downloading is definitely the way to go  |
Welcome! Having just recently bought my first ebook device - the Sony 505 - I completely feel your pain of indecision. Speaking entirely from the point of view of a 505 owner, let me see if I can address your 6 requirements.
1. txt files are read natively
2. Decent selection of books through the Sony store, though Amazon has a larger collection. *see note
3. HTML is not read natively, but is easily converted with free software.
4. Yes it can read simple PDFs about as well as any other 6" device, meaning "ok" at best.
5. It's the Vizplex e-ink screen, just like Amazon's Kindle. No backlight, truly pleasant to read on for hours.
6. In my very biased opinion the Sony 505 has the best hardware design of the bunch.
Ok the note I wanted to make in regards to book selection centers entirely on the ability to convert from various formats to Sony's native format. The free program "calibre" can convert from many other formats and does a splendid job. Here's a link:
http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/
Taken from the FAQ on the calibre website :
Quote:
What formats does calibre support conversion to/from?
calibre supports the conversion of the following formats to LRF: HTML, LIT, MOBI, PRC, EPUB, RTF, TXT, PDF and LRS. It also supports the conversion of LRF to LRS and HTML. Note that calibre does not support the conversion of DRMed ebooks.
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So with that in mind if you don't mind clicking a couple buttons to convert (it really is that simple) then you have access to many ebook formats. There may be similar options for Kindle, but I'm not familiar with what software is available for that device.
Let me also direct you to a recent post I made right before I made my decision & purchase:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...2&postcount=19
This gives my take on the 3 main contenders, Amazon's Kindle, Sony's 505 and the Cybook Gen3, after doing a lot of research on them.
Hope this helps some!