Calibre-friendly; nightlight; good interface

[barium]

I welcome any thoughts from someone who knows about ebook readers. There's so many out there, it's difficult to choose. I'm considering several factors, and I'm hoping to find a reader that:

*Is as easy to read at night without a lamp as an iphone/ipad
*Can browse a calibre content server over wi-fi
*Flips pages quickly (i.e. as little of the e-Ink refresh lag as possible)
*Can be easily held in one hand
*Is relatively durable and water resistant
*Is no more expensive than the cheapest Kindle
*Can access wikipedia and a good dictionary quickly and easily
*Is compatible with epub, mobi, PDF, lit, doc, and rtf
*Offers easy navigation of a large library
*Offers easy navigation of detailed tables of contents
*Offers a convenient way to click on links to another page in the book (e.g., footnotes)
*Permits entry of annotations that are saved to the ebook file
*Functions perfectly without communicating with the manufacturer's servers

Hm, that's a long list. Any thoughts at all?

I was leaning towards the Kindle, since it's inexpensive for a reader with a nice screen and a wifi radio. I haven't used one yet, so I don't know how many of the criteria above it satisfies. I probably won't get a Kindle, though, because I don't like being tied to the Amazon format, and I don't like the level of control Amazon seems to have over the device. I don't want them knowing what I read or when I read it, and I don't want them deleting anything from my device or my computer under any circumstances.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by barium

I welcome any thoughts from someone who knows about ebook readers. There's so many out there, it's difficult to choose. I'm considering several factors, and I'm hoping to find a reader that:


Hm, that's a long list. Any thoughts at all?

I was leaning towards the Kindle, since it's inexpensive for a reader with a nice screen and a wifi radio. I haven't used one yet, so I don't know how many of the criteria above it satisfies. I probably won't get a Kindle, though, because I don't like being tied to the Amazon format, and I don't like the level of control Amazon seems to have over the device. I don't want them knowing what I read or when I read it, and I don't want them deleting anything from my device or my computer under any circumstances.

Your list first, comments second.

*Is as easy to read at night without a lamp as an iphone/ipad

No e-ink reader is able to be read without a light source.

*Can browse a calibre content server over wi-fi

That would be the Nook, Kindle, Sony 950, and I think Kobo. There are probably others that I am missing.

*Flips pages quickly (i.e. as little of the e-Ink refresh lag as possible)

They all have a similarly quick refresh rate. Kindle has the fastest but I doubt that the difference is all that noteable.

*Can be easily held in one hand

All of the 6 inch models are easily held in one hand.

*Is relatively durable and water resistant

None of them are water resistant. If you drop them in water or a large amount of beverage on them you are screwed. They are all pretty durable although the Sony fans will love telling you about the superiority of the casing.

*Is no more expensive than the cheapest Kindle

Kindle is the cheapest. Nooks and Kobos are $10 more

*Can access wikipedia and a good dictionary quickly and easily

Kindle is the best with the dictionary in your price range but the Nook and Kobo both have a dictionary. They can all connect to wikipedia but it is not the greatest of service.

*Is compatible with epub, mobi, PDF, lit, doc, and rtf

All but Kindle nativly. Nook and Kobo in your price range. Kindle if you are willing to strip DRM and convert files.

*Offers easy navigation of a large library

Nook and Kobo in your price range

*Offers easy navigation of detailed tables of contents

All of them. TOC is more dependent on the Publisher then it is the reader

*Offers a convenient way to click on links to another page in the book (e.g., footnotes)

Kindle is the best for this in your price range. Nook and Kobo are able to do it but it is a bit more work. Sony is the easiest with the touchscreen but all models are out of your price range.

*Permits entry of annotations that are saved to the ebook file

Kindle is the best with this in yor price range. Nook and Kobo can do it but it is a bit of a pain. Sony is easy to do it with but the models are out of your price range.

*Functions perfectly without communicating with the manufacturer's servers

All of them work perfectly without communicating with the stores servers although most of them require you to conennect once if you want to use the WiFi or 3G capability.

Your concerns about Amazon should be shared across all of the e-readers. If you buy a book from any of the bookstores there will be a record of what you read. If you buy a Nook or Sony or Kobo and buy books from their stores, there will be a record of what you read. Realisticly speaking, no matter what you do, short of pirating material, there is going to be a record of what you purchase. Additionally, all of the bookstores are able to delete books from their store and their archive. Publishers are able to pull books from the stores and archives. The only way to avoid this problem is to save a copy of the file on your harddrive so that the books are saved by you and always available for you.

Also, none of the bookstores can remove a book from your computer. People who had stored 1984 on their computer were able to reload the book on their Kindles.

Finally, all e-readers are tied to a format and most of the major bookstores are tied to a DRM. If you buy from Sony or Kobo you will be tied to the Adobe DRM. If you buy from BN you will be tied to BN EPub DRM, which is different then the Sony and Kobo EPub Adobe DRM. There are a few bookstores that do not allow DRM on the books that they sell but they are few in number and carry more indie authors because Publishing Houses insist on DRM for most of their books.

If you do get a Kindle you will quickly find that the bookstore is pretty impressive and that you are not tied to that bookstore. There are many stores that sell Mobi files that can be read on a Kindle. There is also the ability to strip DRM from EPub books sold at other stores and convert them to a Mobi file. If you are willing to strip DRM and convert files you will find that the format means nothing.

Based on your specific comments about Amazon, I would say the Nook is the best device for you in your price range. I actually think you would really like the Sony 950 but that is well outside of your price range.

If you want something backlight you are going to have to look at the LCD screens and those are all more expensive. The cheapest one that I know of with the services you want is the Nook Color and it costs $250.

[barium]

Thank you very much for your detailed response!

I know that you need a light source for e-Ink displays. I thought that maybe some have better aftermarket light accessories than others. I want something that I can read in bed with the lights off.

For the "offers easy navigation of a large library" point, you said that the Kobo and Nook do a good job of this. Are Kindles cumbersome to use with lots of books on the device? I would have thought the physical keypad would make it easy to search for genres, tags, authors, and so on.

If I eliminated the need for wifi, would your recommendations change?

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by barium

Thank you very much for your detailed response!

I know that you need a light source for e-Ink displays. I thought that maybe some have better aftermarket light accessories than others. I want something that I can read in bed with the lights off.

For the "offers easy navigation of a large library" point, you said that the Kobo and Nook do a good job of this. Are Kindles cumbersome to use with lots of books on the device? I would have thought the physical keypad would make it easy to search for genres, tags, authors, and so on.

If I eliminated the need for wifi, would your recommendations change?

Many of the light accessories are universal, and there are a decent selection of device-specific lights for most models.

Personally, I find navigation a bit clunky on all the devices I've used. Not that it's difficult, it isn't, but there's room for improvement. Ereaders aren't really designed with heavy interaction in mind, so I guess it's expected. I think we'll see improvement as time goes by.

Physical keyboard vs. touch pad: It basically equates to the same experience, with respect for personal preference. just a different surface. Gets the job done.

As was stated, any ereader you choose is gonna come with some kind of profit-driven restrictions dictated by a company the size of a small nation.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by barium

Thank you very much for your detailed response!

I know that you need a light source for e-Ink displays. I thought that maybe some have better aftermarket light accessories than others. I want something that I can read in bed with the lights off.

For the "offers easy navigation of a large library" point, you said that the Kobo and Nook do a good job of this. Are Kindles cumbersome to use with lots of books on the device? I would have thought the physical keypad would make it easy to search for genres, tags, authors, and so on.

If I eliminated the need for wifi, would your recommendations change?

I read the library as wanting to loan library books which is why I mentioned the Nook and Sony. If you mean a personal library they all have some type of filing system now. I have not had a problem with the Kindles collection feature. It works well for me. I don't know enough to speak to the Nook or Sony.

And I read the light as you wanted a backlight device like the IPhone. I use a headlamp to read at night and it works great.

I would not get a device without Wifi. I think I would not get a device without the 3G. I don't use the internet or wikipedia or anything like that. I do like the flexibility of buying a book when I want and downloading it.

Price wise, there are some readers out there that are less expensive then a Kindle, Nook, or Kobo without the WiFi but I don't know much about them. The closest a Sony comes to meeting your needs close to the price point you listed is the 350 but it has no WiFi and it is a 5 inch screen.

[John F]

...
*Is no more expensive than the cheapest Kindle

Kindle is the cheapest. Nooks and Kobos are $10 more...

Aren't the Kindle and the Kobo priced the same ($139)?

[ProfCrash]

I thought the Kobo was $149 but I could be wrong. I would be surprised if $10 makes that much of a difference to most people.