The screen on my PRS-500 finally cracked, considering replacements

kichigai · 03-27-2012, 06:43 PM

Well, my PRS-500 finally bit the dust. Right now I'm looking into possible replacements for it, and I actually have a fairly decent set of features I'm looking for. Right now I'm looking at the Nook Simple Touch, and the latest generation basic Kindle, but I'm open to other possibilities (I'm just afraid I've been out of the game so long I really don't know where to start with other e-readers).

Things I want the most out of my e-reader:

Reading PDFs — Primarily text. I know reflow is garbage, but sometimes this is all I have to work with, and 98% of the time it's readable on my PRS-500, so how bad can newer devices be?
Reading ePubs — The unencrypted kind. I had just put "A Princess of Mars" on my reader...
Landscape Mode — On occasion some of the documents I'm working with contain some images that really ought to be viewed at 800px width, and not 600px width.
Library books — I do get books from my library, on occasion. Our local library uses OverDrive, which employs Kindle DRM, as wells as Adobe DRM on PDFs and ePubs. Their compatibility page seems a bit out of date...
E-Ink display — I strongly prefer an eInk display, or some similar technology. If I wanted a tablet, I'd be looking at an iPad right now. If I wanted color, I'd just use my phone (and its stunning SAMOLED screen).
Text document support — I often am reading screenplays or other related documents to various productions I'm working on (scripts, interviews, logs, etc.) and it would be nice if there was support for at least RTF or DOC, but I'm willing to give this one up and convert the files to ePubs if I can get a better deal.

I'm pretty easy to please. My price range is about $70-130, depending on features and value for money. I'm leaning towards ad-free versions of things, but depending on how unintrusvie the ads are, I may just pay to remove the ads later (if that's possible).

I'd like to stick with a six inch screen, but I'll go smaller if the price is right. I'm not really interested in going too much bigger, unless I'm getting something worthwhile out of all that extra bulk.

A web browser would be really nice, but it's not a deal-breaker, and I like to think that a touch screen is really convenient if I ever use the on-screen keyboard or dictionary, but I'm willing to give that up if the price is right (or other features make it worth my money). I don't have a whole lot invested in any particular store, yet. I've only got one book tied down to the Sony Reader store, and I'm willing to give it up.

Right now, for simplicity sake I'm looking only at new readers. But if I can get a really good one used, I'll consider it (like, say, a Sony PRS-950. I hear those are particularly good). I just don't know what the used market is like for these things, and if they're even worth buying used.

All in all, the Sony Reader T1 sounds like a good reader for me, but it sounds like Amazon and Barnes and Noble have the better content deals, and seem like better deals at a lower price point. The Kobo Wireless seems too basic for me, and I don't know what to think about the Kobo Touch. Am I missing something in my price range that deserves a second look? Are there things about these readers I should know, but don't know?

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

ProfCrash · 03-28-2012, 11:17 AM

Amazon does not read EPUBs so would not fit your criteria. If you are willing to convert books, than the Kindle is an option. There are some very nice EPUB readers out there that you can buy that would save you time. Amazon does seem to have the largest number of free books out there but I have no idea if they would be of any interest to you. Not to mention, you can always get those for a Kindle 4 PC and convert the files to EPUB to put on an EPUB reader.

The Nook or new Sony would probably work for you. There are places in the US that you can find the Sony on sale for $79 and $89. Check the Sony forums for good deals, the folks there post them pretty regularly.

I would go to a Best Buy and give all the various devices a spin. See which ones feel most comfortable to you and make your choice based on that.

950's are suppose to be nice but they are most likely outside your price range even used. They were not mass marketed so they are less plentiful and they were more expensive to begin with.

kichigai · 03-28-2012, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Amazon does not read EPUBs so would not fit your criteria. If you are willing to convert books, than the Kindle is an option. There are some very nice EPUB readers out there that you can buy that would save you time. Amazon does seem to have the largest number of free books out there but I have no idea if they would be of any interest to you. Not to mention, you can always get those for a Kindle 4 PC and convert the files to EPUB to put on an EPUB reader.

Right now I'm keeping my documents in Calibre, so converting files isn't a big issue for me. However, I do have some concerns about how well an ePub-to-AZW conversion might go. I can't believe I missed that one little detail. Though, you're right, Amazon does always seem to have ten tons of freebies, and with an app I can convert all the freebies from Project Gutenberg and (most of the ones from) Google Books to play nice on the Kindle. It's a pity side-loaded books on both platforms don't sync.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

The Nook or new Sony would probably work for you. There are places in the US that you can find the Sony on sale for $79 and $89. Check the Sony forums for good deals, the folks there post them pretty regularly.

(...)

950's are suppose to be nice but they are most likely outside your price range even used. They were not mass marketed so they are less plentiful and they were more expensive to begin with.

Yeah, Sony never really did do a great job of marketing those things. Nor did they ever really secure any great deals with publishers. So I guess that just leaves me with the Nook and the Kindle as the leaders, then?

ProfCrash · 03-28-2012, 01:22 PM

The current Sony is suppose to be excellent and apparently can be found for cheap. I don't see why that would not be an option? The only downside to it is that you would not be able to read books from BN but if you use Calibre you probably know how to remove the DRM so you could load those books on to your Sony.

I would go to Best Buy and play with the Sony and the Nook. See which one feels the most comfortable to you.

03-27-2012, 06:43 PM	#1
kichigai Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Minnesota Metro Device: PRS-500	The screen on my PRS-500 finally cracked, considering replacements Well, my PRS-500 finally bit the dust. Right now I'm looking into possible replacements for it, and I actually have a fairly decent set of features I'm looking for. Right now I'm looking at the Nook Simple Touch, and the latest generation basic Kindle, but I'm open to other possibilities (I'm just afraid I've been out of the game so long I really don't know where to start with other e-readers). Things I want the most out of my e-reader: Reading PDFs — Primarily text. I know reflow is garbage, but sometimes this is all I have to work with, and 98% of the time it's readable on my PRS-500, so how bad can newer devices be? Reading ePubs — The unencrypted kind. I had just put "A Princess of Mars" on my reader... Landscape Mode — On occasion some of the documents I'm working with contain some images that really ought to be viewed at 800px width, and not 600px width. Library books — I do get books from my library, on occasion. Our local library uses OverDrive, which employs Kindle DRM, as wells as Adobe DRM on PDFs and ePubs. Their compatibility page seems a bit out of date... E-Ink display — I strongly prefer an eInk display, or some similar technology. If I wanted a tablet, I'd be looking at an iPad right now. If I wanted color, I'd just use my phone (and its stunning SAMOLED screen). Text document support — I often am reading screenplays or other related documents to various productions I'm working on (scripts, interviews, logs, etc.) and it would be nice if there was support for at least RTF or DOC, but I'm willing to give this one up and convert the files to ePubs if I can get a better deal. I'm pretty easy to please. My price range is about $70-130, depending on features and value for money. I'm leaning towards ad-free versions of things, but depending on how unintrusvie the ads are, I may just pay to remove the ads later (if that's possible). I'd like to stick with a six inch screen, but I'll go smaller if the price is right. I'm not really interested in going too much bigger, unless I'm getting something worthwhile out of all that extra bulk. A web browser would be really nice, but it's not a deal-breaker, and I like to think that a touch screen is really convenient if I ever use the on-screen keyboard or dictionary, but I'm willing to give that up if the price is right (or other features make it worth my money). I don't have a whole lot invested in any particular store, yet. I've only got one book tied down to the Sony Reader store, and I'm willing to give it up. Right now, for simplicity sake I'm looking only at new readers. But if I can get a really good one used, I'll consider it (like, say, a Sony PRS-950. I hear those are particularly good). I just don't know what the used market is like for these things, and if they're even worth buying used. All in all, the Sony Reader T1 sounds like a good reader for me, but it sounds like Amazon and Barnes and Noble have the better content deals, and seem like better deals at a lower price point. The Kobo Wireless seems too basic for me, and I don't know what to think about the Kobo Touch. Am I missing something in my price range that deserves a second look? Are there things about these readers I should know, but don't know? Thanks for any advice you can give me! Last edited by kichigai; 03-27-2012 at 06:46 PM. Reason: Forgot to mention something!

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03-28-2012, 11:17 AM	#2
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	Amazon does not read EPUBs so would not fit your criteria. If you are willing to convert books, than the Kindle is an option. There are some very nice EPUB readers out there that you can buy that would save you time. Amazon does seem to have the largest number of free books out there but I have no idea if they would be of any interest to you. Not to mention, you can always get those for a Kindle 4 PC and convert the files to EPUB to put on an EPUB reader. The Nook or new Sony would probably work for you. There are places in the US that you can find the Sony on sale for $79 and $89. Check the Sony forums for good deals, the folks there post them pretty regularly. I would go to a Best Buy and give all the various devices a spin. See which ones feel most comfortable to you and make your choice based on that. 950's are suppose to be nice but they are most likely outside your price range even used. They were not mass marketed so they are less plentiful and they were more expensive to begin with.

03-28-2012, 01:22 PM	#4
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	The current Sony is suppose to be excellent and apparently can be found for cheap. I don't see why that would not be an option? The only downside to it is that you would not be able to read books from BN but if you use Calibre you probably know how to remove the DRM so you could load those books on to your Sony. I would go to Best Buy and play with the Sony and the Nook. See which one feels the most comfortable to you.

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