PRS-T1 Using on-line dictionaries when reading e-books?

[Alpha Centauri]

Hi, I'm totally new to e-readers but am considering getting a Sony PRS-T1 as my first one, so I hope someone can help a confused newbie out!

One thing I like about the Sony is the availability of multiple dictionaries directly from the book reading app. I regularly read books in foreign languages with the main purpose of keeping up a language or learning a new one. That often means looking up a lot of words on each page, so direct access to dictionaries would be great! I would however wish to have more/other languages than those available, so I've been looking around here and in the wiki for solutions to that, and have concluded that one has to root the device and then install and use another reading app along with the new dictionaries in order for that to work. Correct? As I haven't yet made up my mind if I would find it worth the risks to root the T1 in the first place, I thought I'd ask for alternative solutions.

There are several useful on-line dictionaries that would probably do the job for me. (And I normally read in places with Wi-Fi access.) This makes me wonder a couple of things:

1. Is it possible to have both the book reader and the browser open simultaneously and flip back and forth between the book page and the www dictionary page without too many clicks? Is it possible to copy-paste words from (DRM protected) ePubs and PDFs into the browser, or would I need to retype every word I look up?

2. Is it possible to edit / add to the links that show up when highlighting a word in a book, e.g. to have direct links to the Wikipedia page in the language of the current book or to a suitable dictionary?

And also, approximately how short would the battery life be with the WiFi continuously on during reading?

[bibahbuzemann]

I need the lookup feature of the T1 regularly. The excessive use of the thesaurus by some authors has made it more necessary than I would like, but I'm just going to assume this will become increasingly more prevalent as time goes by.

- To point one: Yes, the page on the browser does remain open. One click, and one touch will bring you back to the book. To get back to the browser you need to press "home" - right arrow - "browser", the last page viewed will be shown.

If you select a word in the book, the dictionary will pop up at the bottom of the screen, and you can select from the inbuilt variety (no Finnish or Swedish, sadly). Furthermore, you will have the options Wiki and Google. If you use them, the page in the browser will be adjusted accordingly, and the device will display the result. When finished, you can select "continue reading".
The T1 is an Eink device, which means it is slow! However, compared to the Kindle and the Kobo Touch, the web-interface works quite well. I have no idea if the Nook might be better, since I've not had a chance to try it. As the Barnes & Nobelö ereader isn't even available in Europe, it's likely a moot issue.

Point two: No.
This would be such a nice feature, and it's not even over the top. We are talking about ebooks, which are digitised media. Why can't they give us the usability inherent to the technology? I'm assuming the geeks who design and build these things just don't use them.

Finally: The WiFi eats battery power en gros. Whilst continually reading, the T1 lost one half of a full charge in two days with WiFi on.

[Alpha Centauri]

Thanks a lot bibahbuzemann for taking the time to write such a detailed response!

It's good news that it's only two-three clicks between the browser and reader, though I would of course prefer being able to add embedded dictionaries or web-links. I can probably survive the battery drain as well. I was afraid the answer would be something like 2-3 hours. After all, if there is wifi, there is likely also a power outlet near by. And the battery life is still better than on my phone or laptop.

I hadn't really looked at the Nook at all before your post as I don't think they sell it over here. It's probably possible to order one, though postage, taxes ans duties will add up and make it quite expensive. I've just read a couple of reviews now and watched a YouTube video, and I don't think it would be a better choice than the Sony for me, but I need to check it out better. They don't mention much about the internet capabilities. But as I understand it, it doesn't come with any dictionaries at all? That is a big minus for me. I read mostly in Swedish, but also regularly in English, German, Dutch, and French, and since they are all foreign languages to me I'd appreciate having those dictionaries on board. I just wish I could also get Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, and Esperanto ...

Another questionmark for the Nook is if it would allow direct library loans (i.e. not having to transfer through a computer) from Nordic libraries. At my local library in Sweden this is possible from the PRS-T1. (In Finland, where I spend quite long periods, I don't know, as my local library there will launch their e-book site only next month, with a grand total of ... wait for it ... 31 ebooks!!! ) I'd like to borrow quite many e-books from the Swedish library when I get a dedicated eInk device, so this possibility would be convenient. The only other reader I know for sure that does this is the iRiver Story HD Bibliotek, but to me its OS stability and user interface seem much inferior to that of the T1, though the HD screen is a plus.

Another thing – apart from the locked choice of dictionaries and web links – which I don't like about the Sony is that it's closely tied to their own electronic book store. They have no plans of launching this in my corner of the world (got this confirmed from Sony today). This makes it somewhat less user friendly and according to online guides on how to borrow books from nordic libraries with the T1, it also forces the user to lie about her country of residence. (I believe the reason being that the reader needs to be registered with Sony's store in order to authorize it with an AdobeID?) Of course I can still buy ebooks from other stores, in spite of the Sony store being blocked. So in practice this is not such a big deal, but psycologically I think it creates badwill against Sony.

Still, the T1 is probably the best choice on the market for my needs, so I'll probaly pick one up during the coming weeks, unless I find or someone points me to a better option. I just wish Sony had done some things differently! I might just have to root it in the end if I get one ... Guess there is no such thing as the perfect reader.