Another "Which One Should I Buy" Question

[Cactusgod]

Hey guys,

To be honest, the thought of purchasing an ebook reader had not crossed my mind until a few weeks ago when my friend suggested that I should get one due to my OCD when it comes to handling books. (I like to keep my books in pristine condition ;p)

I actually became curious, but always thought that they were just little computer screens that I'd have to stare out. However, after doing some minimal research I did find out that many readers use that Viz...something technology which essentially makes it like reading a book, with no backlight! I was excited to hear this, so I have been fervently researching different readers.

So, in the hopes of finding the best one, I come to you fine folks.

I'm looking for a reader with no backlight, like I said, so there is minimal eye strain. I'd also like it to be relatively DRM free, so if I transfer readers or something I dont lose my books (therefore kindle is out I suppose)

I'm not sure, but the sony says it can read PDF files, are those files displayed with the special ink technology? I imagine they'd have to be...but I digress.

I dont necessarily need wireless internet or anything like that, as I have multiple computers with readily available internet. I'm also not interested in mp3 playback or anything. Essentially I'm looking for the cheapest (price) ebook reader that allows me to read books as if I was reading from an actual book.

If anyone has any ideas, or can perhaps recommend the best reader for this, and if anyone knows the answer to that pdf question, I would appreciate it greatly!

Hopefully in a few weeks I'll be posting around here to help others after I become familiar with my new reader ;p

P.S.- I am mainly interested in a reader solely for the purposes of reading novels, classics and new.

Thanks

[HarryT]

The first thing we need to know, in order to be able to advise you, is which country you are in.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by Cactusgod

To be honest, the thought of purchasing an ebook reader had not crossed my mind until a few weeks ago when my friend suggested that I should get one due to my OCD when it comes to handling books. (I like to keep my books in pristine condition ;p)

Welcome to the world of OCD book handlers! You can pick off my library shelf any of my hardcover books and you would think it had never been read (of course, there are still some that are in my to-be-read pile that haven't been read yet ).

Books are a valuable treasure to be given respect and handled with care.

Now if I could only convince my son of that!

[Cactusgod]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Welcome to the world of OCD book handlers! You can pick off my library shelf any of my hardcover books and you would think it had never been read (of course, there are still some that are in my to-be-read pile that haven't been read yet ).

Books are a valuable treasure to be given respect and handled with care.

Now if I could only convince my son of that!

Haha I agree! And thank you! I often cringe when I see people bending books too far and mishandling!


To answer your question, I am a U.S. resident and I do not leave the country.

Also, if it helps at all, I've been really looking at the PRS-300 as my main choice thus far since its $194 and apparently the touch screen reduces the visibility, or so I've heard!

[grooks]

When you mention the touch screen you are referring to the PRS-600 and that is a 6" device going for $300. The PRS-300 is a 5" device and have a very clear screen.

The screen type you referred to before is Vizplex or E-Ink.

For more information on the many readers available check the link for the E-book Reader Matrix

E-book Reader Matrix

[Cactusgod]

Originally Posted by grooks

When you mention the touch screen you are referring to the PRS-600 and that is a 6" device going for $300. The PRS-300 is a 5" device and have a very clear screen.

The screen type you referred to before is Vizplex or E-Ink.

For more information on the many readers available check the link for the E-book Reader Matrix

E-book Reader Matrix

Sorry, i was being a bit vague, what I meant was...I heard the touch screen wasnt too hot and made things worse, so thats why I was looking at the PRS-300 instead of the 600

Thanks for the link!

[HarryT]

The Touch screen has a slight effect on screen clarity, but what you gain from it (touch navigation, annotation capability, dictionary lookup, etc) more than make up for that, IMHO. As you can see from my profile on the left, I own a fair number of different eBook Readers, and the Sony PRS-600 is the one that I use every day.

[Cactusgod]

Quick question, does the dictionary work for all files? Like if I was to put a PDF onto my reader, could I select the words and use the dictionary? I imagine this would be good for history books and papers.

I'm assuming that I wouldn't really notice the difference, not having purchased a reader before, so the dictionary lookup might be worth the extra money. Plus, there seem to be more bundle deals (cover + ereader) for the 600.

[wallcraft]

The obvious choices for an inexpensive EInk reader in the US are the 5" Sony PRS-300 and the 5" Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro. You can buy the Sony in lots of stores, and so try it out before you buy. The Astak is typicaly mail order, see Here is the link: "A Christmas Carol Gift Pack" but it can also be bought on its own for $199 . Many ebooks you buy have DRM (encryption), and both these Readers support Adobe DRM (ePub or PDF). I like the Pocket Pro, but the PRS-300 is a good choice too.

The EZ Reader Basic may be the cheapest 6" EInk device, it is $239 with similar software to the Pocket Pro (but it is an older design, with a bit less capable hardware, e.g. USB 1.1 vs 2.0 and SD vs SDHC cards).

The Kindle 2 from Amazon is now a good deal at $259 (but you need a cover, which is extra). Don't be put off by the wireless, you don't have to use it and the Kindle is still tops in one-stop shopping. Amazon seems to have finally woken up to the fact that they need to improve their software over time to stay competitive. This is the safest choice of all, with hundreds of thousands of happy customers.

Many ebooks have DRM, but you can circumvent both Adobe DRM and the Kindle's AZW DRM. So your ebooks are not tied to your current device type.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The Touch screen has a slight effect on screen clarity, but what you gain from it (touch navigation, annotation capability, dictionary lookup, etc) more than make up for that, IMHO. As you can see from my profile on the left, I own a fair number of different eBook Readers, and the Sony PRS-600 is the one that I use every day.

FWIW, I agree with Harry. I own a Sony 505 and am thinking about the forthcoming Daily Edition, but I have to admit its form factor is a bit offputting to me. If I don't go for the DE, I may well go for the 600.

[Cactusgod]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

The obvious choices for an inexpensive EInk reader in the US are the 5" Sony PRS-300 and the 5" Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro. You can buy the Sony in lots of stores, and so try it out before you buy. The Astak is typicaly mail order, see Here is the link: "A Christmas Carol Gift Pack" but it can also be bought on its own for $199 . Many ebooks you buy have DRM (encryption), and both these Readers support Adobe DRM (ePub or PDF). I like the Pocket Pro, but the PRS-300 is a good choice too.

The EZ Reader Basic may be the cheapest 6" EInk device, it is $239 with similar software to the Pocket Pro (but it is an older design, with a bit less capable hardware, e.g. USB 1.1 vs 2.0 and SD vs SDHC cards).

The Kindle 2 from Amazon is now a good deal at $259 (but you need a cover, which is extra). Don't be put off by the wireless, you don't have to use it and the Kindle is still tops in one-stop shopping. Amazon seems to have finally woken up to the fact that they need to improve their software over time to stay competitive. This is the safest choice of all, with hundreds of thousands of happy customers.

Many ebooks have DRM, but you can circumvent both Adobe DRM and the Kindle's AZW DRM. So your ebooks are not tied to your current device type.

Well, the kindle is certainly appealing. I guess what I was always concerned about is, I hate companies having such control over a product I buy. Like, if amazon stores all of my purchases and knows what I'm currently reading and stuff, it just bugs me. I guess its kind of a Big Brother thing.

The wireless sounds super appealing as far as like..just having internet everywhere... but like I said its not a selling point for me because I have so many devices that can do it.

The DRM is mostly what I'm concerned about, because I hate having things tied down, but if there are ways to circumvent that then perhaps the Kindle might be the best option. Tough decisions...

One thing I saw though, is that wal-mart is doing a sale on the sony 600, where if you buy the reader you get a cover for free, i think the total comes out to around 278. I also happen to get a discount of 10% from wal-mart on purchases, so that would put me somewhere around the $250 mark for a 600 + cover. I'm thinking that, if you subtract the i dunno...lets say 25 dollar cover price, you're talking $225 for the 600, which seems to be a great deal.

[holterzoff]

The EZ Reader Basic may be the cheapest 6" EInk device, it is $239 with similar software to the Pocket Pro (but it is an older design, with a bit less capable hardware, e.g. USB 1.1 vs 2.0 and SD vs SDHC cards).

Maybe, but it has the best software (openinkpot), and how much usb bandwidth do you need with an e-ink reader? How much space on SD cards?
Personally i would never buy a sony, the company really sucks. I would recommend a hanlin clone to go with openinkpot, clearly the best firmware there is on the market. I can't stress in enough how important the firmware is for a good reading experience. In my opinion a touchscreen is fancy nonsense for a reader, i prefer a clear unsmeared display. good luck, cheers

[Cactusgod]

Ah good point! Unsmeared....Yes. Part of my OCD nature is against the very idea of a touchscreen, which I should have thought of over the last few posts. A very interesting point holterzoff.

I have to admit though, being new to this whole thing, I'm not entirely sure how to determine the best software, like openinkpot. Wouldn't sony readers be able to install that software onto it or something?

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by holterzoff

Maybe, but it has the best software (openinkpot), and how much usb bandwidth do you need with an e-ink reader? How much space on SD cards?

OpenInkPot is open source firmware for Hanlin V3s (like the Basic) and a couple of other readers. It has its own forum here.

I have several EInk devices, but the one I use day in and day out is the EZ Reader Basic with OpenInkPot. There are two disadvantages to this for beginners: a) only DRM-free ebooks are supported and b) SSH is used for file transfers. These are actually advantages for "experts", since stripping DRM is the only way to be sure of keeping your ebooks and SSH is better than mounting USB filesystems. I think the Pocket Pro is better than the Basic with the standard firmware (which is similar on both), but the availability of the OpenInkPot firmware is a huge plus for the Basic.

[holterzoff]

Of course you're right wallcraft, i forgot the the "disadvantages". (i got used to stripping DRM and SD cards) Maybe i should consider a pocket pro too, lol.
After rereading my post, the sony criticism came out a bit harsh. I don't want to offend any sony user, apologies.