Ebook newbie! Help!

Traye · 04-17-2010, 05:05 AM

Hi everyone! I'm an avid reader and new to ebooks and am contemplating which reader to buy. I'm thinking of either a Sony, or Iriver story.

My friend has an ereader and she loves it! She has some books from PG that I'd like.
Have any of you got either reader, and if so are they a case of drag and drop the files like an MP3 player? I've been reading up on them but can't get my head around some of the technology.
I'm completely new to this so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

HarryT · 04-17-2010, 05:16 AM

What reader does your friend have?

polly · 04-17-2010, 05:21 AM

I would start by looking at the ever popular ereader WiKi.

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix

Decide what size you want, look at the features that each has or doesn't have, decide what's most important to you then come back for more opinions. If your friend's books are DRM free, you can use something like Calibre to convert them into other formats. If they are not DRM free, you won't be able to read them on any reader. That's the whole point of DRM. Most of the readers appear as USB devices and permit drag and drop. Calibre will also send books to reader.

My own criteria was screen quality, portability, and the ability to organize the books on the reader. I'm still amazed that other than Sony, the big names don't recognize that alphabetical by title and alphabetical by author is not really useful for managing a library.

Traye · 04-17-2010, 05:22 AM

I think it's a Cybook. I could be wrong though.

Traye · 04-17-2010, 06:09 AM

Thanks for the advice Polly.

I'm really liking the Sony readers. The 300, 505 and 600. What are DRM books?
I'm sorry for sounding dim but this is new to me!

polly · 04-17-2010, 07:07 AM

As a rule, DRM books can only be opened by their specific programs. For instance, a book from the Sony store can only be opened by the Sony Reader software or Adobe Digital Editions. DRM free software can be opened by any software that can read that format. For instance, I have a FireFox plugin for ePub, but it can only open the DRM free variety.

I may get flamed for this, but I'm not as enthusiastic about the Sony models. The 300 is super stripped down. In my opinion, the Astak Pocket Pro and the PocketBook 360 both offer a lot more options for about the same price. The 505 was an awesome reader, but it's 2+ years old now and no longer being manufactured. You can buy them on eBay, but they've been overtaken by a new generation of devices with faster processors, better grey scale and more features. I've never gotten past the screen on the 600. It's very distracting to me to be able to see my reflection when I'm reading. Having said all that, the Sony does make well designed readers with easy to use firmware.

Traye · 04-17-2010, 07:29 AM

Thanks for your continuing input, Polly.

I think the PRS300 is a no-no for me. I think I'd prefer a 6" screen and I would prefer a SD card slot too.
I like the 505, but as you say it's discontinued. And the 600 looks nice, but I've read a lot about the screen reflection, and I don't know if a touch screen is for me.

I like the Iriver story, but I've posted in the relevant thread for that, because it seems people have had problems.
I'd prefer to spend about £200, and buy it from a store rather than online in case of any problems.

This is a hard decision!

Traye · 04-17-2010, 11:25 AM

If any of you have never had a problem whatsoever with your reader, as in it's never broken on you, could you post the make of it here to try and help me out.
I'm trying to figure out which is best for me and to gain some feedback on the lifespans of your readers would be great.

Sorry to be a pain, and thankyou.

ChrisC333 · 04-17-2010, 11:17 PM

Hi Traye,

All the readers unfortunately have limitations. These include restrictions as to which formats they'll read, how awkward some are to get content on and off, ease of general management, etc.

The iRiver Story plugs into a regular computer via a USB cable and you can then drag and drop, which suits me. It reads ePub files and PDF (although most readers do a pretty crummy job with PDFs that have complex formatting, such as some technical manuals, magazines with fancy layout, etc).

If the books have copy protection (DRM) then sharing can be a real pain. You can usually 'authorise' more than one device at the store where you buy but this is generally designed to cater for a single licenced user, not to make it possible to share. So I can download the same DRM protected Kindle format book more than once - onto my iTouch, or either of my computers, because they run Kindle apps/software (but not onto the iRiver because that doesn't). I suppose it might be possible in theory for somebody to authorise a friend's device but that could cause problems in practice, quite apart from any legal issues.

If I put a protected book file onto a device that has not been authorised to my account then it won't open, even if the device could read other books in that format.

If your friend's books are DRM free then you should be fine, and the most you might need to do is run a book through a program like Calibre, which can change the format.

My preference is to use a small cheap net-book style computer for most of my reading, because they are more versatile and can run software to read all the formats, plus read all the online stuff, and so on. They are similar in price to many readers, but they do tend to be heavier and of course have computer style screens which not everybody likes. For my money they represent the best range of present and future options for the least amount of downsides. But other people's preferences and requirements will be very different from mine, so it's a person by person thing with no clear champion in the field.

Good luck with choosing.

Cheers,

Chris

04-17-2010, 05:05 AM	#1
Traye Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 18288 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle, Sony PRS505, Ipod touch, iPhone	Ebook newbie! Help! Hi everyone! I'm an avid reader and new to ebooks and am contemplating which reader to buy. I'm thinking of either a Sony, or Iriver story. My friend has an ereader and she loves it! She has some books from PG that I'd like. Have any of you got either reader, and if so are they a case of drag and drop the files like an MP3 player? I've been reading up on them but can't get my head around some of the technology. I'm completely new to this so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! Last edited by Traye; 01-27-2012 at 04:38 PM.

04-17-2010, 06:09 AM	#5
Traye Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 18288 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle, Sony PRS505, Ipod touch, iPhone	Thanks for the advice Polly. I'm really liking the Sony readers. The 300, 505 and 600. What are DRM books? I'm sorry for sounding dim but this is new to me! Last edited by Traye; 02-05-2012 at 04:40 AM.

04-17-2010, 07:29 AM	#7
Traye Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 18288 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle, Sony PRS505, Ipod touch, iPhone	Thanks for your continuing input, Polly. I think the PRS300 is a no-no for me. I think I'd prefer a 6" screen and I would prefer a SD card slot too. I like the 505, but as you say it's discontinued. And the 600 looks nice, but I've read a lot about the screen reflection, and I don't know if a touch screen is for me. I like the Iriver story, but I've posted in the relevant thread for that, because it seems people have had problems. I'd prefer to spend about £200, and buy it from a store rather than online in case of any problems. This is a hard decision! Last edited by Traye; 01-27-2012 at 04:36 PM.

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04-17-2010, 05:16 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	What reader does your friend have?

04-17-2010, 05:21 AM	#3
polly Evangelist Posts: 454 Karma: 270240 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS 650, PocketBook 360, Astak PocketPro (RIP), Tungsten T3	I would start by looking at the ever popular ereader WiKi. https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix Decide what size you want, look at the features that each has or doesn't have, decide what's most important to you then come back for more opinions. If your friend's books are DRM free, you can use something like Calibre to convert them into other formats. If they are not DRM free, you won't be able to read them on any reader. That's the whole point of DRM. Most of the readers appear as USB devices and permit drag and drop. Calibre will also send books to reader. My own criteria was screen quality, portability, and the ability to organize the books on the reader. I'm still amazed that other than Sony, the big names don't recognize that alphabetical by title and alphabetical by author is not really useful for managing a library.

04-17-2010, 05:22 AM	#4
Traye Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 18288 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle, Sony PRS505, Ipod touch, iPhone	I think it's a Cybook. I could be wrong though.

04-17-2010, 07:07 AM	#6
polly Evangelist Posts: 454 Karma: 270240 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS 650, PocketBook 360, Astak PocketPro (RIP), Tungsten T3	As a rule, DRM books can only be opened by their specific programs. For instance, a book from the Sony store can only be opened by the Sony Reader software or Adobe Digital Editions. DRM free software can be opened by any software that can read that format. For instance, I have a FireFox plugin for ePub, but it can only open the DRM free variety. I may get flamed for this, but I'm not as enthusiastic about the Sony models. The 300 is super stripped down. In my opinion, the Astak Pocket Pro and the PocketBook 360 both offer a lot more options for about the same price. The 505 was an awesome reader, but it's 2+ years old now and no longer being manufactured. You can buy them on eBay, but they've been overtaken by a new generation of devices with faster processors, better grey scale and more features. I've never gotten past the screen on the 600. It's very distracting to me to be able to see my reflection when I'm reading. Having said all that, the Sony does make well designed readers with easy to use firmware.

04-17-2010, 11:25 AM	#8
Traye Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 18288 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle, Sony PRS505, Ipod touch, iPhone	If any of you have never had a problem whatsoever with your reader, as in it's never broken on you, could you post the make of it here to try and help me out. I'm trying to figure out which is best for me and to gain some feedback on the lifespans of your readers would be great. Sorry to be a pain, and thankyou.

04-17-2010, 11:17 PM	#9
ChrisC333 Groupie Posts: 194 Karma: 2031 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: West Australia Device: Acer eM250 Netbook, iTouch, iRiver Story, HP TM2 Tablet	Hi Traye, All the readers unfortunately have limitations. These include restrictions as to which formats they'll read, how awkward some are to get content on and off, ease of general management, etc. The iRiver Story plugs into a regular computer via a USB cable and you can then drag and drop, which suits me. It reads ePub files and PDF (although most readers do a pretty crummy job with PDFs that have complex formatting, such as some technical manuals, magazines with fancy layout, etc). If the books have copy protection (DRM) then sharing can be a real pain. You can usually 'authorise' more than one device at the store where you buy but this is generally designed to cater for a single licenced user, not to make it possible to share. So I can download the same DRM protected Kindle format book more than once - onto my iTouch, or either of my computers, because they run Kindle apps/software (but not onto the iRiver because that doesn't). I suppose it might be possible in theory for somebody to authorise a friend's device but that could cause problems in practice, quite apart from any legal issues. If I put a protected book file onto a device that has not been authorised to my account then it won't open, even if the device could read other books in that format. If your friend's books are DRM free then you should be fine, and the most you might need to do is run a book through a program like Calibre, which can change the format. My preference is to use a small cheap net-book style computer for most of my reading, because they are more versatile and can run software to read all the formats, plus read all the online stuff, and so on. They are similar in price to many readers, but they do tend to be heavier and of course have computer style screens which not everybody likes. For my money they represent the best range of present and future options for the least amount of downsides. But other people's preferences and requirements will be very different from mine, so it's a person by person thing with no clear champion in the field. Good luck with choosing. Cheers, Chris

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