just got the itch

EngTeacher · 04-21-2009, 06:07 PM

Don't have an ereader yet but have the itch

I saw a Kindle 2 yesterday and realized that an ereader would be a great thing to have. I am leaning to the 700 though as I like the idea of making notes and highlighting. I've read lots of posts here and have learned very much.

As a read a lot of book from the Gutenberg site and Google I hope the reader will ease this process and save me from printing them out. I hate to read on a computer so am unsure about on reader. I am hoping the experience is different and I love the idea of not lugging books around. Any thoughts?

A questions about the 700. Can I get newspapers and RSS feeds on it. I've read about so many different ones I am confused. I realize I will have to synch the reader to my computer to upload these, if those are the right terms.

Will Calibre help with that?

Eng Teacher

Andybaby · 04-21-2009, 11:31 PM

calibre can do RSS feeds.

kindle can download Newspapers automatically, it can also highlight and take notes, and has a better contrast ratio. kindles only downside is its larger size

Donnageddon · 04-22-2009, 01:49 AM

"kindles only downside is its larger size"

I would beg to differ, but I am too tired.

Andybaby · 04-22-2009, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

"kindles only downside is its larger size"

I would beg to differ, but I am too tired.

besides the Integrated Light of the 700, what does the kindle have that the 700 doesn't?

Nate the great · 04-22-2009, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andybaby

besides the Integrated Light of the 700, what does the kindle have that the 700 doesn't?

Keyboard
wireless
dictionary support

Andybaby · 04-22-2009, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Keyboard
wireless
dictionary support

I ment it the other way, im on the kindles side in this.

PROs for the Kindle are above though the KB isn't a pro, as the 700 has one too,

pros of the 700 is
Light and small size

.

I think you would be happier with a kindle. especially if you are gonna read novels you buy from the online store

Donnageddon · 04-22-2009, 11:34 PM

I will grant that the dictionary support and whispernet are advantages in favor of the Kindle. And I don't think hope that Sony is not going to let that gap continue.

My main complaint with the Kindle is the ergodynamics (K1 is to angular and awkward and K2 is too much... bezels and keyboards!) and the stunted growth in useable formats. Amazon just strikes me as being too much of a "our devise - our format" mentality. I applaud Sony's opening up the PRS readers to ePub and reflowable pdf. I (almost) never buy ebooks from Sony, and I (almost) never bought ebooks from Amazon. I dislike cumbersome DRM too much.

That said, I also really dig the side lighting and touch screen keyboard of the PRS 700!

Donnageddon · 04-23-2009, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andybaby

I think you would be happier with a kindle. especially if you are gonna read novels you buy from the online store

If you can also get over the ergodynamic issues, for most users I agree. The kindle can be a great device for the casual user interested in the large selection of fiction available at Amazon.

dordale · 04-23-2009, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andybaby

I ment it the other way, im on the kindles side in this.

PROs for the Kindle are above though the KB isn't a pro, as the 700 has one too,

pros of the 700 is
Light and small size

.

The 700 also has better PDF support and ability to zoom in on PDF graphic files.
Also, the ability to read DRM'ed ePubs and PDF's, including downloadable library books.

dordale

PassingStranger · 04-27-2009, 10:17 PM

PRS-505 owner here, so I can't speak to either, but I've looked into both. I personally went for the 505 partly for the lower price, but mainly because I really like the toned down and simple functionality of it. It does exactly what its supposed to and it does it flawlessly. I feel like I really, really don't need a keyboard. The only thing I find myself wishing for at times is a dictionary.

But the geek inside of me adores the idea of the Kindle 2's 3G access (with free Wikipedia browsing!) and its other bells and whistles like search, email downloading, automatic RSS feeds, etc. I personally don't think I would use much of that stuff, as my mobile email stuff is taken care of via my phone and I usually bring my reader because I want to be able to sit down and read, not internet stuff.

Can't speak for the ergonomics of the Kindle 2, but I do love Sony's design.

[Edit]: I was just looking at the pictures of both and I would really hate to lose the right side navigation buttons because the nice thing about having both bottom and right side ones is that you can comfortably change the page no matter what weird position you're in. So that's a plus for the Kindle/PRS-505 But I also can't say anything about how the touchscreen is for non-stylus page turning.

Andybaby · 04-28-2009, 12:56 AM

touch screen makes it possible to turn the page no matter where you hold it,

the touch screen interface is 10x more user friendly than the prs 500 or 505.

besides the darker screen, which is augmented and I believe canceled out by the internal light, thes 700 is superior in every way to the 505.

On the other hand, I do believe the kindles are much better devices with better support than the sony devices, but that's another story.

Parastie · 04-28-2009, 02:16 AM

Kindle's whispernet is only good if you spend most of your time in the US. As of right now, and for the next three years I won't :P

Sbilf · 04-28-2009, 03:53 AM

Hi,

I agree with Parastie. Outside the US Kindle is only a good device like others.

Rules.r · 04-30-2009, 01:20 AM

Additionally, buying a Kindle is buying into the future of Amazon- Great if the company lasts forever, your account remains in good standing and you don't care about DRM being the center of your life...

For me, freedom is everything. And I am willing to sacrifice the really excellent whispernet functionality for it.

thibaulthalpern · 04-30-2009, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andybaby

I ment it the other way, im on the kindles side in this.

PROs for the Kindle are above though the KB isn't a pro, as the 700 has one too,

pros of the 700 is
Light and small size

.

I think you would be happier with a kindle. especially if you are gonna read novels you buy from the online store

PDF functionality which is a major one for me. I believe the Kindle 2 doesn't support PDFs. And please we're not talking about conversion to PDFs. Plain text PDFs might be easy to convert to AZW or other formats but many PDFs such as multi-column ones, ones with one layer of image and another layer of actual text underneath, may not be that easily converted.

04-21-2009, 06:07 PM	#1
EngTeacher Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: prs 700	just got the itch Don't have an ereader yet but have the itch I saw a Kindle 2 yesterday and realized that an ereader would be a great thing to have. I am leaning to the 700 though as I like the idea of making notes and highlighting. I've read lots of posts here and have learned very much. As a read a lot of book from the Gutenberg site and Google I hope the reader will ease this process and save me from printing them out. I hate to read on a computer so am unsure about on reader. I am hoping the experience is different and I love the idea of not lugging books around. Any thoughts? A questions about the 700. Can I get newspapers and RSS feeds on it. I've read about so many different ones I am confused. I realize I will have to synch the reader to my computer to upload these, if those are the right terms. Will Calibre help with that? Eng Teacher

04-27-2009, 10:17 PM	#10
PassingStranger Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony PRS-500	PRS-505 owner here, so I can't speak to either, but I've looked into both. I personally went for the 505 partly for the lower price, but mainly because I really like the toned down and simple functionality of it. It does exactly what its supposed to and it does it flawlessly. I feel like I really, really don't need a keyboard. The only thing I find myself wishing for at times is a dictionary. But the geek inside of me adores the idea of the Kindle 2's 3G access (with free Wikipedia browsing!) and its other bells and whistles like search, email downloading, automatic RSS feeds, etc. I personally don't think I would use much of that stuff, as my mobile email stuff is taken care of via my phone and I usually bring my reader because I want to be able to sit down and read, not internet stuff. Can't speak for the ergonomics of the Kindle 2, but I do love Sony's design. [Edit]: I was just looking at the pictures of both and I would really hate to lose the right side navigation buttons because the nice thing about having both bottom and right side ones is that you can comfortably change the page no matter what weird position you're in. So that's a plus for the Kindle/PRS-505 But I also can't say anything about how the touchscreen is for non-stylus page turning. Last edited by PassingStranger; 04-27-2009 at 10:21 PM.

04-21-2009, 11:31 PM	#2
Andybaby Wizard Posts: 1,279 Karma: 1002683 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New York Device: PRS-700	calibre can do RSS feeds. kindle can download Newspapers automatically, it can also highlight and take notes, and has a better contrast ratio. kindles only downside is its larger size

04-22-2009, 01:49 AM	#3
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	"kindles only downside is its larger size" I would beg to differ, but I am too tired.

04-22-2009, 11:34 PM	#7
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	I will grant that the dictionary support and whispernet are advantages in favor of the Kindle. And I don't think hope that Sony is not going to let that gap continue. My main complaint with the Kindle is the ergodynamics (K1 is to angular and awkward and K2 is too much... bezels and keyboards!) and the stunted growth in useable formats. Amazon just strikes me as being too much of a "our devise - our format" mentality. I applaud Sony's opening up the PRS readers to ePub and reflowable pdf. I (almost) never buy ebooks from Sony, and I (almost) never bought ebooks from Amazon. I dislike cumbersome DRM too much. That said, I also really dig the side lighting and touch screen keyboard of the PRS 700!

04-28-2009, 12:56 AM	#11
Andybaby Wizard Posts: 1,279 Karma: 1002683 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New York Device: PRS-700	touch screen makes it possible to turn the page no matter where you hold it, the touch screen interface is 10x more user friendly than the prs 500 or 505. besides the darker screen, which is augmented and I believe canceled out by the internal light, thes 700 is superior in every way to the 505. On the other hand, I do believe the kindles are much better devices with better support than the sony devices, but that's another story.

04-28-2009, 02:16 AM	#12
Parastie Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Sony PRS-700 (hopefully)	Kindle's whispernet is only good if you spend most of your time in the US. As of right now, and for the next three years I won't :P

04-28-2009, 03:53 AM	#13
Sbilf Member Posts: 19 Karma: 70 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Rome, Italy Device: Sony PRS 700	Hi, I agree with Parastie. Outside the US Kindle is only a good device like others.

04-30-2009, 01:20 AM	#14
Rules.r Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: NoVA Device: PRS-700?	Additionally, buying a Kindle is buying into the future of Amazon- Great if the company lasts forever, your account remains in good standing and you don't care about DRM being the center of your life... For me, freedom is everything. And I am willing to sacrifice the really excellent whispernet functionality for it.

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