Help me buy the right ebook reader :)

pratyk · 08-08-2009, 11:32 AM

Hi,

I have been watching these forums for a while and finally thought it was the right time to post my question.

I am a techie and use a lot of technical ebooks and white papers/research papers. I'd read some fiction but that is mainly during the commute or travelling. It's really hard to concentrate sometimes if i use my laptop for the same and hence i decided to look for an ebook reader. I do travel occasionally (about once a month) and lugging around a laptop isn't really convenient.

I'm mainly looking for a reader that serves me in 2 ways: during my commute to work/travel + looking at references ..

So far, it's mainly between Kindle 2 and Sony PRS600 .. I thought about Kindle DX and it's a bit of a reach with my budget ..

I am looking to buy an e-book reader with the budget of about 300$.

I currently have a lot of material in pdf format and would be buying e-book versions of technical references/programming manuals / books (viz. tech bibles that are like 5 pounds each) ..

The confusion is about how good the pdf's get rendered on a kindle 2 vs. sony reader .. I'd have my iphone along all the time so web content is not really an issue ..

Last but not the most glaring need: Reading Manga / scanned comics I have from back in the day ..

I could buy the Sony reader @ Best Buy for around 270 after discounts later this month or get a Kindle 2 this monday with the 15% cashback from Bing.com (via eBay) ...

So the final prices might be:
Sony PRS600 ~ $270
Kindle 2 ~ $250
Kindle DX ~ $ 415

Which one should i buy ?

Sweetpea · 08-09-2009, 06:43 AM

As soon as you have PDF material that is made specifically for A4 (or letter) format, any 6" might be too small. Especially if the PDF doesn't have reflowing of text. I think you'll be dissapointed with any device in that regard. A collegue of mine had the same, mostly references guids and such. He ordered an Iliad (8") and a BeBook (a hanlin clone, 6"). He liked the Iliad, and found the BeBook too small. In the end, he sent them both back, as the Ilias just was too expensive.

DrMoze · 08-15-2009, 08:08 PM

Yeah, what Sweetpea said. The 6" e-ink devices are best for general fiction. PDF files render too small on the small screen, and reflow (on the Sony) messes up the page layout. These e-ink devices are best for reading text, not manga/comics, tech books, or other graphics-heavy content that were formatted for larger pages.

08-08-2009, 11:32 AM	#1
pratyk Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: none	Help me buy the right ebook reader :) Hi, I have been watching these forums for a while and finally thought it was the right time to post my question. I am a techie and use a lot of technical ebooks and white papers/research papers. I'd read some fiction but that is mainly during the commute or travelling. It's really hard to concentrate sometimes if i use my laptop for the same and hence i decided to look for an ebook reader. I do travel occasionally (about once a month) and lugging around a laptop isn't really convenient. I'm mainly looking for a reader that serves me in 2 ways: during my commute to work/travel + looking at references .. So far, it's mainly between Kindle 2 and Sony PRS600 .. I thought about Kindle DX and it's a bit of a reach with my budget .. I am looking to buy an e-book reader with the budget of about 300$. I currently have a lot of material in pdf format and would be buying e-book versions of technical references/programming manuals / books (viz. tech bibles that are like 5 pounds each) .. The confusion is about how good the pdf's get rendered on a kindle 2 vs. sony reader .. I'd have my iphone along all the time so web content is not really an issue .. Last but not the most glaring need: Reading Manga / scanned comics I have from back in the day .. I could buy the Sony reader @ Best Buy for around 270 after discounts later this month or get a Kindle 2 this monday with the 15% cashback from Bing.com (via eBay) ... So the final prices might be: Sony PRS600 ~ $270 Kindle 2 ~ $250 Kindle DX ~ $ 415 Which one should i buy ?

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08-09-2009, 06:43 AM	#2
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	As soon as you have PDF material that is made specifically for A4 (or letter) format, any 6" might be too small. Especially if the PDF doesn't have reflowing of text. I think you'll be dissapointed with any device in that regard. A collegue of mine had the same, mostly references guids and such. He ordered an Iliad (8") and a BeBook (a hanlin clone, 6"). He liked the Iliad, and found the BeBook too small. In the end, he sent them both back, as the Ilias just was too expensive.

08-15-2009, 08:08 PM	#3
DrMoze Booknut Posts: 860 Karma: 2852 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: West Palm Beach, Florida! Device: Sony Reader 500/505/300/350, Nook Glowlight Plus (6")	Yeah, what Sweetpea said. The 6" e-ink devices are best for general fiction. PDF files render too small on the small screen, and reflow (on the Sony) messes up the page layout. These e-ink devices are best for reading text, not manga/comics, tech books, or other graphics-heavy content that were formatted for larger pages.

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