Kindle Vs. Sony Ereaders

fyre182 · 09-09-2010, 09:28 PM

I have decided on buying an ebook reader! I recently purchased a nook, and I realized that it has the most abysmal pdf support I have ever seen in my entire life.

Literally, since all the new nooks aren't capable of being soft rooted, I cannot read any of my documents.

It is extremely important that I have a reader with very good pdf support. I believe that the k3 has sufficient support, so I looked at the k3 too.

I realized that I hated the idea of being locked into a single ecosystem. While the k3 certainly has a strong feature suite, i.e., an inline dictionary (this was also a deal breaker on the nook for me), decent pdf support, wifi, very low price, and text 2 speech support, I did not like the plastic nature of the reader or the lack of expansion capability and the abysmal mp3 player.

Some Background: I'm not rich - I'm currently a college student about to graduate and go to the peace corps - but I am certainly willing to pay for a quality product.

I currently subscribe to a digital magazine and intend to place my research papers, lab manuals, and other important documents on the reader. ALL OF THESE DOCUMENTS are in PDF format. I tried converting the pdfs to the epub format using calibre, but they - esp. the magazines - were completely unreadable and disorganized.

The Note taking and annotation would also allow me to do practice GRE exams on the SONY, an extremely valuable feature to me. I could export documents from school with the note sand print them out!

I esp. love the new prs-650s ability to zoom lock (I have many full image pdf books) and the prs-650's frequently looked up words list (it seems like a great way to remember words I may have trouble remembering). I also love the screen saver (a great way to post pictures reminding me why I'm trying to go to graduate school: to better support my family) ability of the new prs-650

I will also possibly be studying overseas (ASIA) for 2 years after june of 2011, so any known international features or asian language support would be a plus!

With all these major considerations in mind, please help me decide between these products at the following price points. THANK YOU again and again in advance, these forums have been a wealth of knowledge.

Prs - 600 - 120 + Free Ship = 120
Prs - 900 - 237 + Free SHIP = 237
Prs - 650 - 229 + 18 TAX and ship = 247
Kindle 3 - 149 + 0 TAX and SHIP = 149
Kindle 3 3g - 189 + 0 TAX AND SHIP = 189

A well reasoned response would be extremely helpful for this extremely indecisive student.

HarryT · 09-10-2010, 04:10 AM

No 6" reader can do a good job of displaying PDFs that are formatting for a larger screen. A PDF document is not a book - it is a digital representation of a specific page layout, and can only sensibly be displayed on a device whose screen is the correct size (or larger) than the page size that the PDF is formatted for.

You really need to be looking at large-screen devices if PDF support is your main priority. Eg the Kindle DX or Apple iPad.

ProfCrash · 09-10-2010, 10:01 AM

You are not locked into the Amazon eco system with a Kindle. You can convert non-DRMed Epubs and there are a decent number of book stores that sell Mobi books that can go right on the Kindle.

I am hearing good things about the PDF support on the K3. At least one Aussie College Student has said that she is very pleased with the PDF support on her K3.

I have the DXG and love it. I can't say how it works for PDF's because I do not use it to read PDF's but the larger screen is great. Hopefully it gets a firmware update that gives it the same capabilities as the K3.

ETA: The K3 supports Chinese and Japanese, perhaps others. They were just added.

HelenaJole · 09-11-2010, 01:49 PM

The Korean font on the K3 is really horrible. Where are you going to be studying?

boswd · 09-11-2010, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

No 6" reader can do a good job of displaying PDFs that are formatting for a larger screen. A PDF document is not a book - it is a digital representation of a specific page layout, and can only sensibly be displayed on a device whose screen is the correct size (or larger) than the page size that the PDF is formatted for.

You really need to be looking at large-screen devices if PDF support is your main priority. Eg the Kindle DX or Apple iPad.

+1 on what he said, if you get another 6 nch i think you'll find yourself in a very similiar situation, Kindle DX or iPad, iPad being the better of the two also if you aren't in too much of a hurry Samsung Galaxy Tab should be out before Novemember that seems to have alot of buzz behind it.

another one to check out is the Sony 950, 7 inch screen and some added functionality for PDF's may just work as well

and what the hay put the Entourage on your short list as well. That is one of the best ereaders for students

JeremyR · 09-11-2010, 11:06 PM

I tried reading some PDFs on my kindle, from a old vintage pulp magazine place.

They look nice, but are completely unreadable because of the size. And if you zoom it, it because a hassle (because most PDfs are formatted in columns).

So honestly, I wouldn't consider a K3 (or any small screen e-reader) for PDFs

desertgrandma · 09-12-2010, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fyre182

A well reasoned response would be extremely helpful for this extremely indecisive student.

All I can add is that you could order the k3, and you have 30 days to 'test drive' it........you could download and see for yourself if it suits your needs.

No hassle return....just pay return shipping, usually around $8 for usps priority.'

HarryT · 09-12-2010, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

All I can add is that you could order the k3, and you have 30 days to 'test drive' it........you could download and see for yourself if it suits your needs.

No hassle return....just pay return shipping, usually around $8 for usps priority.'

The Kindle 3 wouldn't be a good choice at all. It doesn't support any form of PDF reflow; all you can do is zoom in on a page and then pan across it; that's a pretty bad way to try to read a book. The Kindle's PDF support is spectacularly bad compared with pretty much any other reader.

Latinandgreek · 09-12-2010, 06:54 AM

Here is a question for Fyre182: Is there a particular size screen that you are hoping to get? (i.e., Do you need something very portable, that you can read on your commute, or would most of your reading be done at home, in which case a larger screen would be better?)

Have you tried looking up any of the iRex products on ebay? They have 8 and 10 inch screens, perhaps you might luck out and find one at a discounted price. I have seen the DR800 selling at under $150 on Ebay.

I myself am strongly considering getting a Sony 950 for PDFs. If Sony and Kindle are the only 2 devices you are considering, I say get the Sony. I have a Sony PRS-505, and I have found that I can read most of my PDFs (journal articles, books scanned with OCR) quite well just using the reflow. Another device to consider is the upcoming Pocketbook 902/903. I have not yet been able to find out how much the device will cost.

hellraiser06 · 09-12-2010, 08:26 AM

Where did you find a prs 600 for $120?

And, as for a pdf support, I guess prs 650 is tehe best choice out of your list. But if you are willing to pay up some more, get a 950. Its not only about a 1" screen size difference. Prs 950 also has a greater resolution (1024xsomething) as opposed to 800x600 of the regular 6" readers, which obviously means more information on a single page, which is I feel is very important for pdfs

09-09-2010, 09:28 PM	#1
fyre182 Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: none	Kindle Vs. Sony Ereaders I have decided on buying an ebook reader! I recently purchased a nook, and I realized that it has the most abysmal pdf support I have ever seen in my entire life. Literally, since all the new nooks aren't capable of being soft rooted, I cannot read any of my documents. It is extremely important that I have a reader with very good pdf support. I believe that the k3 has sufficient support, so I looked at the k3 too. I realized that I hated the idea of being locked into a single ecosystem. While the k3 certainly has a strong feature suite, i.e., an inline dictionary (this was also a deal breaker on the nook for me), decent pdf support, wifi, very low price, and text 2 speech support, I did not like the plastic nature of the reader or the lack of expansion capability and the abysmal mp3 player. Some Background: I'm not rich - I'm currently a college student about to graduate and go to the peace corps - but I am certainly willing to pay for a quality product. I currently subscribe to a digital magazine and intend to place my research papers, lab manuals, and other important documents on the reader. ALL OF THESE DOCUMENTS are in PDF format. I tried converting the pdfs to the epub format using calibre, but they - esp. the magazines - were completely unreadable and disorganized. The Note taking and annotation would also allow me to do practice GRE exams on the SONY, an extremely valuable feature to me. I could export documents from school with the note sand print them out! I esp. love the new prs-650s ability to zoom lock (I have many full image pdf books) and the prs-650's frequently looked up words list (it seems like a great way to remember words I may have trouble remembering). I also love the screen saver (a great way to post pictures reminding me why I'm trying to go to graduate school: to better support my family) ability of the new prs-650 I will also possibly be studying overseas (ASIA) for 2 years after june of 2011, so any known international features or asian language support would be a plus! With all these major considerations in mind, please help me decide between these products at the following price points. THANK YOU again and again in advance, these forums have been a wealth of knowledge. Prs - 600 - 120 + Free Ship = 120 Prs - 900 - 237 + Free SHIP = 237 Prs - 650 - 229 + 18 TAX and ship = 247 Kindle 3 - 149 + 0 TAX and SHIP = 149 Kindle 3 3g - 189 + 0 TAX AND SHIP = 189 A well reasoned response would be extremely helpful for this extremely indecisive student.

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09-10-2010, 04:10 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	No 6" reader can do a good job of displaying PDFs that are formatting for a larger screen. A PDF document is not a book - it is a digital representation of a specific page layout, and can only sensibly be displayed on a device whose screen is the correct size (or larger) than the page size that the PDF is formatted for. You really need to be looking at large-screen devices if PDF support is your main priority. Eg the Kindle DX or Apple iPad.

09-10-2010, 10:01 AM	#3
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	You are not locked into the Amazon eco system with a Kindle. You can convert non-DRMed Epubs and there are a decent number of book stores that sell Mobi books that can go right on the Kindle. I am hearing good things about the PDF support on the K3. At least one Aussie College Student has said that she is very pleased with the PDF support on her K3. I have the DXG and love it. I can't say how it works for PDF's because I do not use it to read PDF's but the larger screen is great. Hopefully it gets a firmware update that gives it the same capabilities as the K3. ETA: The K3 supports Chinese and Japanese, perhaps others. They were just added.

09-11-2010, 01:49 PM	#4
HelenaJole Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 580 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle 3	The Korean font on the K3 is really horrible. Where are you going to be studying?

09-11-2010, 11:06 PM	#6
JeremyR Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 2458402 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: St. Louis Device: Kindle Keyboard, Nook HD+	I tried reading some PDFs on my kindle, from a old vintage pulp magazine place. They look nice, but are completely unreadable because of the size. And if you zoom it, it because a hassle (because most PDfs are formatted in columns). So honestly, I wouldn't consider a K3 (or any small screen e-reader) for PDFs

09-12-2010, 06:54 AM	#9
Latinandgreek Warrior Princess Posts: 5,038 Karma: 9724231 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505; PRS-350, PRS-T1, iPad, Aura HD	Here is a question for Fyre182: Is there a particular size screen that you are hoping to get? (i.e., Do you need something very portable, that you can read on your commute, or would most of your reading be done at home, in which case a larger screen would be better?) Have you tried looking up any of the iRex products on ebay? They have 8 and 10 inch screens, perhaps you might luck out and find one at a discounted price. I have seen the DR800 selling at under $150 on Ebay. I myself am strongly considering getting a Sony 950 for PDFs. If Sony and Kindle are the only 2 devices you are considering, I say get the Sony. I have a Sony PRS-505, and I have found that I can read most of my PDFs (journal articles, books scanned with OCR) quite well just using the reflow. Another device to consider is the upcoming Pocketbook 902/903. I have not yet been able to find out how much the device will cost.

09-12-2010, 08:26 AM	#10
hellraiser06 Yaabbaa dabba doo Posts: 76 Karma: 5348 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: India Device: Kindle Touch wifi, Kindle 3 Wifi, Asus Transformer TF101	Where did you find a prs 600 for $120? And, as for a pdf support, I guess prs 650 is tehe best choice out of your list. But if you are willing to pay up some more, get a 950. Its not only about a 1" screen size difference. Prs 950 also has a greater resolution (1024xsomething) as opposed to 800x600 of the regular 6" readers, which obviously means more information on a single page, which is I feel is very important for pdfs

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