Which options are in France?

[Poppaea]

How about Pocketbook? They have a vast choice of fine readers and are very popular in Europe. They are also here on the forums to give advice. Forkosigan and Traveller speak French, English and German and will answer questions.

There is a new Pocketbook 602/603 6" device that is half-touch, by which I mean it works with a stylus. Pocketbooks are very customizable.

Sonys are great. They handle PDF's quite nicely, are easy to operate and give you a genuine reading experience with their touchscreens. You should definitly give them a try. Also you can buy content whereever you you like to, if you own a Sony. I buy from Sony bookstore, different stores here in Germany, fnac, the bookdepository. You name them, I bought with them.

@Jo and Prof

Isn't it naive to say they made it once but won't do it twice? You have no proof they won't do it again. If it were that easy, I am quite sure every convicted thief/rapist/murderer/criminal on earth would be very happy to know about it. "Hey, no need to avoid me. I got some bad PR for killing my girlfriend, I won't do it again."

[GeoffC]

I'd say either Bookeen or Pocketbook .....

[DMB]

It also depends on whether you want to read in French or English. You won't find many books in mobi format in French.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

i can understand Sidd on some point. You American tends to forget that the e-book situation in the US isn't the same as in other part of the world.

Yeah, we tends to suggest our own readers more easily. Because they're the one the fits us .
And well, I feel I can speak about the cybooks, because I own them, i know their good points and their bad points. For the other readers, i can only speak from hearsay.

Honestly the "privacy" issue isn't the problem I have in mind with the kindle. More the technically inferior and less open mobi, as well as the lesser choice in e-book. (right now, no mobi book from the french publishers).

Carter,
I am not american.

By the way, Sony and Kindle are available for France's market. Availability of titles in French or any other language which is not English, like Spanish on my case, depends of publishers too, not just the format. Talking by experience.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

@Jo and Prof

Isn't it naive to say they made it once but won't do it twice? You have no proof they won't do it again. If it were that easy, I am quite sure every convicted thief/rapist/murderer/criminal on earth would be very happy to know about it. "Hey, no need to avoid me. I got some bad PR for killing my girlfriend, I won't do it again."

That can potentially happens to any device or reader which has network connection or connectivity to its main library. The safest way to keep a device away from such issues is turning wifi off. Even The company can also wipe out or delete the online content and ebooks at anytime, by mistake or on purpose. Like I said on my previous post, all users should make a backup copies of their purchases, regardless of the device.

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Carter,
I am not american.

By the way, Sony and Kindle are available for France's market. Availability of titles in French or any other language which is not English, like Spanish on my case, depends of publishers too, not just the format. Talking by experience.

Sony yes. Kindle, not quite so.
We have to order on amazon.com... As the OP mentioned, it result in $$$ delivery fees, customs, delays...

The absence of books in mobi is the consequence of the absence of an ebook shop on amazon.fr.
Well, is Germany is a clue, maybe we'll have an amazon shop at some point. But I won't hold my breath for it. (And as long as amazon sells only mobi, I couldn't care less.)

if you own a Sony. I buy from Sony bookstore

Don't the sony store geo-restrict you in germany ? (i know it can be bypassed but...)

[Poppaea]

Sony bookstore is US only. When you enter an US address you can use your European creditcard just fine, but you will have to download the Reader Library from Sony US website.

[EowynCarter]

Yeap. That's what i said by bypass.

[CommonReader]

Sony Germany has a "Readers Club" only, which promotes ebooks but links to the sites of cooperating bookshops. By doing so they avoid being seen as direct competition by the booksellers. Therefore you can buy Sony readers in many German bookshops.
If the prices at pixmania are indicative for prices in France then they are pretty steep. Can't you buy your ebook reader from Germany or the UK (and this includes the Kindle)? No hassle with import duties within the EU.

[Poppaea]

It is not that much more than here, just 20€. Fnac has it in store and sells it for 249€ including 100 books on a 2GB SDcard. That is the same price as the SonyLifestyleShop charges.

[Tome Keeper]

Do you want books in French or English? If French, that I suggest you go with whatever reader's bookstore has the majority of French books or you find out the sites with the most French books and match format to the reader. In this situation the Kindle isn't likely to be a good choice, as there are only 217 French language books on Amazon UK and your pretty much locked into buying from them.

I personally would go for Kindle but you would either have to buy it from the UK or the international Amazon page, as Amazon.fr does not stock it. I have had no issues with .pdf's on the Kindle 3.

However for ease of getting/returning, you should consider the features of the following readers, easily brought in France from places such as Fnac:

Cybook Orizon
Fnac Book
Cybook Opus
Sony PRS - 650
Sony PRS - 600
Sony PRS - 300
Sony PRS - 350
Iriver Story
Hanvon WiseReader
Sweex E-reader
Cybook Gen3
Endless Ideas bebook

Out of those I would personally choose the Fnac book, as I've been told it's pdf support is very good.

[Poppaea]

Out of those the fnac book has the worst screen. It is an old Sipix, dark as hell and absolutely inferior.

Don't buy a Sony 600 either. They had a coating over the screen and have a bad glare problem. The Sony 300 does not have this problem but is slow and has an old screen, too. If you go for a Sony make sure to buy one of the PRS-X50 series.

Cybook Opus is a 5" reader.

Originally Posted by Sidd

I'm still not sure if 6" or 7" is the right balance between readability and portability.

Sweex is an old Netronics device. They are old in terms of screen technology and are only good if they have a good firmware. The Sweex does not. In case you are interested in a reader like this go with the Pocketbook 301+for their better firmware, but all in all the Netronics devices are much too expensive nowadays with their old technology. Cybook Gen3 is exactly the same hardware with another firmware as the Sweex and the Pocketbook 301+. If you only want a reader for starters you can buy a Netronics device with Italica for 99€ plus shipping in Germany. They are not favorable for PDF reading, but do fine as a first reader if you don't mind them being a bit slower. All the Netronix readers are slow and have quite a grey screen.

Same is true for the Iriver Story. Extremely outdated and the quality seriously lacks. The newer Iriver Cover story might be nice but is a bit on the expensive site (it is 199€ here). It also has a slight glare.

I can't say anything about the Orizon, but given the price and the specs I'd rather go with a Sony or one of the new Pocketbooks.

[CommonReader]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

It is not that much more than here, just 20€. Fnac has it in store and sells it for 249€ including 100 books on a 2GB SDcard. That is the same price as the SonyLifestyleShop charges.

Indeed, for 20 € it's not worth to shop abroad. However, in Germany Sony sells the reader for 229,- with free shipping and that's what most other shops charge as well. A 2 GB card is worth about 5,- and the 100 free titles is probably what you can download from the Reader Club.

[EowynCarter]

Out of those the fnac book has the worst screen. It is an old Sipix, dark as hell and absolutely inferior.

The exact same screen than the orizon. Because pearl screen are better, it don't means spix is some useless crap.
It works fine.

Don't buy a Sony 600 either. They had a coating over the screen and have a bad glare problem. The Sony 300 does not have this problem but is slow and has an old screen, too. If you go for a Sony make sure to buy one of the PRS-X50 series.

Yeap.

Cybook Opus is a 5" reader.

Yes. The opus is no the best of PDF.

[Sidd]

In the mean time I have settled the issue with Samsung E65. For a PC person it's quite weird and you have to read the manual before to settle some particularities. Otherwise it's great. And it's about 10€ per inch. Also, among Sony, Bookeen, Iriver and a couple of low quality TFT Android tablets it has the best design and ergonomy. At least for me.

Originally Posted by Poppaea

How about Pocketbook? They have a vast choice of fine readers and are very popular in Europe. They are also here on the forums to give advice. Forkosigan and Traveller speak French, English and German and will answer questions.

Now that you mention it, the Pocketbook 602/603 looks quite ok. Still more expensive than the Samsung and about the same in tech specs.

Sonys are great. They handle PDF's quite nicely, are easy to operate and give you a genuine reading experience with their touchscreens. You should definitly give them a try. Also you can buy content whereever you you like to, if you own a Sony. I buy from Sony bookstore, different stores here in Germany, fnac, the bookdepository. You name them, I bought with them.

In shop they had Sonys, Bookeens (as EowynCarter warned) and the Samsung. Probably it's a matter of taste, but the feel and ergonomy of the whole thing (I'm talking about the hardware) was better for the Samsung. Also, while Bookeen was priced the same, Sony was more expensive. Bookeen looks like a toy. Sony does not, but the screen is not as nice as Samsung. I am talking only 6 inch.

I understand buying books is a major issue and thus the choice of store and brand. In my case I have an extended virtual library so I'm working a bit in reverse: I needed the reader for the library and not the library for the reader.

Originally Posted by DMB

It also depends on whether you want to read in French or English. You won't find many books in mobi format in French.

My bad. I haven't specified. My books are mostly in English with some in French, Italian and Spanish. As I said above, I already have the library. And I guess I can make a suboptimal conversion quite fast.

Originally Posted by CommonReader

Sony Germany has a "Readers Club" only, which promotes ebooks but links to the sites of cooperating bookshops. By doing so they avoid being seen as direct competition by the booksellers. Therefore you can buy Sony readers in many German bookshops.
If the prices at pixmania are indicative for prices in France then they are pretty steep. Can't you buy your ebook reader from Germany or the UK (and this includes the Kindle)? No hassle with import duties within the EU.

True. No extra payment from Germany. I don't know about the warranty. UK is out of the question as they like to be behind the rest of Europe. As with the metric system, they refuse to join the Euro zone.

Originally Posted by Tome Keeper

Do you want books in French or English? If French, that I suggest you go with whatever reader's bookstore has the majority of French books or you find out the sites with the most French books and match format to the reader. In this situation the Kindle isn't likely to be a good choice, as there are only 217 French language books on Amazon UK and your pretty much locked into buying from them.

From this angle I'm above all stores as I don't plan to use them any time near.

I personally would go for Kindle but you would either have to buy it from the UK or the international Amazon page, as Amazon.fr does not stock it. I have had no issues with .pdf's on the Kindle 3.

The Samsung has no issue either. Besides the limitations of the 6 inch screen. Which, I understand is the same size as Kindle 3.

Originally Posted by Poppaea

Out of those the fnac book has the worst screen. It is an old Sipix, dark as hell and absolutely inferior.

Don't buy a Sony 600 either. They had a coating over the screen and have a bad glare problem. The Sony 300 does not have this problem but is slow and has an old screen, too. If you go for a Sony make sure to buy one of the PRS-X50 series.

Cybook Opus is a 5" reader.

Sweex is an old Netronics device. They are old in terms of screen technology and are only good if they have a good firmware. The Sweex does not. In case you are interested in a reader like this go with the Pocketbook 301+for their better firmware, but all in all the Netronics devices are much too expensive nowadays with their old technology. Cybook Gen3 is exactly the same hardware with another firmware as the Sweex and the Pocketbook 301+. If you only want a reader for starters you can buy a Netronics device with Italica for 99€ plus shipping in Germany. They are not favorable for PDF reading, but do fine as a first reader if you don't mind them being a bit slower. All the Netronix readers are slow and have quite a grey screen.

Same is true for the Iriver Story. Extremely outdated and the quality seriously lacks. The newer Iriver Cover story might be nice but is a bit on the expensive site (it is 199€ here). It also has a slight glare.

I can't say anything about the Orizon, but given the price and the specs I'd rather go with a Sony or one of the new Pocketbooks.

Extremely useful info. The ones I could test are true. Sony doesn't have the best screen. And Iriver - I had the chance to play with one of the older Stories and it was a bad experience. The only quality I could find it was the slim factor.

AS for Italica I have seen a 79€ tablet. Far uglier, yet cheaper and there's no delivery charges. Same Android.

Originally Posted by CommonReader

Indeed, for 20 € it's not worth to shop abroad. However, in Germany Sony sells the reader for 229,- with free shipping and that's what most other shops charge as well. A 2 GB card is worth about 5,- and the 100 free titles is probably what you can download from the Reader Club.

Free shipping for all EU? What about warranty and return policy?