I'm going to get an eBook reader for the first time. Which one should I get?

[speedlever]

Originally Posted by mikeayers

I have a kindle and use calibre on my computer to converter from epub and other formats.
then it puts them on the kindle with no problems.... don't know about DRM problems
so far everything i have read has been free.

Sadly, free does not equate to a lack of DRM issues.

Have you d/l any library books and tried to convert them with Calibre so you can sideload them to your Kindle?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by erictoma

They give you well priced machine but force you to buy only from them !
the real issue is that half of their books are not available for Canadian customers and you cannot buy from other stores but kindle read only its native format.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Fortunately there is very active Kindle forum here where people can get accurate information.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by viviena

I can understand that it can be frustrating to hear people point out constantly that the Kindle is very restricted and locked-down, when your own experiences may differ. That said, the user that knows how to strip DRM and format shift is not the average user, and honestly, it is disingenuous to claim that the Kindle doesn't try to lock-in its users, and that Kindle is as open a hardware platform as other readers.

All true. But it's one thing to say that the Kindle TRYS to lock you into Amazon, or that another might be better or easier for this reason or that, it's quite another to say (repeatedly and in the face of proof to the contrary) that it CAN'T do something it can, or that it FORCES you to do someting it merely strongly encourages you to do....

The Kindle has a lot of good features as a reader. If someone wants those feature over those of other readers, but is hung up on the use of Library books, or some particular ePub content, it is simply WRONG to say the Kindle can't handle those task when it can, if you just ask somewhere nicely....

But if it's a hardware toss up, and you like the Kobo or the Sony reader just fine, and the content you want is in those stores or your library, then heck yeah, don't mess with address spoofing, DRM stripping, or conversion of any kind if you don't have to.

But don't say the Kindle can't...cuz it can.

ApK

[ruel]

From what you guys have said it does seem like the Sony PRS-650 is the right choice for me (the 350 seems too small). I think I'll just have to wait it out a bit until a decent sale comes around (boxing day, maybe).

[erictoma]

Originally Posted by ruel

From what you guys have said it does seem like the Sony PRS-650 is the right choice for me (the 350 seems too small). I think I'll just have to wait it out a bit until a decent sale comes around (boxing day, maybe).

LOL I came to the same conclusion as yours !
the Sonny 650 seems pretty !
5 inches is too small
But I cannot afford Sony 650 for the moment may be in two weeks.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by ruel

From what you guys have said it does seem like the Sony PRS-650 is the right choice for me (the 350 seems too small). I think I'll just have to wait it out a bit until a decent sale comes around (boxing day, maybe).

I'm not sure if you guys have the same deal up in Canada, but Radio Shack currently has many of the Sony readers on sale. Might want to take a look. Here's a link in for the US:

http://www.radioshack.com/search/ind...%20reader&sr=1

[Pookeysgirl]

Originally Posted by ApK

I'm not sure if you guys have the same deal up in Canada, but Radio Shack currently has many of the Sony readers on sale. Might want to take a look. Here's a link in for the US:

http://www.radioshack.com/search/ind...%20reader&sr=1

All I could find was one at Future Shop, but it ends today

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ...onebookread-en

[ruel]

Originally Posted by Pookeysgirl

All I could find was one at Future Shop, but it ends today

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ...onebookread-en

Also, I think it's $230 at sonystyle.ca at all times.

[polly]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

And how does a Canadian Nook owner get around geo restriction? If the book is restricted at one store it will be restricted at another store.

The only way to get a geo restricted book, no matter what store you use, is to have a US address and some thing to mask your IP address.

If you wish to believe that Amazon is the only store effected by geo restrictions feel free to continue to believe that. You are wrong but you are free to continue to be wrong.

It's true that Amazon is not the only store affected by Geo restrictions. It's also true that different stores use different measures to decide where you are. With Amazon and B&N, that method is to look at your IP address. No US IP address, no US book. At the Sony store, I just had to give it an American address. BooksOnBoard was completely indifferent to my location. I was even able to purchase books in Iraq from that store. It's possible to get around any store's restrictions, but if you can purchase from more stores you have a better chance and some stores are much easier than others.

[polly]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Also, and please correct me if I am wrong, doesn't Amazon use two types of DRM, one of which has been cracked and thus can be stripped by the tech savvy and a second scheme that has yet to be cracked (TPZ?)? How do you know which DRM scheme infests a book?

TPZ has been cracked for several months now. It's a several step process, but not hard once the pieces are in place. You try with the easier method first. If it doesn't work, then it's a TPZ.

[hydin]

I have had a kindle 3, a nook, a sony 500 and 505, and just bought a 650.

The reason sony wins out over any other brand I have tried is one simple thing. They allow you to put a collecting in the order YOU want it to be in. If you are reading a fantasy series and it has 10 or 15 books in it, or you are reading a 3 part series, doesn't matter. You can choose to have what book you want be #1, #2, etc.

Every other ereader that allows collections that I have played with (kindle3 and nook 1.5) has it set to only be alphabetical order only.

That is a huge problem for me. I don't want to root my nook in order to keep books in the way I want. I like the fact that sony does this natively.

[DuncanWatson]

The NOOKColor didn't appear on your list and it is more expensive but it is superior to all of the devices on your list. Better PDF support than each one, excellent organization abilities. You can arrange books in the order you wish on a shelf. It also has an excellent dictionary, notes and highlighting that are very easy to use due to the full touch screen.

It has excellent support for multiple formats, library reading and multiple DRM sources. The only big issue is that I wouldn't get one if I were in Canada due to geo-restrictions. And that is a BIG issue.

The Kindle is way to big brother for me. It reports on your location via whispernet, it gathers statistics and reports them back and Amazon has used it to removed paid for books from customers devices. So not only is the platform linked to older and less capable formats (MOBI), it is proprietary hw and sw (vs Andriod), it doesn't have any SD card support and it doesn't respect your privacy or your ownership of bought and paid for media.

The Sony issue is similar to that of Apple, you will never or very rarely see any price discounts. The price tends to be high for the features and the devices tend to be proprietary and interoperate only with Windows and Macs with current SW. Linux users such as myself tend to be left in the cold. They also don't have a simple way to shop from the device.

The Nook series of devices are much more open and SW development has been constant on them. I am a fan. But living in Canada I would probably be tempted by the Sony devices due to the idiocy of geo-restrictions. In my experience companies that fail to treat Canada and the US as a shared customer base fair poorly. They are much closer than they are different. It is not too difficult to consider Canada a location with slightly more interesting state and local law for US based customers.

DJW

[ProfCrash]

Here we go again...

B&N collects your data just like Amazon does. It tracks what you are browsing and what you have purchased. This is standard practice.

B&N can pull books off of your Nook just like Amazon can pull books off your Kindle. Amazon did this once and took a huge PR hit. Bezos wrote an apology letter, gave everyone who had the book removed a gift certificate for any book they wanted, and offered the return of the book or a second gift certificate.

[DuncanWatson]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Here we go again...

B&N collects your data just like Amazon does. It tracks what you are browsing and what you have purchased. This is standard practice.

B&N can pull books off of your Nook just like Amazon can pull books off your Kindle. Amazon did this once and took a huge PR hit. Bezos wrote an apology letter, gave everyone who had the book removed a gift certificate for any book they wanted, and offered the return of the book or a second gift certificate.

Amazon did it, and more than once. B&N didn't.

Sniffing has shown that whispernet collects your physical location and reports it. B&N grabs store data from their webfront. Shockingly collection at the device and at the webfront are two different things. B&N hasn't demonstrated the capability to remove books and though they may build it in, they haven't. No hacker has discovered the capability in the SW, so your comment is possible but you have no way of knowing it. In Amazon's case they have demonstrated the software and that it works en-masse. With Amazon recently caving to Leiberman's request to remove WikiLeaks, they are still showing deference to power vs respect for their customers.

Amazon took a huge PR hit because it was deserved, not because someone was mean to them.

[ruel]

Originally Posted by DuncanWatson

The NOOKColor didn't appear on your list and it is more expensive but it is superior to all of the devices on your list. Better PDF support than each one, excellent organization abilities. You can arrange books in the order you wish on a shelf. It also has an excellent dictionary, notes and highlighting that are very easy to use due to the full touch screen.

It has excellent support for multiple formats, library reading and multiple DRM sources. The only big issue is that I wouldn't get one if I were in Canada due to geo-restrictions. And that is a BIG issue.

The Kindle is way to big brother for me. It reports on your location via whispernet, it gathers statistics and reports them back and Amazon has used it to removed paid for books from customers devices. So not only is the platform linked to older and less capable formats (MOBI), it is proprietary hw and sw (vs Andriod), it doesn't have any SD card support and it doesn't respect your privacy or your ownership of bought and paid for media.

The Sony issue is similar to that of Apple, you will never or very rarely see any price discounts. The price tends to be high for the features and the devices tend to be proprietary and interoperate only with Windows and Macs with current SW. Linux users such as myself tend to be left in the cold. They also don't have a simple way to shop from the device.

The Nook series of devices are much more open and SW development has been constant on them. I am a fan. But living in Canada I would probably be tempted by the Sony devices due to the idiocy of geo-restrictions. In my experience companies that fail to treat Canada and the US as a shared customer base fair poorly. They are much closer than they are different. It is not too difficult to consider Canada a location with slightly more interesting state and local law for US based customers.

DJW

The Nook Color does seem awesome. I'd probably get distracted by all the other features on it, though. It's more of an iPad-like device it seems. How's the battery life on it. Also, living in Canada, what feature of a Nook Color would I be unable to access?