8+ Readers in comparison

[SurelyK]

mgmueller - thanks for the info. I should have been more specific: the 3G will allow me to download books. But in addition to this, I want to be able to take it boating on the west coast of BC AND access my webmail, or even DOWNLOAD my email. I was told that the service providers for 3G in Canada are so cheap that maybe this wouldn't be quite as easy as "open the box and it works". Any thoughts on that?

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by SurelyK

mgmueller - thanks for the info. I should have been more specific: the 3G will allow me to download books. But in addition to this, I want to be able to take it boating on the west coast of BC AND access my webmail, or even DOWNLOAD my email. I was told that the service providers for 3G in Canada are so cheap that maybe this wouldn't be quite as easy as "open the box and it works". Any thoughts on that?

There are no charges for the web browser.
So it shouldn't be a problem. (As long as it's webmail. You won't be able to configure Exchange or something like that).

[kbaerwald]

Having "drowned" my IREX 800 in a summer rain outside in our garden (sic) I would like to buy a new 9" reader as a replacement. FYI: IREX is bankrupt and there is no repair possible in the moment. I am already owning a Kindle2/PocketBook360 for reading standard fiction books.

I have to read a lot of nonfiction material with pictures, diagrams and tables which are already produced as pdf in a varying format mostly A5 to A4. Currently I am considering to buy: Kindle DX, PocketBook 903 or Apple iPad.

To make a reasonable decision I have made up a short list of features I would like to see on this device. I would really appreciate if you could contribute other arguments from your perspective:

- buy the biggest ereader currently possible (see arguments of mgmueller) i.e. resolution should be at least 1024x768
- pdf literature DRM/non-DRM must be readable (I do not care if mobi or epub in this context)
- contrast must be sufficient for daylight and well-illuminated lamp reading. I mean I do not read my ebooks in a tent outside in the South American jungle.
- no complicated pdf conversions for reading scientific literature (I would accept easy enlargements by touch or pen but no destructive reflow technique)
- pdf referencing and indexing should be supported i.e. jumping around in text should be easy and straightforward without too many keystrokes
- addressing of outbound reference texts and/or dictionaries shouldt be easy and quick
- adding notes or comments by audio, touch or keystroke should be possible and fast
- adding other personal multimedia elements linked to existing text elements or books would be helpful but not really addressable as of today (except for iPad)
...

I am pretty sure that this is a somewhat "esoteric" feature list but many of the items are already available and I am sure you have some more to add.

In the end we could use it a personalized decision making list for the next ebook buy.

Klaus

[jyl]

hi, i'm just wondering how well nook works when it comes to pdf's?

[carm]

Mgmueller, thank you so much for such a great input to this community.
I really appreciate your input

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by kbaerwald

Having "drowned" my IREX 800 in a summer rain outside in our garden (sic) I would like to buy a new 9" reader as a replacement. FYI: IREX is bankrupt and there is no repair possible in the moment. I am already owning a Kindle2/PocketBook360 for reading standard fiction books.

I have to read a lot of nonfiction material with pictures, diagrams and tables which are already produced as pdf in a varying format mostly A5 to A4. Currently I am considering to buy: Kindle DX, PocketBook 903 or Apple iPad.

To make a reasonable decision I have made up a short list of features I would like to see on this device. I would really appreciate if you could contribute other arguments from your perspective:

- buy the biggest ereader currently possible (see arguments of mgmueller) i.e. resolution should be at least 1024x768
- pdf literature DRM/non-DRM must be readable (I do not care if mobi or epub in this context)
- contrast must be sufficient for daylight and well-illuminated lamp reading. I mean I do not read my ebooks in a tent outside in the South American jungle.
- no complicated pdf conversions for reading scientific literature (I would accept easy enlargements by touch or pen but no destructive reflow technique)
- pdf referencing and indexing should be supported i.e. jumping around in text should be easy and straightforward without too many keystrokes
- addressing of outbound reference texts and/or dictionaries shouldt be easy and quick
- adding notes or comments by audio, touch or keystroke should be possible and fast
- adding other personal multimedia elements linked to existing text elements or books would be helpful but not really addressable as of today (except for iPad)
...

I am pretty sure that this is a somewhat "esoteric" feature list but many of the items are already available and I am sure you have some more to add.

In the end we could use it a personalized decision making list for the next ebook buy.

Klaus

"Big" limits the field drastically.
Some say, iPad is their favorite for PDFs. And its size would fit your demands as well.
My personal recommendation would be PocketBook 902/903. I've got PocketBook 360, which somewhat reminds of iRex re. features.
PocketBook has lots of support for Germany, warranty and such are way less complicated as with other units.
If iRex 800 did fit your needs, BeBook Neo may be worth checking out as well. It's only 6", but highly advanced.
Some recommend Kindle DX as well. But I'm not a fan of their PDF support (very basic only), although I love Kindles in general.
Sony 950 (7,1" if I remember correctly) might be interesting as well. It's the successor of Sony 900,, which I've got. Its form factor is phantastic and PDF support is okay. Personally, I tend towards the "big names" and somewhat kind of prefer Sony or Amazon over xxx or yyy.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by jyl

hi, i'm just wondering how well nook works when it comes to pdf's?

I'd say, it's an average unit for PDFs.
For "casual reads" is okay. Slightly better than Kindle in my opinion.
I wouldn't use it for "professional documents" (text books, contracts, ...) though. 6" is critical for such documents and zoom is preferable over reflow.
For zoom, I very much prefer touchscreen units. Not touchscreens in the sense of nook. But touchscreens where you mark the area of interest on yor document with the stylus and zoom this area to full screen. BeBook Neo/Onyx Boox for example can do that.
Else I'm still very fond of my nook. And I'm curious about the new nook, expected for its press release tomorrow, if I remember correctly. It seems to be a 6" Android unit. Android does have touchscreen and an approach similar to iPad.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by carm

Mgmueller, thank you so much for such a great input to this community.
I really appreciate your input

Glad to hear that, thanks a lot.
This thread is totally chaotic, as it simply has grown over the last 12 months. But I hope it's still helpful...

[kbaerwald]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

"Big" limits the field drastically.
Some say, iPad is their favorite for PDFs. And its size would fit your demands as well.
My personal recommendation would be PocketBook 902/903. I've got PocketBook 360, which somewhat reminds of iRex re. features.
PocketBook has lots of support for Germany, warranty and such are way less complicated as with other units.
If iRex 800 did fit your needs, BeBook Neo may be worth checking out as well. It's only 6", but highly advanced.
Some recommend Kindle DX as well. But I'm not a fan of their PDF support (very basic only), although I love Kindles in general.
Sony 950 (7,1" if I remember correctly) might be interesting as well. It's the successor of Sony 900,, which I've got. Its form factor is phantastic and PDF support is okay. Personally, I tend towards the "big names" and somewhat kind of prefer Sony or Amazon over xxx or yyy.

Yes - I have burnt my fingers with the IREX and my tendency is really to go with a local dealer/distributor.

Do you know how the referencing inside the pdf document is handled by the Kindle DX (foot notes e.g.)? Is it possible to access a dictionary out of the pdf? With the PB360 I know it's o.k. so I would assume the same for the PB902 - the Kindle2 did not allow it.

Klaus

[sbock]

Originally Posted by kbaerwald

Yes - I have burnt my fingers with the IREX and my tendency is really to go with a local dealer/distributor.

Do you know how the referencing inside the pdf document is handled by the Kindle DX (foot notes e.g.)? Is it possible to access a dictionary out of the pdf? With the PB360 I know it's o.k. so I would assume the same for the PB902 - the Kindle2 did not allow it.

Klaus

I'm 99% sure, Kindle DX doesn't have footnotes and such.
Same for Dictionary support.
I haven't seen much progress for PDFs in comparison to Kindle 2.

For the PocketBooks I'm 99% sure, you'll have all those features.

Personally, I'll skip most of the new ePaper readers. I tend to tablets now, already got iPad, Streak and Galaxy Tab. The new nook is worth checking out as well.
I've been very interested in Que, but unfortunately it's dead...

[Jumpn Jack Flash]

Originally Posted by kbaerwald

Having "drowned" my IREX 800 in a summer rain outside in our garden (sic) I would like to buy a new 9" reader as a replacement. FYI: IREX is bankrupt and there is no repair possible in the moment. I am already owning a Kindle2/PocketBook360 for reading standard fiction books.

I have to read a lot of nonfiction material with pictures, diagrams and tables which are already produced as pdf in a varying format mostly A5 to A4. Currently I am considering to buy: Kindle DX, PocketBook 903 or Apple iPad.

To make a reasonable decision I have made up a short list of features I would like to see on this device. I would really appreciate if you could contribute other arguments from your perspective:

- buy the biggest ereader currently possible (see arguments of mgmueller) i.e. resolution should be at least 1024x768
- pdf literature DRM/non-DRM must be readable (I do not care if mobi or epub in this context)
- contrast must be sufficient for daylight and well-illuminated lamp reading. I mean I do not read my ebooks in a tent outside in the South American jungle.
- no complicated pdf conversions for reading scientific literature (I would accept easy enlargements by touch or pen but no destructive reflow technique)
- addressing of outbound reference texts and/or dictionaries shouldt be easy and quick
- adding notes or comments by audio, touch or keystroke should be possible and fast
- adding other personal multimedia elements linked to existing text elements or books would be helpful but not really addressable as of today (except for iPad)
...

I am pretty sure that this is a somewhat "esoteric" feature list but many of the items are already available and I am sure you have some more to add.

In the end we could use it a personalized decision making list for the next ebook buy.

Klaus

Shame about the DR.
I justed looked at the spec for the 903 and it looks good with zoom and annotation with ADE for DRM support . I would hope that they have something similar to the the fantastic box selection zoom of the IREX rc3 release.

[Polyglot27]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Maybe someone with a K3 can answer this. My understanding is that the K3 is suppose to have the TTS feature enabled to work on the menus pages now which would help someone legally blind.

If this is the case, then the K3 would be available to read many books where there is no audio book available, although not all since Publishers can chose to turn off TTS for a book, or the MP3 player on the K3.

The new firmware for the BeBook Neo seems to have Text to Speech functions too. This can be another option. The BeBook Mini had this since it came out last year.

[jastevenson]

TTS is super useful IMHO.

[kbaerwald]

Originally Posted by Jumpn Jack Flash

Shame about the DR.
I justed looked at the spec for the 903 and it looks good with zoom and annotation with ADE for DRM support . I would hope that they have something similar to the the fantastic box selection zoom of the IREX rc3 release.

Yes - and I hope that PocketBook don't make the same strategic mistake as IREX did! To my opinion the current market will diversify: small portable fiction readers for everywhere, large readers with user interaction for the professional reader. The first sells by content (and should be calculated pricewise), the second one by features and flexibility. Maybe both will merge in future.

Some compnanies obviously can't go in both directions.

[Cla]

Which is the best place to buy a pocketbook 902 or 903 in Paris? Prices? I saw in the pocketbook website a link showing 4 different stores (but I couldn't get much information)... I wanted a recommendation. Someone can buy it for me, but he is staying in Paris just for a couple of days, no time for searching...
thanks!