Last Few Questions Before I Head Out to Buy It

[Jeff Shek]

Thanks for the forums. I've been sitting and reading the last few days, stuck between Kindle, Cybook and the Sony Reader.

I ultimately am leaning toward the Sony Reader, partially because it's available now near a bookstore.

I had a few last questions though -

does the Sony Reader allow us to purchase from other online stores besides the EConnect? I noted how the Cybook has multiple stores in which they can purchase various different products, is this similar to the Sony Reader?

with software manipulation, such as the rasterfarian, are most PDFs inevitably readable (with minor tweaks?)

Best,
Jeff

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Jeff Shek

Thanks does the Sony Reader allow us to purchase from other online stores besides the EConnect? I noted how the Cybook has multiple stores in which they can purchase various different products, is this similar to the Sony Reader?

There's only one other store that I'm aware of which sells books in Sony format directly - Fictionwise, with their range of "multiformat" books and magazines. However, there are many stores which sell books that can be easily converted to be read on the Sony, given that it's rather trivial for any Windows user to convert Microsoft Reader (LIT) books to Sony format using the freely available "ConvertLIT" tool.

with software manipulation, such as the rasterfarian, are most PDFs inevitably readable (with minor tweaks?)

That's very much down to what one considers to be "readable". It can be done, yes. Whether you'll be happy with the results is very much a personal decision. Don't buy ANY 6" eBook reader if reading A4/Letter PDFs is vital to you; the only eInk device that's truly good for that is the larger iRex iLiad.

Hope that's of some help to you.

[Jeff Shek]

HarryT, thanks for the quick response.

I have a lot of PDFs to go through, so I am a bit worried about the conversion. Is there any of the readers,

between Kindle, Cybook, and Sony that reads PDFs any better after going through the conversion software?

Thank you again for the response!

Best,
Jeff

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Jeff Shek

between Kindle, Cybook, and Sony that reads PDFs any better after going through the conversion software?

No; they're all equally good (or bad). The only real difference is that the Gen3 and Kindle can use the Mobi-supplied "MobiPocket Reader" to convert PDFs, whereas with the Sony you need to use 3rd party software. It's the screen that's the limitation.

[mlbspike]

Saw something from a show, the last couple days ... I believe it was a Chinese E-reader that had a larger screen. 10" screen, and an estimated $600 price range. Looked about twice as big a screen, and twice as big a device. Now that the larger screens are available, I'm sure ... given demand, that they'll become available here, at some point, in the future. I wouldn't mind having one, in addition to my Sony, but, given the size difference, and the fact that for me, the ability to read simple text is the overriding concern, I doubt I'll ever give up the smaller format. Hmmm ... need to avoid that "ever" word. When they have a pencil sized device that can scroll out, and lock in place with a variable sized screen ... then I might toss the 6" screen in the trash. But even then, the 6" version might be handier than the 10". And, no ... I'm not dreaming ... that concept has already been demonstrated at tech shows. I've also read something recently about something in that 10" pdf friendly sized range becoming available (and flexible). What we have right now is not perfect, but, the demand is helping drive the future ... which is looking pretty enticing.