Am I asking too much, too soon?

Bagtrail · 02-12-2012, 01:21 PM

I have been looking around for at least a year now for an e-reader, but they all seem to fall short of the mark. Perhaps you could tell me if I’m missing something. I have used a PDA with Mobipocket, Freda and MSReader for a long time so I have a good idea of the features I am looking for.

I read books in several languages, so I want to have dictionaries in French-English and German - English.

I read mostly public domain books, so it would be nice to be able to download them directly without going through a bookseller’s service.

Therefore it would also be nice to have a competent browser, if only to use Manybooks, PG etc.

Page turn buttons would be good, as well as a touch screen.

There’s a backlog of PDA’s waiting for me to look at too, so tolerable PDA support (with graphics) would be helpful, though not a deal breaker.

And it must work! So many of the ones I have tried to use in stores have frozen up, or had horribly unpleasant software interfaces.

Plus, it must be available in France ('cos that's where I live).

Any advice would be most welcome!

susan_cassidy · 02-12-2012, 04:20 PM

I don't know of a touch screen device that also has buttons. Usually it's either one or the other.

I don't know what PDA means in this context (as in your statement "a backlog of PDA's waiting for me to look at too". Perhaps you meant PDF?

If you meant PDF, no 6" reader works all that well with PDFs formatted for 8.5 x 11 or so pages.

Otherwise, a Kindle would work well.

CWatkinsNash · 02-12-2012, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

I don't know of a touch screen device that also has buttons. Usually it's either one or the other.

The Sony T1 has both. That's why I'm considering it for my next ereader.

speakingtohe · 02-12-2012, 05:25 PM

As you probably know the T1 does crash and freeze. It has been my experience that it returns to normal easily.
Helen

ProfCrash · 02-12-2012, 09:16 PM

I thought that the T-! firmware updates had fixed the crashing and freezing?

I know that you can download books directly to the Kindle from Gutenberg, I am not sure about Mobile Read.

The Sony has the dictionaries that you are looking for.

CWatkinsNash · 02-12-2012, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

As you probably know the T1 does crash and freeze. It has been my experience that it returns to normal easily.
Helen

Yes, I've been following the Sony forum for a while, tracking the progress of both the firmware updates and the root packages. The recent update seems to have fixed some, but not all, of the issues. But it's still a nice piece of gear, especially while they are still $99 in several places in the US.

spindlegirl · 02-12-2012, 10:39 PM

I use a PRS-T1 and regularly download from MR (this site's library), Project Gutenberg, Smashwords, directly via wifi.

Project Gutenberg doesn't have fancy cover art, but if I want to just read the book and don't care, it is no problem, or I stick the book onto calibre and download or generate one for the visual appeal.

khalleron · 02-13-2012, 12:21 PM

It does appear that the T1 has most of the things on your list. No 6" reader has great PDF support, but the Sony does appear to have the best support, so far as it goes.

It has dedicated library and Google Books support as well, for all your PD needs.

It's also very light and easy to hold, and comes in red (a big deal in my book,

).

Bagtrail · 02-13-2012, 02:13 PM

Thanks for all your replies. Unfortunately the Sony does not provide a French dictionary, so that would rule it out for me. The Odyssey has an excellent French dictionary, but seem to be bedevilled by other problems in both software and hardware (I've never managed to find one in a store that actually worked). I guess I'll just wait a while longer.

khalleron · 02-13-2012, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bagtrail

Thanks for all your replies. Unfortunately the Sony does not provide a French dictionary, so that would rule it out for me. The Odyssey has an excellent French dictionary, but seem to be bedevilled by other problems in both software and hardware (I've never managed to find one in a store that actually worked). I guess I'll just wait a while longer.

The Sony T1 has French dictionaries.

CWatkinsNash · 02-13-2012, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bagtrail

Thanks for all your replies. Unfortunately the Sony does not provide a French dictionary, so that would rule it out for me.

I obviously don't have one (yet) to check, but according to this thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=157674 it does have one.

Edited to add: Kate beat me while I was losing my train of thought. :-)

Bagtrail · 02-13-2012, 02:38 PM

Well, there's a furious row going on at the French Sony forum about the lack of a proper French dictionary.

khalleron · 02-13-2012, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bagtrail

Well, there's a furious row going on at the French Sony forum about the lack of a proper French dictionary.

The T1 has the Oxford-Hachette dictionaries, EN-FR and FR-EN.

Whether that's 'proper' or not, IDK, not being a French speaker, but I have used the FR-EN one a number of times.

speakingtohe · 02-13-2012, 09:02 PM

The Ti(and others) also have access to online dictionaries if you have WiFi most of the time. Not as fast perhaps but pretty comprehensive and not that inconvenient.

Helen

khalleron · 02-14-2012, 10:37 AM

It occurred to me that the French users are complaining about the lack of a French dictionary - one that defines French words in French, not translation dictionaries as the T1 does have.

If that's what you need, then no, the T1 does not have that, only English (British and American) dictionaries.

02-12-2012, 01:21 PM	#1
Bagtrail Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Airis T620	Am I asking too much, too soon? I have been looking around for at least a year now for an e-reader, but they all seem to fall short of the mark. Perhaps you could tell me if I’m missing something. I have used a PDA with Mobipocket, Freda and MSReader for a long time so I have a good idea of the features I am looking for. I read books in several languages, so I want to have dictionaries in French-English and German - English. I read mostly public domain books, so it would be nice to be able to download them directly without going through a bookseller’s service. Therefore it would also be nice to have a competent browser, if only to use Manybooks, PG etc. Page turn buttons would be good, as well as a touch screen. There’s a backlog of PDA’s waiting for me to look at too, so tolerable PDA support (with graphics) would be helpful, though not a deal breaker. And it must work! So many of the ones I have tried to use in stores have frozen up, or had horribly unpleasant software interfaces. Plus, it must be available in France ('cos that's where I live). Any advice would be most welcome!

02-12-2012, 04:20 PM	#2
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	I don't know of a touch screen device that also has buttons. Usually it's either one or the other. I don't know what PDA means in this context (as in your statement "a backlog of PDA's waiting for me to look at too". Perhaps you meant PDF? If you meant PDF, no 6" reader works all that well with PDFs formatted for 8.5 x 11 or so pages. Otherwise, a Kindle would work well.

02-12-2012, 05:25 PM	#4
speakingtohe Wizard Posts: 4,812 Karma: 26912940 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet	As you probably know the T1 does crash and freeze. It has been my experience that it returns to normal easily. Helen

02-12-2012, 09:16 PM	#5
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	I thought that the T-! firmware updates had fixed the crashing and freezing? I know that you can download books directly to the Kindle from Gutenberg, I am not sure about Mobile Read. The Sony has the dictionaries that you are looking for.

02-12-2012, 10:39 PM	#7
spindlegirl Wizard Posts: 1,594 Karma: 21245891 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra h20, Paperwhite 2017, Phone & Tablet w Moonreader	I use a PRS-T1 and regularly download from MR (this site's library), Project Gutenberg, Smashwords, directly via wifi. Project Gutenberg doesn't have fancy cover art, but if I want to just read the book and don't care, it is no problem, or I stick the book onto calibre and download or generate one for the visual appeal.

02-13-2012, 12:21 PM	#8
khalleron Kate Posts: 1,700 Karma: 3605799 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon, United States Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour	It does appear that the T1 has most of the things on your list. No 6" reader has great PDF support, but the Sony does appear to have the best support, so far as it goes. It has dedicated library and Google Books support as well, for all your PD needs. It's also very light and easy to hold, and comes in red (a big deal in my book, ).

02-13-2012, 02:13 PM	#9
Bagtrail Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Airis T620	Thanks for all your replies. Unfortunately the Sony does not provide a French dictionary, so that would rule it out for me. The Odyssey has an excellent French dictionary, but seem to be bedevilled by other problems in both software and hardware (I've never managed to find one in a store that actually worked). I guess I'll just wait a while longer.

02-13-2012, 02:38 PM	#12
Bagtrail Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Airis T620	Well, there's a furious row going on at the French Sony forum about the lack of a proper French dictionary.

02-13-2012, 09:02 PM	#14
speakingtohe Wizard Posts: 4,812 Karma: 26912940 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: sony PRS-T1 and T3, Kobo Mini and Aura HD, Tablet	The Ti(and others) also have access to online dictionaries if you have WiFi most of the time. Not as fast perhaps but pretty comprehensive and not that inconvenient. Helen

02-14-2012, 10:37 AM	#15
khalleron Kate Posts: 1,700 Karma: 3605799 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon, United States Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour	It occurred to me that the French users are complaining about the lack of a French dictionary - one that defines French words in French, not translation dictionaries as the T1 does have. If that's what you need, then no, the T1 does not have that, only English (British and American) dictionaries.