Azbooka 516 vs. PRS-300

[LtChambers]

I had a PRS-505 for a while but I returned it because it was too heavy and not pocketable. Those are traits I really want in order to dish out $200-300 on a dedicated eReader. So I was excited to hear about the PRS-300 coming out, but it's barely any lighter than the 505! So I went back to looking at the comparison matrix and I noticed the Hanvon equivalent 516 series has the same hardware as the PRS-300 but in a much lighter frame (165g vs. 220g).

The Hanvon firmware doesn't support ePub which is a deal-breaker, but the Azbooka variant's firmware does appear to support ePub so that's what I'd like to get. But I can't find it anywhere. Am I supposed to buy the Hanvon and then flash the firmware myself? http://openinkpot.org/wiki/N516/Install

Does anyone have experience with the 516 hardware? Since it doesn't have its own forum and should compete directly with the PRS-300 I figured this was the best spot.

[dottedmag]

Originally Posted by LtChambers

But I can't find it anywhere.

Beware, it is in-progress. You can get interim snapshots from http://openinkpot.org/pub/snapshots

Originally Posted by LtChambers

Am I supposed to buy the Hanvon and then flash the firmware myself? http://openinkpot.org/wiki/N516/Install

Yep, that's possible.

[dottedmag]

Beware that you'd better back up existing firmware before flashing OpenInkpot one - it's possible, but I don't have details handy. If you are going to buy Hanvon, just drop to our IRC channel, and we'll figure it out.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by LtChambers

The Hanvon firmware doesn't support ePub which is a deal-breaker, but the Azbooka variant's firmware does appear to support ePub so that's what I'd like to get.

I use FBReader (Open InkPot) on my EZ Reader (Hanlin V3) for ePub, and I prefer it to Adobe Digital Editions for ePub because it is much more customizable. However, it isn't a complete implementation of ePub (only some CSS is supported and SVG is not supported at all). You can try FBReader on a Desktop PC to see if you like it, the OIP version is very similar - only slightly less customizable than the full Desktop version. It is only for DRM-free ePub.

[JSWolf]

OI will not support DRMed ePub. So unless you can strip the DRM, you won't be able to purchase any ePub with DRM and you won't be able to borrow any ePub from any public library. Also, ADE will display ePub better then FBReader overall.

These are rather important things to think about when choosing a reader.

Also, I would never ever put an eink reader in my pocket. The risk of damage is too great.

[LtChambers]

Since I am ideologically opposed to DRM on books, I don't care about that for my reader. I am very familiar with the fact that DRM is more of a hassle for the consumer than for pirates, who happily and easily distribute DRM-free versions. I'll use my reader for a lot of Gutenberg eBooks and books from Baen. Anything else that I can't get DRM free I would buy for the license and then download the DRM free version wherever I can find it.

Good formatting support is important though, and not having SVG could be a bummer (if any books ever have complex vector art?). Can you point me to an example of a book which would look bad on FBReader but good on ADE?

[dottedmag]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

and you won't be able to borrow any ePub from any public library.

Which uses DRM. Please stop overgeneralizing.

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by dottedmag

Which uses DRM. Please stop overgeneralizing.

Do you know ANY public library that lends e-books without DRM? Please share!!!!!! (Oh wait, I just read your .sig and now I understand the bias. FYI, some parts of the world still care about copyrights, IP, and all that...)

Funny, I've never heard anyone but the OP complain about the 505 being too heavy. Pocketable? Maybe you want a pda. Bigger screen means bigger size. Regular paperbacks aren't 'pocketable' either (except in cargo pants).

[LtChambers]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

Do you know ANY public library that lends e-books without DRM? Please share!!!!!! (Oh wait, I just read your .sig and now I understand the bias. FYI, some parts of the world still care about copyrights, IP, and all that...)

Funny, I've never heard anyone but the OP complain about the 505 being too heavy. Pocketable? Maybe you want a pda. Bigger screen means bigger size. Regular paperbacks aren't 'pocketable' either (except in cargo pants).

I care about copyright and IP and so do most other people who download DRM-free media. It's obvious that authors won't write books if they won't/can't get paid. But it's equally obvious - if you know anything about piracy - that DRM hinders consumers much more than it does pirates, so it's useless except to stop the most casual copying which until now has always been legal with books anyway (by sharing)!

If you try to hold the 505 with one hand for a long time it gets heavy; at least I have to keep switching hands or use both. As for pocketable, it's not uncommon that I find myself waiting somewhere and I'd like to read, but I don't carry around a bag. I guess to a woman with a purse there'd be no problem carrying a large screen but I'd rather have something without needing a bag. The Readius would have been perfect for this purpose but they went bankrupt.

[Be Szpilman]

LtChambers, from your original post I reckon you don't have a Hanvon/Azbooka right ? I have a N516 and have never actually used it. It's long overdue that I try openinkpot over it. Once I do I'll be sure to report back my experience.

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by LtChambers

I care about copyright and IP and so do most other people who download DRM-free media. It's obvious that authors won't write books if they won't/can't get paid. But it's equally obvious - if you know anything about piracy - that DRM hinders consumers much more than it does pirates, so it's useless except to stop the most casual copying which until now has always been legal with books anyway (by sharing)!

If you try to hold the 505 with one hand for a long time it gets heavy; at least I have to keep switching hands or use both. As for pocketable, it's not uncommon that I find myself waiting somewhere and I'd like to read, but I don't carry around a bag. I guess to a woman with a purse there'd be no problem carrying a large screen but I'd rather have something without needing a bag. The Readius would have been perfect for this purpose but they went bankrupt.

Minor point on the "book sharing": with p-books, it is pretty straightforward, one copy is all there is. With e-books, all of a sudden you can have widespread "sharing" (even between strangers) and hundreds/thousands of unauthorized copies, 'shared' around the globe instantly, from 1 e-book. (I'm an IP attorney by day--some evenings too!--so I do know a bit about copyright, piracy, etc.)

Second part--I actually do agree with you about portability. Which is why I'm looking at the 300 as my next potential purchase. I love the 505, but I also would like something a bit more portable. And PDAs/cellphones are too small for reading novels. But the 505 isn't "heavy" to me! I often read with one hand, and can wrap my hand around it to just hit the edge button with my thumb. A bit smaller would be better.

[bkilian]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

Minor point on the "book sharing": with p-books, it is pretty straightforward, one copy is all there is. With e-books, all of a sudden you can have widespread "sharing" (even between strangers) and hundreds/thousands of unauthorized copies, 'shared' around the globe instantly, from 1 e-book. (I'm an IP attorney by day--some evenings too!--so I do know a bit about copyright, piracy, etc.)

Second part--I actually do agree with you about portability. Which is why I'm looking at the 300 as my next potential purchase. I love the 505, but I also would like something a bit more portable. And PDAs/cellphones are too small for reading novels. But the 505 isn't "heavy" to me! I often read with one hand, and can wrap my hand around it to just hit the edge button with my thumb. A bit smaller would be better.

And as Baen has proved, more copies being read translates into more books actually bought. Baen has staked their company on the fact that easier access to ebooks without DRM will not lead to fewer sales, but more sales. And they've been proven right.

http://www.baen.com/library/palaver6.htm

The publishing industry needs to start understanding that there is a huge upside to the e-book industry. People have been reading books for free for generations (the library) and they're not going to stop now, that's how I started reading and how I discovered most of the authors I would read, until the Baen Free Library. Now I read almost all the Baen authors, and Baen has made literally thousands of dollars from me, all because I could get a bunch of books in an easily readable format, for free.

The problem with current IP laws is they consider creativity finite, which has not been the case so far. Sure, if everyone reads book X for free, the author won't make any money from it. But they could make _more_ money from Books W,Y and Z and every other book they write from then on because they now have a larger following. IP law treats Book X as money lost, instead of marketshare gained, with the assumption that the writer has limited creativity and needs to extract every cent he can from his limited store of product.

[LtChambers]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

Minor point on the "book sharing": with p-books, it is pretty straightforward, one copy is all there is. With e-books, all of a sudden you can have widespread "sharing" (even between strangers) and hundreds/thousands of unauthorized copies, 'shared' around the globe instantly, from 1 e-book. (I'm an IP attorney by day--some evenings too!--so I do know a bit about copyright, piracy, etc.)

Yes, e-books enable easier widespread piracy: that isn't casual and it's true as soon as someone scans the book into an unprotected format. Since DRM has zero impact once it's been stripped away (or never been put on in the first place), it's worse than useless. The only thing DRM on e-books will stop is friends sharing with each other, which is legal with a paper book! Albeit the DRM might allow friends to move the e-book instead of copy it (which is more analogous to sharing a single copy of a paper book), but it's almost guaranteed to be a hassle: in many cases that kind of supervised sharing will be more of a hassle than just finding a site to download the DRM-free versions.


Bzpilman, any idea when you'll be able to try the OI firmware?

[DrMoze]

These are interesting and sensible comments. As always, there is no really good answer wrt electronic media and protecting IP from unbounded duplication/piracy. I actually like Sony's approach by allowing up to 6 'registered' devices (Readers and/or pc's) to share protected content. It allows a certain amount of sharing without opening things up to widespread copying. This works well for me "at home" where there's 2 of us and 2 Readers. But yeah, there's no perfect solution. Although I agree creativity isn't finite, and one could freely distribute a "first in series" book to promote subsequent volumes (I've been sold on this myself!), some other works may be shortchanged by unchecked copying/'sharing.'

No, there's no perfect solution, but electronic media raises a lot of new angles for sure.

[dottedmag]

"DRM as just a hassle for sharing a copy with friend" made me think of it in broader context - it seems to be a "security theater": producing a false sense of security at the expense of inconvenience (cf. airport security checks, see the Bruce Schneier for further information). The worst side of _this_ security theater is that inconvenience is imposed to users, while false sense of security is felt by distributors.

Given the impossibility of banning personal computers from use, perfect DRM won't exist, so the only upright way of dealing with this problem is a sound business model for public domain (or similarly unrestricted) works.