8+ Readers in comparison

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Sischa

hmm this answer leaves me a little bit confused. I am pretty sure now that i have a defective device cause the difference between the readers is immense ...

Think i'll have to think about getting another iLead cause if it would have a better screen (and sometimes connect to my WLAN but thats another story) it would be my "travelling" favorite at the moment ...

Comparing to my pics, do you still think yours is defect?

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I think they said they rounded the corners of the icons rather than them being square.

BOb

Pic 1: Icons before the update (square)
Pic 2: Icons after the update (rounded corners)

Just softrooted: Phantastic. Both icon sets are there. Obviously I'm not the only one, who prefers the former ones. Now I'll install "Pandora".

EDIT: Softroot = https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...50&postcount=7

[mgmueller]

One unit per post.
I start with my newest addition, Barnes & Noble nook.

Pros:
- WiFi. I can't shop directly on nook in B&N's webstore. I have to do this on my PC with VPN. But then I can download from my library directly onto nook. Very convenient.
- Softroot and already active developer's scene. I don't need those applications. But it's nice to see similar tools as on iRex iLiad before.
- Clock. In the top right corner you see a clock. Permanently, whether you're surfing your menus or reading a book.
- Registration via WiFi. In the former firmware, you had to set your unit's internal clock, to being able to register. Now, in V1.2, you simply set your timezone and can register via WiFi - whether you're in US or outside.
- PDB format. Another proprietary format. But it has been available long before nook. I've had about 150 on my PC, which I bought for my Palm Pilots and couldn't use anymore. Since V1.2, the metadata (author's name, book title) for most of the eBooks is correct.
- Touchscreen. Of course it's just a gadget. But it's a looker and I prefer it over Kindle's 5-way-stick.
- Various fonts, even user-replaceable. I don't really need it. But my tests have been quite impressive. Way more difference than just changing font size. Reminds of "Kindle font hack".
- Metadata in books from B&N seems perfect. I hate it, if I legally purchase books and from the very same source, sometimes even within a book series, I get different naming conventions (book title in capital letters, first name and last name of author switching places, ...). In some bookstores, up to 1/3 of my titles has some kind of inconsistency. Amazon is better than average. But B&N so far seems benchmark: 70 books, not a single one did have any mistake!
- Personal screensavers and wallpapers. Another gadget, not really necessary. But a nice add-on.
- ePUB. You don't have to purchase from B&N (although B&N is absolutely fine). nook can be registered in Adobe Digital Editions without any problems.
- User replaceable battery and Micro SD slot. The Micro SD slot is a bit hard to reach (memory expansion solved best in Sony units), but usually you won't switch cards too often.

Cons:
- No cover included. Not even a pouch. It comes in a very rigid plastic box, which could be used for transportation. But that box is extremely oversized and not for briefly and quickly taking out your reader.
- Only a few covers available. It's a relatively new unit. I'm absolutely sure, in 2 months we'll see beauties from Noreve and others. But right now, on Amazon and B&N, I only found "standard" covers. I don't like the straps to fix a reader, so nothing available for me yet.
(But I'm lucky. My Sony 900 came with a case logic hardcover. It's that huge, that even nook fits into it.)
- Amazon seems to have way more actual books available. Couldn't find about 1/4 of the books I've been looking for - all of them I've already bought for Kindle (Percy Jackson series for example, which right now even makes it's film debute).
- Housing is "tapered". It's very elegant. But there's one strange "flaw": If you look at the unit from the bottom (looking onto the USB port), the left and right side aren't in a right angle, they are diagonally ( _| vs. _/ ). For me, it doesn't rest as conveniently in my palm as iRex 800, Sony 900 or others. (Some readers I simply like to hold without cover.)
- No landscape mode. Very strange - landscape helps a lot and all the other readers have it.

Summary:
nook certainly is a looker. I find it a bit more appealing than Kindle 2. I still prefer Sony 900's design. But given the price difference (nook = $ 259, Sony 900 = $ 399), nook is absolutely "cool".
Like all the others, nook doesn't have any "outstanding features". It's not a "must buy", if you already own Kindle 2 for example. But it's certainly very tough competition for Amazon.
Personally, I rank it (for now) #3 of my 14 units. #1 being Sony 900 and #2 being iRex 800. Both are way more expensive, so nook would be my suggestion for budgets below $ 300.

EDIT: PDF capabilities:
nook doesn't have zoom, just the usual reflow. For "professional" PDFs, it's only an average unit.

[poshm]

I've been following most of this thread but can't remember every detail so my apologies if this has been asked before:

does the nook have any annotation capabilities and if so what do you make of them. I ask because despite the touch screen on my Sony 600, I much prefer using the Kindle 2 for making notes - I find it extremely easy.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by poshm

I've been following most of this thread but can't remember every detail so my apologies if this has been asked before:

does the nook have any annotation capabilities and if so what do you make of them. I ask because despite the touch screen on my Sony 600, I much prefer using the Kindle 2 for making notes - I find it extremely easy.

First of all, nook only has onscreen keyboard. (If you prefer Kindle over Sony, an actual physical keyboard seems to be important for you). In my opinion, using the stylus on Sony 600/900 is way easier than using your fingers on the relatively small touchscreen of nook.

On nook, you can set notes and highlights via its touchscreen interface. You highlight the respective word via "cursor keys" on your virtual keyboard. It's okay, but in my opinion definitely no improvement over Sony.
I never use highlights or notes on any of my readers. Only one exception: Scribbling on PDFs on iRex iLiad.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by JerseyBiker

Oh I sure do know better. I'll be married 37 years next month. Did you upgrade the firmware on your Nook? Wouldn't you know they came out with an update the day I received my Nook. I just upgraded mine. I didn't have it long enough to tell much of a difference but it does seem a little faster. So far I love it. I already read a free book I downloaded from B&N. It was a short 14 page story but gave me a good idea how nice the Nook works.

~eddie

Did you softroot yours? I've tested it, even with the newest firmware 1.2.
It's working and it's good to see an active developer's scene. But I don't really need those applications. I just want to read (sorting by "most recent" for your sideloaded 3rd party content would be nice though).

[JerseyBiker]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Did you softroot yours? I've tested it, even with the newest firmware 1.2.
It's working and it's good to see an active developer's scene. But I don't really need those applications. I just want to read (sorting by "most recent" for your sideloaded 3rd party content would be nice though).

I've seen softroot mentioned before but I don't know what it is.

~eddie

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by JerseyBiker

I've seen softroot mentioned before but I don't know what it is.

~eddie

First attempt to hack nook was hardware based by exchanging the internal SD-card.
Now it's purely software driven, that's why it's "soft"root.
It means, downgrading and then upgrading to a slightly modified firmware. They've even "hacked" the actual V1.2 already.
The "hack" opens the Android OS, so you can install 3rd party applications:
- nookBrowser = web browser. Doesn't make too much sense in my opinion on eInk. But it's good to know it's working.
- nookLibrary = managing your local books. They can show the covers then or can be sorted by "most recent" and things like that.
- Pandora. Didn't work for me. Maybe because of my German (non-US) IP.
- Trook. Download from Stanza and feeds.
- nookLauncher = Android optimised launcher. You can change icons of your launcher for example.

nookLibrary and Trook definitely have some promising features. I didn't like the cover view, lower quality then the B&N covers. But this probably could be changed via calibre.

[mgmueller]

Next, my momentary favorite, Sony 900 (aka Daily Edition).

Pros:
- Form factor. As usual: Sony beats them all in their design hands down. I find Sony 900 even more appealing than Sony 600. Elegant and minimalistic.
- It came with a cover (only front, the units back is replaceable to exchange battery). Additionally (and quite unexpected for me, didn't read the description careful enough) it comes with a hard case. This hard case is big enough, to use it with other readers like B&N's nook.
- Improved start screen. You find all you need on a single page: Recent additions, last read, daily downloads, .... All in thumbnail (cover) view.
- Very fast in turning pages. I've never had a problem with Sony 505's (or others) 1 second for turning pages. But Sony 900 (and iRex 800) are even faster.
- User replaceable battery and 2 memory card slots (memory stick and SD card).
- Stylus can be inserted into the reader. If I have to attach it to the cover (like iRex 800) or put it elsewhere, I'm a bit worried about losing the stylus. On Sony 900, the stylus even gets inserted on the left side, so it's additionally protected by the cover against slipping out.
- ePUB. You don't have to purchase from Sony (although Sony is absolutely fine and most of the time even matches Amazon's prices). Sony 900 can be registered in Adobe Digital Editions without any problems. You even (and this only seems possible for Sony units) see both memory cards, not only the internal memory.

Cons:
- 3G, but no WiFi. That's not Sony specific, Kindles for example don't have it either. But still: If a unit is composed for wireless data transfer, I prefer WiFi over 3G anytime. Why not having both? Would be a "golden bridge" for people outside the US, to still use Sony 900 fully functional.
- Frequently checks library for new additions and is relatively slow for that (sometimes about 30 seconds without anything new in my library). A bit faster than other Sony units, it seems. But still...
- Glare. Way better than Sony 700 and slightly better than Sony 600. I don't have any problems with the display, I usually read in good light conditions. But quite a few members complain about it. And iRex 800 (of course I have to admit, in a totally different price range) demonstrates how it can be done.
- Stylus too light. I don't like the stylus of iRex 800 very much either. But at least it's heavier. Sony 900's stylus to me seems way too light. The Sony 700 stylus feels better (but can't be inserted into Sony 900, slightly different measurements).
- No support for Sony's own .lrx anymore. It's probably a good sign, Sony focussing entirely on ePUB. But I have about 300 .lrx, which I bought for Sony 505. You can't even strip .lrx from DRM, so they're more or less useless for future use.

Summary:
To me, it's my most beautiful, elegant and cool reader - out of 14 readers in total. Design clearly seems to be Sony's strength.
I love the form factor (height:width ratio). It fits perfectly into my hand (iRex 800 for me is a bit too wide, to rest comfortably for hours in my palm).
I don't have any problems with the display quality. It's no Sony 505 or nook. But I've stopped to permanently compare all units. I check each on its own and I'm perfectly fine with Sony 900.
For $ 399 it's not the cheapest reader out there. But given it's feature richness, to me the price is absolutely okay ($ 399 for Sony 900 vs. € 499 for iRex 800 in Europe).
I'm not the biggest fan of Sony's eLibrary software. But at least I've got a tool to manage my Sony specific library. I've got 5 Sony readers and sync them all automatically with my library (each of those 5 readers differently).
It's a tough call between the first 3 to 5 readers. But I rank Sony 900 my #1.

EDIT: PDF capabilities:
Sony 900 does have reflow and zoom, so do Sony 600 and 700.
It's great for PDFs. But there's one downside: Zoom only applies for a single page. When turning pages, zoom resets. So, if you for example would like to crop margins via zoom, it's not really efficient. iRex iLiad or iRex 1000S (not iRex 800 for now) can do the zoom for the entire document.

[noir]

Hi mgmueller,

I just wanted to say "thank you" for the great comparisons you've done in this thread, it really helped me to choose my type of ereader... as PDF lover and manga reader, i'm looking forward to receiving an Iliad v2 now.

Thumbs up for the great community here

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by noir

Hi mgmueller,

I just wanted to say "thank you" for the great comparisons you've done in this thread, it really helped me to choose my type of ereader... as PDF lover and manga reader, i'm looking forward to receiving an Iliad v2 now.

Thumbs up for the great community here

Great choice, congratulations. Still the #1 PDF reader out there.

[electrotype]

mgmueller, again your reviews are so helpful! Mobileread should pay you. Thanks so much!

May I suggest that when you write a small review like you just did, that you talk a little bit about PDF handling for the reviewed device? We are a lot of people here interested in an ebook reader only for PDF files.

For example, you could use this free issue of php-architect, which is, in my opinion, a perfect example of PDF people would want to read with their ebook reader (magazines, scanned books). A picture of pretty much any page from this PDF, displayed on the device you review, would just be awesome!

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by electrotype

mgmueller, again your reviews are so helpful! Mobileread should pay you. Thanks so much!

May I suggest that when you write a small review like you just did, that you talk a little bit about PDF handling for the reviewed device? We are a lot of people here interested in an ebook reader only for PDF files.

For example, you could use this free issue of php-architect, which is, in my opinion, a perfect example of PDF people would want to read with their ebook reader (magazines, scanned books). A picture of pretty much any page from this PDF, displayed on the device you review, would just be awesome!

Great idea. Just added PDF capabilities to nook and Sony 900.

[electrotype]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Great idea. Just added PDF capabilities to nook and Sony 900.

Yeah! Thanks...

[rwizard]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Next, my momentary favorite, Sony 900 (aka Daily Edition).

Pros:
- Form factor. As usual: Sony beats them all in their design hands down. I find Sony 900 even more appealing than Sony 600. Elegant and minimalistic.
- It came with a cover (only front, the units back is replaceable to exchange battery). Additionally (and quite unexpected for me, didn't read the description careful enough) it comes with a hard case. This hard case is big enough, too use it with other readers like B&N's nook.
- Improved start screen. You find all you need on a single page: Recent additions, last read, daily downloads, .... All in thumbnail (cover) view.
- Very fast in turning pages. I've never had a problem with Sony 505's (or others) 1 second for turning pages. But Sony 900 (and iRex 800) are even faster.
- User replaceable battery and 2 memory card slots (memory stick and SD card).
- Stylus can be inserted into the reader. If I have to attach it to the cover (like iRex 800) or put it elsewhere, I'm a bit worried about losing the stylus. On Sony 900, the stylus even gets inserted on the left side, so it's additionally protected by the cover against slipping out.
- ePUB. You don't have to purchase from Sony (although Sony is absolutely fine and most of the time even matches Amazon's prices). Sony 900 can be registered in Adobe Digital Editions without any problems. You even (and this only seems possible for Sony units) see both memory cards, not only the internal memory.

Cons:
- 3G, but no WiFi. That's not Sony specific, Kindles for example don't have it either. But still: If a unit is composed for wireless data transfer, I prefer WiFi over 3G anytime. Why not having both? Would be a "golden bridge" for people outside the US, to still use Sony 900 fully functional.
- Frequently checks library for new additions and is relatively slow for that (sometimes about 30 seconds without anything new in my library). A bit faster than other Sony units, it seems. But still...
- Glare. Way better than Sony 700 and slightly better than Sony 600. I don't have any problems with the display, I usually read in good light conditions. But quite a few members complain about it. And iRex 800 (of course I have to admit, in a totally different price range) demonstrates how it can be done.
- Stylus too light. I don't like the stylus of iRex 800 very much either. But at least it's heavier. Sony 900's stylus to me seems way too light. The Sony 700 stylus feels better (but can't be inserted into Sony 900, slightly different measurements).
- No support for Sony's own .lrx anymore. It's probably a good sign, Sony focussing entirely on ePUB. But I have about 300 .lrx, which I bought for Sony 505. You can't even strip .lrx from DRM, so they're more or less useless for future use.

Summary:
To me, it's my most beautiful, elegant and cool reader - out of 14 readers in total. Design clearly seems to be Sony's strength.
I love the form factor (height:width ratio). It fits perfectly into my hand (iRex 800 for me is a bit too wide, to rest comfortably for hours in my palm).
I don't have any problems with the display quality. It's no Sony 505 or nook. But I've stopped to permanently compare all units. I check each on its own and I'm perfectly fine with Sony 900.
For $ 399 it's not the cheapest reader out there. But given it's feature richness, to me the price is absolutely okay ($ 399 for Sony 900 vs. € 499 for iRex 800 in Europe).
I'm not the biggest fan of Sony's eLibrary software. But at least I've got a tool to manage my Sony specific library. I've got 5 Sony readers and sync them all automatically with my library (each of those 5 readers differently).
It's a tough call between the first 3 to 5 readers. But I rank Sony 900 my #1.

EDIT: PDF capabilities:
Sony 900 does have reflow and zoom, so do Sony 600 and 700.
It's great for PDFs. But there's one downside: Zoom only applies for a single page. When turning pages, zoom resets. So, if you for example would like to crop margins via zoom, it's not really efficient. iRex iLiad or iRex 1000S (not iRex 800 for now) can do the zoom for the entire document.

By the way, my understanding is that any books you previously purchased from Sony can be re-downloaded in epub format at no charge. I could be wrong about this since I do not own a Sony and therefore never bought any ebooks from them, but that is what I have heard.