8+ Readers in comparison

[Floeee]

oh sorry i forgot to explain that

so its only when i read pdf files A4, it doesnt matter how large they are, i think its only because how they were created

and i stopped up to 10 seconds for turning a page, and at average 4 seconds on nearly every pdf i tested

so thats a no go to me, because im not a linear reader, im reading many textbooks and im often skipping pages and then returning to them when i find it interesting to read

or just browsing through a magazine or newspaper

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Floeee

ok at first, AWESOME thread @ mgmueller

at first my little story, bought a prs505 last week, gave it back, because of incredible lack of use of pdf
and also the turning speed made me crazy

im studying Game Design and will continue with something other technical this year, so i got very much pdf files with pictures in it

my reading habits are about 50% pdf A4, 30% text, 20% news and feeds

so im leaning to an irex device, but i still dont know if the iliad or the DR would be better

i like the DR because of the size and faster processor, but its so heavy

what i like on the iliad is the wifi (usability not guaranteed as i heard), its handy and has an usb hub, but i dislike that its not supported anymore and will never get DRM support

so which one should i get?? i fear that the pdfs im mainly reading, will be too small on the iliad and the speed of the iliad is also making me crazy

are you able to read with one hand with the iliad?

ps: where did you order the DR1000s? because im from austria and dont know which store i can trust, ekios-online.de or buecher.de??

Concerning iRex:
I have to agree: iRex 1000S really IS heavy and a bit bulky. It's a great unit, but I rarely use it for traveling, which is about 50% of my reading time.
I can hold iRex iLiad in one hand, but there are more convenient units (Sony 505, Cybook Gen3, ...) - but iLiad still is one of my favorites.
I've never had any problems with iLiads display size, absolutely fine for A4 PDFs for me. But of course it all depends on your source material.
I'd suggest, doing a "simulation" on your PC. Check, whether 800x600 is okay for you.

Concerning WiFi:
Honestly, I don't need it on any of my devices. I'd like to use Kindle's Whispernet for directly downloading eBooks onto my unit. But in WiFi, I don't see any advantage at all, as I already have to have the eBooks downloaded to my PC. Once downloaded, I easily can copy them to a SD card and permanently take them with me.
For iRex iLiad, I don't see any use for WiFi anymore, as there won't be any firmware updates. You can download daily comic strips or surf the web, but is that really fun on eInk devices?

Concerning turning speed:
If Sony 505 did annoy you, most of the other eInk units will do as well.
Only the newest generation of readers is slightly faster.
I'd have to take exact measures. But my gut feeling says, Sony 300 and Cybook Opus are fastest (Sony 600 probably as well, but I haven't got it yet), Kindles 2 and DX probably are a little bit slower, but all of them seem to be faster than Sony 505, Cybook Gen3 or iRex iLiad.
Frankly, never did bother me - whereas my wife did HATE the inversion and the delay of 1 second for quite a while. But now she loves her Sony 505...

Concerning sources for purchasing in Austria/Germany:
There are various sources.
I've bought some of my units from justread.de.
You can purchase from "Weltbild", "Libri" and other major bookshops as well.
Kindles you still have to order overseas, which is a potential problem concerning warranty.
But in the meantime, about 2/3 of the units officially are available here.

Concerning DRM support on iRex iLiad:
iLiad has support for DRMed Mobipocket files.
iRex 1000S and the new unit(s) will have support for ADE, but you still can choose between this new and the old (Mobipocket) firmware.

I understand your worries about iLiad not being supported anymore. But still, in my opinion it by far is the best unit for A4 PDFs.
Its OS is phenomenal. I've never understood, why it didn't do better. There are tons of features, no other device can do. For example, you can change book title or author's name on the fly, directly on your unit.
When purchasing DRMed eBooks, you'll be surprised, how horrible the naming conventions sometimes can be.
I'd go for the cheaper iLiad book edition without WiFi.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Floeee

oh sorry i forgot to explain that

so its only when i read pdf files A4, it doesnt matter how large they are, i think its only because how they were created

and i stopped up to 10 seconds for turning a page, and at average 4 seconds on nearly every pdf i tested

so thats a no go to me, because im not a linear reader, im reading many textbooks and im often skipping pages and then returning to them when i find it interesting to read

or just browsing through a magazine or newspaper

I've never had that, no matter how big or graphic intensive the PDFs.
Maybe you can link to one of those PDFs.
10 or even 4 seconds per page really is disastrous.
I read lots of commercial PDFs, pure text though. On those, it's roundabout 1 second - more or less the same for all the units (the new ones being slightly faster).

[Floeee]

hmm, in other threads, people said that DR has got better OS and better features

im not that into changing names of my files, so what are those great functions?

here is an example of ebooks i would like to read where i had such a delay

http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/ezine/

are your a4 pdfs that readable without zooming on the iliad?

iliad 2nd edition is about 435g and the DR 570g, does it make that big differenze?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by HarryT

A note on the Opus battery: it's the same battery that the CyBook Gen3, and all of the (numerous) Netronix EB600 clones use, so there are many alternate sources of supply, and no realistic danger of it becoming unobtainable. Personally, I think that the user-replaceable battery of the Opus is a real benefit over the Sony.

Have you ever need to replace a battery in an ebook device Harry? I think you get a new one every year or maybe even less often than that. So, I'm surprised this feature is important to you at all.

BOb

[Floeee]

i forgot to ask where you have bought your irex devices

because you have spoken about such a nice store in some posts earlier

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Have you ever need to replace a battery in an ebook device Harry? I think you get a new one every year or maybe even less often than that. So, I'm surprised this feature is important to you at all.

BOb

I didn't say that it was important for me personally, Bob. Just that I think that having a replaceable battery is a "plus" for a device. Although I don't keep devices for years and years myself, many people certainly do.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Floeee

i forgot to ask where you have bought your irex devices

because you have spoken about such a nice store in some posts earlier

I've bought both iRex units from justread.de and my Cybook Gen3 as well.
As far as I know, the owner even regularly is posting in this forum.
You can buy from "Weltbild", "Libri" and other major bookshops as well.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Floeee

hmm, in other threads, people said that DR has got better OS and better features

im not that into changing names of my files, so what are those great functions?

here is an example of ebooks i would like to read where i had such a delay

http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/ezine/

are your a4 pdfs that readable without zooming on the iliad?

iliad 2nd edition is about 435g and the DR 570g, does it make that big differenze?

Most of the times, I have to zoom my PDFs on iLiad.
Very important to me: Some units go for reflow of PDFs instead of zooming. For pure text this actually may increase readability. But in my opinion, the original idea of PDF is, to "freeze" the layout, not change it via reflow.
For PDFs, I'm mostly reading legal documents, proposals and stuff like that, so I try to remain as close to the original document as possible.

Main feature in iLiad's OS to me really is, manipulating the files directly on the unit.
For example, I can add 2 lines of comments. This may be something like "book 1 of 34" or "referring to document XYZ".
I can change the book title that's shown in library view or author's name.
Just an example, why this can be handy:
I very often sort by author's name. Having >500 books with me, I need some kind of sorting methodology.
Commercial books very often don't stick to the naming conventions. In book #1, the author's name may show "James Patterson". In book #2, even when bought from the same source, it may be "Patterson, James". In book #3, it may be "PATTERSON, JAMES".
Suddenly, from the very same author, you may find your books in 3 places. To me, that's really annoying.
You can change this either on your PC. Or, only on iLiad, you can do it on the fly, directly on the unit, the very same moment it's bothering you.

On iRex 1000S, this feature doesn't exist anymore. You can't add comments anymore, either.
Often I purchase series and would like to add "1/34 in Discworld series". Again: You can do it on your PC, but to me it's more convenient on the unit itself.

iLiad to me is the "perfect" compromise between mobility and readability. Kindle DX already is too bulky for traveling light. And iRex 1000S I rarely take with me, it's kind of my "living room unit".

I haven't found a holding position for iRex 1000S, yet. I really put it on the desk in front of me. Whereas iLiad still can be managed with 1 hand.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Have you ever need to replace a battery in an ebook device Harry? I think you get a new one every year or maybe even less often than that. So, I'm surprised this feature is important to you at all.

BOb

It may seem ridiculous. But knowing, that 1 of the 2 wires of my battery in Cybook Opus is loose really annoys me. When using it, I very often ask myself "will it stay on? or will the wire get loose? Can I risk traveling only with this single unit or will it stop working while on the road without any backup unit?".

And I've even read in another forum, that lots of BeBook owners claim, their unit has become more stable when switching from the standard battery to the (higher capacity) NOKIA battery.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Xachariah

The issues you raised with the battery life, lack of sleep time and a long boot time is definately a concern. I will wait to see what their newer reader is like in those respects. I have plenty of time seeing as I wont need good PDF support until next year at the outset.

Personally, I don't have too many problems with having no standby. When not using it for 20 minutes or something like that, I simply leave it on (you can use password protection, if you're worried about security when leaving it on). Over night, I switch it off. Only starting it once or twice per day, I can accept the 45 seconds of boot time. I agree, it should be available on today's units. But as a compromise, considering the overall great features, it's acceptable for me.

I don't have problems with battery life on any of my units. When traveling, I've got my UMPC with me, which has about 4 hours of battery life. Whether eInk units have 8, 12 or 20 hours, it still is spectacular and absolutely okay for me.
I always have 2 or 3 portable external batteries with me. When your unit can be powered via USB, you can use those and don't have to rely on any other power source. With those external batteries plus the original one, I easily can make >>20 hours.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

It may seem ridiculous. But knowing, that 1 of the 2 wires of my battery in Cybook Opus is loose really annoys me. When using it, I very often ask myself "will it stay on? or will the wire get loose? Can I risk traveling only with this single unit or will it stop working while on the road without any backup unit?".

Have you asked Bookeen for a replacement battery? Sounds like it would be a good idea to do so, since you're concerned about this.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Floeee

hmm, in other threads, people said that DR has got better OS and better features

im not that into changing names of my files, so what are those great functions?

here is an example of ebooks i would like to read where i had such a delay

http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/ezine/

are your a4 pdfs that readable without zooming on the iliad?

iliad 2nd edition is about 435g and the DR 570g, does it make that big differenze?

I often read "Spiegel" and other magazines on iRex iLiad, color and ca. 40MB. Comparable to your file.

Just checked your file.
On irex iLiad, initial startup takes 13 seconds.
Turning pages is less than 1 second.
Jumping to a specific page took 4 seconds.
Very readable, even without zooming.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Have you asked Bookeen for a replacement battery? Sounds like it would be a good idea to do so, since you're concerned about this.

Looking at the battery, it seems the wires are only soldered to the battery itself but only "pressed" into the connector. My guess was, they always, on any of the batteries, could slip out of the connector. It probably never will happen, as there's simply no room for the wire to slip. And of course you easily can put it back into the connector. But I'll send Booken an email about that.

[Floeee]

ok i was leaning to an irex DR until now
only the high weight hold me from buying one

i wanted to purchase the DR today, but now im also again into the iliad because it seems to me he is much more practicable than the DR