Okay, I give in! Please suggest an epub reader.

[Mivo]

Both the Cybook Odyssey HD Frontlight and the ImcoV6L have physical page buttons, though they also have touchscreens. Both are frontlit (can be turned off completely), a toggle for wifi (mine are always disconnected), and they take memory cards.

[BookCat]

I took a look at the Cybook Odyssey HD Frontlight on a few youtube vids and liked the look of it. So I checked out the price on Amazon! Horrified by the nearly £200 asking price. Err....something cheaper please, around half that price.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bookeen-ODYS...+HD+Frontlight

[Mivo]

Originally Posted by BookCat

I took a look at the Cybook Odyssey HD Frontlight on a few youtube vids and liked the look of it. So I checked out the price on Amazon! Horrified by the nearly £200 asking price. Err....something cheaper please, around half that price.

I think I only paid €110 for mine. Just checked to see if Thalia.de still carry it, but it appears they switched to a different device. Bookeen seem to sell it for €129, but this is probably without shipping.

[BookCat]

Thanks, I noticed there were several sellers offering it on Amazon. Some of them were asking around £150, which is more reasonable, so I've put this on my wish list (things on my Amazon wish list usually get bought if I don't see something else). A definite contender.

[ApK]

I don't really have a recommdation that would truly address everythng you said but let me make a couple of observations:

Originally Posted by BookCat

Not keen on touch screens because I tend to run my thumb down the screen as I'm reading.
Would like dictionary look-up, realise that this would entail touchscreen.

I'm with you there. I will point out that the non-touch screen Kindles do dictionary lookup just fine.

Originally Posted by BookCat

My requirement is for a reader which can read rtf OR .doc, not both. It's easy to go into Word and change a .doc to rtf.

A Kindle would side-step the problems with the new ADE, but wouldn't enable me to read epubs. I'd have to get the 3g version to get round having no wi-fi in the house.

It's also easy to go into Calibre and convert a doc or rtf into an epub or a mobi.

For that matter it's pretty darn easy to convert between epub and mobi if you're willing.

You really should consider a Kindle. Some Kindle model will likely meet as many of your needs as any other device is likely to, so it will depend on how you prioritize your list. Is excellent ongoing support more important than avoiding Amazon's infrastructure, for example?
Even my beloved discontinued K3 has every sign of being usable for a long time to come.

An original Nook STR or Glow might also be a strong contender.

ApK

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

I'm with you there. I will point out that the non-touch screen Kindles do dictionary lookup just fine.

I use the Kindle's dictionary a lot, and it's about 1000x easier to use on the touch-screen Kindles than the non-touch-screen ones . On the touch-screen you just "tap and hold" the word you want to look up. On the basic Kindle, you select the word you want to look up by moving a highlighter with a 5-way control.

[BookCat]

I'm now seriously considering the kindle and I'm drawn to the paperwhite because of the 3g option, even though the basic would be a lot cheaper.

I've just asked over at the Kindle dept whether kindles have expansion slots for SD cards. I don't trust keeping books in the cloud but don't mind storing them on my pc or external hard drives.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I use the Kindle's dictionary a lot

The English one? You? I figured you had it memorized by now.

and it's about 1000x easier to use on the touch-screen Kindles than the non-touch-screen ones . On the touch-screen you just "tap and hold" the word you want to look up. On the basic Kindle, you select the word you want to look up by moving a highlighter with a 5-way control.

Touch is nice for that, but 1000x might be a tad of an exaggeration, as the 5-way has never presented me any noticeable difficulty, and the touch lookups on my PRS-350 and Fire have both been a bit finicky at times (as in I thought I was touching the right word for right amount of time, but the machine disagreed). Plus no need to touch the screen, which I like.

Originally Posted by BookCat

I'm now seriously considering the kindle and I'm drawn to the paperwhite because of the 3g option, even though the basic would be a lot cheaper.

I've just asked over at the Kindle dept whether kindles have expansion slots for SD cards. I don't trust keeping books in the cloud but don't mind storing them on my pc or external hard drives.

No SD slots. But transferring directly to the device from your PC is quite easy.

And while I'm no fan of cloud storage either, if you do get the 3G version, the cloud is mighty handy.
At least I THINK you can use the 3G for Amazon personal document storage?

[HarryT]

You can use the cloud storage for personal docs, but I think there's a charge for sending them via 3G (unlike books you buy from Amazon, where 3G delivery is free). Last time I looked, it was around 15c per MB transferred.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by Billi

I would advise you to investigate into the Sony T3 or into the Pocketbook devices, for instance this one:
http://www.pocketbook-readers.de/pro...products_id=84

(The site is in German but one gets the facts, I think.)

Here it is in English.

http://www.pocketbook-int.com/us/pro...ok-basic-touch

[tornado5528]

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/5011283.htm
Nook Simple Touch Glowlight £49.99 in the UK
Meets all requirements in original post, although does have a touch screen.
I've recently upgraded from a PRS-505 I've had from new since 2007 and, having tested quite a few, found this to be the current best mix of functionality vs form available. Yes, the Nook store isn't the best, but if most titles are to be sideloaded, then there's no problem.

[HarryT]

The only real issue with Nook devices is that most of the internal memory is partitioned off and can be used only for B&N-purchased content, leaving only a small area for sideloaded books. It does, however, have an SD slot which can be used for sideloaded books.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by tornado5528

Nook Simple Touch Glowlight £49.99 in the UK
Meets all requirements in original post, although does have a touch screen..

It reads RTF or DOC files without conversion?

[oldhaggis]

I second the nook simple touch glowlight, got mine from sainsbury's £49.99.
I have a sony prs 505, with lot's of epubs and other stuff including kindle content all mixed in calibre.
I too wanted sd card storage and this does it well up to 32gb.I sent back (not Joking) 3 kindle paperwhite's as all had issues,which was really irritating at £109 a pop,yet the nook at half the price has been perfect. The kindle has a better selection of books, but with the nook I can sideload any epub onto the sd card. Library books as well. The light can be switched off completely if you wish, as can wi-fi,it also has manual page turn buttons. Hope this helps in your choice.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by oldhaggis

I sent back (not Joking) 3 kindle paperwhite's as all had issues,which was really irritating at £109 a pop,yet the nook at half the price has been perfect.

I recall many discussion here about dissatisfaction with the light on the Glow, and many folks eagerly awaiting the second version. I love the ergonomics and buttons on the STR and original glow, though.