Looking for durability and readability under $400 - Page 2

Elsi · 07-01-2009, 12:50 PM

I love my Kindle (1) and find that its built-in font is much crisper than the built-in font in my Sony PRS-505. While my Kindle came to me directly from Amazon, I picked up the Sony second-hand, and just this week I purchased a used Kindle (1) for my daughter. The K1 has an SD slot for expansion, but I've never needed it. I have 149 "books" on my Kindle, and that's a gracious plenty even if I fall off the grid for six months. (I put "books" in quotes because some of the files on my Kindle are simple text files containing reading lists.)

One big differentiator -- for me -- between the Sony and the Kindle are the support for highlighting and notes that the Kindle provides. This feature allows me to capture quotes for reviews and make my own notes which I can then upload from the Kindle into my PC.

I like the idea of ePub, but I'm absolutely opposed to using Adobe software on my PC to manage the DRM. DRM is bad enough built-into the device, but tying it to my PC is an even worse approach -- I don't use the same PC all the time for one reason.

insomniac · 07-01-2009, 03:17 PM

OK then I have a few last questions and it's basically between the Cybook and the 505 now.

*Apparently Sony supports SDHC up to 32 gigs, but Cybook only supports SD up to 2 gigs. I've found conflicting info that's mostly old so I'm not too sure)

*Cybook might be getting an update soon, so I should probably hold off to see if they'll increase that capacity (when do you guys think it will come out?)

*Sony has a sexy (sturdy) aluminium case

*Sony is notorious for DRM, which I absolutely refuse to support.

Anything else that might influence my decision?

emellaich · 07-01-2009, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by insomniac

OK then I have a few last questions and it's basically between the Cybook and the 505 now.

Anything else that might influence my decision?

If that is your choice, then my opinion is that it is an easy choice. You can get the Sony for $150 off whereas the Cybook is out of stock in their own store. I've heard pretty good comments from the Sony 505 owners on this board. More of a mixed bag of comments from the Cybook owners.

Note, if you are really sold on the Cybook, you can probably find some still in stock at some of their resellers:
http://www.bookeen.com/shop/ebook-resellers.aspx

HarryT · 07-02-2009, 06:51 AM

All devices go "out of stock" from time to time, including the Sony. The CyBook has the best Mobipocket support of any eInk device on the market, and also the best dictionary support. Both these things are very important to me personally.

SD card support is, to be perfectly honest, of little or no relevance. I currently have about 300 books on my Gen3 (many of them multi-book "omnibus editions"), and am using about 40% of the internal memory.

emellaich · 07-02-2009, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

All devices go "out of stock" from time to time, including the Sony.

I agree with that, and I didn't mean my comments regarding the cybook being out of stock to mean anything about the health of Bookeen (although I don't like the unit for other reasons). I was just using the fact that it is out of stock plus the current new wave of models from Netronix to speculate that it might be a new model when it came back into stock.

Furthermore, in the last post I was pointing out that if the buyer really wanted the Cybook and didn't want to wait it was still available from resellers.

Michael

wallcraft · 07-02-2009, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emellaich

I was just using the fact that it is out of stock plus the current new wave of models from Netronix to speculate that it might be a new model when it came back into stock.

Netronix is selling the EB-600 to more and more companies (Astak, COOL-ER, Elonex), so it is clear that the basic hardware in the Gen3 will likely be around for years to come. This is in a way surprising, given its age, but it is a proven design and it seems to be at a sweet spot on the price/capability curve for EInk readers. That is not to say that Bookeen isn't working on a more capable 6" device (they probably are), but in the near term all we know is that the 5" Opus is "on the verge" of being released.

emellaich · 07-03-2009, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallcraft

Netronix is selling the EB-600 to more and more companies (Astak, COOL-ER, Elonex), so it is clear that the basic hardware in the Gen3 will likely be around for years to come. This is in a way surprising, given its age, but it is a proven design and it seems to be at a sweet spot on the price/capability curve for EInk readers. That is not to say that Bookeen isn't working on a more capable 6" device (they probably are), but in the near term all we know is that the 5" Opus is "on the verge" of being released.

But these are just the new models I am referring to. For quite some time we were seeing readers identical to the Cybook, just with different company logo's silkscreened on. Now Netronix seems to be offering a mix of different features. A 400mhz processor, up to 1GB of internal memory, in the case of the Mentor intrigue the epson controller driving a 16 grayscale screen, and cosmetically, colors and a new round button instead of the former square button.

I'm not claiming that there will be a total new model. It would probably be similar to the Cooler product. I'm just saying that it is likely that there would be a refresh: memory, processor, round controller button; and possibly colors plus a better screen/controller.

HarryT · 07-03-2009, 02:39 AM

Don't forget that Bookeen have "silently upgraded" the Gen3 around about the start of this year. The website claims that the Gen3 has a 200MHz CPU and 16MB RAM (ie, the Netronix EB-100), but the machine they currently supply actually has a 400MHz CPU and 32MB RAM - the EB-600.

mcysr · 07-03-2009, 08:15 AM

my jetBook does epub+others, very durable feeling, easy to read screen, supports folders. It will fit in the pocket of my cargo shorts! Look at newegg. I like the screen better than my GF's kindle. It will take a 2Gb card.

No DRM'd books and buttons feel cheap.

I've bought three of them so far. What it does well is let you read books.

matthew

JSWolf · 07-03-2009, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

All devices go "out of stock" from time to time, including the Sony. The CyBook has the best Mobipocket support of any eInk device on the market, and also the best dictionary support. Both these things are very important to me personally.

SD card support is, to be perfectly honest, of little or no relevance. I currently have about 300 books on my Gen3 (many of them multi-book "omnibus editions"), and am using about 40% of the internal memory.

But the Gen3 does not have ePub support. So that makes it a no go.

HarryT · 07-03-2009, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But the Gen3 does not have ePub support. So that makes it a no go.

Patience, Jon, patience. Attend the Paris meet-up tomorrow, and you CAN have ePub support on your Gen3. Bookeen have said that they will releasing their new Gen3 firmware at the meet-up, and the new firmware does support ePub.

JSWolf · 07-03-2009, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Patience, Jon, patience. Attend the Paris meet-up tomorrow, and you CAN have ePub support on your Gen3. Bookeen have said that they will releasing their new Gen3 firmware at the meet-up, and the new firmware does support ePub.

But have they fixed the bugs that made it previously unusable?

HarryT · 07-03-2009, 09:45 AM

I would imagine that's why it's been delayed so long (it was originally scheduled for release at the end of March). They always said that they wouldn't release it until it was ready. We'll find out tomorrow.

Could I ask, by the way, why you consider a reader without ePub support to be a "no go"? Personally I prefer MobiPocket, since ePub has no dictionary support, and also Mobi does not suffer from the annoying restrictions that currently plague ePub devices, such as lack of full justification, and the need to break a book down into small pieces.

tompe · 07-03-2009, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Could I ask, by the way, why you consider a reader without ePub support to be a "no go"? Personally I prefer MobiPocket, since ePub has no dictionary support, and also Mobi does not suffer from the annoying restrictions that currently plague ePub devices, such as lack of full justification, and the need to break a book down into small pieces.

One reason if you live in Europe seems to be that publishers have standardized on ePub. At least in Sweden it seems like the eBook market will take off this autumn and the format used will be ePub and probably nothing else.

HarryT · 07-03-2009, 12:47 PM

I agree that for non-English books, ePub looks as though it's becoming a standard. For books in English, though, Mobi is, I'd say, still the more popular format.

Hopefully, though, with the Gen3, we'll soon have the best of both worlds.

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07-01-2009, 12:50 PM	#16
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,366 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	I love my Kindle (1) and find that its built-in font is much crisper than the built-in font in my Sony PRS-505. While my Kindle came to me directly from Amazon, I picked up the Sony second-hand, and just this week I purchased a used Kindle (1) for my daughter. The K1 has an SD slot for expansion, but I've never needed it. I have 149 "books" on my Kindle, and that's a gracious plenty even if I fall off the grid for six months. (I put "books" in quotes because some of the files on my Kindle are simple text files containing reading lists.) One big differentiator -- for me -- between the Sony and the Kindle are the support for highlighting and notes that the Kindle provides. This feature allows me to capture quotes for reviews and make my own notes which I can then upload from the Kindle into my PC. I like the idea of ePub, but I'm absolutely opposed to using Adobe software on my PC to manage the DRM. DRM is bad enough built-into the device, but tying it to my PC is an even worse approach -- I don't use the same PC all the time for one reason.

07-01-2009, 03:17 PM	#17
insomniac Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: none	OK then I have a few last questions and it's basically between the Cybook and the 505 now. Apparently Sony supports SDHC up to 32 gigs, but Cybook only supports SD up to 2 gigs. I've found conflicting info that's mostly old so I'm not too sure) Cybook might be getting an update soon, so I should probably hold off to see if they'll increase that capacity (when do you guys think it will come out?) Sony has a sexy (sturdy) aluminium case Sony is notorious for DRM, which I absolutely refuse to support. Anything else that might influence my decision?

07-02-2009, 06:51 AM	#19
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	All devices go "out of stock" from time to time, including the Sony. The CyBook has the best Mobipocket support of any eInk device on the market, and also the best dictionary support. Both these things are very important to me personally. SD card support is, to be perfectly honest, of little or no relevance. I currently have about 300 books on my Gen3 (many of them multi-book "omnibus editions"), and am using about 40% of the internal memory.

07-03-2009, 02:39 AM	#23
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Don't forget that Bookeen have "silently upgraded" the Gen3 around about the start of this year. The website claims that the Gen3 has a 200MHz CPU and 16MB RAM (ie, the Netronix EB-100), but the machine they currently supply actually has a 400MHz CPU and 32MB RAM - the EB-600.

07-03-2009, 08:15 AM	#24
mcysr Member Posts: 18 Karma: 54 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Virginia Device: none	my jetBook does epub+others, very durable feeling, easy to read screen, supports folders. It will fit in the pocket of my cargo shorts! Look at newegg. I like the screen better than my GF's kindle. It will take a 2Gb card. No DRM'd books and buttons feel cheap. I've bought three of them so far. What it does well is let you read books. matthew

07-03-2009, 09:45 AM	#28
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I would imagine that's why it's been delayed so long (it was originally scheduled for release at the end of March). They always said that they wouldn't release it until it was ready. We'll find out tomorrow. Could I ask, by the way, why you consider a reader without ePub support to be a "no go"? Personally I prefer MobiPocket, since ePub has no dictionary support, and also Mobi does not suffer from the annoying restrictions that currently plague ePub devices, such as lack of full justification, and the need to break a book down into small pieces.

07-03-2009, 12:47 PM	#30
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I agree that for non-English books, ePub looks as though it's becoming a standard. For books in English, though, Mobi is, I'd say, still the more popular format. Hopefully, though, with the Gen3, we'll soon have the best of both worlds.

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