What eReader to get? -NONE

[HansTWN]

Yup, we should all learn from the Amish, get that electricity out of my face!

[ylefox]

Originally Posted by Ladyrixx

See I really want a reader too. I have bad hands/wrists and the tension of holding a paperback open one handed make it really hard for my to read as many books as I want. (And hardbacks are really, really heavy)

I'm debating between a COOL-ER...because it's purple, or something like a DX for my pdfs. So I wouldn't say they were just for a gadget fetish.

(And I have one of those libraries that likes to have book one, three and five of a six book series)

like you i have problems holding a pbook and sometimes even my cybook.
i bought a mobile phone plastic stand, and when my hands get sore i place the reader in the stand then i only have to press the page turn button.
i also have a tablet pc and i bought a large plate stand to sit the tablet in and when i am reading a book on it all i have to do is tap the lower righthand side of the screen to turn pages.....

[Ea]

So what, if it's a frivolity?
It's certainly added enough value to my life that I wouldn't like to go back to paper.

[Slite]

Originally Posted by Ea

So what, if it's a frivolity?
It's certainly added enough value to my life that I wouldn't like to go back to paper.

hear hear! I haven't picked up a single p-book in over a year! Having the lieseuse with on vacation instead of packing like 10 dead-tree books in my suitcase was a treat And be able to say, "Nah, this wasn't exactly what I was looking for..." and just start reading something else was great!

[nanotube]

Originally Posted by Slite

hear hear! I haven't picked up a single p-book in over a year! Having the lieseuse with on vacation instead of packing like 10 dead-tree books in my suitcase was a treat And be able to say, "Nah, this wasn't exactly what I was looking for..." and just start reading something else was great!

100% agree. I used to carry 3-4 books in my purse, plus 50 other "must have" items for a woman...I suspect thats why I had to go to physical therapy a few months ago. LOL. I sincerely believe that my sony 505 saves me from the endless back/neck/arm pain and co-payments.....

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by emellaich

You took the plunge (?) does that mean you are reading in the bath ? Some folks have reported success at reading in the bath using oversized ziplock bags. I must admit, however, that I am not that brave. Ziplock bags never seem to zip for me.

Try http://www.aquapac.net/ukstore/water...es-2252-0.html
Works perfectly. Available in various formats for the different readers out there.
I've tried 1 for iRex iLiad and 1 for Sony 505 and Cybook Gen3.
Would be even waterproof, but I didn't dare to test...

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Depends on where you live. Here you can get very few foreign language books and those that you find cost 2 to 3 times more than US ebooks. And having them shipped costs a bundle. So I made my money back in no time, I get to read a lot of books I would otherwise never have a chance to read, and during my frequent travels (8 times a year for 15 days on average) I just take one reader with me. So it as frivolous as bread and water for me.

I understand the objections of both of you, but for many people ebook readers are more than good value for money.

Guess I'm lucky I live in Taipei and can get most of the English books I read, sans research stuff and more archaic titles, from PageOne or Eslite with relatively little fuss for relatively decent prices. Some local bookshops will have the odd gem that I haven't seen elsewhere. The book I'm reading now, Jasper Fforde's "Lost in a Good Book" (excellent, btw), is more than $12 from FictionWise ($10ish if you're a club member), and I recall the price was fairly similar when I was looking through Fforde's books at PageOne. Of course there were a number of titles they didn't have in stock that I wanted, but the paperbacks they had were no more expensive than ebooks are for me. I generally get my Terry Pratchett stuff from PageOne, even though they only have the US covers and I'm a big fan of the minimalist black editions. I wouldn't consider the selection sparse really for a lot of modern popular fiction, but yeah it's not as comprehensive as the big online companies. Still, of all the books I picked up in the last few months, I've been able to find about 70% of them in bookstores here for pretty typical prices (mass-market or trade paperbacks). As a result, I still have more paper books than I have purchased ebooks, and I'm still considering picking up some Penguin Red Classics and other decent paperback versions of what I otherwise have as free but rubbish ebooks.

Of course that's with English, which is far more common than most other language titles here. For Japanese and Korean stuff, I tend to stick to the Chinese translations for convenience, and I'm lucky I can't read much in any other language.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by Slite

hear hear! I haven't picked up a single p-book in over a year! Having the lieseuse with on vacation instead of packing like 10 dead-tree books in my suitcase was a treat And be able to say, "Nah, this wasn't exactly what I was looking for..." and just start reading something else was great!

Unlike you, I really prefer paper books, but having quick swap options is indeed the real treat of my ebook reader. I originally got it in hopes that I could save some space, but I find I keep buying paper books when I like a book enough, so the real advantage is that I can bring all my electronic reading with me on the train or bus when I'm feeling a bit indecisive or when a trip is going to be long enough to sustain multiple read sessions.

I have yet to save any money or appreciate any of my ebooks individually, but it's like watching movies with choppy playback on a low-resolution PDA or PMP. It offers the fundamental content when and where I want it, even if it's a suboptimal solution. Or perhaps the Game Master 2001 with 200 built-in games! Screen almost looks like e-ink, come to think of it...

But in ebook defense, it is thin and easy to slip into my bag when a book would be a bit too pudgy sometimes, and 3 books would be right out. That's worth something.

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by Mathlete

I agree completely. Epaper is a luxury item at the moment with too many drawbacks to be considered a "solution" for people who just want to read for fun. There are many people on these forums who say that they need this technology because of its convenience or (what is even more ridiculous) that it will save them money in the long term.

It wont. It wont because anyone who buys one of these things is the type of person who makes frivolous purchases. We will buy more ebooks than we can read (before this you probably bought more paper books than you could read...you know, just to have them), upgrade devices within two years—if that long, and pay for repairs when the flimsy screens inevitably shatter.

Everyone is different. For example, the OP is a very fast reader so the slow page turns alone, of this gen reader, make e-readers a no-go. And he has other issues that make it a poor purchasing decision for him.

Your argument is to describe a caricature of a person you don't seem to like (frivolous purchaser, buys more books than they can read, don't really mean it when they say they appreciate convenience, and are ridiculous in saying it saves them money).

Here's my personal value proposition:
+ Calibre magazines and newspapers - already worth $100, and more every day. (OK, minus the $30 I donated to Kovid.)
+ approximately 50 4.5-star and 5-star ebooks given out free by Sony and others (using Amazon customer ratings from 1 to 5 stars) - worth about $50 to me.
+ lack of print clutter around the house - worth about $50 to me.
+ easy access to Classics (I'm less likely to read them on my PDA or get hard cover editions from my library) - worth at least $50 to me, as I'm enjoying more classics every day.
+ Bookit web captures (like Plucker for the PDA) - worth about $50 to me, captures web tutorials and such.
+ Consolidation of PDF info I use a lot, like schedules, etc., in one place - worth about $10 to me.

Minor pluses and minuses:
+ multiple reading material in the same small device, e.g., can easily switch between Sports Illustrated and a book.
- another gadget to charge and tend to.

I still use the public library for some print editions (free is good). And prefer paperbacks for traveling and the beach (no worrying about a valuable).

My Sony Reader cost $200 + ~$80 protection plan and charger and memory card expansion. I didn't actually total the above until now, and see the Sony Reader's value is a wash: also $280. Currently not convincing, but certainly not ridiculous.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by zenmonky

...but none suits me. and i warned you, it was a rant. ive been mostly lurking this site for over 2 yrs waiting for something worth buying and only seeing more 6" crap come out.

i owned a sony prs505 and sold it after a month of trying to justify my wise decision. 6" screens are junk. i read quite fast and can eat 5 to 10 books on a nice day off. not a true speed reader but too fast to be scrolling around a page. especially real pdf files. i have a lifetime of reading ahead a me downloaded from torrent sites. stuff that doenst come from book stores, librarys or popular authors.

maybe a dx or 1000s? im not getting satisifying reviews from either.

i glad you guys are satisfied with your devices and are saving trees. keep come back to these forums and validating your decisions with each other. ill have to wait.

With respect, not only is this a rant, but it is a rather unreasonable one. For the most part, ebook readers have been designed to 1. read novels and other essentially text based books, 2. read books that are in formats that are designed to reflow to fit the screen of the reader (whether it be a dedicated reader or a computer).

You are reading books from torrents which (besides their questionable legal status) are not formatted with ebook readers in mind. Essentially it would be akin to complaining because your new DVD player doesn't play 8-Track cassette tapes.

--
Bill

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by Mathlete

I agree completely. Epaper is a luxury item at the moment with too many drawbacks to be considered a "solution" for people who just want to read for fun. There are many people on these forums who say that they need this technology because of its convenience or (what is even more ridiculous) that it will save them money in the long term.

Obviously people are enjoying reading on their ebook readers. If they didn't they wouldn't keep reading on them and keeping posting on these forums.

I don't personally have an eInk reader, but an LCD based one (The Jetbook) and I can see the advantage of eInk... in the sense that when you get pulled away from reading for a while (Have a new infant at home that makes it hard to get any reading time in), you don't have battery issues to worry about.

It wont. It wont because anyone who buys one of these things is the type of person who makes frivolous purchases. We will buy more ebooks than we can read (before this you probably bought more paper books than you could read...you know, just to have them), upgrade devices within two years—if that long, and pay for repairs when the flimsy screens inevitably shatter.

Not true. I have had my Jetbook since October of 2008, I have yet to buy a book for it. I have been taking advantage of Project Gutenburg, feed books, Manybooks.net and Baen's free books. I do plan on buying some books eventually, but at the moment, I have definitely saved money on the books I would have bought otherwise.

Now if you insist on reading only new books, well, then it does take a while to make up the difference in price.

--
Bill

[Mathlete]

Of course some people enjoy reading on their devices. I don't deny that. That would be a silly thing to argue about.

If you want to buy one because you have disposable income and you think you might enjoy electronics over paper, fine. But where does this need to rationalize the purchase come from?

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by Mathlete

Of course some people enjoy reading on their devices. I don't deny that. That would be a silly thing to argue about.

If you want to buy one because you have disposable income and you think you might enjoy electronics over paper, fine. But where does this need to rationalize the purchase come from?

I think even if you have tons of disposable income, you have to rationalize anything that isn't a "necessity."

[Kris777]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Obviously people are enjoying reading on their ebook readers. If they didn't they wouldn't keep reading on them and keeping posting on these forums.

I don't personally have an eInk reader, but an LCD based one (The Jetbook) and I can see the advantage of eInk... in the sense that when you get pulled away from reading for a while (Have a new infant at home that makes it hard to get any reading time in), you don't have battery issues to worry about.



Not true. I have had my Jetbook since October of 2008, I have yet to buy a book for it. I have been taking advantage of Project Gutenburg, feed books, Manybooks.net and Baen's free books. I do plan on buying some books eventually, but at the moment, I have definitely saved money on the books I would have bought otherwise.

Now if you insist on reading only new books, well, then it does take a while to make up the difference in price.

--
Bill

Good news - Alex informed that we will have jetBook forum this week!

[Ea]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

I think even if you have tons of disposable income, you have to rationalize anything that isn't a "necessity."

And how boring our lives would be, then, if we only stuck with what we could make do with. No TV, nor cars, no video, books, no travelling, no...