8+ Readers in comparison

[BenLee]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

It's already hard enough to just keep all my readers charged...

LOL.. I'd like to see you in ten years when you are showing people your "bookshelf"

"Here's my prized bookshelf. Take a look at this one. It's a classic. Yes, the good ol' Pocketbook 360. Ah...they don't make em like they used to *sniffle*"

[jmajluf]

What I also need is the ability to read PDFs and make annotations on them. I need to read medical journals and download them to may lapton but its incredibly uncomfortable; the ipad now has a New Englan Journal of Medicine app but I don't need an ipad, all i want is an ebook reader that will allow me to work on it, like the Sony Daily Edition 900 but with better reviews...

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by BenLee

LOL.. I'd like to see you in ten years when you are showing people your "bookshelf"

"Here's my prized bookshelf. Take a look at this one. It's a classic. Yes, the good ol' Pocketbook 360. Ah...they don't make em like they used to *sniffle*"

Funny you mention it. A few years ago I thought about reserving some shelfs for my gadgets: My Pocket PCs, my Palm Pilots, my Sony PSPs, my Nintendo DSs/Gameboy Advances/Gameboys, MiniDisc Players, even a DAT walkman, .....
It sometimes really is a shame, to just put away your former favorite gadgets and stock them in your garage...
But I guess, finally this will happen to my (maybe 25 then?) ePaper readers as well...I fear, their end already is near.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by jmajluf

What I also need is the ability to read PDFs and make annotations on them. I need to read medical journals and download them to may lapton but its incredibly uncomfortable; the ipad now has a New Englan Journal of Medicine app but I don't need an ipad, all i want is an ebook reader that will allow me to work on it, like the Sony Daily Edition 900 but with better reviews...

Even if the future of iRex is (more than) questionable, I'd recommend iRex 800. Screen size above average, still portable enough and advanced capabilities for zoom, notes, ...
My second choice would be Onyx Boox/BeBook Neo.
I agree to your opinion about iPad. I like it (a lot), but it's far from being a "professional tool". I'd never use it for "professional documents".

[jen6060]

hi mgmueller. have you upgraded the irex800 to the rc2 firmware? would you still recommend it with the base firmware? i really like the irex but my ebay purchase has gone awry and there arent that many units put up for sale..

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by jen6060

hi mgmueller. have you upgraded the irex800 to the rc2 firmware? would you still recommend it with the base firmware? i really like the irex but my ebay purchase has gone awry and there arent that many units put up for sale..

I've done the upgrade.
I'm fine with the status quo - even if it may have been the "final" release.
I remain a loyal iRex fan. iRex 800, in my opinion, is in the top 5 (maybe even top 3) of all dedicated readers out there.
Especially if you're into touchscreens, I only see very limited alternatives:
The 2 other iRex readers, iLiad and 1000S. Onyx Boox/BeBook Neo (which I like a bit less than iRex 800), Sony 900, PocketBook 602. So far, iRex 800 remains my favorite amongst those.

[frozennorth]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

The 2 other iRex readers, Onyx Boox/BeBook Neo (which I like a bit less than iRex 800), Sony 900, PocketBook 602. So far, iRex 800 remains my favorite amongst those.

Didn't know all of those were made by Irex.

[BenLee]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Funny you mention it. A few years ago I thought about reserving some shelfs for my gadgets: My Pocket PCs, my Palm Pilots, my Sony PSPs, my Nintendo DSs/Gameboy Advances/Gameboys, MiniDisc Players, even a DAT walkman, .....
It sometimes really is a shame, to just put away your former favorite gadgets and stock them in your garage...
But I guess, finally this will happen to my (maybe 25 then?) ePaper readers as well...I fear, their end already is near.

Wow, so you are a gadget collector outside of ebook readers as well. Nice.

Minidisc was pretty cool. I do kinda miss them. They were small and convenient and you still felt like you owned something because it was on a physical disc. Nowadays you cant even touch the music anymore because it's all digital files on some persistent memory or HD.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by BenLee

Minidisc was pretty cool. I do kinda miss them. They were small and convenient and you still felt like you owned something because it was on a physical disc. Nowadays you cant even touch the music anymore because it's all digital files on some persistent memory or HD.

Interesting. To me it's exactly the opposite. I've never been fond of "moving parts". I've happily replaced my 600+ DVDs, first with DivX rips and later on with iTunes (partially rips and mainly purchases).
Most of my friends still stick to their DVD collection though. Exactly like you describe it: They want to see their growing collection in their shelfs.

[BenLee]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Interesting. To me it's exactly the opposite. I've never been fond of "moving parts". I've happily replaced my 600+ DVDs, first with DivX rips and later on with iTunes (partially rips and mainly purchases).
Most of my friends still stick to their DVD collection though. Exactly like you describe it: They want to see their growing collection in their shelfs.

It's possibly just the nostalgia talking here, mind you.

I guess the idea of a possible future where we own nothing but one super do-it-all device is kinda scary for me. Yea, that would be amazing if I were to go backpacking again for a few months, but when I'm living in one place, I want to be able to show off my books/dvds/cds in my home. Makes me feel more at home I suppose.

[jmajluf]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Even if the future of iRex is (more than) questionable, I'd recommend iRex 800. Screen size above average, still portable enough and advanced capabilities for zoom, notes, ...
My second choice would be Onyx Boox/BeBook Neo.
I agree to your opinion about iPad. I like it (a lot), but it's far from being a "professional tool". I'd never use it for "professional documents".

thanks for th response
do you have any knowledge or opinion on the sony 900?
it looks as what I need but I am cocerned with compatible formats.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by jmajluf

thanks for th response
do you have any knowledge or opinion on the sony 900?
it looks as what I need but I am cocerned with compatible formats.

I absolutely love my Sony 900. It's one of the rare units, I enjoy holding in my hands all the times again and again.
BUT: In my opinion, its zoom capabilities are mediocre at best. In most "professional" PDFs you'll probably want to zoom in, instead of doing reflow, to keep the original layout intact (plus, reflow usually "kills" tables, formulas and other non-text-information). You can zoom on Sony 900 (and Sony 600 and 700), but it does remember the zoom only for the respective page. Very often, I find myself needing the very same zoom, for example "upper right quadrant" for a row of pages. On Sony 900, you have to set the zoom again for every single page. Other touchscreen readers are able to keep the zoom for a flow of pages or the entire document.
Zoom capabilities of Onyx Boox and iRex 800 are more or less identical to each other and far ahead of Sony 900.

Sony 900 is the most stylish of the 3 though, followed by iRex 800. Onyx Boox/BeBook Neo isn't ugly, but it's no eyecatcher either.

[richman]

mgmueller!
I read the last few pages of this thread and it's good to hear you got the IPAD and checked it out.
Sounds like you found what you were looking for 360 and IPAD , so, you might not have to buy as many in the future.
I always enjoy your take on this stuff!
I'll check back in a month or 2 and see what new toys you got.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by richman

mgmueller!
I read the last few pages of this thread and it's good to hear you got the IPAD and checked it out.
Sounds like you found what you were looking for 360 and IPAD , so, you might not have to buy as many in the future.
I always enjoy your take on this stuff!
I'll check back in a month or 2 and see what new toys you got.

..Already have ordered the new Kindle DX
360 and iPad really is a very good combination. That's my combo for vacation, when I fear sand or sun lotion at the beach and don't want to use iPad. For "standard" traveling, I tend to Kindle DX and iPad as my combo of choice. I'm not into reading on iPad. And when traveling, it's not much of a difference whether I take Kindle DX or PocketBook 360 with me - my suitcase is big enough...

[djordje]

Re your previous comment: Sony prs-600 touch can also display thumbnails. Hmmm. You must have spent only very little time with the Sony touch.