So you have a ebook device. When will you upgrade?

[Covak]

I just got a PRS-505. It wouldn't take much for me to upgrade next year.

- Increase the screen size to paperback novel size.
- Double the DPI.
- 16 shades.
- Keep it around $300 USD.
- No heavier than the PRS-505 (hopefully lighter!).

For my uses, that'd be absolutely delicious.

[ashalan]

The device needs to be able to survive dropping to the floor repeatedly.

I am one of those guys that fall asleep with a book in their hands. The book then either drops on my forehead, or on the floor (depending on the position I was last in before dozing off :P )

On a sidenote; the former (dropping on my forehead) made me stop buying hardcover books. The last hardcover book I bought was Robert Jordan's 'A Knife of Dreams'. 780 pages covered in rock-hard paperback dropping on the nugging do hurt ... I can tell you

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by ashalan

The device needs to be able to survive dropping to the floor repeatedly.

I am one of those guys that fall asleep with a book in their hands. The book then either drops on my forehead, or on the floor (depending on the position I was last in before dozing off :P )

On a sidenote; the former (dropping on my forehead) made me stop buying hardcover books. The last hardcover book I bought was Robert Jordan's 'A Knife of Dreams'. 780 pages covered in rock-hard paperback dropping on the nugging do hurt ... I can tell you

Try reading in bed.

[ashalan]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Try reading in bed.

That's what I was actually trying to describe :P

[astra]

Q.:

So you have a ebook device. When will you upgrade?

A.: When B&H get the reader in a stock!

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by ashalan

That's what I was actually trying to describe :P

You must be too close to the edge of the bed if your unit ends up on the floor.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ashalan

The device needs to be able to survive dropping to the floor repeatedly.

All my reading devices (Sony, CyBook, iLiad) manage this just fine. I fall asleep reading more often than not, and wake up to find it on the floor. They've all survived that "drop test" just fine .

[recycledelectron]

Originally Posted by mogui

Yes, the Reader only handles 2G SD cards. If you use a Sony Memory Stick you might be able to use a 4G, but I have never tried it. The 4G SD cards are either SDHD cards, a newer standard, or require special handling by an ordinary SD device in order to see all of the SD memory. The Reader doesn't support 4G. For a no-tears solution, stick with 2G. It is plenty large anyway.

The Sony PRS-505 supports (1) 210MB internal flash, (2) up to a 2GB SD card, and (3) up to an 8GB MSPD all concurrently. It also works as a card reader for all 3 when plugged into any USB port.

There are about 3 Sony models, so it gets confusing. It would be less confusing if everyone quoted model numbers for the devices they are referring to.

Originally Posted by HarryT

I honestly don't see what all the fuss is about DRM .

Generally with a paperback book, I'll buy it, read it, and then toss it away. Very few books are "keepers" for me. If I buy a DRM'ed book, I'm not going to lose too much sleep over whether or not I'll be able to read it in 10 years time - I almost certainly won't want to.

The fuss is this: We still have works printed in the middle ages, because someone preserved a copy. We are entering a digital dark age due to DRM, where we will loose everything printed over decades - unless a few of us fight it. Pirate torrents may save our civilization.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Do you buy movies on DVD?

No, I don't.

To get me to upgrade from the PRS-505, just add any of these:

1. More formats (.chm, .html, .lit, .ogg)
2. Load files w/o a PC (USB OTG or network connection)
3. Text Input, (keyboard, or Touch Screen)
4. Let me read the PDF without tiny text (Larger screen, or Arbitrary zoom & panning, or let me adjust the margins)
5. SDK
6. Directory Browsing
7. The ability to play with it before buying.

You’ve got me thinking about dropping my PRS-505 for an iRex or an Hanlin, if I can ever see one up close.

Andy

[JSWolf]

To be honest, I would 100% forget the Hanlin. This WOLF format is dodgy at best.

The iLiad however is a good choice. But not cheap. I would just hang onto the 505 until something significantly better comes along.

[fugsly]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

Not in the US. Some countries (Canada, UK) have a scheme for this. But unless you are a huge best-seller, it works out to be peanuts (or less).

Unless you sell textbooks. Well, it's still peanuts but unless you're lucky enough to have every teacher / lecturer in the country insisting that people buy your book the library is the main source of profit.

I'm talking about what I know from the UK though, can't say how it works out for others.

[Roy White]

I wont upgrade until my prs 500 kicks the bucket. It aint got tons of bells and whistles, but it lets me read which is all I want to do with it.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

To be honest, I would 100% forget the Hanlin. This WOLF format is dodgy at best.

The iLiad however is a good choice. But not cheap. I would just hang onto the 505 until something significantly better comes along.

Even without Wolf the Hanlin does support a lot of formats. One thing that I do not understand is their need for another me-to product in the V3. The V2 had a nice text entry area that could be used for searches, notes, etc. and the V2t even has a full touch screen but neither of those are available outside of China. In my mind they could exploit those hardware features into the category of something better. I would like to see a more acceptable format than WOLF but that only requires a firmware update and if they were to open up the OS it could probably be added by the users. Getting eReader support would be an interesting twist.

Just a little more aggressive support from Jinke could give us a nice horse race.

Dale

[JSWolf]

I am surprised nobody has gone for the eReader crowd to be honest. It would be a market that none of the other eink devices have captured.

[nekokami]

Maybe eReader doesn't want to play with the various e ink vendors?

[Covak]

After seeing someone with a real book right next to my PRS-505 in low light the other day, I'd add "Increased contrast." to my list of things to get me to upgrade.

I was pleasantly surprised by the PRS-505 at first, after all the "grey on greyer" comments I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's not bad at all. But it sure does seem far from real black on white paper in low light.