Need a reader that allows folders or other organizational structure (keywords?)

[peaceridge]

I read a lot – hours at a time when I’m home – so weight and size are a factor. I also travel by car, back and forth across the country during the summer. While in the car I listen to audio books. At campgrounds I still read a lot. In a perfect world I would have one device that would play my audio books and also allow me to read on it when I wish. I know audio books take up a bunch of space, so I accept that I will have to continue to rely on my cd’s unless one of you have ideas about this. No, the mechanical voice on the Kindle 2 just won’t do it for me.

Also, I have a huge amount of ebooks I’ve already purchased – they are in either lit or rtf format – I don’t care about pdf format at all – doc format would be nice, though. I know I can convert them, but it would be better if I didn’t have to convert. And I have a lot of out of print non-fiction unlikely to ever be put on an ebook – I would like to scan them in over time.

I would like to carry all my books on the reader – when I’m 1000 miles from home and get a desire to re-read a particular book, or need to look up something in one of my research books it would be nice to have it on my reader.

So, a folder or other organization structure is a requirement. I don’t think any allow keywords on the books themselves – I don’t think search would help much here, for example I might want a book that talks about sacred geometry that does not have those words in the title.

Due to the folder requirement (if I’m wrong about any of these please let me know) I’ve decided against the following: Gen 3, EZReader and STAReBook – too bad I really like their weight. Question – is there some sort of hack somewhere that would remedy this – it is Linux after all. I’ve also decided against the iRex (device size and cost). I believe this requirement also removes the Kindle 2 (it would be out anyway by not having some sort of sd/expansion.)

I think that leaves me only with the Sonys and the Kindle 1 – am I right? I have physically seen both Sonys and the Kindle 1. The Kindle 1 seemed unbalanced in my hand, but I’m sure I could get used to it.

For readability: When I tried out the Sonys, I found the same thing everyone else does – the 505 is clearer than the 700 side by side. Since this is my first ereader (except for my phones) I’m wondering if I would even have a problem with the clarity of the 700 after a couple of weeks – I don’t know about the glare I keep hearing as a problem. I certainly like how fast it is.

Included in my definition of readability – I am a very fast reader and like mysteries – this means that I often go back to previous pages to check on clues – I think the 700 would be great for that, the 505 not. I think the Kindle 1 is ok – I’m not sure about this? Which would you say is better for this – the 700 or Kindle 1?

Am I then down to choosing between the Sony 700 and the Kindle 1?

I am leaning towards the 700 at the moment since I wouldn’t have to convert my RTF files. If this is my choice does anyone know of less expensive places to get it?

Please point out any fallacies in my reasoning about this. I appreciate any help.

Lynn

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

Due to the folder requirement (if I’m wrong about any of these please let me know) I’ve decided against the following: Gen 3, EZReader and STAReBook – too bad I really like their weight.

I think that leaves me only with the Sonys and the Kindle 1 – am I right? I have physically seen both Sonys and the Kindle 1. The Kindle 1 seemed unbalanced in my hand, but I’m sure I could get used to it.

The EZ Reader (Hanlin V3) has folders, and it reads RTF files (and LIT, but not very well - convert your LIT to MOBI which is very easy to do). I think it is actually your best option.

The Gen 3 has folders, but you can't see them (you always get a flat listing, but the folders may change the listing order).

The Sony has "collections". I'm not exactly sure what these are, but they are not folders.

The Kindle 1 and 2 are alike in most characteristics. Neither one has folders (that appear in ebook listings). What they do have is full system text search. So, uniquely among EInk readers, you could find an ebook based on its contents. If you have a very large collection of ebooks I don't think the Kindles will work well. They might be ok for moderately large collections.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

The Sony has "collections". I'm not exactly sure what these are, but they are not folders.

A collection is a "virtual folder" which you can use to group together books that share some characteristic; eg, you could have an SF collection, a mystery collection, etc. The reason I say it's a "virtual" folder is that your files don't actually go anywhere - they are still stored in the same place. The collection is purely for "display".

As has been mentioned, the BeBook/Hanlin/EZReader have "real" folders, and so do the iRex devices. It's been "sort of promised" for the next firmware update for the Gen3, but I wouldn't rely on it until it actually appears.

[peaceridge]

Thanks, guys. I'll give the EZReader another look and the Kindle is definitely out.

One thing that I now have to consider, the EZ has a max 4gb SD card - the 700 has a 16gb on their website with the 700 - with that much I could carry my audio books along. Of course, I could just switch out SD cards on the EZ, but I'm concerned about the electronics of putting the SD card in and out over time. Anyone know anything about that?

How fast is the EZ as compared to the 700? Also, I can't find anything that really talks about the folder structure - not even on the Mobiebook site, nor on youtube - do you have a link to something?

I do like open source and I understand the EZ could have wifi in March.

Thanks to you folks, at least I now have a viable choice - kinda leaning towards the EZ.

Lynn

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

Thanks, guys. I'll give the EZReader another look and the Kindle is definitely out.

While the kindle does not support folders... it does have search capability. So, finding a book isn't really that hard... you don't have to page through long lists. Also, you can jump using the keyboard also by typing the letter to jump to.

(not sure why you have ruled it out? Ah reread-- you say the K2 is out. Do you really need more than 1.5 GB of storage? )

BOb

[tompe]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

While the kindle does not support folders... it doesn't have search capability. So, finding a book isn't really that hard... you don't have to page through long lists. Also, you can jump using the keyboard also by typing the letter to jump to.

Then you have to sort the conceptual folders in the same way. Otherwise you need to remember for each author if you sorted on last or first name. And even if you are consistent you have to remember how authors like LeCarré and LeGuin and Conan Doyle are sorted.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

How fast is the EZ as compared to the 700? Also, I can't find anything that really talks about the folder structure - not even on the Mobiebook site, nor on youtube - do you have a link to something?

You might try searching or Hanlin or BeBook to look for videos.

The Hanlin is using the same generation of components as the PRS-505, so it is somewhat slower than the PRS-700.

The folders are just Linux directories - setup whatever structure you want. I have not tried symbolic links (to get the same ebook in multiple folders), but they might work too if you have a Linux desktop to set them up from.

A potential problem is that each directory listing is displayed with only 8 items per screen (so that they can be selected using keys 1-8, keys 9 & 0 are mapped to page turning). So a directory with many items in it requires many screens worth of items. This places a premium on nested directories. I currently use genre/author but if there and many authors genre/authors_abc/author, genre/authors_def/author, etcetera might be faster (or add sub-genres). Notre that each "nest" requires another page turn.

[brudigia]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

Thanks, guys. I'll give the EZReader another look and the Kindle is definitely out.

Do not put down he Gen 3 too soon.
About folders, the Gen 3 has folders on the file system you do actually put your books in, if you wish.
These folders are not visible to the Gen 3 application, but you can sort your books by filepath (=folders). You still have a flat display, but books are sorted based on their directory. It is not the most, but it can suffice, depending on your tastes.
It also has a rock solid mobi reader. With the Calibre tool and mobiperl toolkit you can port amost anything to it with very good results.

One thing that I now have to consider, the EZ has a max 4gb SD card - the 700 has a 16gb on their website with the 700 - with that much I could carry my audio books along. Of course, I could just switch out SD cards on the EZ, but I'm concerned about the electronics of putting the SD card in and out over time. Anyone know anything about that?

There have been people in these forums saying they like to carry basically all of their books with them, therefore a large storage is mandatory. Ok, the ebook can double as mp3 reader, but would you like it ? Most books are aroung half a megabyte, usually (with many exceptions, of course). With the Gen 3 512 Mb ram you can carry around between 500 and 1000 books, probably. Do you want to ? Also because the Gen 3 takes a while during the bootstrap to scan all of your books to re-create the list view.
With 150 books my Gen 3 takes about 30 seconds to boot. I think it is tolerable.

I do like open source and I understand the EZ could have wifi in March.

I would not want to appear a bore, but do you really need wifi ? What for ? Think about it. My opinion is that, right now, only the kindle benefits from it, in the USA. Elsewhere, at least now, it is not a feature you will exploit. Maybe the iRex can use it a little bit (but its batteries rarely last more than one-two days).
I would suggest that you also look at these features. How long do you want the battery to last, what do you want to do with the reader, etc.
Maybe the anser is a netpc, which have comparable prices.

[peaceridge]

Thanks, wallcraft - that is good to know - if I decide on the ez, maybe I want to wait until their next generation Pro is out that should be faster (I think the 505 is really slow) - of course if I always waited to the newest and best, I'd never buy anything! Thanks, too about the 8 items per screen - a consideration for sure.

brudigia - I do travel out of state a lot and would like to get to the point that I don't have to lug around my notebook computer just to download an ebook I want to read. As far as the mp3's - I don't want to listen to music, just audio books - it would be nice to have them in the same device as my ebooks.

wifi - I don't require it, I have it on my phone if needed, but that is a very small screen. I wouldn't want a wifi that is always on - to conserve battery. When I travel (in the US) checking email is about all I do as far as the internet is concerned. I would like to consolidate electronics if possible. For example, I am getting rid of my garmin gps since my new phone has it loaded onto it.

Thanks to you both - it is so helpful to get other ideas.

Lynn

[tompe]

Originally Posted by brudigia

I would not want to appear a bore, but do you really need wifi ? What for ? Think about it. My opinion is that, right now, only the kindle benefits from it, in the USA. Elsewhere, at least now, it is not a feature you will exploit.

You want net connection because it opens up for new type of applications and way to use the book reader. I would love to have page synchronization. Then I could easily continue reading my book on my N810 or my phone if I left my Cybook at home. Also if you are reading near a computer you can make annotations at the compuer and they appear automatically in your ebook reader. And so on.

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

The EZ Reader (Hanlin V3) has folders, and it reads RTF files (and LIT, but not very well - convert your LIT to MOBI which is very easy to do). I think it is actually your best option.

The Gen 3 has folders, but you can't see them (you always get a flat listing, but the folders may change the listing order).

The Sony has "collections". I'm not exactly sure what these are, but they are not folders.

The Kindle 1 and 2 are alike in most characteristics. Neither one has folders (that appear in ebook listings). What they do have is full system text search. So, uniquely among EInk readers, you could find an ebook based on its contents. If you have a very large collection of ebooks I don't think the Kindles will work well. They might be ok for moderately large collections.

I've read my .lit files perfectly on my EZ Reader...but yeah the option to convert lit to .mobi works better for some.

[peaceridge]

How about start-up time? Does the ez or 700 take longer to start up depending on the size of the expansion, i.e. does 4gb start quicker than 8gb?

Is there anywhere that gives more technical details on how the software acts (for example, does it build indexes internally to know where the books are, or does it just go looking for them). I'm probably not being very clear on this. I guess what I'm really asking is: is there an advantage to having more than one smaller expansion card vs one very large one - on these 2 devices anyway.

Lynn

[wallcraft]

The folders on the EZ Reader really are Linux directories. There is no indexing involved. The ebook library manager is a VERY thin skin on top of a standard Linux directory structure. So it scales well providing you make the directory hierarchy deep enough. On a large (SDHC) card, the underlying filesystem will be FAT32.

You may be asking about things like last read location on a per book basis. For MOBI ebooks this is stored in a .mbp metafile with the same filename as the .mobi or .prc file. So this scales to any size library (the .mbp files are "hidden" in the standard library view). I think the info on other ebook types may all be held in a single central file, but I'm not sure of the details.

The Hanlin V3 (EZ Reader) is officially limited to 4GB cards, but as I just posted here, larger cards also work. Note that BeBook says that larger cards "might" slow down the device.

The start up time of a Hanlin V3 is largely irrelevant, because the battery lasts 3-4 weeks if you don't use the device. So I never turn mine off. I can start reading again instantly, whenever I want. The Sony battery is long-lasting too.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by tompe

Then you have to sort the conceptual folders in the same way. Otherwise you need to remember for each author if you sorted on last or first name. And even if you are consistent you have to remember how authors like LeCarré and LeGuin and Conan Doyle are sorted.

You can also just type in a search term and if it's in a book, it will show up. I'd still prefer real folders, though.

[brudigia]

Originally Posted by tompe

You want net connection because it opens up for new type of applications and way to use the book reader. I would love to have page synchronization. Then I could easily continue reading my book on my N810 or my phone if I left my Cybook at home. Also if you are reading near a computer you can make annotations at the compuer and they appear automatically in your ebook reader. And so on.

I said that for the time being, especially in the European countries I know, having a wifi enabled ereader will not give you any advantage, especially with e-ink devices, whose screen is quite slow. I've read that iRex can also navigate internet, as well as the kindle, but I have never seen it, and I can't say anything about it. The features you would like to have do not exist yet, I believe. Can't say for the future of course, but I do not believe the scenario will change much over the next couple of years. We shall see what impact wimax will make.