Reader with dictionary in Europe or CA

[alexul]

Hi,
This is my second post but i've been watching this forum and found lots of useful information about ereaders. And now I need some help to decide which device to buy.
I actually live in Romania but I also have some friends in Canada which can order one from me and bring it in the summer.
I haven't touched any ereader before, except an Iriver at a demosntration for a couple of minutes and got impressed by the Eink. So the reader will have to be one with an EInk display.
I would also want a dictionary, a search and a bookmark functions.
Mostly I will read plain text, from PDF or DOC, but I don't mind converting the files to whatever format the reader will accept best.
So far the Kobo is the cheapest and it seems it has a good quality/price ratio, but without dictionary, bookmark, searching
The Sony PRS 600 has all 3, but it costs $100 extra in CA, plus some people complain about the glare. It costs $200 in US but shipping from US to CA will probably imply some extra fees and duties.
These are the devices I found available in CA. In Europe they are even more expensive.
If you have any other reccomandation, please share it.. I am so undecided

Have a sucessful day,
Alex

[omk3]

Hello Alex and welcome.

What language dictionary are you looking for?

Pocketbook is a good device that supports user-loaded dictionaries. You can make/convert one yourself and soon there will be multiple language dictionaries for sale as I understand. In my opinion the pocketbook is one of the best, most customizable and friendly devices out there.

I've got a sony 600. The glare is not too much of an issue, but you won't get the clarity of the eInk that impressed you because of the touchscreen, so it's a bit of a compromise in that respect. The dictionary is excellent, but you can't load your own, you have to be happy with the two (very good) English to English options preloaded on the device.

[alexul]

Thanks omk3
English to English is good, however the option to customize your own dictionary is great so I can add new words. The wikipedia says the only dictionary for the device is English-Russian, not too helpful for me . The price goes to $300 and I'm not sure about paying this for my first reader.

[frozennorth]

Also check out Onyx Boox/Bebook Neo. They are basically the same device with interchangeable firmware. And both are sold in Europe. They support dictionary, search and bookmarks and has wifi. But he price is double that of the kobo.

I live in Canada (Alberta) and had the Boox shipped to me from the US via USPS. I didn't have to pay any fees or taxes when it arrived. But I'm not sure if that is the rule.

[Logseman]

Alexul, there are already some dictionaries for Pocketbook which have nothing to do with Russian. Wikipedia is wrong :P I have an English-English Oxford dictionary, and an English-German one in my Pocketbook 360, both downloaded from here. Plus, in a while there will come (paid) dictionaries, made by the Lingvo company. Among them there will be English-Romanian.

Plus, some Pocketbook owners are happy enough with their devices as to even translate the firmware to their languages. I count myself among them, as does omk3 and a Romanian forum member, Eddie was his nickname if I remember correctly.

[alexul]

Thanks for the answers. how do you use the dictionary while reading the book? i couldn't find any video showing that.

[Logseman]

Originally Posted by alexul

Thanks for the answers. how do you use the dictionary while reading the book? i couldn't find any video showing that.

In the PB360, you click the OK button, which summons a menu from which you can select the dictionary. Once you're in the "dictionary mode", you scroll through the words with the joystick.

Eventually, you can configure the keys so that you can summon the dictionary merely by pressing a key, without needing to go through a menu.

[fjtorres]

Note that in the PB360, you can have multiple dictionaries instaled at once and do lookup from inside the book you're reading from any/all of them. I have two english-english dictionaries and can compare the definitions from both to see which fits the context better. (Usually when reading classics. SF is usually self-explanatory. )

[alexul]

Wow, this PB360 sounds really great. So now I'm trying to decide between Kobo and PB360. If the PB360 had a 6 inch screen it would be a easy call. I keep wondering whether the 5" isn't too small to read, I don't know, I haven't seen one, when I measure 5 inches on the ruler.. they are so small :|

[omk3]

My mother went from a 6 inch screen to the PB360. She was a bit worried about the size, but in the end she didn't even notice the difference. In the pocketbook you can even hide the status bar for more screen real estate, and in fbreader set the margins of your book to whatever you like, so you may end up with more actual room than on a 6 inch reader which doesn't give you these options.
I too have a 6 inch screen, but when I read on my mother's pocketbook it didn't seem small at all.

[Logseman]

Originally Posted by alexul

Wow, this PB360 sounds really great. So now I'm trying to decide between Kobo and PB360. If the PB360 had a 6 inch screen it would be a easy call. I keep wondering whether the 5" isn't too small to read, I don't know, I haven't seen one, when I measure 5 inches on the ruler.. they are so small :|

It's not an issue, given that you have up to 20 different font sizes to choose from (only with FBReader, ADE allows less). The biggest sizes are even bigger than 6 inch fonts.