Kindle DX outside United States?

[martienne]

I like the Kindle DX because of the large screen size and its' larger user base and low price compared with iRex.

I want an eBook reader mainly to read pdfs, in original format or cropped.

Would it make sense for me to buy a Kindle DX despite the fact that I don't live in the US? I realise I can't subsribe to magazines or use the roaming access to Amazon's eBook store..

Would i be able to use the Kindle DX for reading original or transformed PDFs?

I don't mind some moderate hacking or other tweaking of the Kindle if needed.

What do you Americans think and are there any Europeans here who own a Kindle DX?

My other options are:
---Sony PSL-600 (too small screen, I think???) OR
---iRex Digital Reader (too expensive, prone to malfunction, smaller user base..?)

I would really appreciate some advice to help me decide which make to get! Right now I'm leaning to Kindle.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by martienne

I like the Kindle DX because of the large screen size and its' larger user base and low price compared with iRex.

I want an eBook reader mainly to read pdfs, in original format or cropped.

Would it make sense for me to buy a Kindle DX despite the fact that I don't live in the US? I realise I can't subsribe to magazines or use the roaming access to Amazon's eBook store..

Would i be able to use the Kindle DX for reading original or transformed PDFs?

I don't mind some moderate hacking or other tweaking of the Kindle if needed.

What do you Americans think and are there any Europeans here who own a Kindle DX?

My other options are:
---Sony PSL-600 (too small screen, I think???) OR
---iRex Digital Reader (too expensive, prone to malfunction, smaller user base..?)

I would really appreciate some advice to help me decide which make to get! Right now I'm leaning to Kindle.

You can use Kindle 2 or Kindle DX outside of the US without any problems.
I do exactly the same here in Germany.
Two minor issues: You have to download manually via your PC instead of going through Whispernet.
The internal clock is set automatically. You can do it manually, but it would be necessary each time your battery went dry.

BUT: For PDFs, Kindle DX isn't first choice. Not even second...
iRex iLiad or iRex 1000S for example are far superior.
Even Sony 600 is.
My personal ranking for the units you mention concerning PDFs:
iRex iLiad, iRex 1000S, Sony 600, Kindle DX

[HarryT]

The PDF support on the Kindle DX is extremely primitive. No hyperlinks, no table of contents, no search, no annotation, no dictionary lookup. No iRex devices are far, far superior for this, although significantly more expensive.

[martienne]

Thanks a lot both of you!
MGMueller's post made me reconsider the Kindle.
Well that's one model off my list, I'll follow up on the other ones.

Some more questions if that's ok!

1) I thought the iRex Iliad was getting a bit dated and I didn't want to buy something that was near end-of-life. Do you know anything about how much life is left in the Iliad?

2) The other thing I should mention is that I definitely don't plan to spend too much on actually BUYING any books. I'd only buy (and share) books that I couldn't get hold of using, erm, other methods. So I want a reader that has as little DRM and weird formatting as possible. With this in mind, is the iLiad or the or Sony PRS 600 the best choice?

3) The Iliad has a larger screen than the Sony PRS 600, right? Does the user notice a lot of difference? (I plan to read a lot of technical material...)

4) Which one is better for annotation (making notes on the pages?)

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by martienne

Thanks a lot both of you!
MGMueller's post made me reconsider the Kindle.
Well that's one model off my list, I'll follow up on the other ones.

Some more questions if that's ok!

1) I thought the iRex Iliad was getting a bit dated and I didn't want to buy something that was near end-of-life. Do you know anything about how much life is left in the Iliad?

2) The other thing I should mention is that I definitely don't plan to spend too much on actually BUYING any books. I'd only buy (and share) books that I couldn't get hold of using, erm, other methods. So I want a reader that has as little DRM and weird formatting as possible. With this in mind, is the iLiad or the or Sony psl 600 the best choice?

3) The Iliad has a larger screen than the Sony psl 600, right? Does the user notice a lot of difference? (I plan to read a lot of technical material...)

4) Which one is better for annotation (making notes on the pages?)

iRex iLiad already doesn't receive any firmware updates anymore.
IMHO not too problematic, already very advanced OS.
I'm not too concerned about spare parts either. Realistically, I'll have my unit another 2 to 3 years and support should be given for that period of time.

DRM is in the books, not in the readers. Meaning: Readers can handle some DRMed formats, but they don't "mess anything" up. Whether iRex iLiad for example handles DRMed Mobipocket or only DRM-free Mobipocket won't make any difference in quality or layout, the reading engine will be the same.
I'd suggest always using a format, your respective reader is able to handle natively. Stripping from DRM and/or converting can be extremely time-consuming and boring.
So, one criteria for choosing your reader should be the file format(s) you most likely will use the most.
Many users in this forum prefer ePUB (ADOBE) which already is kind of a quasi-standard. iRex iLiad for example can't handle it natively.

Screen size in my opinion DOES make a difference. For example, I'm using my 5" units only as a second source. Using them as my sole reader would be critical for some files.
6" seems a very good compromise between mobility and readability. But of course PDFs very often are in A4 or letter format and can be difficult to read on 6" displays. iRex iLiad has a great zooming feature and iRex 1000S has the "perfect" screen size for those formats.

Personally, I don't annotate much. But when I do so, I very much prefer a touchscreen over a keyboard. So, in my opinion, Sony 600 or both iRex units are more convenient than Kindle for that feature.

To make your decision even more complicated: I really LOVE the iPhone Kindle application. Reading my Kindle books on iPhone/iPod touch without any additional costs - great for a quick read while on the road. It can be done with other readers/formats as well, but the Amazon solution by far is the most convenient one.

[frozennorth]

What about the new IREX DR800SG?

[martienne]

Thanks so much both!

mg, you are a true guru of ebook readers!

Wow!!! I watched CNETs video on the IREX DR800SG and that is brilliant! Could be the perfect reader for me!
I want one!

CNET says it's due out "in October". Obviously they take an American perspective.



Youtube video of DR800SG

EDIT: Unbelievable!! I am so angry! IREX is a European company, from Belgium no less. But nevertheless they are launching this product in the US only, 6 months before launching in the EU. Only one shop will be selling it in the US, an outfit called "Bestbuy" which has a strict policy against shipping outside of the US.
I don't know a lot of Americans and I don't want to trouble the ones that I do know with taking deliveries and forwarding to me. ARRRGH!

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by martienne

Thanks so much both!

mg, you are a true guru of ebook readers!

Wow!!! I watched CNETs video on the IREX DR800SG and that is brilliant! Could be the perfect reader for me!
I want one!

CNET says it's due out "in October". Obviously they take an American perspective.



Youtube video of DR800SG

EDIT: Unbelievable!! I am so angry! IREX is a European company, from Belgium no less. But nevertheless they are launching this product in the US only, 6 months before launching in the EU. Only one shop will be selling it in the US, an outfit called "Bestbuy" which has a strict policy against shipping outside of the US.
I don't know a lot of Americans and I don't want to trouble the ones that I do know with taking deliveries and forwarding to me. ARRRGH!

You can use a commercial forwarding service like shipito.com. You buy it online, have it sent to them and they forward it to you in your country. I can recommend them.

[frozennorth]

I'm sure it will be available on ebay not long after release. I guess they all go where the market is the biggest. Wonder if they'll eventually sell in Canada.

[martienne]

Thanks for the tip Hans and Frozen North!

Bestbuy is actually saying on their "shipping policy" page: We will cancel orders to known mail forwarding companies. But they probably don't know all of them, and they'd definitely have to refund, so I guess there'd be no harm trying.

I want this NOW though and if they launch mid October, say - then I hope it would be available on eBay immediately. I haven't bought a lot there so I don't know how it normally works.

But really - it seems like I should wait until October.