looking for help finding my first ereader

matthias · 11-02-2009, 01:05 PM

Hello,

I'm about to buy my first ebook-reader.
i've read several reviews about every reader that i think could be of interrest for me, but i can't decide. Now i hope that people having experience with the different readers could help me out with some things i'm not so clear with.

My Reader should have a 6''-Display (since i think 5'' could be a bit small to read seriously for having to turn page to often). It should display images rather well (mostly from magazines, pdf-format), so i think it should display at least 8 Grey levels. I would like it to handle several file types, such as E-Pub, PDF and txt. I'd also like to have the memory expandable with a SD-Card.
I don't need anything like EVDO, UMTS, GPRS, 3G or whatever it's called, they just suck the battery out of the reader. Mini-USB is way enough for my use. mp3-support i don't need, since it sucks the battery, too. Touchscreen isn't needed, too.
Also i don't need any bookstore bound to it because i think first i'll read what is for free (Google books, the books i found on this side), and then i can still look for a ebook-store, because my reader should support several filetypes

Since i've just looked a bit allround, i found that the PRS505, which would be interresting, but i'm a little worried about the time it takes to switch page. I've tryed it in the bookshop, and it seemed a little slow to me. I know in the wiki the time to refresh is about 0.9s, but while trying it it seemed way longer to me (maybe for the filetype the book used in the store...?)
Isn't it bothering while reading to wait after every page?

The Cybook would be of interrest for me, too, but since it doesn't offer much more than the PRS505 i'm asking myself if its worth the 80€ it costs more.

Then i found the txtr, which is more expensive (compared to the PRS505 i could get for 199€ in our local store, it costs 120€ more + delivery cost, since i don't think our bookstore will sell it) and not yet out, but for what i've seen in a youtube-video about the txtr it seemed way faster than the PRS505 and it will offer an API for more own applications. I know its comming out on 15th of december this year, but since it is way more expensive and not yet aviable i'm asking myself if its really worth waiting (and indeed spending more money for it, too).

i hope some of my questions can be answered, thank you.
Matthias

PS: please apologize my bad english, but sadly it's not my firstlanguage.

gwynevans · 11-02-2009, 07:09 PM

With the 505, after a short while you don't notice the delay when turning a page (and it's normally more like 0.5 of a sec). It's less of an interruption than turning a normal page is too... It can slow up if the books got some odd formatting or embedded fonts, but I don't actually recall noticing that happening for a very long time now (when I was playing with embedding my own fonts) and not in normal use.

HAving said that, I'd not actually rule out a Sony Pocket too quickly though - if I recall correctly there are a few people round here that have moved to it from a 505 & are happy with it but I can't recall off-hand how it's turn speed compares with the 505 - I understand the Touch is noticeably faster, but I think the Pocket's equivalent to the 505.

Not sure what the Euro price is at the moment, but the Pocket's down to £149 at the moment (I've got a price-comparison page for it on my site in the .sig!) which, last time I looked, was a lot less than the CyBook.

wallcraft · 11-02-2009, 09:03 PM

The PRS-505 is a safe choice. It is an older design, but a design that hit a sweet spot in the technology curve and there are many happy owners of the PRS-505. The PRS-300 is essentially the same design with a smaller screen and less upgradability.

The txtr looks like a very nice machine, that may well be a step beyond existing Readers. The risk you take with a new device from a new company is that their reliability and support is unknown. I get good vibes about the device, and if I was in Europe I might well buy one - but don't do so unless you are comfortable being an "early adopter".

kennyc · 11-02-2009, 09:57 PM

The page turn is not a big deal and the 505 is a great reader if you don't need annotation or dictionary.

matthias · 11-03-2009, 04:06 AM

Since the PRS-300 isn't aviable in my country i'd have to order it from germany (or another country) which will in the endresult cost me about the same than the PRS-505 in my local store, in addition to it being smaller than the PRS-505. For that i don't think it would be a big deal for me getting one.

Annotation or dictionary i don't need eighter.

Being an "early adopter" isn't really bothering me, since i like to try out new things. For support is not what im looking for when i decide myself for a device, neighter on a pc, cell phone or whatever, so thats nothing what would affect my decision. Certainly if it goes wrong it would be lots of money blown in the wind, thats why im still uncertain to wait for the txtr or get the PRS-505 right away.

neilmarr · 11-03-2009, 05:30 AM

The page-turn time, Matthias, is no big deal with the 505. As others here have said, you don't notice it after you've used the reader for a few minutes. It's certainly quicker and more accurate than turning a treebook page -- and you don't have to lick your finger and spread germs. I'm dedicated to my 505. It's just so darned versatile. With a wall charger, it's absolutely reliable. With a neat flip-top leather jacket, it's also the most comfortable reading experience imaginable. Whatever you choose, good luck. Neil

Latinandgreek · 11-03-2009, 05:43 AM

I find that the speed of the page turns with the 505 depends mostly on the type of file being used. The page turns with lrf. files is VERY quick (I don't even notice any sort of lag). I use calibre (you can download it for free on this site) to convert almost all of my files to lrf. With pdfs, I find it really depends on the particular file. Text based files have very quick page turns, while picture or graph heavy files are somewhat slower, but even then not annoyingly slow by any means. It could be that the file you were looking at happened to be a larger file or something, and that that was causing the delay. I am very happy with my PRS 505, and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody looking to buy an ereader; I wouldn't trade mine for anything!

matthias · 11-03-2009, 08:27 AM

So lrf-files are quicker than epub?
i've given calibre a look, and i hope to use it anyway, no matter which reader i'll get, because i don't really trust sonys in belongings to software on my pc since they used their "trojan-horse-songprotection"... (which i actually didn't suffer from, but reading of it was quite enough for me)

i still hope to recive any concern about the cybook v3, too, because its way lighter than the PRS505.

but respekting that the PRS505 recives such good notes here, and it's right now the cheapest for me to aquire, i'll very probably get it, and if i really decide to take a closer look to the txtr, it'll find its way in my mothers hands...

11-02-2009, 01:05 PM	#1
matthias Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 4212 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: South Tyrol, Italy Device: Sony Reader PRS-505	looking for help finding my first ereader Hello, I'm about to buy my first ebook-reader. i've read several reviews about every reader that i think could be of interrest for me, but i can't decide. Now i hope that people having experience with the different readers could help me out with some things i'm not so clear with. My Reader should have a 6''-Display (since i think 5'' could be a bit small to read seriously for having to turn page to often). It should display images rather well (mostly from magazines, pdf-format), so i think it should display at least 8 Grey levels. I would like it to handle several file types, such as E-Pub, PDF and txt. I'd also like to have the memory expandable with a SD-Card. I don't need anything like EVDO, UMTS, GPRS, 3G or whatever it's called, they just suck the battery out of the reader. Mini-USB is way enough for my use. mp3-support i don't need, since it sucks the battery, too. Touchscreen isn't needed, too. Also i don't need any bookstore bound to it because i think first i'll read what is for free (Google books, the books i found on this side), and then i can still look for a ebook-store, because my reader should support several filetypes Since i've just looked a bit allround, i found that the PRS505, which would be interresting, but i'm a little worried about the time it takes to switch page. I've tryed it in the bookshop, and it seemed a little slow to me. I know in the wiki the time to refresh is about 0.9s, but while trying it it seemed way longer to me (maybe for the filetype the book used in the store...?) Isn't it bothering while reading to wait after every page? The Cybook would be of interrest for me, too, but since it doesn't offer much more than the PRS505 i'm asking myself if its worth the 80€ it costs more. Then i found the txtr, which is more expensive (compared to the PRS505 i could get for 199€ in our local store, it costs 120€ more + delivery cost, since i don't think our bookstore will sell it) and not yet out, but for what i've seen in a youtube-video about the txtr it seemed way faster than the PRS505 and it will offer an API for more own applications. I know its comming out on 15th of december this year, but since it is way more expensive and not yet aviable i'm asking myself if its really worth waiting (and indeed spending more money for it, too). i hope some of my questions can be answered, thank you. Matthias PS: please apologize my bad english, but sadly it's not my firstlanguage.

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11-02-2009, 07:09 PM	#2
gwynevans Wizzard Posts: 1,402 Karma: 2000000 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: iPad 2, iPhone 6s, Kindle Voyage & Kindle PaperWhite	With the 505, after a short while you don't notice the delay when turning a page (and it's normally more like 0.5 of a sec). It's less of an interruption than turning a normal page is too... It can slow up if the books got some odd formatting or embedded fonts, but I don't actually recall noticing that happening for a very long time now (when I was playing with embedding my own fonts) and not in normal use. HAving said that, I'd not actually rule out a Sony Pocket too quickly though - if I recall correctly there are a few people round here that have moved to it from a 505 & are happy with it but I can't recall off-hand how it's turn speed compares with the 505 - I understand the Touch is noticeably faster, but I think the Pocket's equivalent to the 505. Not sure what the Euro price is at the moment, but the Pocket's down to £149 at the moment (I've got a price-comparison page for it on my site in the .sig!) which, last time I looked, was a lot less than the CyBook.

11-02-2009, 09:03 PM	#3
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	The PRS-505 is a safe choice. It is an older design, but a design that hit a sweet spot in the technology curve and there are many happy owners of the PRS-505. The PRS-300 is essentially the same design with a smaller screen and less upgradability. The txtr looks like a very nice machine, that may well be a step beyond existing Readers. The risk you take with a new device from a new company is that their reliability and support is unknown. I get good vibes about the device, and if I was in Europe I might well buy one - but don't do so unless you are comfortable being an "early adopter".

11-02-2009, 09:57 PM	#4
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	The page turn is not a big deal and the 505 is a great reader if you don't need annotation or dictionary.

11-03-2009, 04:06 AM	#5
matthias Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 4212 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: South Tyrol, Italy Device: Sony Reader PRS-505	Since the PRS-300 isn't aviable in my country i'd have to order it from germany (or another country) which will in the endresult cost me about the same than the PRS-505 in my local store, in addition to it being smaller than the PRS-505. For that i don't think it would be a big deal for me getting one. Annotation or dictionary i don't need eighter. Being an "early adopter" isn't really bothering me, since i like to try out new things. For support is not what im looking for when i decide myself for a device, neighter on a pc, cell phone or whatever, so thats nothing what would affect my decision. Certainly if it goes wrong it would be lots of money blown in the wind, thats why im still uncertain to wait for the txtr or get the PRS-505 right away.

11-03-2009, 05:30 AM	#6
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	The page-turn time, Matthias, is no big deal with the 505. As others here have said, you don't notice it after you've used the reader for a few minutes. It's certainly quicker and more accurate than turning a treebook page -- and you don't have to lick your finger and spread germs. I'm dedicated to my 505. It's just so darned versatile. With a wall charger, it's absolutely reliable. With a neat flip-top leather jacket, it's also the most comfortable reading experience imaginable. Whatever you choose, good luck. Neil

11-03-2009, 05:43 AM	#7
Latinandgreek Warrior Princess Posts: 5,038 Karma: 9724231 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505; PRS-350, PRS-T1, iPad, Aura HD	I find that the speed of the page turns with the 505 depends mostly on the type of file being used. The page turns with lrf. files is VERY quick (I don't even notice any sort of lag). I use calibre (you can download it for free on this site) to convert almost all of my files to lrf. With pdfs, I find it really depends on the particular file. Text based files have very quick page turns, while picture or graph heavy files are somewhat slower, but even then not annoyingly slow by any means. It could be that the file you were looking at happened to be a larger file or something, and that that was causing the delay. I am very happy with my PRS 505, and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody looking to buy an ereader; I wouldn't trade mine for anything!

11-03-2009, 08:27 AM	#8
matthias Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 4212 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: South Tyrol, Italy Device: Sony Reader PRS-505	So lrf-files are quicker than epub? i've given calibre a look, and i hope to use it anyway, no matter which reader i'll get, because i don't really trust sonys in belongings to software on my pc since they used their "trojan-horse-songprotection"... (which i actually didn't suffer from, but reading of it was quite enough for me) i still hope to recive any concern about the cybook v3, too, because its way lighter than the PRS505. but respekting that the PRS505 recives such good notes here, and it's right now the cheapest for me to aquire, i'll very probably get it, and if i really decide to take a closer look to the txtr, it'll find its way in my mothers hands...

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