Does size matter?

[paul1403]

Hi,

To those of you who have experience in both the 5- and 6-inch screen sizes, which is better? Does that extra inch make a big difference, or does it not matter so much? I'm planning on using my reader (whichever one it ends up being) for just text based books... that is, no technical journals with diagrams, no non-english language books, nor any with mathematical equations. Simple, vanilla-flavoured, no-frills books.

Especially looking at readers such as the Hanlin V3 vs V5, is it worth lashing out and spending the extra $$ on the 6-inch version, or putting the extra money towards the books themselves? If I do the latter, will I be wishing in a months time that I did the former?

Thanks,
Paul
Canberra, Australia

[doreenjoy]

I prefer the 6" screen, but that's because I have to enlarge the font to make the text readable.

Otherwise, if I was just reading plain text (no tables or charts) I'd go with a 5" screen for portability. One reason I sent back my K1 was because it was so bulky for the size of the screen.

[Solicitous]

Hi Paul1403

I was in a similar position to you tossing between a 5" or 6". A couple of threads might be of help;

Comparison of 5" and 6" readers.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54351

wallcraft's review of the Hanlin V5
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55790

(sorry I don't know how to embed links in posts yet).

Hope it is of some help.

[DrMoze]

I've been using both: a 505 Reader (almost 2 years, ??? books) and a 300 Reader (1 month, maybe a dozen novels so far). The reading experience is very similar on both--I don't really notice the extra page turns on the 300. (A typical book may have about 800 pages on the 300 vs. 600 pages on the 505.) The 300 is much more portable for me--fits in my front pants pocket. Still like the 505, just not as easy to carry around.

[Laine]

I recently bought the 6" EcoReader and the 5" V5 from DADirect in Melbourne. I use them for reading novels.

I got both because the EcoReader is made specially for Australia while the V5 is generic but newer in design.

I love the 5" best. It seems faster, it's easier to carry around and it has an extra flick lever to change pages which is much easier to use than the usual buttons.

If had to have only one of them I'd choose the V5.

[easterncoyote]

Hi Paul. Like Dr. Moze, I have both the Sony 300 (5 inch) and 505 (6 inch) Readers. I was planning on returning one of them (I bought the 300 first, but wanted to see what all the hype about the 505 was about, so I ordered one), but you know what? I love them both, and now I don't want to part with either one! I usually like to read the 505 at home, because of the larger screen, which is more like reading a printed book (ok, and the beautiful red colour, and the cool feel of the metal casing), and I like to take the 300 with me when I go out, because of the portability. Interestingly, the book I am reading now (One Minute to Midnight) displays as a larger font on the 300 at the same zoom level. So my advice is to buy both!

[Lemurion]

It really depends on what you read - I read some comics and manga on my 505, and the 6" screen is on the bottom edge of legibility for comics. If that's important to you, then go 6" - otherwise go for whichever is the better deal.

[Yar-PocketBooker]

imho, for fiction literature 5'' is more than enough