Undergrad/grad student

b3radley · 04-02-2009, 05:43 PM

Hi everyone,
this is my first post! Before I buy an e-reader I would really like to get some input. I am an undergraduate right now and plan on attending grad school and eventually going on to teach English. I would love to get an e-reader for the summer so I can whittle down the list of classics that I need to finish before the GRE, but I also need to be able to view journal articles (mostly JSTOR) and mark on them. I don't need anything terribly complex but I need to be able to underline and bookmark pages. (kind of like in a real book

) Wireless and whisper-whatever is not a must, as I carry my eee everywhere anyways. Hopefully some of you have some suggestions as to what would be the best option. Thanks!

sassanik · 04-02-2009, 05:47 PM

If money is an issue I would go with the eb1150, they are cheap and easy to use.

You can also get alot of classics through project gutenburg so you in theory won't have to spend much money on the books themselves.

Amy

b3radley · 04-02-2009, 07:09 PM

Thanks for the suggestion!
Sorry about the re-post but I realize now that I may have been a little bit hasty in defining requirements, so here they are in a slightly more concise list.

1. E-ink is a must, when I really get going I will read all night and my eyes usually feel like they will fall out in the morning.
2. Pdf support needs to be excellent, as this is what I read the most of.
3. Some ability to annotate, bookmark, highlight, etc. (even limited stylus support would be ideal)
4. Money is somewhat important, but if I have to pay through the nose to get a few unproblematic years of use I would be happy.

I am considering the iLiad BE, but am not sure if the size would be good for reading A4 pdfs.

DaleDe · 04-03-2009, 12:29 PM

The iLiad BE is a good choice but you may have to read PDF 1/2 page at a time in landscape mode.

Dale

wallcraft · 04-03-2009, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b3radley

2. Pdf support needs to be excellent, as this is what I read the most of.
3. Some ability to annotate, bookmark, highlight, etc. (even limited stylus support would be ideal)

Currently, only Sony PRS-700 and iRex iLiad (and Digital Reader) meet these requirements. The Amazon Kindle has (3), but it converts PDFs to MOBI (AZW) before they are put on the device. The PRS-700 and the Kindle use keyboard input of annotations (the PRS-700 via an on-screen keyboard). The iLiad uses its stylus to scribble, I'm not sure if on-screen keyboard input is also an option or not for annotations.

There is no "excellent" support for PDF on 6" screens (PRS-700 and Kindle), so (2) is marginal for these devices. Note that all "classics" (published before 1923) are in the public domain in the US, and are available as reflowable ebooks (either from Sony/Google as an ePub from an OCRed book scan, or proofread by, say, Project Gutenberg). So there may be less need than you think for PDFs.

PhishStyx · 04-03-2009, 01:12 PM

One of the reasons I bought the devices that I did, a Kindle 1 & a DR 1000S, was for the possibility that I might go back for my graduate degree (MFA in Writing). I'd much rather carry the Kindle and either the DR or an ultra-portable laptop (I'm not looking at netbooks) than several print books and paper notebooks. Since the DR is much cheaper than most of the laptops that I've been looking at, it's even lighter than the lightest laptop PC, and it gives me the opportunity to handwrite my work out for later conversion to typed text on my PC, I chose the DR.

04-02-2009, 05:43 PM	#1
b3radley Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: Irex iLiad?	Undergrad/grad student Hi everyone, this is my first post! Before I buy an e-reader I would really like to get some input. I am an undergraduate right now and plan on attending grad school and eventually going on to teach English. I would love to get an e-reader for the summer so I can whittle down the list of classics that I need to finish before the GRE, but I also need to be able to view journal articles (mostly JSTOR) and mark on them. I don't need anything terribly complex but I need to be able to underline and bookmark pages. (kind of like in a real book ) Wireless and whisper-whatever is not a must, as I carry my eee everywhere anyways. Hopefully some of you have some suggestions as to what would be the best option. Thanks!

04-02-2009, 05:47 PM	#2
sassanik Guru Posts: 774 Karma: 1211741 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Oregon Device: EB1150, iPhone, Cool-er Purple, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Fire	money If money is an issue I would go with the eb1150, they are cheap and easy to use. You can also get alot of classics through project gutenburg so you in theory won't have to spend much money on the books themselves. Amy

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04-02-2009, 07:09 PM	#3
b3radley Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: Irex iLiad?	Thanks for the suggestion! Sorry about the re-post but I realize now that I may have been a little bit hasty in defining requirements, so here they are in a slightly more concise list. 1. E-ink is a must, when I really get going I will read all night and my eyes usually feel like they will fall out in the morning. 2. Pdf support needs to be excellent, as this is what I read the most of. 3. Some ability to annotate, bookmark, highlight, etc. (even limited stylus support would be ideal) 4. Money is somewhat important, but if I have to pay through the nose to get a few unproblematic years of use I would be happy. I am considering the iLiad BE, but am not sure if the size would be good for reading A4 pdfs.

04-03-2009, 12:29 PM	#4
DaleDe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,470 Karma: 13095790 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Grass Valley, CA Device: EB 1150, EZ Reader, Literati, iPad 2 & Air 2, iPhone 7	The iLiad BE is a good choice but you may have to read PDF 1/2 page at a time in landscape mode. Dale

04-03-2009, 01:12 PM	#6
PhishStyx The me that I am Posts: 413 Karma: 1078 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: In my house! Duh! Device: Kindle 1 & DR 1000s	One of the reasons I bought the devices that I did, a Kindle 1 & a DR 1000S, was for the possibility that I might go back for my graduate degree (MFA in Writing). I'd much rather carry the Kindle and either the DR or an ultra-portable laptop (I'm not looking at netbooks) than several print books and paper notebooks. Since the DR is much cheaper than most of the laptops that I've been looking at, it's even lighter than the lightest laptop PC, and it gives me the opportunity to handwrite my work out for later conversion to typed text on my PC, I chose the DR.

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