Weighing up the options

Functional · 10-04-2010, 10:45 PM

Hello, and first comment is thanks to all who participate in these forums for providing such a fabulous resource.

I've now worked out that I will get an Ereader and am trying to work out the best purchase option(s!). Any advice much appreciated.

So here are my thoughts / requirements:

Price:

Within reason, not really an issue. I'd like to get the best product for my needs.

My situation:

UK national living in mainland China. I travel regularly back to the UK and would probably buy the Ereader there. Chinese character support would be nice to have but is not essential.

My requirements:

My reading tends to mainly be for work - finance. Therefore, at the most basic level it has to display business books and their attendant charts in an attractive format. I definitely want the best display in terms of ease on the eye.

It would also be good to have things like the Economist / Financial Times available in an attractive and useable format. (I saw on the Amazon website that you can get these for the Kindle 3 but don't know how easy they would be to read in this format.).

I receive a lot of pdfs and it would be good to be able to view these effectively on the device. However, high-quality pdf support would be an advantage rather than an absolute requirement.

I travel a lot and am a little clumsy. How robust are these devices - I presume that a case would assist robustness?

I don't think that I'm too worried about 3G however would be open to arguments as to why this would be an advantage. If I did have 3G, would it work around the world?

I'm thinking that wireless would be nice to have. But again, I'd be open to counter arguments as to why this may not be required. I do have a laptop with me most of the time so can sync. on a regular basis.

I'm thinking that a 6-inch device would probably be about right in terms of portability / usability. However, I've had no real physical experience of different sized devices so it's difficult to say for sure.

I'm not a technophile but am not completely clueless so would probably be able to play around with DRM issues if required. I'd rather not have to bother if possible though!

The ability to easily make, store, retrieve and manipulate notes would be a significant advantage. It would also be good to be able to have a range of links that I can build up - e.g. to jump straight to particular charts / passages / articles.

A worry is the speed of transition when changing page. I've read that some of the machines are a little slow. I definitely wouldn't want to feel restrained by any lag.

I like the thought of tapping on a word to get dictionary support but I could live without it if required.

Elegance of design and interface would be reasonably important but the key is that the machine is functional and easy to operate.

My only physical interaction with an Ereader has been a quick look at 2 Sony devices (one may have been a 650 but not sure - around GBP 165-195 duty free) at the airport. The ergonomics didn't immediately appeal and it did seem to be a little slow to change page. However, I only had a minute or so to look at it and I've nothing else to compare it to.

Last thought is that I'd rather not encourage restrictive business practices and the Kindle seems to be the worst from what I've read. However, if it's the best machine for me then I'll quite happily put such concerns aside!

Thanks in advance for any advice!

desertgrandma · 10-04-2010, 10:48 PM

Welcome to MobileRead, Functional

Whichever device you wind up with, you'll find thousands of free public domain e-books available here for your reading pleasure, in our Patricia Clark MobileRead Library.

Nicely formatted, click on the links below for more info.

JeremyR · 10-05-2010, 05:58 AM

You want to read a novel? The Kindle 3 is a great choice.

PDFs? Business stuff? Charts? I honestly wouldn't even try. Beyond the screen size issues, it's not the easiest thing to move around in a document so if you want to say go back and look at a chart, well, it would be a lot of effort.

I would think you'd be better off with a tablet. If not an iPad, something like the iPad. While the KindleDX would be a lot better at showing PDFs because it's simply PDF sized, I can't imagine the navigation is any better.

fjtorres · 10-05-2010, 10:08 AM

When it comes to THE ECONOMIST and THE FINANCIAL TIMES, the free Calibre software package has "recipes" that will download the most recent issues of both (among many others) and convert them to ebooks readable on pretty much any ebook reader. As long as you're a subscriber, of course.

For the rest of your needs, it sounds like you probably will want something larger than the 6in readers that are the bulk of the ereader market today so you face a trade off of color and functionality versus battery life and bulk.

Hands down, you can do everything you want with a Tablet PC (running Win7) like a Viliv V7 or Blade but battery life if going to be measured in hours rather than weeks.

Conversely, A Kindle DXG or Pocketbook 903 will give you weeks of battery life, low weight, and a great screen but only in black and white with less that 100% support for business documents.

In the middle ground you'll find the iPad and the larger Android tablets like the Archos series which will get the weight down and give you full-day battery life but won't necessarily offer up full PC-level document functionality.

Try researching the Kindle DXG, the Pocketbook 903, and the Viliv to see if the hardware meets your needs and the iPad to see if the available apps can provide equivalents to a Windows Tablet. There really aren't many options once you move up from 6in...

Good luck!

10-04-2010, 10:45 PM	#1
Functional Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Sony PRS 350	Weighing up the options Hello, and first comment is thanks to all who participate in these forums for providing such a fabulous resource. I've now worked out that I will get an Ereader and am trying to work out the best purchase option(s!). Any advice much appreciated. So here are my thoughts / requirements: Price: Within reason, not really an issue. I'd like to get the best product for my needs. My situation: UK national living in mainland China. I travel regularly back to the UK and would probably buy the Ereader there. Chinese character support would be nice to have but is not essential. My requirements: My reading tends to mainly be for work - finance. Therefore, at the most basic level it has to display business books and their attendant charts in an attractive format. I definitely want the best display in terms of ease on the eye. It would also be good to have things like the Economist / Financial Times available in an attractive and useable format. (I saw on the Amazon website that you can get these for the Kindle 3 but don't know how easy they would be to read in this format.). I receive a lot of pdfs and it would be good to be able to view these effectively on the device. However, high-quality pdf support would be an advantage rather than an absolute requirement. I travel a lot and am a little clumsy. How robust are these devices - I presume that a case would assist robustness? I don't think that I'm too worried about 3G however would be open to arguments as to why this would be an advantage. If I did have 3G, would it work around the world? I'm thinking that wireless would be nice to have. But again, I'd be open to counter arguments as to why this may not be required. I do have a laptop with me most of the time so can sync. on a regular basis. I'm thinking that a 6-inch device would probably be about right in terms of portability / usability. However, I've had no real physical experience of different sized devices so it's difficult to say for sure. I'm not a technophile but am not completely clueless so would probably be able to play around with DRM issues if required. I'd rather not have to bother if possible though! The ability to easily make, store, retrieve and manipulate notes would be a significant advantage. It would also be good to be able to have a range of links that I can build up - e.g. to jump straight to particular charts / passages / articles. A worry is the speed of transition when changing page. I've read that some of the machines are a little slow. I definitely wouldn't want to feel restrained by any lag. I like the thought of tapping on a word to get dictionary support but I could live without it if required. Elegance of design and interface would be reasonably important but the key is that the machine is functional and easy to operate. My only physical interaction with an Ereader has been a quick look at 2 Sony devices (one may have been a 650 but not sure - around GBP 165-195 duty free) at the airport. The ergonomics didn't immediately appeal and it did seem to be a little slow to change page. However, I only had a minute or so to look at it and I've nothing else to compare it to. Last thought is that I'd rather not encourage restrictive business practices and the Kindle seems to be the worst from what I've read. However, if it's the best machine for me then I'll quite happily put such concerns aside! Thanks in advance for any advice!

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10-04-2010, 10:48 PM	#2
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Welcome to MobileRead, Functional Whichever device you wind up with, you'll find thousands of free public domain e-books available here for your reading pleasure, in our Patricia Clark MobileRead Library. Nicely formatted, click on the links below for more info.

10-05-2010, 05:58 AM	#3
JeremyR Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 2458402 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: St. Louis Device: Kindle Keyboard, Nook HD+	You want to read a novel? The Kindle 3 is a great choice. PDFs? Business stuff? Charts? I honestly wouldn't even try. Beyond the screen size issues, it's not the easiest thing to move around in a document so if you want to say go back and look at a chart, well, it would be a lot of effort. I would think you'd be better off with a tablet. If not an iPad, something like the iPad. While the KindleDX would be a lot better at showing PDFs because it's simply PDF sized, I can't imagine the navigation is any better.

10-05-2010, 10:08 AM	#4
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	When it comes to THE ECONOMIST and THE FINANCIAL TIMES, the free Calibre software package has "recipes" that will download the most recent issues of both (among many others) and convert them to ebooks readable on pretty much any ebook reader. As long as you're a subscriber, of course. For the rest of your needs, it sounds like you probably will want something larger than the 6in readers that are the bulk of the ereader market today so you face a trade off of color and functionality versus battery life and bulk. Hands down, you can do everything you want with a Tablet PC (running Win7) like a Viliv V7 or Blade but battery life if going to be measured in hours rather than weeks. Conversely, A Kindle DXG or Pocketbook 903 will give you weeks of battery life, low weight, and a great screen but only in black and white with less that 100% support for business documents. In the middle ground you'll find the iPad and the larger Android tablets like the Archos series which will get the weight down and give you full-day battery life but won't necessarily offer up full PC-level document functionality. Try researching the Kindle DXG, the Pocketbook 903, and the Viliv to see if the hardware meets your needs and the iPad to see if the available apps can provide equivalents to a Windows Tablet. There really aren't many options once you move up from 6in... Good luck!

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