What for $120?

[babloyi]

Hey everyone! First post here, hope I made no mistakes.

I have about $120 to spend on an ebook reader.
I know that I'd want an epaper one, obviously.
I DON'T need (or in fact even want) wifi, 3G, internet, etc. I don't intend to make purchases through it, and I'd rather not have to go through some registration process or have to constantly have it online for some reason.
I'll mostly be using the reader by copying files from my PC (from royalty free stuff from archive.org or gutenberg or comics and books I got from humble bundle).
As far as my normal reading habits go, I usual read in sufficient light (in a well lit room, or outdoors, or with a lamp in bed), so I'm not sure if backlight stuff is really necessary for me.

Could someone suggest to me a reader from a reasonably well known company (but not so well known that I'd be mostly paying for the name), of a reasonably large size, where I won't be running into loads of unforseen issues (never used an ereader before).

Thanks!

[HarryT]

You can't really go wrong with any of the well-known readers. I'm sure that either a Kindle Paperwhite or a Kobo Aura, both of which are within your price range, would be absolutely fine.

Front-lighting on a reader (not backlighting - eInk screens are opaque and can't be backlit) really does tremendously improve their readability.

[meeera]

Comics will be your stumbling block. What sort of comics - black and white or colour, page size? And what country are you in?

[babloyi]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You can't really go wrong with any of the well-known readers. I'm sure that either a Kindle Paperwhite or a Kobo Aura, both of which are within your price range, would be absolutely fine.

Front-lighting on a reader (not backlighting - eInk screens are opaque and can't be backlit) really does tremendously improve their readability.

I'm checking up on prices and reviews of the Paperwhite and Kobo Aura, thanks.
And I meant front-lighting, of course. What I was asking was if the extra cost incurred by such a feature is worth it considering my reading habits (as far as books go, I don't read in the dark, it is usually in a well lit room, or in bed right next to a lamp).

Originally Posted by meeera

Comics will be your stumbling block. What sort of comics - black and white or colour, page size? And what country are you in?

They seem to be evenly split between b&w and colour, but between comixology and humble bundle, I have more than enough that it'll be a while before that becomes an issue (even though it'll restrict my choices on the order on which I want to read), but I'm not sure about the size- hard for me to tell just by looking- it seems to be smaller than an A4 sheet, but larger than the size of your average paperback novel (comic sized, then? ). Probably larger than what would comfortably fit at 100% on most of the 6" readers.
A pity there isn't commercially viable colour epaper tech yet...

I'm in Pakistan, which is why I mentioned about not wanting 3G or wi-fi shenanigans (either doesn't exist, or is really spotty in most places). I don't plan to use that functionality a lot, and payment options are problematic anyhow.
The reason I'm asking is that I'm having someone visiting from the US in a couple weeks who owes me $120, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to get an ebook reader instead of just the money.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by babloyi

And I meant front-lighting, of course. What I was asking was if the extra cost incurred by such a feature is worth it considering my reading habits (as far as books go, I don't read in the dark, it is usually in a well lit room, or in bed right next to a lamp).

Personally I think it's well worthwhile. The lighting tremendously improves the contrast of the screen in anything short of full sunlight.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by babloyi

They seem to be evenly split between b&w and colour, but between comixology and humble bundle, I have more than enough that it'll be a while before that becomes an issue (even though it'll restrict my choices on the order on which I want to read), but I'm not sure about the size- hard for me to tell just by looking- it seems to be smaller than an A4 sheet, but larger than the size of your average paperback novel (comic sized, then? ). Probably larger than what would comfortably fit at 100% on most of the 6" readers.

The best reader for normal size comics is a full-sized colour tablet, while the best reader (IMO) for novel type books is a medium sized e-ink reader. There is really no happy medium that will suit both of your reading types and your budget, I'm afraid. If the comics are an optional extra and your device is coming from the USA, the best fit is probably a low-end Kindle. Be sure to budget for a case. An alternative would be an colour backlit tablet, if the comics are your primary purpose - this can still read novels adequately, unless battery life/weight are big issues and your eyes don't like it.

[jbcohen]

At least in my mind your choice is between different ebook stores. Different ebook readers are tied to different book stores. My recommendation is to go to amazon.com and kobo.com and get a sense of the ebook prices of the sort of books that you would want to read cost. Enter the name of a few authors whose books you have read recently and note the prices, then go to another book store and do the same and see who has the lower cost on the sorts of books you read.

The only big difference, as far as I can see it, is amazon offers a program called Kindle Unlimited (KU) where for $10 per month you get unlimited reading of anu KU books. You most likely will not find a program like that elsewhere, however that is only valuable if you read two or more books per month. If you are like me who goes to the public library and reads their entire library in a month then goes off looking for more then KU is a cost effective way to keep a lid on the cost of the books and the restriction to the KU inventory is not a real big thing.

Amazon tends to compete based on price in other words by selling books at a lower price then their competition.

I have not personally evaluated a Kobo, however people that have Kindles and Kobos have told me that the quality is about the same and the quality is comperable so the best method of selection may be to wait for when either Kobo or Amazon puts their readers on sale.

[booklover6]

You have to register a Kobo to use it (unless you look up a trick to get around it), whereas you do not have to register a Kindle to use it.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by babloyi

The reason I'm asking is that I'm having someone visiting from the US in a couple weeks who owes me $120, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to get an ebook reader instead of just the money.

Get the Kindle Paperwhite. Not so much for the frontlight, but for the higher resolution (212ppi vs 166ppi) over the basic Kindle, and the wifi-only/special offers (i.e. cheapest) model is $119.

For your comics, look into Kindle Comic Converter (find it in a forum here on MobileRead).

[babloyi]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

At least in my mind your choice is between different ebook stores. Different ebook readers are tied to different book stores.

Actually, I don't plan to use any ebook store at all. Payment options from here are a real hassle, and internet is sketchy enough here as it is, which is why I'm looking for the least internet/online-purchase dependent device.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by babloyi

Actually, I don't plan to use any ebook store at all. Payment options from here are a real hassle, and internet is sketchy enough here as it is, which is why I'm looking for the least internet/online-purchase dependent device.

It's actually harder to find devices that _can't_ go online, and you save no money doing so. IMO it's better to buy the device that suits your needs, register it once (or use the hack) if that's necessary, then switch the wifi off and never use it again.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by meeera

It's actually harder to find devices that _can't_ go online, and you save no money doing so. IMO it's better to buy the device that suits your needs, register it once (or use the hack) if that's necessary, then switch the wifi off and never use it again.

Yep, that's exactly what I do. I switched WiFi on to register my Kindle, and it's never been on since. Not because I have any objection to it, but simply because keeping WiFi off doubles the battery life.

[jbcohen]

Originally Posted by babloyi

Actually, I don't plan to use any ebook store at all. Payment options from here are a real hassle, and internet is sketchy enough here as it is, which is why I'm looking for the least internet/online-purchase dependent device.

I don't know about Kobos or other ebook readers but I have downloaded my ebooks in the past to my PC then uploaded to the kindle in the past. However that sort of defeets the purpose of having wifi in your reader.

[babloyi]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I don't know about Kobos or other ebook readers but I have downloaded my ebooks in the past to my PC then uploaded to the kindle in the past. However that sort of defeets the purpose of having wifi in your reader.

But that's the point . I don't want or need wi-fi either. If the device comes with it anyhow, I guess I can't help it, I'd just never use it.

[eschwartz]

Either the Kindle or Kobo will suit your needs as described above, so I'd like to raise a different point -- the reading software.

Kobos have a lot more customization options, including fonts, margins, etc., whereas Kindles have a cleaner and simpler UI. Also the Kindle has a reputation for solid firmware, and Kobo for slightly buggy fimware (mostly centered around the aforementioned options I believe).