Help deciding first reader, please :)

[larrz]

Hello all!

I read a lot of books and manga, and seeing how my house is being invaded by shelves and boxes, two months ago I decided to sell a lot of them and switch to digital format.
I've have been reading some books and manga on my laptop for the last 2 years (classics and others I find difficult to purchase living in Spain) and fanfiction. But as I also use my laptop for studies, I really notice the eye strain using it so many hours.
That's why this week I started looking for my first e-reader.
I read lots of posts here, consulted the wiki matrix and researched the availability and prizes of e-readers I could get living in Spain. I even downloaded Calibre to start playing around with different formats.

But I still don't know which to get. I hope you'll help me.

- I want a device to read only (fiction books). I don't care about wifi, touch screen, mp3 or other extras. I don't mind if the reader has them, but they aren't a necessity.
- I don't need a good PDF support as I hate PDFs. In my laptop I always convert them to other formats if I can.
- An English dictionary would be nice (English is my third language), but not essential.
- I read mostly at home, but also when I travel to other places on holidays.
- Folders in which organize the books are important.

Although I know in the distant future I'll buy an 8" or 9" reader for manga, for now a 5" or 6" reader is enough. I don't want to expend too much money, but neither buy the cheapest one if by paying a little more I have one with better software, better quality all around, or whatever.

Here are the readers I found, with their prices (shipping included):

5"
- Sony PSR-300 ---- 167 € at book depository UK. No extras (I think).
- Cybook Opus ---- 209 € at pixmania. With cover.
- Pocketbook 360 ---- 239 € at pocketgoods. With wall charger.
- Bebook mini ---- 166 € at book depository UK. No extras (I think) and now out of stock.

6"
- Onyx Boox 60 ---- Around 313 € at electronicreading. With cover.
- Wolder Boox-S ---- 299 € at physical store in my city. With wall charger, cover, SD 2 GB.
- Pocketbook 301+ ---- 265 € at pocketgoods. With wall charger, cover, headphones, SD 2 GB.
- Pocketbook 302 ---- 298 € at pocketgoods. With wall charger, cover, headphones, SD 4 GB, LED lamp.
- Hanlin V3+ (Papyre 6.1 v2) ---- 269 € at grammata. With wall charger, cover, headphones, SD 2 GB.

- Wait until more readers come out this summer/fall, not only for more models, but also if the readers listed above drop a little in prize.

I should point out I don't have any wall chargers, so I'll need to buy one if it's not included.

I know there are a lot of readers, but I didn't want to limit myself hugely, because maybe it's better to spend a little more money and get a better device -even if it's just only for reading- or maybe the "basic" ones at 167 € are enough.

I'll appreciate your opinions about it And sorry for writing so much

[GA Russell]

Welcome larzz!

From the many comments I have read here, I don't think that you can go wrong with a PocketBook 360.

However, I note that you have not listed the jetBook Lite, which I believe meets all of your requirements. Take a look into that one as well.

[Logseman]

Larzz, I'm in the same position as you, as I am, too, a Spanish otaku though I live in Berlin now.

It's wise of you to wait for more affordable manga-reading 9 inchers: it's possible, but very hard to read manga comfortably in a 6 inch display. Manga books in Spain (the normal sort) tend to be around 8 inches in size.

That said, I admit I'm very, very fond of my Pocketbook 360. It works very fast, it swallows whatever file you put into it (even PDF's are decently read) and I love the design as I can operate it with both hands perfectly (while eating, for example :P). Plus, it supports as many folders as you wish to put in it, and you can put dictionaries on it, even make them yourself if you're familiar with the format in which they're made.

It is more expensive, too, but you must count that you actually do have a cover included in the price (the snap-on cover) which works very well, saving my PB more than once from my mistreating :P
There is an additional leather cover at your disposal as well in Pocketgoods, 29 euro (I bought it, but it was just my otaku-collector nature :P).

By the way, if you only want to read text, you can spare yourself the 6 inch displays if you want. 5 inch readers can display text in enough text sizes for you to find the proper one, and they're more portable.

As you may know, the Sony readers can be perfectly charged with Sony PSP chargers, which are on sale in Spain, so you shouldn't be worried about charging it.

Concerning the Opus, its owners are usually very happy with it and the design is nice too, but it seems that Bookeen is not very consumer-friendly, as it has taken a very long time for them to release sorely needed firmware updates.

[angelad]

Guys, watch some videos posted above.

[larrz]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Welcome larzz!

From the many comments I have read here, I don't think that you can go wrong with a PocketBook 360.

However, I note that you have not listed the jetBook Lite, which I believe meets all of your requirements. Take a look into that one as well.

I didn't consider it because of the low battery life and LCD screen, but after reading some posts and reviews (and it's really cheap, 130 € in Spain), I'm starting to include it, so... more choices
I hate being so indecisive

Logseman, thank you for your comment. The Pocketbook 360 was one of my first choices (it seems to work well, has many formats and it's very cute), but then I read about other readers and my indecisive side made an appearance.

I think I can forget about 6" readers, and maybe decide between the Pocketbook and the jetBook (if some other doesn't catch my fancy ). The difference in prize is certainly something to consider.

And angelad, what videos??