Newbie with questions

1Bookworm · 06-26-2010, 05:55 AM

Hi Everyone,

I love reading (approx 3 to 4 books on the weekends) and was fascinated to find this forum - I just spent 4 hrs reading everyone's comments!

I haven't brought a device yet but am debating between Astak EZ Pocket Pro (Hanlin5) or Kindle 2 (now that its on sale).

I have a lot of documents (pdf, doc) and ebooks (html, rtf, lit) on my laptop and am wondering which one to get. Any suggestions?

Do I have to convert these documents before transferring them? If yes, how difficult is that to do? Do I have to have special software?

Also with either one of them, do I need to buy a special cable to transfer files between the device and my laptop or is it provided with the device?

Can I just put my ebooks / documents on a USB key and take that with me when travelling and plug it into device or do I have to buy something else?

Sorry for all these questions but any help you can give me would be appreciated.

Thank you

Berny

Javed · 06-26-2010, 06:57 AM

Hello Berny and welcome to MobileRead.

The Pocket Pro will handle a lot more different formats than the Kindle 2, and should be able to read all the file types you mentioned. Have a look at these links below and you will see more about each reader, including the different formats they will work with.

Pocket Pro

Kindle 2

I have a Pocket Pro myself and have not used the Kindle 2 before. So realize I do not know everything about the Kindle 2.

You shouldn't usually need to do conversions. Quite often some formats are more personally preferable than others to the person reading and will display in a more suitable way. In this case the program called Calibre (which is free) is an excellent way to do this. Calibre is quite easy to use after doing a couple of books. Calibre also has a forum here at MobileRead, which is also helpful if need be.

The Pocket Pro comes with a cord for charging and can take up to a 64Gb SD card to expand the memory. The Kindle 2 has no expansion memory but an internal 2Gb memory (1.4Gb available for user).

Astak

Kindle 2

There are forums for both the Pocket Pro and Kindle 2 here at MobileRead. It is probably best to ask more specific questions about each reader in each of the respective forums (as you will get more members that have the readers you are particularly interested in).

Of course there are other readers besides the two you have mentioned. There is also a Which One Should I Buy forum. Take your time and investigate which one is right for you. Best wishes finding your new reader.

MickeyC · 06-26-2010, 07:02 AM

Hi Berny and welcome to MobileRead. Good advice from Javed.

happy_terd · 06-26-2010, 05:44 PM

Hello and welcome to MR!!!

neilmarr · 06-27-2010, 02:13 AM

Good to have your company, Berny. Best wishes and good luck with your choice of reader. Neil

1Bookworm · 06-27-2010, 06:18 AM

Thank you Javed for your advice and the links (I'm not tech savvy so I really appreciate the links).

Everyone thank you for your warm welcome. This is a great forum where everyone is so helpful, warm and friendly.

Javed · 06-27-2010, 07:00 AM

Your welcome, Berny. Hope they are of help for you.

WT Sharpe · 06-27-2010, 07:56 AM

Hello, 1Bookworm, and welcome to MR!

I've never used an Astak product, so I'm not qualified to comment on it, but before you buy any reader, you may want to consider other questions as well, particularly as to how you intend to use the device. If all you want is a reader for reading practically all of them will do the job and the only concerns will be screen size and perhaps glare. As Javed mentioned, calibre is free and works well to convert practically all non-DRMed files out there, and has the additional benefit of having been authored by one of our own MobileRead members who is all too happy to answer any questions you may have concerning his creation in the calibre forums. If you are looking to do more with your reader than just read, the options begin to narrow down. I'm an annotation and underlining fanatic, so a reader with the ability to copy passages and upload them for insertion into a word processor is very important to me. Of the three readers I own, I've found the Kindle does that job the best, with the PRS-600 being a not-too-distant second. Taking notes on the Nook is a pain, and to date there's no still way to transfer those notes to a PC or Mac. On the other hand, the Sony's touch screen is sweet, and makes page-turning a breeze. In addition, although is is the smallest of my readers, it has the largest actual screen size because Sony obviously doesn't believe in wasting real estate. Take your time deciding, and may you be happy with whichever one you choose.

And, oh yes, the Kindle and Nook both come with their own USB cords and adapters so you can charge them from either your computer or wall outlet. The Sony comes with a USB cord, but I had to purchase a wall charger separately.

Javed · 06-27-2010, 08:13 AM

Excellent advice by Tom for you Berny! He mentions annotation, if you were after this feature then the Pocket Pro can't do this like those he mentions. Thanks for your help here, Tom!

ImogenRose · 06-27-2010, 11:33 PM

Hi and welcome to MR!

Imogen

Lady Blue · 06-28-2010, 07:46 AM

Hello Berny, and

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to the forum.

1Bookworm · 06-28-2010, 05:54 PM

Thank you everybody and I like Tom's advice to take my time before I buy - although its tempting to just buy anything because i really want an ereader!
I only need it for reading as I travel a lot. I have a blackberry from work and I think I read somewhere that I can use it as an e-reader too so I might just use it for the time being - hopefully that will curb my impulse to just buy one!

I can't get the bb to work so I'm hoping one of my friends in our IT dept can figure it out.

I'll let you know

Thanks again for warm welcome.

take care & stay safe

GeoffC · 06-29-2010, 11:54 AM

Hello and welcome to mobileread

06-26-2010, 05:55 AM	#1
1Bookworm Enthusiast Posts: 35 Karma: 100 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: blackberry, laptop, Kindle3	Newbie with questions Hi Everyone, I love reading (approx 3 to 4 books on the weekends) and was fascinated to find this forum - I just spent 4 hrs reading everyone's comments! I haven't brought a device yet but am debating between Astak EZ Pocket Pro (Hanlin5) or Kindle 2 (now that its on sale). I have a lot of documents (pdf, doc) and ebooks (html, rtf, lit) on my laptop and am wondering which one to get. Any suggestions? Do I have to convert these documents before transferring them? If yes, how difficult is that to do? Do I have to have special software? Also with either one of them, do I need to buy a special cable to transfer files between the device and my laptop or is it provided with the device? Can I just put my ebooks / documents on a USB key and take that with me when travelling and plug it into device or do I have to buy something else? Sorry for all these questions but any help you can give me would be appreciated. Thank you Berny

06-27-2010, 07:56 AM	#8
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,073 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	Hello, 1Bookworm, and welcome to MR! I've never used an Astak product, so I'm not qualified to comment on it, but before you buy any reader, you may want to consider other questions as well, particularly as to how you intend to use the device. If all you want is a reader for reading practically all of them will do the job and the only concerns will be screen size and perhaps glare. As Javed mentioned, calibre is free and works well to convert practically all non-DRMed files out there, and has the additional benefit of having been authored by one of our own MobileRead members who is all too happy to answer any questions you may have concerning his creation in the calibre forums. If you are looking to do more with your reader than just read, the options begin to narrow down. I'm an annotation and underlining fanatic, so a reader with the ability to copy passages and upload them for insertion into a word processor is very important to me. Of the three readers I own, I've found the Kindle does that job the best, with the PRS-600 being a not-too-distant second. Taking notes on the Nook is a pain, and to date there's no still way to transfer those notes to a PC or Mac. On the other hand, the Sony's touch screen is sweet, and makes page-turning a breeze. In addition, although is is the smallest of my readers, it has the largest actual screen size because Sony obviously doesn't believe in wasting real estate. Take your time deciding, and may you be happy with whichever one you choose. And, oh yes, the Kindle and Nook both come with their own USB cords and adapters so you can charge them from either your computer or wall outlet. The Sony comes with a USB cord, but I had to purchase a wall charger separately. Last edited by WT Sharpe; 06-27-2010 at 08:32 AM.

06-28-2010, 07:46 AM	#11
Lady Blue the snarky blue one Posts: 6,001 Karma: 3877825 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: deep in the heart Device: PRS500, 505 & 600, PRST1 & T2, Kindle PW, Moto Razr, Galaxy Tab 2-10"	Hello Berny, and to the forum.

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06-26-2010, 06:57 AM	#2
Javed Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,270 Karma: 1126878541 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Astak Pocket PRO, iPod Touch, PRS-650	Hello Berny and welcome to MobileRead. The Pocket Pro will handle a lot more different formats than the Kindle 2, and should be able to read all the file types you mentioned. Have a look at these links below and you will see more about each reader, including the different formats they will work with. Pocket Pro Kindle 2 I have a Pocket Pro myself and have not used the Kindle 2 before. So realize I do not know everything about the Kindle 2. You shouldn't usually need to do conversions. Quite often some formats are more personally preferable than others to the person reading and will display in a more suitable way. In this case the program called Calibre (which is free) is an excellent way to do this. Calibre is quite easy to use after doing a couple of books. Calibre also has a forum here at MobileRead, which is also helpful if need be. The Pocket Pro comes with a cord for charging and can take up to a 64Gb SD card to expand the memory. The Kindle 2 has no expansion memory but an internal 2Gb memory (1.4Gb available for user). Astak Kindle 2 There are forums for both the Pocket Pro and Kindle 2 here at MobileRead. It is probably best to ask more specific questions about each reader in each of the respective forums (as you will get more members that have the readers you are particularly interested in). Of course there are other readers besides the two you have mentioned. There is also a Which One Should I Buy forum. Take your time and investigate which one is right for you. Best wishes finding your new reader.

06-26-2010, 07:02 AM	#3
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,732 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi Berny and welcome to MobileRead. Good advice from Javed.

06-26-2010, 05:44 PM	#4
happy_terd Banned Posts: 13,045 Karma: 10105011 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Finally made it to Walmart. Device: PRS 420	Hello and welcome to MR!!!

06-27-2010, 02:13 AM	#5
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	Good to have your company, Berny. Best wishes and good luck with your choice of reader. Neil

06-27-2010, 06:18 AM	#6
1Bookworm Enthusiast Posts: 35 Karma: 100 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: blackberry, laptop, Kindle3	Thank you Javed for your advice and the links (I'm not tech savvy so I really appreciate the links). Everyone thank you for your warm welcome. This is a great forum where everyone is so helpful, warm and friendly.

06-27-2010, 07:00 AM	#7
Javed Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,270 Karma: 1126878541 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Astak Pocket PRO, iPod Touch, PRS-650	Your welcome, Berny. Hope they are of help for you.

06-27-2010, 08:13 AM	#9
Javed Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,270 Karma: 1126878541 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Astak Pocket PRO, iPod Touch, PRS-650	Excellent advice by Tom for you Berny! He mentions annotation, if you were after this feature then the Pocket Pro can't do this like those he mentions. Thanks for your help here, Tom!

06-27-2010, 11:33 PM	#10
ImogenRose PORTAL Posts: 7,204 Karma: 2884640 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle 1, Kindle 3 (3G), iPhone	Hi and welcome to MR! Imogen

06-28-2010, 05:54 PM	#12
1Bookworm Enthusiast Posts: 35 Karma: 100 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: blackberry, laptop, Kindle3	Thank you everybody and I like Tom's advice to take my time before I buy - although its tempting to just buy anything because i really want an ereader! I only need it for reading as I travel a lot. I have a blackberry from work and I think I read somewhere that I can use it as an e-reader too so I might just use it for the time being - hopefully that will curb my impulse to just buy one! I can't get the bb to work so I'm hoping one of my friends in our IT dept can figure it out. I'll let you know Thanks again for warm welcome. take care & stay safe

06-29-2010, 11:54 AM	#13
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Hello and welcome to mobileread

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