Is there an interesting ebookreader for me?

[Adriaan12452]

I'm new on this forum. Don't mind my nickname, after 5 attempts to enter a nonused name and retyping the password I put enough numbers behind it to be sure that the name doesn't exist yet. ;-)

I'm interested in buying a ebookreader but I haven't found an adequate reader yet.
Hopefully you guys can give me good advise.

What am I looking for?
- relatively cheap: 150-200 Euro's including all costs
- relatively great screensize: at least 8 inches and preferebaly 10 inches
- decent resolution (greyscale is less important)
- I must be able to upload any PDF's from any storage medium (PC, flash-memory) to the reader

What is not nessecary?
- WiFi
- possibility to buy content
- ability to play music
- dictionary
- text-to-speech software


I'm a bit worried if 6 inches is gonna be large enough to print a standard educational book which has a length of a bit over 20 cm.
What's your experience? Can those readers print typical universitybooks (math, physics) on the screen? Of course you can zoom in but don't you then get the problem that the width doesn't fit anymore on the screen?

[Anke Wehner]

Originally Posted by Adriaan12452

- relatively cheap: 150-200 Euro's including all costs
- relatively great screansize: at least 8 inches and preferebaly 10 inches

I don't think those two criteria go together at the moment.

Kindle DX is 9.7'' and $379.00 (comes to about the same in euros, afaik)
Pocket Book Pro 902 is the same size and €349

I'm not up to date about tablet prices, though.

There's another thread that might be interesting for you: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=120939

[Adriaan12452]

I accidentally made a typingmistake in the quoted text (screan).
I was afraid that the larger screensize would be a problem. Is it possible to read larger format books on a 6 inch screen for hours a day?
I'll check that thread out, apparently the TS of that thread wants exactly the same as me.

I'm less interested in tablets, mainly because they don't produce a stable image.

[ProfCrash]

The 6 inch screens all have the ability to increase font size. I know that the K3 can be read in landscape mode which increases the number of words on the screen when using a larger font.

[Adriaan12452]

First of all, I sincerely appreciate all the information I get here. Thanks a lot.

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

The 6 inch screens all have the ability to increase font size. I know that the K3 can be read in landscape mode which increases the number of words on the screen when using a larger font.

The problem is that I do not just want to read letters, I must constantly look at graphs en drawings (elektrotechnical engineering at a university of technology (not to be confused with a technical university which is more vocational). So I should at the very least see the entire widht of the page, not just the left or right side of the page what happens when you zoom in with a PDF-reader on your PC/laptop.
Furthermore it would be preferable to comfortably read an entire page which fits on the screen when you have to read a complicated explanation about a figure.

I have never held an ebookreader so I realy have no clue what an ordinary scientific (exact) book looks like on such a screen. Pictures on the internet don't help because I have no clue if the size is correct.
I should try to find a shop in my city where they sell ebookreaders.
Odds are small but if any of the Dutch guys (or girls) here would know a shop in Eindhoven which sells ebookreaders I would appreciate it.

I like that big size of Kindle but it's still quite expensive, another brand which seems interesting to me is IRex but unfortunately this company went bankrupt. Do you guys have any thoughts about the evolution with regard to prices and screensizes in about half a year based upon an extrapolation on the evolution over the last years.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by Adriaan12452

First of all, I sincerely appreciate all the information I get here. Thanks a lot.


The problem is that I do not just want to read letters, I must constantly look at graphs en drawings (elektrotechnical engineering at a university of technology (not to be confused with a technical university which is more vocational). So I should at the very least see the entire widht of the page, not just the left or right side of the page what happens when you zoom in with a PDF-reader on your PC/laptop.
Furthermore it would be preferable to comfortably read an entire page which fits on the screen when you have to read a complicated explanation about a figure.

I have never held an ebookreader so I realy have no clue what an ordinary scientific (exact) book looks like on such a screen. Pictures on the internet don't help because I have no clue if the size is correct.
I should try to find a shop in my city where they sell ebookreaders.
Odds are small but if any of the Dutch guys (or girls) here would know a shop in Eindhoven which sells ebookreaders I would appreciate it.

I like that big size of Kindle but it's still quite expensive, another brand which seems interesting to me is IRex but unfortunately this company went bankrupt. Do you guys have any thoughts about the evolution with regard to prices and screensizes in about half a year based upon an extrapolation on the evolution over the last years.

If you want to read technical PDF's you really need to be looking at the Sony 950, 7 inch screen with great PDF support, or the DXG, 10 inch screen ok PDF support but with a hackable program that works really well according to folks who need it. There is a Pocketbook out there that is suppose to be good with PDFs and has a large screen.

The problem is that they are all out of your price range. The only Sony in your price range is the 350 and that is a 5 inch screen.

What I have seen in terms of ereader development is a lot of focus on the 6 inch readers and very limited focus on anything larger. The larger readers are no where near as popular because they are not as portable.

[Adriaan12452]

It's a pity that the prices are higher because of extra features of which the usefulness seems questionable: for example that keyboard, the speakers and the accellerometer (why not just with a button?).
But I guess that is to be expected with relatively new technology.
I just wish that there was a sober ebookreader with a large screen and a clear picture, also without WiFi.

[Zetmolm]

Your best bet would be a Pocketbook PRS 902, which sells for EUR 349 (or a bit less if you shop around). Problem is that there is no physical shop in The Netherlands where you can try it. However, the official distributor of PocketBook in NL is Ndigo Business B.V. in Venlo, which is not too far from where you live. You could contact them and ask if there is a possibillity to try the device.

There are not that many big size readers on the market, and prices are likely to remain high until there is more competition.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by Adriaan12452

It's a pity that the prices are higher because of extra features of which the usefulness seems questionable: for example that keyboard, the speakers and the accellerometer (why not just with a button?).
But I guess that is to be expected with relatively new technology.
I just wish that there was a sober ebookreader with a large screen and a clear picture, also without WiFi.

The best part is, you don't have to turn on the Wifi/3G. You do have the option of turning off the accellermeter and changing the orientation with a button. You never have to use the speakers.

The keyboard works nicely for taking notes and using the browser. It really is not a hinderance. I know some folks thinks that it takes up space and they don't like that. I don't like touchscreens so I prefer the keyboard. I would not want the hybrid LCD/touchscreen option on the Nook, many folks have said it is a pain in the butt to use and I think taking notes with it would suck. I don't want to pay the extra money for the type of touch screen that the Sonys have. It is not worth the price difference to me.

The accellermeter is great for moving from regular view to landscape or changing the buttons from right to left without using buttons. I do this all the time. I change the hand I use for holding tea and petting dogs regularly when reading. I don't want to have to change using a button, I like rotating it.

I love the 3G. It has come in handy on more then one occassion. I like downloading books without having to hook up to my computer. I really like being able to buy a book that I think looks interesting without having to use a computer. I have bought the next book in a series at the airport on more then one occassion.

The speakers are great for people with vision problems. Instead of being restricted to books that are available on CD or waiting for books to be read to tape for them, they can now buy many more books and have them read to them using TTS. This might not be something that you need but it is a great option for a reasonably decent size group of people. It probably saves them money, since audio books can be expensive. It also means that they can listen on a device where the battery lasts 2 weeks to a month (depending on DXG or K3) as opposed to a laptop computer, netbook, or tablet that lasts 8 hours. And the DXG or K3 is lighter then a laptop, netbook, or tablet.

Just because a feature is not something that you need does not mean it is not important for another person. For the most part, you can ignore the features you don't like (I have never used the speakers or the browser).

[Zetmolm]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Just because a feature is not something that you need does not mean it is not important for another person. For the most part, you can ignore the features you don't like (I have never used the speakers or the browser).

Adriaan's point is not about whether the extra features may be useful to someone else or whether they can be ignored, but that he does not want to pay for features he does not need. And I agree with him. But then, we're both Dutch, you know

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by Zetmolm

Adriaan's point is not about whether the extra features may be useful to someone else or whether they can be ignored, but that he does not want to pay for features he does not need. And I agree with him. But then, we're both Dutch, you know

Unless you can build a custom device you are going to pay for features that you do not use. I doubt that they add that much to the price given that some of those features were added as the price on the units was falling.

[Adriaan12452]

Originally Posted by Zetmolm

Adriaan's point is not about whether the extra features may be useful to someone else or whether they can be ignored, but that he does not want to pay for features he does not need. And I agree with him. But then, we're both Dutch, you know

Indeed. I don't think that that extra software (dictionary, text to speech) costs a significant amount of money, maybe a couple of Euro's extra per reader.
I'm whondering though how much extra you pay for these fancy technological feautures. Suppose I could buy exactly the same reader without a keyboard, accellerometer (but of course the same function with a button) and speakers than I wouldn't hesitate for a second which one to buy. With regard to that keyboard: I wouldn't mind to make notes on my PC/laptop and regularly upload a new copy to my reader.

I guess that there is a market for these kind of readers but that that market isn't large enough yet. Once the technology improves (color, maybe lighter weight and thinner) and the prices drop (because the investments have been earned back) you should get more competetion for the larger screens and only then it pays off for those companies to serve more kinds of customers. Now they can choose to sell one model with al those extra features, the people who like (gadget´freaks`) or need (poor vision) those extra features will also buy it, most customers who don't want and need those features will tolerate it since they have the choice between not buying any largescreen reader or one with these extra features.

I could spare quite some money by not having to buy certain books and just use a reader like that. I don't mind paying something like 40 Euro's for a good book but there are books (calculus for example) which cost close to €150 (7th edition also in this case with few changes), that gets ridiculous. I'd rather download some books and if I have some money to spare buy some other books which I officialy don't need for my study but which are very interesting.

[GeoffC]

Adriaan12452 Welcome to Mobileread - I hope you get what you're looking for ....

[Adriaan12452]

Thanks.