Other ePub Readers?

[jtdolphins]

I realize there is no perfect ereader so....

I like the kindle. Its a good price, nice to read on, best battery life and comfortable to hold. The new case with the light is fantastic, especially for the middle of the night rocking my kids. Amazon is also the only store to carry a few books I want on an ereader. What I don't like is the mobi/awz files or the keypad or being tied to Amazon.

I have a lot of epubs for my ipod touch. Played around with calibre and converting/removing DRM doesn't appear to be a problem. That seems to work really well and didn't take to long to get working.

I think I might be interested in ebooks from the library. They are currently working on upgrading, so if it may become an issue. Then again maybe not.

I was wondering if there might be some other epub readers I haven't looked at. I want a basic ereader, but with a good battery life. I don't care about 3G or wi-fi or surfing the web on it. I have my touch or my computer with me usually. I don't travel and I am in the US. I need to get a case for any ereader, my budget is about 200$.

I have looked at and hands on with..

Kobo - Nice ereader, but not worth 140$. Its on sale at Best Buy for 99$ right now. That is a good price point for this machine. The only thing I wish it had was dictionary. I didn't care for that feature til I played with the kindle. I am tempted to buy it and try it out.

Sony 650 - Very pricey, would buy a Nook Color for this price. Still an excellent ereader. Its a little out of my price range when I include a cover, since its discontinued I can't save up for it.

Nook - Hate it. I just really really dislike like that color bar on the bottom for reading.

Nook Color - Really like it, but decided I would like a dedicated ereader with a good battery life. Tired of everything needing charged when I want to use it.

Thanks!

[polly]

Have you thought about the PRS 350? I picked up on recently for $129, lighted case included. The screen is a little smaller than the 650 and it lacks SD card slot or MP3 player. It makes up for that by having great resolution and is very portable. Otherwise it is identical to the 650.

[Dulin's Books]

PocketBook 602 or PocketBook 360

[faithbw]

There's also the Cybook Opus. You can find it for under $200 on eBay.

[Shack70]

Sounds to me like you enjoy reading on the Kindle. We have a Kindle and a Kobo, my son uses the Kobo. There is not much difference in the reading experience between the 2 units, but the Kindle does have more features. I would suggest you get the new $114 Kindle that is ad supported and the buy a case. Cases range from $5 to 100 depending on what you want. Etsy.com has some really nice hand made cases or you would have plenty left to get the official Kindle case with the light built in.

Amazon is working on something to make the Kindle work with the public library system so that may or may not be a problem down the road or as you have mentioned you already know how to convert books for the Kindle.

[jtdolphins]

Originally Posted by polly

Have you thought about the PRS 350? I picked up on recently for $129, lighted case included. The screen is a little smaller than the 650 and it lacks SD card slot or MP3 player. It makes up for that by having great resolution and is very portable. Otherwise it is identical to the 650.

I did look at the 350, but I wanted the larger ereaders. I have been reading on my ipod touch a lot lately and am ready to upgrade in size.

Originally Posted by Shack70

I would suggest you get the new $114 Kindle that is ad supported and the buy a case. Cases range from $5 to 100 depending on what you want. Etsy.com has some really nice hand made cases or you would have plenty left to get the official Kindle case with the light built in.

I don't want to pay for adds. If I get a Kindle it will be the 140 ad free version.

Thanks for the pocketbook and cybook suggestions. I will check them out. I am leaning towards the Kobo right now as a good introduction to ereading. I was reading on it for while at Best Buy and the page turn is slow but I do like reading on it. I really like the kindle and cover with a light. Maybe I will splurge, but then I won't have an excuse to upgrade later.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jtdolphins

Sony 650 - Very pricey, would buy a Nook Color for this price. Still an excellent ereader. Its a little out of my price range when I include a cover, since its discontinued I can't save up for it.

The 650 is NOT discontinued.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/...52921666257815

In fact, SonyStyle has the red and the black 650 in stock. So yes, you can save up for it. And besides, once you've saved up for it, if you change your mind, you'll have the money for a reader whichever you choose.

Even the covers are back in stock and that includes the light cover.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by faithbw

There's also the Cybook Opus. You can find it for under $200 on eBay.

Forget the Opus. The 350 is so much better. Pearl, IR touch, and a very nice interface.

[jtdolphins]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The 650 is NOT discontinued.
In fact, SonyStyle has the red and the black 650 in stock. So yes, you can save up for it. And besides, once you've saved up for it, if you change your mind, you'll have the money for a reader whichever you choose.

Even the covers are back in stock and that includes the light cover.

In a thread on the Sony board they mentioned it was discontinued and Best Buy told me that. The reader is also gone from Amazon and other webpages. I know not the most reliable methods. I haven't looked at the sony page in awhile.

Best Buy is actually moving the Sony tablets into the Sony ereader area. I think they may have assumed it to be discontinued as I did. That is good to hear though.

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Forget the Opus. The 350 is so much better. Pearl, IR touch, and a very nice interface.

I think the OP should decided for himself which e-reader is better for him. He asked for suggestions and the Cybook Opus was simply another suggestion for readers that read epub files that would be in his price range. I'm not ragging on Sony. I like the company and their readers but I do think the OP should be given as many suggestions as possible.

Of course, he may not want it since I see that he wants a screen that is larger than 5 inches.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jtdolphins

In a thread on the Sony board they mentioned it was discontinued and Best Buy told me that. The reader is also gone from Amazon and other webpages. I know not the most reliable methods. I haven't looked at the sony page in awhile.

Best Buy is actually moving the Sony tablets into the Sony ereader area. I think they may have assumed it to be discontinued as I did. That is good to hear though.

I think what's happened is these other stores got their misinformation from when Sony made a mistake on their website and had the 650 listed as discontinued the first time it sold out in stead of out of stock. From then on, we've heard other stores saying that the 650 is discontinued.

But, this should be sorted when Sony comes out with the new models in October.

[jtdolphins]

Thanks for the different suggestions. I ended up getting a Kobo this morning, since it was on sale. After looking at everything I thought it would be the kindle or the Kobo. I think they best meet my needs. Best Buy has a good return policy, so I decided to try out the Kobo.

I was able to get all my books from various sources onto the ereader. Calibre is really a great program!

One thing I find I like is the quilted backing. I didn't care either way in the store, but now that I am reading at home its nice.

A feature I wasn't interested in was searching, but now I am thinking that would be nice. I don't really plan on keeping a lot of books on the Kobo. Things change though. Still with just 125 (100 being the free books you get), navigation is slow.

Thanks again.

[hidari]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Forget the Opus. The 350 is so much better. Pearl, IR touch, and a very nice interface.

Funny. I have both the 350 and Opus and consider both to be very good readers. Why cut down a reader when you seem to not even like any reader with less than a 6 inch screen. Actually, The Opus is a good reader... and more ergonomic and intuitive in quite a few ways.

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by jtdolphins

Thanks for the different suggestions. I ended up getting a Kobo this morning, since it was on sale. After looking at everything I thought it would be the kindle or the Kobo. I think they best meet my needs. Best Buy has a good return policy, so I decided to try out the Kobo.

Congrats on getting a new e-reader!

[Pomtroll]

Let us know how you like your new reader & congratulations!