Help needed....ebook reader decision

tana · 08-26-2008, 10:23 PM

Okay...here is my deal:

I read a lot...I love books (paper back, hard back - trade)...i can say i may be a little addicted to the smell and i will admit i have pet my pretties from time to time.

BUT i have run out of room for all books except those that belong in part of a collection on my shelves. So I have to break down and get a reader for those that i can not buy and put on a shelf. Its too hard to read on a pc...glare hurts my eyes.

I have started looking into ebooks (will admit i have only ever read a few - and only because a writer i liked had pub'd some electronically prior to paper). I had no idea that by buying the hardware to read "on the go" i would have to tie myself to a type or even lose out to certain authors.

SO....i want a reader - that i can use with any epud book and that will not prevent me from also reading it on my mac. If i could ask for anything else i would also ask for a color screen cause i am gonna miss my pretty covers but that doesnt seem to be an option now.

Question: if i get a 505 does that mean i cant buy any any books from amazon? or vice versa?

Which reader do you guys suggest? Are any of the rumors floating around true about apple creating one...cause that would be great and i know it would work with my macbook? Is the Iliad heavy?

Any help would be appreciated.

jerryleejr · 08-26-2008, 10:30 PM

First Welcome to the Board, You have come to the right place if you are interested in ebooks. I think for now the 505 is the most versatile for DRM purchases. Most everything is available from either Sony or in Secure PDF and Epub which can be read on the 505. The Kindle can only purchase books from amazon but there are numerous non-DRM books available. Stanza is a good program for Mac that will let you convert to the Kindle format. I personally run windows on a small partition just in case I want to buy from the Sony store and use Adobe Digital editions. Good luck with your decision

JJ

tana · 08-26-2008, 10:39 PM

Clarification - basically with amazon - if you dont have a kindle, you will not be able to say get Goodkin's book? Or can the sony convert it after i have bought it?

pilotbob · 08-26-2008, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tana

SO....i want a reader - that i can use with any epud book and that will not prevent me from also reading it on my mac.

As far as I know, the only reader that supports ePub is the Sony 505. As a Mac user you wouldn't be able to buy eBooks from the Sony store unless you run Parallels or VM Ware since the Sony software is Windows only.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tana

Question: if i get a 505 does that mean i cant buy any any books from amazon? or vice versa?

You can't buy Amazon Kindle books for your 505... that's correct. However, with a Kindle you can buy eBooks from other stores... those that have non-DRM Mobipocket books. Or you can buy protected eBooks and break the DRM and convert them to the Kindle format. There is a huge library of these on this web site.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tana

Which reader do you guys suggest? Are any of the rumors floating around true about apple creating one...cause that would be great and i know it would work with my macbook? Is the Iliad heavy?

In the US I would suggest the Kindle or the Sony. My preference would be the Kindle.

Outside the US, I would suggest the Sony or the CyBook... my preference would be the Sony.

The iLiad seems to only be worth the money if you need it's specific featurs such as size or annotation. It gives up portabliity and battery life in exchange though.

Only you can decide which is the best device for you.

BOb

AlfonsVH · 08-27-2008, 04:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

As far as I know, the only reader that supports ePub is the Sony 505.

The BeBook / Hanlin v3 / lBook also has ePub-support.

pilotbob · 08-27-2008, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlfonsVH

The BeBook / Hanlin v3 / lBook also has ePub-support.

The mybebook web page lists the following:

Supported file formats: pdf, doc, txt, rtf, MS lit, html, djvu, chm, fb2, wolf, mp3, png, tiff, gif, jpg, bmp

BOb

BTW: Are the above the same device and all run the same firmware?

AlfonsVH · 08-27-2008, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

The mybebook web page lists the following:

Supported file formats: pdf, doc, txt, rtf, MS lit, html, djvu, chm, fb2, wolf, mp3, png, tiff, gif, jpg, bmp

BOb

BTW: Are the above the same device and all run the same firmware?

Well, I have a BeBook, and it certainly does support ePub in the last firmware version, so probably the site isn't up-to-date on that one

(the MobileRead-wiki also lists ePub as supported for the Hanlin v3)

The BeBook and lBook are rebrands of the Hanlin v3 which are supposed to have the same (or very, very similar) hardware. BeBook and lBook each make their own modifications to the firmware, but at the moment you wouldn't notice much differences between the firmware versions (except for the boot- and shutdown-logo's

)

pilotbob · 08-27-2008, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlfonsVH

so probably the site isn't up-to-date on that one

(the MobileRead-wiki also lists ePub as supported for the Hanlin v3)

Yea, whats up with that. The other day I went to a new Dr and followed the directions on their web site. Well, the office was not where they said it was in the building. Luckily it was in the same building, they just moved to another suite.

Companies should keep their website's updated.

Also, the BeBook site says nothing about folder support. But, if they do have that and add Mobisupport... I might just get one or two.... don't know.

BOb

Gudy · 08-29-2008, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Also, the BeBook site says nothing about folder support. But, if they do have that and add Mobisupport... I might just get one or two.... don't know.

The Hanlin V3 and clones have full folder support. I still haven't quite shelved my idea of writing a small app that takes a bunch of files and organizes them into a minimum-depth, alphabetically ordered directory tree for the V3, which you can then copy over to the SD card. If only I had the time...

Last I heard, Mobipocket support for the V3 was promised by October this year. There was, for a short time, a firmware with Mobipocket support available on the lBook site, but that one got yanked quickly. From what I heard, the technical side of the Mobipocket support was fine, but the performance was abysmal (multiple second page turns).

AlfonsVH · 08-29-2008, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gudy

From what I heard, the technical side of the Mobipocket support was fine, but the performance was abysmal (multiple second page turns).

I can confirm that. Page turns took around 4 seconds, but the rendering was quite o.k.

Last I heard, MobiPocket-support will be added in the near future.

08-26-2008, 10:23 PM	#1
tana Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: unknown	Help needed....ebook reader decision Okay...here is my deal: I read a lot...I love books (paper back, hard back - trade)...i can say i may be a little addicted to the smell and i will admit i have pet my pretties from time to time. BUT i have run out of room for all books except those that belong in part of a collection on my shelves. So I have to break down and get a reader for those that i can not buy and put on a shelf. Its too hard to read on a pc...glare hurts my eyes. I have started looking into ebooks (will admit i have only ever read a few - and only because a writer i liked had pub'd some electronically prior to paper). I had no idea that by buying the hardware to read "on the go" i would have to tie myself to a type or even lose out to certain authors. SO....i want a reader - that i can use with any epud book and that will not prevent me from also reading it on my mac. If i could ask for anything else i would also ask for a color screen cause i am gonna miss my pretty covers but that doesnt seem to be an option now. Question: if i get a 505 does that mean i cant buy any any books from amazon? or vice versa? Which reader do you guys suggest? Are any of the rumors floating around true about apple creating one...cause that would be great and i know it would work with my macbook? Is the Iliad heavy? Any help would be appreciated.

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08-26-2008, 10:30 PM	#2
jerryleejr Koby-rific! Posts: 944 Karma: 191112 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: 2' From My MacBook Pro Device: Kobo Sage,Kobo Aura One, Glo HD,PRS-T1,PRS-950, PRS 300, PRS 350	First Welcome to the Board, You have come to the right place if you are interested in ebooks. I think for now the 505 is the most versatile for DRM purchases. Most everything is available from either Sony or in Secure PDF and Epub which can be read on the 505. The Kindle can only purchase books from amazon but there are numerous non-DRM books available. Stanza is a good program for Mac that will let you convert to the Kindle format. I personally run windows on a small partition just in case I want to buy from the Sony store and use Adobe Digital editions. Good luck with your decision JJ

08-26-2008, 10:39 PM	#3
tana Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: unknown	Clarification - basically with amazon - if you dont have a kindle, you will not be able to say get Goodkin's book? Or can the sony convert it after i have bought it?

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