What is the advantage of having more than one ereader?

chilady1 · 09-23-2009, 02:19 PM

I hope this forum doesn't take this as a stupid question but I noticed that many of you have more than one ereader. Why is that the case? I can imagine that one ereader has functionality that perhaps another one does not. But how do you keep your collection of books in order between one, two or even more devices? Just wanted to collect some feedback and see if there is a reason for me to purchase something above and beyond the Kindle I already have. Thanks for your consideration on this topic.

bbusybookworm · 09-23-2009, 02:50 PM

Well, in my case and in probably in many others the multiple readers are often a case of us upgrading readers as anew generation comes along.

While I have three dedicated readers listed, not counting the iPhone or the N800 I'm currently only using the Pocket Pro.

I've passed on the PR-500 to my sister, but still help her manage it at times and the same with the Gen 3's where One is my Mum's but I'm the one who has to load new books on it for her and the other I just gave to my uncle.

I still keep them in my profile, as I still keep up to date on whats happening with them, and so when I'm commenting on a post or giving a reply the reader knows that I'm familiar with those devices.

Of the devices I am currently do use, I primary use my Pocket pro for long form reading, when I have some time, i.e. more than 20 minutes to read. I use the iPhone mainly to grab a few minutes of quick reading when I'm out and about. The N800 I manly use for Comic reading nowadays when I'm traveling, so is being a little neglected lately.

As for keeping books in sync across readers, one of the first things I do on getting a book, is DeDRM it and convert it to variety of Formats (Mobi, HTML,EPUB) and back it up on an external drive. Now as the books are available in a variety of formats, I can easily load them into all my readers, so that they are available on all.

While Reading, I usually have different books ongoing on each device to avoid wasting time finding the last read point, though in some books I'll deliberately stop at cheaper ends so that I can pick it up on another device.

In the end it works out to be matter of convenience and poor self control

when it comes to gadgets.

bill_mchale · 09-23-2009, 02:58 PM

In general, there are various reasons why we might have e-book readers. Naturally, one reason is that some of us are gadget fiends... always looking for the next cool toy or wanting to compare different products for ourselves. There might be different reasons however. Many, at least many men, find readers with 6" and larger screens to be too large to be easily portable in their pockets. Therefore, a reader with a 5" screen or even an iPod Touch are good to have for reading on the go. The larger reader might be found nicer for extended reading stints at home.

As to how one manages your collection? There are probably as many possible solutions as their are book owners. I am sure some of us tend to keep our entire collections on each device. As a Kindle Owner, if you got an iPod Touch, you can get the Kindle App which will sync with your Kindle so that not only your books, but also you place in those books will be maintained across devices.

--
Bill

Crowl · 09-23-2009, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

In general, there are various reasons why we might have e-book readers. Naturally, one reason is that some of us are gadget fiends... always looking for the next cool toy or wanting to compare different products for ourselves.

I think for most people the above reason in combination with also wanting alternate form factors should cover most people, the fact that people have bought even one ebook reader should be proof enough of a like of gadgets after all.

K-Thom · 09-23-2009, 03:24 PM

Yep, it's the collector's drive as well. You can't really collect eBooks, but you can collect reading devices. So there are two or three devices which I rather should/would throw out, but they are building up a nice collection.

macminer · 09-23-2009, 03:38 PM

I think it depends what you consider an ereader. I guess I couldn't find much use for multiple "dedicated" ereaders. One is enough for me to carry around (and remember to charge periodically!)
However, if you take into account smartphones (like iPhone) and PDAs, the answer for me would be: yes, there are some advantages. Even if reading full-length books on most smartphones and PDAs is not the best use of technology, there are also a lot of reference books which are nice to keep on your PDA or smartphone. I tend to always have my PDA with me, which is not always true for the ereader.
Moreover, for some reasons, current readers are not able to display several books at once, so if you want to read some more serious stuff, you can do it on your ereader and at the same time have an encyclopedia (or specialised dictionary) available on your PDA.
A thought has just sprang into my mind: what if you could chain your ereaders, so that two or more could interact with each other? For example, you read a book, select a word and it triggers the reference book displayed on the second ereader. Obviously, this wouldn't be so important with language dictionaries, which tend to have rather short entries, so a window inside the main book (like the Jetbook dictionaries) might be just enough. What I mean is a true "reference search", or "keylink". There is a Windows Bible study program, Logos X, which has a "keylink" technology built in: when you click on a word, it searches all your resources and finds all references to this word (or Bible passage). If such technology could be made available in the realm of ereaders, I am sure this would help people see that ereaders are not just pbook substitutes, but powerful study aids in their own right. Obviously, with such technology, one small screen is not enough.

Phogg · 09-23-2009, 03:39 PM

We have two small devices for my wife and I to carry with us.

Eventually when larger color devices are out, We would like one on each nightstand or end table.

Momo_Germany · 09-23-2009, 03:58 PM

Hi chilady1,

I own a Sony PRS-505, a PRS-700 - and a PRS-600 at the moment.

The PRS-505 has been my first ebook reader and still is for me the best for just reading, as it has a great display. I love it and whenever I'm reading "just for fun" I use the PRS-505 exclusively.

As I also have to work on some books I sometimes need the possibility to make annotations in books while reading. Therefore I bought the PRS-700. I have been very disappointed about the screen and the way the annotation-function is working, but however, I had to use it. But it would never be a replacement for my PRS-505!

Then the PRS-600 came out and I thought and hoped it would be much, much better than the PRS-700 and I could sell the PRS-700 and keep the PRS-600. Therefore I ordered one. - Now I have it for about 10 days and I'm absolutely not happy with the PRS-600, even more disappointed than I was when the PRS-700 arrived.

The screen for me and for my eyes is only a little bit better than the screen of the PRS-700, the annotation-function is not at all working in the way I hoped it would and I'd needed it. I never liked the inbuilt light of the PRS-700, but it was my only chance to read with this device for more than for some minutes, as it helped me to deal with the glare/reflexion/contrast-issues. Now the PRS-600 doesn't have this light, but the screen is not that much better than the screen of the PRS-700 that I could use the device without such an inbuilt light.

Now I'm testing the PRS-600, but I'm quite sure that I will decide to re-sell the PRS-600 and keep the PRS-700 for the books I have to make annotations in.

Normally I'm taking both of the devices (PRS-505 and PRS-700) with me, as this also helps me to make sure that if one of them might cause a problem again, I'd still have a second one with me and wouldn't have to stop reading.

Somehow crazy, I'm aware of it!

I take care that all of the devices are "fed" with the same ebooks at any time so that I can switch between them without a problem.

Greetings from Germany,
Momo

JSWolf · 09-23-2009, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chilady1

I hope this forum doesn't take this as a stupid question but I noticed that many of you have more than one ereader. Why is that the case? I can imagine that one ereader has functionality that perhaps another one does not. But how do you keep your collection of books in order between one, two or even more devices? Just wanted to collect some feedback and see if there is a reason for me to purchase something above and beyond the Kindle I already have. Thanks for your consideration on this topic.

the term ereader as used above should be replaced with the term eBook reader as eReader is a term that's already used for something else.

That said, the reason we have two Readers is so I can have one and my wife can have one.

ahi · 09-23-2009, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

the term ereader as used above should be replaced with the term eBook reader

That battle was lost some time ago, JSWolf.

- Ahi

DDHarriman · 09-23-2009, 04:18 PM

Hi

Two main reasons.

1 - wanted to teste ePub and reflowing PDF’s;
2 - the 505 doubles today as a extra reader if something happens to the Cybook (main reader) and has, per example, to be send back to be repaired.

… and … sometimes the lady of the house uses the 505 at the same time I use the Cybook, like in Italy last June or at the beach in the south of the country this summer.
In this line she will be in the US next week and she as already asked if she can take the 505 with her…

Best regards,

Sweetpea · 09-23-2009, 04:25 PM

I use both my readers. One I use in bed, for night time reading (backlit LCD), the other for all the other times.

I'm reading two different books, one on each reader.

KenK · 09-23-2009, 04:32 PM

I own a Kindle (1st generation) and an iRex DR1000S. I use the Kindle for most of the daily reading - novels, non-fiction books, newspapers, blogs, etc. The only time I use the iRex is for reading PDF files of technical documents and academic publications.

At one point I bought a Kindle DX hoping it will work for both, but it didn't work out. It's a bit large for everyday reading, and not quite enough resolution to read the small text in technical publications. And of course, it doesn't allow handwritten annotations.

schmolch · 09-23-2009, 05:31 PM

Ultimately we will have a dedicated eReader for every single Book we own and we will put them on a giant bookshelf.

fugazied · 09-23-2009, 05:40 PM

Well in my case I technically have two (Kindle DX and an iPhone currently).

Quite simply they are pretty different form factors - one fits in my pocket and one doesn't. I read on the iPhone when I am out and about. I mainly use it for newspapers and internet browsing. It's the 'I can read ANYWHERE' device.

The DX is mainly for planned regular trips (the train) and for reading at home.

09-23-2009, 02:19 PM	#1
chilady1 I devour books! Posts: 789 Karma: 1285226 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: iPad Air, Kindle 3/Kobo Aura HD, iPhone 6	What is the advantage of having more than one ereader? I hope this forum doesn't take this as a stupid question but I noticed that many of you have more than one ereader. Why is that the case? I can imagine that one ereader has functionality that perhaps another one does not. But how do you keep your collection of books in order between one, two or even more devices? Just wanted to collect some feedback and see if there is a reason for me to purchase something above and beyond the Kindle I already have. Thanks for your consideration on this topic.

09-23-2009, 03:38 PM	#6
macminer Connoisseur Posts: 98 Karma: 660420 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Poland Device: Boox Nova 3, Lenovo Tab 4 8" (formerly many others)	Depends what you consider an ereader I think it depends what you consider an ereader. I guess I couldn't find much use for multiple "dedicated" ereaders. One is enough for me to carry around (and remember to charge periodically!) However, if you take into account smartphones (like iPhone) and PDAs, the answer for me would be: yes, there are some advantages. Even if reading full-length books on most smartphones and PDAs is not the best use of technology, there are also a lot of reference books which are nice to keep on your PDA or smartphone. I tend to always have my PDA with me, which is not always true for the ereader. Moreover, for some reasons, current readers are not able to display several books at once, so if you want to read some more serious stuff, you can do it on your ereader and at the same time have an encyclopedia (or specialised dictionary) available on your PDA. A thought has just sprang into my mind: what if you could chain your ereaders, so that two or more could interact with each other? For example, you read a book, select a word and it triggers the reference book displayed on the second ereader. Obviously, this wouldn't be so important with language dictionaries, which tend to have rather short entries, so a window inside the main book (like the Jetbook dictionaries) might be just enough. What I mean is a true "reference search", or "keylink". There is a Windows Bible study program, Logos X, which has a "keylink" technology built in: when you click on a word, it searches all your resources and finds all references to this word (or Bible passage). If such technology could be made available in the realm of ereaders, I am sure this would help people see that ereaders are not just pbook substitutes, but powerful study aids in their own right. Obviously, with such technology, one small screen is not enough.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
An Odd Advantage for the K3	Jack Tingle	Amazon Kindle	3	10-12-2010 10:13 AM
Apple iPad claims eReader advantage	Kris777	News	29	03-02-2010 11:14 AM
Reading on HTC Advantage	Axelos	Which one should I buy?	1	09-11-2007 11:21 AM
Another Delightful Advantage	ddoyle777	Sony Reader	9	11-12-2006 09:12 PM
One Reader advantage...	Peregrine	Sony Reader	8	11-09-2006 10:25 AM

09-23-2009, 02:50 PM	#2
bbusybookworm Tech Junkie Posts: 1,027 Karma: 10080 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Earth Device: iPad, MotoXStyle, OnePlusOne	Well, in my case and in probably in many others the multiple readers are often a case of us upgrading readers as anew generation comes along. While I have three dedicated readers listed, not counting the iPhone or the N800 I'm currently only using the Pocket Pro. I've passed on the PR-500 to my sister, but still help her manage it at times and the same with the Gen 3's where One is my Mum's but I'm the one who has to load new books on it for her and the other I just gave to my uncle. I still keep them in my profile, as I still keep up to date on whats happening with them, and so when I'm commenting on a post or giving a reply the reader knows that I'm familiar with those devices. Of the devices I am currently do use, I primary use my Pocket pro for long form reading, when I have some time, i.e. more than 20 minutes to read. I use the iPhone mainly to grab a few minutes of quick reading when I'm out and about. The N800 I manly use for Comic reading nowadays when I'm traveling, so is being a little neglected lately. As for keeping books in sync across readers, one of the first things I do on getting a book, is DeDRM it and convert it to variety of Formats (Mobi, HTML,EPUB) and back it up on an external drive. Now as the books are available in a variety of formats, I can easily load them into all my readers, so that they are available on all. While Reading, I usually have different books ongoing on each device to avoid wasting time finding the last read point, though in some books I'll deliberately stop at cheaper ends so that I can pick it up on another device. In the end it works out to be matter of convenience and poor self control when it comes to gadgets.

09-23-2009, 02:58 PM	#3
bill_mchale Wizard Posts: 1,451 Karma: 1550000 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE	In general, there are various reasons why we might have e-book readers. Naturally, one reason is that some of us are gadget fiends... always looking for the next cool toy or wanting to compare different products for ourselves. There might be different reasons however. Many, at least many men, find readers with 6" and larger screens to be too large to be easily portable in their pockets. Therefore, a reader with a 5" screen or even an iPod Touch are good to have for reading on the go. The larger reader might be found nicer for extended reading stints at home. As to how one manages your collection? There are probably as many possible solutions as their are book owners. I am sure some of us tend to keep our entire collections on each device. As a Kindle Owner, if you got an iPod Touch, you can get the Kindle App which will sync with your Kindle so that not only your books, but also you place in those books will be maintained across devices. -- Bill

09-23-2009, 03:24 PM	#5
K-Thom The one and only Posts: 3,302 Karma: 535819 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Berlin, Germany Device: yup!	Yep, it's the collector's drive as well. You can't really collect eBooks, but you can collect reading devices. So there are two or three devices which I rather should/would throw out, but they are building up a nice collection.

09-23-2009, 03:39 PM	#7
Phogg PHD in Horribleness Posts: 2,320 Karma: 23599604 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: In the ironbound section, near avenue L Device: Just a whole bunch. I guess I am a collector now.	We have two small devices for my wife and I to carry with us. Eventually when larger color devices are out, We would like one on each nightstand or end table.

09-23-2009, 03:58 PM	#8
Momo_Germany Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 14 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Germany Device: Kindle3 (great!!) +DX, Sony PRS-505,-700,-600 (dislike!), iPad	Hi chilady1, I own a Sony PRS-505, a PRS-700 - and a PRS-600 at the moment. The PRS-505 has been my first ebook reader and still is for me the best for just reading, as it has a great display. I love it and whenever I'm reading "just for fun" I use the PRS-505 exclusively. As I also have to work on some books I sometimes need the possibility to make annotations in books while reading. Therefore I bought the PRS-700. I have been very disappointed about the screen and the way the annotation-function is working, but however, I had to use it. But it would never be a replacement for my PRS-505! Then the PRS-600 came out and I thought and hoped it would be much, much better than the PRS-700 and I could sell the PRS-700 and keep the PRS-600. Therefore I ordered one. - Now I have it for about 10 days and I'm absolutely not happy with the PRS-600, even more disappointed than I was when the PRS-700 arrived. The screen for me and for my eyes is only a little bit better than the screen of the PRS-700, the annotation-function is not at all working in the way I hoped it would and I'd needed it. I never liked the inbuilt light of the PRS-700, but it was my only chance to read with this device for more than for some minutes, as it helped me to deal with the glare/reflexion/contrast-issues. Now the PRS-600 doesn't have this light, but the screen is not that much better than the screen of the PRS-700 that I could use the device without such an inbuilt light. Now I'm testing the PRS-600, but I'm quite sure that I will decide to re-sell the PRS-600 and keep the PRS-700 for the books I have to make annotations in. Normally I'm taking both of the devices (PRS-505 and PRS-700) with me, as this also helps me to make sure that if one of them might cause a problem again, I'd still have a second one with me and wouldn't have to stop reading. Somehow crazy, I'm aware of it! I take care that all of the devices are "fed" with the same ebooks at any time so that I can switch between them without a problem. Greetings from Germany, Momo

09-23-2009, 04:18 PM	#11
DDHarriman Guru Posts: 860 Karma: 4380 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Almada, Portugal Device: Cybook Gen3, Sony PRS 505, Kindle DXG and Samsung Galaxy Note	Hi Two main reasons. 1 - wanted to teste ePub and reflowing PDF’s; 2 - the 505 doubles today as a extra reader if something happens to the Cybook (main reader) and has, per example, to be send back to be repaired. … and … sometimes the lady of the house uses the 505 at the same time I use the Cybook, like in Italy last June or at the beach in the south of the country this summer. In this line she will be in the US next week and she as already asked if she can take the 505 with her… Best regards,

09-23-2009, 04:25 PM	#12
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	I use both my readers. One I use in bed, for night time reading (backlit LCD), the other for all the other times. I'm reading two different books, one on each reader.

09-23-2009, 04:32 PM	#13
KenK Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: Kindle I, iRex DR1000S	I own a Kindle (1st generation) and an iRex DR1000S. I use the Kindle for most of the daily reading - novels, non-fiction books, newspapers, blogs, etc. The only time I use the iRex is for reading PDF files of technical documents and academic publications. At one point I bought a Kindle DX hoping it will work for both, but it didn't work out. It's a bit large for everyday reading, and not quite enough resolution to read the small text in technical publications. And of course, it doesn't allow handwritten annotations.

09-23-2009, 05:31 PM	#14
schmolch Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 2394 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Germany Device: Kindle	Ultimately we will have a dedicated eReader for every single Book we own and we will put them on a giant bookshelf.

09-23-2009, 05:40 PM	#15
fugazied Wizard Posts: 1,305 Karma: 1958 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iPod Touch	Well in my case I technically have two (Kindle DX and an iPhone currently). Quite simply they are pretty different form factors - one fits in my pocket and one doesn't. I read on the iPhone when I am out and about. I mainly use it for newspapers and internet browsing. It's the 'I can read ANYWHERE' device. The DX is mainly for planned regular trips (the train) and for reading at home.

Advert

Advert