From Canada

[Bittybye]

I've been thinking about buying an ebook reader since I first heard about the Kindle, but because I live in Canada I wasn't able to get one right away.

Now after a lot of research I've found I don't want the Kindle because of the limited formats it supports. Sony was my second choice but I recently saw a Sony touch and was surprised how small the size of the actual screen is.

I haven't done a lot of research on the lesser known models out there.

Things that are important
Multiple format support but especially word documents.
Large screen, I don't necessarily want something as big as the Kindle DX but a screen (actual screen not the whole device) that is roughly the same size as you would find in a paperback book.
Adjustable text sizes.
Content available to Canada (obviously)
Good battery life, I spend a lot of time waiting in the hospital and I don't want the battery to die on me in the middle of a chapter.

Things that would be nice
Touch screen, I did like that. As long as the glare isn't too bad.
A colour other than black or silver.
A reasonable price, I've been saving up for a while but I would rather buy new ebooks than spend all I've saved on just the device.

I'm honestly not even sure whether or not such a device even exists but I'm hoping someone can help me.
Thank you to anyone who responds.

[Bilbo1967]

Firstly Bittybye, welcome to MobileRead!

In terms of your requirements, lots of people will have their own views and there are some strong proponents of all types of e-reader here. In my view, if you haven't already found it, the e-reader matrix is a great starting place.

It can be found here.

[pilotbob]

6inch screen is the most common size for readers. The other size would be the 9inch size like the Kindle DX.

The only other size out there is with iRex devices. The illiad (which is pretty much a legacy device) and the soon to be released DR800 which I think will be US only initially.

So, if 6inch is to small for you then you have pretty much reduced your selection to the Kindle DX which still isn't available in Ca or the iRex DR100S which is a quite expensive machine.

Why did you think 6inch was to small? It is about the same size as most paperbacks that you might read.

BOb

[Bittybye]

Bilbo1967 Thanks for the link, I've found what I think might be the perfect ebook reader, the only problem now is I'm not sure if it's available to Canada.

pilotbob You know I measured a book and you are right, books are almost the same size, but it seems so much smaller when I saw the actual screen. When I see one the next time I'll have to take an actual book with me to compare.

[GhostHawk]

Bittybye when I first bought my jetbook I was concerned about the small ( 5") screen size.

But the screen is so crisp, I can actually drop the font size down and still read it easily.
I actually need less light to read comfortably than I did with a paper book.

[kennyc]

Welcome to MR. Much great info and advice around here, not to mention the great people.

Spending a lot of time in the hospital doesn't sound like fun, but if you can read while there, that's gotta help.

[Bittybye]

GhostHawk The only thing is I do want a touch screen which brings down the quality due to the extra layer.

kennyc No spending a lot of time in the hospital isn't fun, but I'm used to it. Reading helps pass the time.

I'm leaning towards the new Plastic logic QUE ebook reader that's coming out in 2010. It would be easy to read personal books as well as reading work related documents and if (fingers crossed) I'm able to go back to school, even school related things.
The only thing I haven't seen (or if I did I don't remember) is if the QUE will have an SD or Memory Stick slot.

[kennyc]

I was just looking at the Plastic Logic site and I don't think they've actually said what memory expansion might or might not be included. Information is very vague.

[Bittybye]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I was just looking at the Plastic Logic site and I don't think they've actually said what memory expansion might or might not be included. Information is very vague.

Darn I was hoping I had just forgotten.

[Bittybye]

I need help again. My idea of getting the Que is out the window. It's not available to Canada, and I contacted the compony to ask if they plan on shipping to Canada and the answer was a veiled NO. The price isn't the greatest but I'm willing to pay the price if I can get one with similar functions and format support

I still want a larger screen so I can read text books (I finally decided to definitely go back to school.) easily. touch screen would be awesome but not 100% necessary.

The Skiff sounds promising but I'm not holding my breath for it being available to Canada.

The DX, no touch screen plus I heard that PDF (which is primarily the format my ebooks are in) is horrible for reflow.

So I need a company that definitely sells and ships to Canada.

Thank you.

[jim5467]

I too wanted to get a Que and, similarly, the company was a no as to whether they will ship to Canada in the near future. In the end, I bought an Edge. I know it's not the same thing but from what I can tell their market will be the school and office set.

[Bittybye]

Originally Posted by jim5467

I too wanted to get a Queue and, similarly, the company was a no as to whether they will ship to Canada in the near future. In the end, I bought and Edge. I know it's not the same thing but from what I can tell their market will be the school and office set.

Unfortunately it's a little heavy for a lot of casual reading, which is another reason I wanted the Que. When I have a book I like I will sit and read and read until I'm finished, a full length novel usually takes me between five and six hours. 3lbs is a little heavy for that.

But I will keep it in mind. The price tag is pretty good, at least compared to some.

Thank you.

[Bittybye]

Does anyone know if the Skiff will come to Canada? Now the Que being ruled out the Skiff seems to be my next best option. I've emailed the compony but haven't gotten a response.


EDIT: The Que is supposed to be sold at B&N isn't it? Will it be available for order on-line or will it be physically at the store? I don't live too far from the American boarder and wouldn't mind going there to buy my Que if the Que would be available to a Canadian buyer. I honestly don't care about wireless, I buy most of my ebooks via Chapters (Canadian version of B&N) through my computer and have no problem hooking up to my computer to sync.

[masmullin]

I own a PRS 505 from Sony and it is terrific for reading fiction. I recommend it over the kindle because it supports more formats w/o having to go through kindle "conversion" services.

Kindle DX is now available in Canada btw... I have contacted Plastic Logic and they wont be shipping to Canada anytime soon.

I plan on buying a que as soon as it is available in Canada, as the PRS 505 is not good for reading academic papers/textbooks

[Bittybye]

Originally Posted by masmullin

I own a PRS 505 from Sony and it is terrific for reading fiction. I recommend it over the kindle because it supports more formats w/o having to go through kindle "conversion" services.

Kindle DX is now available in Canada btw... I have contacted Plastic Logic and they wont be shipping to Canada anytime soon.

I plan on buying a que as soon as it is available in Canada, as the PRS 505 is not good for reading academic papers/textbooks

The Kindle, yeah, with shipping and other costs it will wind up being about $600 USD, which means it will put it on par with the cost of the Que without half the features I want.

I haven't heard about a release in Canada but Sony's PRS-900 looks pretty good. Most of the textbooks I want are in PDF and from a vid I saw on youtube, it's pretty good. I figure it will be about $400 but I've saved up $700 for a reader, I was hoping to buy a lot of books, but I am willing to pay the $650 for the Que so the Sony would be good, I'd have quite a bit left over for my books.

Honestly I've been going around and around trying to decide what I want. My hope is that the Skiff will be available to Canada right away, but like I said before...I'm not holding my breath.