[teholbeddict]

I agree with you cerveza regarding the touch screens. I also read several reviews on the Sony which stated the touch screen was very easy to damage. It also uses touch screen in order to turn the page, people found the button wore out, broke or cracked due to the frequent use. Not good for a $200-300 dollar product.

[cerveza_fiesta]

teholbeddict, on Oct 30 2008, 11:38 AM, said:

I agree with you cerveza regarding the touch screens. I also read several reviews on the Sony which stated the touch screen was very easy to damage. It also uses touch screen in order to turn the page, people found the button wore out, broke or cracked due to the frequent use. Not good for a $200-300 dollar product.

well that's total crap then. Touch screens are totally retarded when they are overused...especially when they aren't necessary. It's just a gadget feature they could easily replace with an ultra durable "turn the page" button at the bottom. Like the "copy" button on a photocopier. It gets pressed like millions of times during its life and never dies. There's no way a touch screen can beat that.

The kindle looks to have a small scroll weel too...that could be helpful.

[Astra]

First of all I would advise you to check out Mobileread

It is the best source to find out about different for ebook readers.

I am going to mention just a few things.

iRex.
They have 2 different types of readers.
8" and 10"
10" is especially useful for reading PDF files with technical stuff. It is no good for fiction - IMHO. Its biggest drawback is battery life. No more than 10 hours. Their software is flawed too and they use their user as guinea pigs to find and fix bugs. Let's say a lot of frustration unless you are computer geek and don't mind to fiddle with it. Also, it takes 45 seconds to start iRex readers.

Sony Reader, Kindle, CyBook Gen3, BeBook - all of them have the same eInk screen - vizplex 6".

Which one is better? Depends on one's priorities.
I cannot stand Kindle at all. I cannot read fiction books on PC, too many distractions. I want my ebook reader to remind me an old fashioned printed book. Kindle has a real keyboard. Which is the last thing I would like to have on my ebook reader. I don’t want any reminders that I have a gadget in my hands.
CyBook Gen3 – not bad. But their software is not perfect, they find new bugs all the time and fix them and release new firmwares that allegedly fix them but in truth it is not always the case and sometimes it solves one problem and introduce a new bug.
BeBook is similar to CyBook Gen3 but has a few small differences.
Sony Reader. They are the first who introduced eInk technology to us.
Oct 2006 – they released PRS-500. I bought it and my wife is still using it. Back then, there was no Kindle, CyBook Gen3 or BeBook.
Oct 2007 – PRS-505. It was a big improvement over PRS-500. The biggest improvement - a much better screen, the same as Kindle, CyBook Gen3 or BeBook have at the moment.
I have one and it is the same model that was introduced in the UK 2 months ago.
I absolutely love it. It is as close to a paper book as a gadget can be. It is the best hardware design out of all ebook readers out there. It is absolutely no bugs/issues with their software. It just works. Some people were complaining that Sony didn’t release any firmware upgrades but the standard reply is: why? The reader does what it promised to do right out of the box. There is nothing to fix
It supports .txt, .rtf/.doc without pictures, .pdf – with reflow support – the only reader that supports the feature, although it is awful IMHO and it is understandable because you cannot read A4 PDF file on 6” screen. They also added Adobe digital support so you can read ebook that you can take on loan from your local library if it has this service. Again it is the only reader that has it. It supports its own .LRF files that I love most of all. I usually buy .lit files, remove DRM and convert them into .LRF.
Sony introduced a new format – epub. It is an open format that has a chance to become a universal ebook format in the future. No other ebook reader support it right now but more and more publishers are starting to publish ebooks in this format because even though it might have DRM it is device neutral. It means today you buy epub book for Sony Reader, in 2 years time you might use this file on a different ebook reader that supports epub. I charge my reader once in 2 weeks. It boasts 7500 page turns but it is not really true. It takes 1 second to turn your reader on, because it is never really off. It is more like in a sleep mode.

I don’t care about Kindle’s wispernet? Support because I never buy books on a fly. I need to make a research before I decide to buy a book. Also, I never buy DRM protected ebooks. Whatever you buy on Amazon for your Kindle, will be absolutely useless if in 1 year time you wanna buy another ebook reader, because Amazon’s ebooks are DRM protected and are in Amazon proprietary format that no ebook reader will ever support. Kindle does have dictionary and search functions but ….do you need them? Printed books do not have them and we don’t miss them

Sony introduced a new ebook reader 3 weeks ago. PRS-700. It is not a new generation. It is a new addition for different taste. It has touch screen – bad idea for ebook reader. I would hate to see my fingerprints all over the screen but there are many people who are very excited about this idea. It also has on screen keyboard with search function. It doesn’t have dictionary support right now but this hardware allows for one and people hope Sony will add it soon.

Well….good luck.

[teholbeddict]

Thank you for that info Astra, it is very helpful to hear the prespective of someone who has one of these readers. I hadn't considered the multiple-format argument, lord knows if I pick one of these up I don't want to have to by another due to compatibility issues. I think you're right about each make/model being better based on personal priorities.

[Astra]

teholbeddict You are very welcome.
2 years ago my wife suggested that we should buy one so I take it with me when we go on holidays instead of a couple of hardback printed books. I never expected to get addicted to eInk so much.

Learn how to use Kindle with Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos

Because eInk is opaque, it cannot be lighted up as LCD screens, it behaves like a normal paper, as result it has become one of the biggest complaints from people who used to read on PDAs, mobile phones and other hand held backlit devices.
Sony PRS-700 is the first eInk reader with a built-in light. They put on both sides(right and left) of the screen LEDs. No info on how much they are going to consume of battery power.

For PRS-505 Sony together with LightWedge has designed a special cover Light Cover

I was not impressed with the cover but many people like it a lot.

PRS-700 will be available from middle of November.

Sometime in April plastic logic is going to introduce a new generation of eInks I think. The current generation has a glass foundation which makes them quite fragile. PLastic logic, as one can guess from its name, is going to make different eInk screens. And not just 6" but 10.1" for easy PDF reading.

This post has been edited by Astra: 30 October 2008 - 10:15 PM

[Astra]

Ah, another thing. There are rumours (from mobileread) that PRS-700 has worse contrast ratio than PRS-505, because of touch screen.
Means it is worse than any current ebook reader. But it has not been confirmed 100% yet.

[Astra]

And here is another ebook reader, although not eInk screen, that is going to support epub:ECTACO jetBook
Hopefully epub will put an end to format wars/eBabel.

And another peice of good news:
EInk shows off their latest developer's kit

This post has been edited by Astra: 30 October 2008 - 10:36 PM

[teholbeddict]

Astra,

How do you find the screen size on the PRS-505? Looking at it next to the PRS-700 it seems quite small. The size of the screen on the 700 is what makes it appealing to me. However as you say the touch screen isn't even practical. I think I would rather just pay the $35.00 for the Light Wedge if I really found it necessary. The PRS-505 seems to offer alot more features which are practical for everyday use, and it's $100 less than the kindle. I am seriously considering purchasing one.

[Astra]

teholbeddict, on Oct 31 2008, 04:12 AM, said:

Astra,

How do you find the screen size on the PRS-505? Looking at it next to the PRS-700 it seems quite small. The size of the screen on the 700 is what makes it appealing to me. However as you say the touch screen isn't even practical. I think I would rather just pay the $35.00 for the Light Wedge if I really found it necessary. The PRS-505 seems to offer alot more features which are practical for everyday use, and it's $100 less than the kindle. I am seriously considering purchasing one.

The screen size on all eInk ebook readers except iRex is the same 6". At the moment there is only one factory that makes them.
PRS-505 dark blue

PRS-700

Look at descriptions and specifications.

505 comes in 3 colours.
Dark blue as mentioned above (like I have)
Silver

and ....RED

People say that Dark blue is visually better than silver because it makes better contrast between screen background and the case (which is made from metal btw.)

I personally like red one as well and maybe I would be tempted to buy it if it was on sale when I bought mine. But I have seen silver as well, for some unknown reason in the UK it is the only available colour, and it looks fine.

[Astra]

Before you buy...check out mobileread. Maybe someone will convince you to buy Kindle.....who knows? Many people like it. Although it is definitely not for me.

[cerveza_fiesta]

Thanks for the comprehensive review Astra

Makes more sense now. I might wait until they come out with one having a plastic screen too. As a guy who's broken the LCD on every phone I've ever owned I know I'd have this thing wrecked inside of a week.

Plastic is a bit more forgiving anyway.

What's the best source for ebooks anyway? Does the Sony software that comes with it pretty much give you access to everything or do you need to hunt stuff down on your own?

This post has been edited by cerveza_fiesta: 31 October 2008 - 11:41 AM

[teholbeddict]

Just wanted to point out there is also this special edition lighter blue available as well
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores...552921665562071

[teholbeddict]

Astra sorry to bother you with yet another question,

Does the PRS-505 come with the adapter or do you have to purchase that seperately? Can you charge the device by plugging into your comupter via usb?

(ok sorry so that was really two questions)

[Astra]

teholbeddict, on Oct 31 2008, 03:00 PM, said:

Astra sorry to bother you with yet another question,

Does the PRS-505 come with the adapter or do you have to purchase that seperately? Can you charge the device by plugging into your comupter via usb?

(ok sorry so that was really two questions)

It doesn't come with the adapter.
Yes, you can charge it from computer via USB. It is almost the same except two things. a) It is a bit longer to charge it via USB, I think 4h vs 6h. Not sure. you can read when you charge it from adapter. You can buy PSP charger which is exactly the same, if it is cheaper than what Sony sells as allegedly reader charger

Yes, I gotgor about light blue one. I think you can also put all sort of skins on the reader, don't know the details. You can also ask Sony to engrave something on it

cerveza_fiesta
Difficult question. I will try to answer the best way I can after I have a dinner

[teholbeddict]

Ok I'm sold! I'm off to order one these right now, I was always on the verge of buying one of these units anyways. I just didn't know enough about them and really had only heard of the Kindle. The Kindle has it's own issues anyways, and the possibility of format compatibility issues are a big detractor as far as I'm concerened. I know it has the dictionary and everything but I assume it would be somewhat akin to my cell phone - full of neat sounding features that I never use! I'll save the hundred dollars and use my good ol paper dictionary if I really need it!

[Astra]

teholbeddict, on Oct 31 2008, 06:39 PM, said:

Ok I'm sold! I'm off to order one these right now, I was always on the verge of buying one of these units anyways. I just didn't know enough about them and really had only heard of the Kindle. The Kindle has it's own issues anyways, and the possibility of format compatibility issues are a big detractor as far as I'm concerened. I know it has the dictionary and everything but I assume it would be somewhat akin to my cell phone - full of neat sounding features that I never use! I'll save the hundred dollars and use my good ol paper dictionary if I really need it!

I just have noticed that you are from Canada. It means you cannot really buy Kindle. Even if you have friends in the USA and they buy one for you, you would loose one of its maiun features - buying book on the fly from amazon, having an access to amazon-kindle store and having a free access to wikipedia. You need credit card with USA address and to be in the USA to be able to use wispernet. So, the only benefit it held for you was dictionary.

[Astra]

cerveza_fiesta, on Oct 31 2008, 12:41 PM, said:

What's the best source for ebooks anyway? Does the Sony software that comes with it pretty much give you access to everything or do you need to hunt stuff down on your own?

Books…

The biggest problem with ebooks is the content.
Many people who bought kindle, they bought it for content despite its ugliness and I cannot blame them for the choice.
As far as I know the best range and prices are for Kindle.
The problems are that kindle books are DRM protected and cannot be read on any other ebook reader or your computer. Most likely it will never be available for others. It is a deliberate choice made by Amazon.
Amazon owns mobipocket format, which is an unofficial de facto ebook format today (but closed format and always DRM protected, that is a reason for invention of open format epub which is even if DRM protected is hardware/device independed). Instead of allowing kindle users to be able to read mobipocket books that amazon owns and have money from anyway and also allow people who own different ebook readers that support mobipocket format to be able to buy from amazon, they invented yet another ebook format which is supported by kindle only, thus tying kindle users to Amazon shop and barring anyone else from buying from them.
There are some unofficial ways that allow you to transfer kindle book into mobipocket book, then remove DRM and then you can convert the unprotected mobipocket book to a different format if you want to read it on a different ebook reader, but you can buy kindle books only if you have kindle.
If you have iRex (Iliad or Digital Reader1000), CyBook Gen3 or BeBook (they promised to add mobipocket support quite soon), then you have quite a good range, which is almost equal to Amazon’s kindle store of mobipocket books. But again, it is DRM protected and DRM is always a hassle. There are unofficial ways of removing DRM from mobipocket books though.

If you have Sony Reader…depends on your personal choice. I will start with negatives.
If you want to buy only official Sony Reader .lrf format, you can buy only from American Sony ebook shop. You need a credit card with American address. The range of books is OK. The prices usually a bit higher than Amazon kindle, sometimes by a lot. While Kindle boasts more than 100.000 titles (which is not true, they have Mobi Dick 11 different ebooks….and also there are many titles published by unknown writers who use the opportunity to promote themselves), Sony ebook store has about 30.000 titles but they promised to have more than 100.000 by this Christmas. Then again, LRF files are DRM protected. There are no hacks to break the DRM. You can read it only on Sony Reader or PC (kindle books cannot be read on PC, because there is no software for kindle books).
In the UK the situation is even worse, you can buy only from Waterstone epub DRM protected books and the shop is a bloody disaster at the moment, although they only started and hopefully they will improve over time. There are no hacks for epub DRM.

However, if you are like me, then when you pay money for a book, you don’t want to be dependent on its DRM or any particular ebook reader. Once you paid the money you wanna be able to read it anytime anywhere on any device you are going to own in the future. You can buy ebooks in Microsoft reader .lit format, very easily remove DRM and it is completely legal at least in the USA, then with a few clicks of a mouse convert it to sony reader .lrf file and enjoy it. It applies to kindle as well. Once you removed DRM from .lit file you can convert it to any format in the future, so in effect your purchase of .lit ebook is device independed.
You can also buy ebooks in mobipocket format, strip DRM – it is not very legal and not as easy as with .lit, and convert it to any format you like.
It feels OK if you do it for Sony Reader or iRex (Iliad or Digital Reader1000), CyBook Gen3 or BeBook, however, it defeats one of the biggest reasons why to buy ugly Kindle (one would buy kindle because it has a good ebook shop but if you are not going to use it, then any other ebook reader is a lot better hardware wise).
So, if you don’t mind removing DRM from .lit or mobipocket formats, then you have the same content as Amazon offers and more or less the same prices.

Some of the best ebook shops are Fictionwise and BooksOnBoard

Hopefully it helps a little bit

Malazan Books are NOT available as legal ebooks. They are available on darknet though. So, if you paid for and own an printed version and don't have any moral issues to download a copy from darknet then there are no problems

This post has been edited by Astra: 31 October 2008 - 06:29 PM

[teholbeddict]

Astra, on Oct 31 2008, 12:50 PM, said:

teholbeddict, on Oct 31 2008, 06:39 PM, said:

Ok I'm sold! I'm off to order one these right now, I was always on the verge of buying one of these units anyways. I just didn't know enough about them and really had only heard of the Kindle. The Kindle has it's own issues anyways, and the possibility of format compatibility issues are a big detractor as far as I'm concerened. I know it has the dictionary and everything but I assume it would be somewhat akin to my cell phone - full of neat sounding features that I never use! I'll save the hundred dollars and use my good ol paper dictionary if I really need it!

I just have noticed that you are from Canada. It means you cannot really buy Kindle. Even if you have friends in the USA and they buy one for you, you would loose one of its maiun features - buying book on the fly from amazon, having an access to amazon-kindle store and having a free access to wikipedia. You need credit card with USA address and to be in the USA to be able to use wispernet. So, the only benefit it held for you was dictionary.

Good grief all this research I've been doing and I manage to miss out on that huge fact! I guess it's a non-issue now as I've purchased the Sony. I would have been incredibly angry though, had I spent $400 only to realize the main features were not available to lowly canadian's such as myself

[jfdane]

I love my kindle other than the fact that the malazan series is not available on it, i think it is great

[Captain Beardface]

Astra, on 31 October 2008 - 06:18 PM, said:

QUOTE (cerveza_fiesta @ Oct 31 2008, 12:41 PM)
Malazan Books are NOT available as legal ebooks. They are available on darknet though. So, if you paid for and own an printed version and don't have any moral issues to download a copy from darknet then there are no problems

I know I'm a bit late to the game, but I just received a Nook as an early Christmas gift. My question is, if I where to already own a physical copy and don't have moral issues with downloading a less than legal digital copy, where does one find is this darknet that you speak of? I've been looking and apparently I'm not the best when it comes from trolling the net looking for 'free' content... its been awhile since I was in university and pirated less than legal content.

Any help would be appreciated, as I don't have the cash or the want to lay down more money getting another copy of something I already own.