E-Readers

bSlick

I have alot of books/documents in .pdf and .chm format and I would like to get an ereader so I don't have to be stuck at my computer while reading them (no laptop) and also, mainly, because I have heard that they use electronic inc technology which is much easier on the eyes than regular computer pixels.

So what's the best one to get?
Is the technology advanced enough yet to make them worth buying or are there some still issues to solved/improved? Are they much easier on the eyes than a pc/laptop screen?

Khannie

I'd say have a look at one in the flesh. The sony stores sell them. Guy in work got one and I have to say they are very easy on the eyes. Interested to hear what others think of them though.....

r3nu4l

The Amazon Kindle does not support PDF, the Sony e-reader does.

I've handled both of these devices and my preference would be the Sony one. It's more 'book-sized' to me and is more comfortable in the hand. The Sony does not have a backlight but you can buy a leather cover with a light attached down the spine that allows you to read at night.

The Kindle has a keyboard which can be useful if you want more than a book reader but I still much prefer the e-reader.

Also, my understanding (I could be wrong here) is that you can't get your books off the Kindle and onto another device. If your Kindle breaks, that's it until you get a new one, whereupon Amazon will allow you to download any books you had previously paid for, for free (I think).

aidan_walsh

r3nu4l wrote:

Also, my understanding (I could be wrong here) is that you can't get your books off the Kindle and onto another device. If your Kindle breaks, that's it until you get a new one, whereupon Amazon will allow you to download any books you had previously paid for, for free (I think).

At the moment this is true, Amazon's Whispersync currently doesn't have a desktop equivilant and it is not possible to transfer books to an application. However they are currently working on desktop reading apps for Windows and OS X that will sync down (due for release this month), and there is an existing iPhone application.

Biggins

I bought a Sony 501 Reader as I wanted to catch up on all the books I have missed out on for a while now. After getting one, I tried it out ...and it was worth it.
They are a joy to use. The buttons are designed to be used by right-handed and left handed folk. Its light and compact. It takes all types of document formats and its dead easy to use. One of the nice features is when you switch it off and eventually turn it on again, it goes right to the page you left it at. It can play music too by the way with headphones!

The Sony E-Reader takes the most formats at the mo and those that it can't take (very few), there is conversion software on there on the net for free that will do the job.
I'd personally recommend the 501 series.
The newer 700 series (that has a built in light) is not worth the extra bucks for a few extras and the page screen is not as clear.
The 501 (for which you can get a number of alternative lights for night, in the dark reading) is the most recommended one to go for all around by reviewers. It comes supplies with a very nice cover in which it hinges internally on. You get also a cd with 100 free books. The free books are mostly classic books but even that is a good start. If you can get your hands on one - do so. They are worth it if you are into books and/or wish to save a lot of carrying of paper books manuals. For those that love books and go through them very quickly, this is an ideal gift for yourself.

I ened up having to buy one for the wife as well! She was robbing mine that much!

Stephen

The Sony PRS-700 series has been discontinued. I have a PRS-600 which is the touch screen one that came out a couple of months ago, and I love it. I prefer to use the supplied stylus rather than to touch the screen directly though. The e-ink screen is far, far easier on the eye than a backlit LCD screen. I've read a few thousand pages worth of books on it since getting it with no problems. New release books seem quite cheap for it from the official Sony store too (bear in mind I'm in the US, I think they partner with Waterstone's for the UK & Ireland store).

It has some handy features that the cheaper PRS-300 doesn't have, such as memory card slots (both SD and memory stick), built in Oxford English Dictionary (both US and British versions - just double tap on a word and it will show you the definition), the ability to take notes/highlight text, play MP3s, etc. The screen is also larger than on the PRS-300.

It seems to handle most formats very well, but my preference is for the epub format as it is not vendor specific and you should be able to easily move epub books to another device if you change in the future. PDF's work fine as well but apparently consume more battery than other formats. Not a big deal though, as I only have to charge it once every 3 weeks or so. They are a bit scabby in that they don't give you a charger with it - you have to charge it off your computer. Simply plugging in a mains-to-USB device won't cut it either, it needs to talk to the driver on the computer to begin charging. They will sell you a mains charger for a fee, but word has it its the same as the Sony PSP charger so if you have one of those you're set.

All in all, I love it. I mainly bought it because I'm over here for a good few months and simply wouldn't have been able to bring all my books home if I bought them in paper form, but now I can't see myself buying hard copy books unless they're not available in electronic form, or if they're something that just makes more sense in paper, like photo books, etc.

I should probably add that I pretty much just read novels/history books on it, I'm not using any technical manuals or anything like that.

bSlick

Thanks for the info. I should add that I would not be reading any novels/regular books on it. I would be using it purely for computer books/documents, alot of programming type books. These are all in .pdf and .chm files. What's support like on the ereaders for these formats?

Stephen

I don't think the Sony supports CHM files, but there is a great free program called Calibre that can convert most formats.

Biggins

Stephen wrote: »

I don't think the Sony supports CHM files, but there is a great free program called Calibre that can convert most formats.

Correct. I use it myself.

mickoneill30

I've been waiting to shell out for one of these too. Santy might be good to me this year. If you view a PDF on those Sony readers does it show one PDF page per screen or do you have to scroll around them? They never show screenshots showing a PDF book.

Mitch Connor

I have the Sony EReader too - but i would not be sure of recommending it for professional/technical use. I remember reading previously that it had issues displaying images within the body of work, so if it is being used to look at technical and programming documents, there might be an issue of incorrect or less than accurate rendering of imaged examples.

As I say, I have not used it for reading technical documents, but I had heard there were issues with them.

Someone will probably set me straight though and say I am completely wrong.

mickoneill30 wrote: »

I've been waiting to shell out for one of these too. Santy might be good to me this year. If you view a PDF on those Sony readers does it show one PDF page per screen or do you have to scroll around them? They never show screenshots showing a PDF book.

I have read PDF based novels, and it resizes them - so 1 PDF page could be 2 or 3 pages on the E-Reader.

mickoneill30

Mitch Connor wrote: »

I have read PDF based novels, and it resizes them - so 1 PDF page could be 2 or 3 pages on the E-Reader.

Ah crap. I'll wait another year so. Thanks for the info.

Biggins

mickoneill30 wrote: »

Ah crap. I'll wait another year so. Thanks for the info.

For that end of things, the large size new Kindle will do the job.
Expensive though.

mickoneill30

Biggins wrote: »

For that end of things, the large size new Kindle will do the job.
Expensive though.

Dunno. The Kindle doesn't seem like the one for me. I don't like DRM and they charge you to put PDFs onto it (as far as I know). I don't want to have to rely on Amazon. I just want to plug into my PC and transfer my current books or documents.

Colour e-ink is starting to appear and there are are a few new devices on the horizon that are looking interesting.

Owen

I wouldn't be rushing out to buy an ereader anytime soon. Engadget and Gizmodo are all reporting that the price of ereaders needs to reach 100 dollars at entry level for them to become popular, and consequently, there are manufacturers working on making readers to reach that price point. I think by next Christmas the greyscale readers will be cheap, and the colour ones will be commanding a price premium.