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Old 06-04-2012, 03:22 PM
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Yale Yale is offline
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eReader Experiences/Preferences?

Please pardon a post not directly related to models. But the last year or two have seen an explosion in the number of brands and models of eReaders, the devices for reading electronic books (eBooks). Even my local public library now enables us to check out electronic books. If any of you have acquired one of these devices, please explain how/where you use it most, the features you like and dislike, and whether you'd recommend it to the rest of us.
As I never rush out to buy the latest gadget, I've only seen eReaders in store displays. That confirms my ability to read from these devices, but whether I really want to depends on the range of books available and the cost of the unit. One claim is that it's just as easy to read the so-called electronic ink as it is a printed age. But electronic ink is black-and-white only -- a severe restriction for illustrations, that might be very bad for books related to modeling and the subject planes, cars, trains, and tanks. Your thoughts?
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Old 06-04-2012, 04:10 PM
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I went through two Sony e-readers before I realized that the brand was not reliable. I finally went with the cheapest Kindle, and so far it has been good. I only use it to read fiction, so I can't comment on the higher end models. The only recommendation I have is that the touch screen model of the Sony and Kindle are a bit harder to read because of the glare. They may have fixed that problem by now, as I haven't handled one in a few months.

Garland
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Old 06-04-2012, 04:26 PM
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Yale, I'd be interested in knowing this as well. I've looked at several ereaders, both stand-alone hardware devices and PC-based software, and none of them reall appeal to me. The biggest gripe I have is that most of the hardware use only proprietary file types, which is the biggest no-no I have on my needed feature list. If I ever do buy one, it is first and foremost going to have to read all of the most common media formats, including .txt, epub, html, pdf, etc. The display size will need to be at least as large as a typical paperback book, be in color, and be readable outdoors as well as in low light conditions. The library list must be customizable to allow sorting. It should have the capability of changing font size with automatic text wrapping when changes are made. It must be capable of bookmarking. It should be capable of displaying audio/visual files as well as text. It should be capable of rotating the display. It should be capable of annotation of the text, both by 'border notes' and highlighting. It should be directly connectable to a computer for file loading, as well as having USB/SD card ports. It would be a nice feature if it was web capable, but that really isn't all that high on my list. The smallest internal memory should be 64 gig. And, finally, cost should be substantially less than that of a laptop PC or notebook. And, finally, it should not overwhelm me with attempts to direct me to it's grossly overpriced bookstore. I see no technical reason why such a machine can't be brought to the market...and, if it did, it would blow all the rest of it's competition into the dustbin.
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Old 06-04-2012, 04:32 PM
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I have a nook color and love it. backlit for reading in bed. color for browsing and illustrations. sd slot for expanded memory. good unit for the price.
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Old 06-04-2012, 05:09 PM
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I recently bought a Nook Color because the price has come down, and it supports some open standards ebook formats. Also, a standard Android operating system can be installed on the microSD card, and thus you have two tablet computers in one.

The Nook Color, as it comes, was a kick at first. For light reading in bed at night, it is hard to beat. It is the book and the flashlight in one. One irritating drawback (and this may apply to other devices, for all I know), is the limits on the characters for the built-in fonts. Non-English alphabets and symbols usually end up displayed as little boxes. Even some characters in English language novels show up as undisplayable. One light novel I read on the device was confusing until I realized later that certain passages were set off by italics in the print version; all the text appeared the same on the Nook. (Possibly a weakness of the e-pub file.) PDF files can be read, although that is a little awkward, and some graphics in PDF files strain the rendering capabilites of the device (and here I'm referring to fancy graphics in scientific papers.) The touch screen is pretty good, and the battery life is great.

As I said, I've made this into a dual-boot tablet with the alternate Android OS called CyanogenMod7. For me, the value of this device is that it is a light and convenient computer and e-reader for travel. Also handy for reading in bed. I still really, really like paper.
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Old 06-04-2012, 05:14 PM
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I'm a fan

I'm an engineer who spends far too many hours travelling by plane and hence far too much time in airports. I bought a Sony Prs505 about 3 years ago with the hope of trying to reduce the number of manuals and other associated documentation I was carrying. When you travel for a living weight reduction is everything.
Apart from the battery life, which I could never get more than 10-15 days out of it and the fact that you can only use the things on board an aircraft when its cruising, which on short European flights is a bit of a pain, I loved it. The E-ink screen is visible in almost all lights and unlike a laptop it does not give you eye strain; so its almost like reading a paperback. I converted all my manuals in to PDF's and I've never looked back.
When the battery final stopped charging a couple of months ago, I replaced it with the Sony T1 which is not quite as good. Too much plastic and they've added a touch screen but the interface is just not up to it. I think they rushed the the launch of the thing after Amazon launched the Kindle.

My other major bug bare is the cost of Ebooks over here, most of the time its cheaper to buy paperbacks and Ebooks are also subject to 20% VAT where as paperbacks are exempt. But at least with the Sony you are not tied to buying books from Amazon. However I must admit that the way you can download books instantly from Amazon on the Kindle with out using a laptop is quite impressive.

I've not given up buying paperbacks but I've cut back dramatically.


Andy
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Old 06-04-2012, 05:24 PM
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It's a tough call when it comes to choosing one of these devices.
The reason I went with the kindle touch is because my eyes are sensitive and I get headaches from reading a backlit screen for more than 30 minutes. The kindle's display works with E-ink, thus no light shining in your eyes, same effect as a normal paperback, so I can read for hours. I have downloaded software that can convert nearly all formats to work on it.
So if what you are looking for is a simple book reader and don't intend to view images or graphics, then I'd recommend it.
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Old 06-04-2012, 05:42 PM
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I bought my wife a Kindle a couple pf years ago. She loves it. For a while she was totally absorbed with it. She is an avid reader and likes to explore. There are many good free downloads besides all the classics.
We both also have iPads and we use the Kindle app for buying and reasing on it also.
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Old 06-04-2012, 06:08 PM
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Love my old Kindle 3, great display and battery goes for weeks between charges reading for hours every night as long as you keep the wi-fi shut off
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Old 06-04-2012, 07:30 PM
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I have the Sony pocket Reader. I liked it just fine (the size is especially convenient, and it handles multiple formats, though it struggles with some of them), but I haven't touched it since I got my iPad 2, which is a good e-reader in addition to many, many other functions.

Anne
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