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First forum post for me, so excuse me if it's in a wrong section or anything.
Hello everyone, ever since I started going to university, I've been spending a lot of time on the tram etc, to the point where it's getting really boring to waste like 3 hours a day on it with just listening to music. I am a pretty big fan of reading, however I need to carry a lot of books around for school already, so paper versions of big books ain't realy ideal. Because of this I started to think about getting myself an Ebook reader, point is just that I know absolutely nobody that has one, so I tought I'd ask about experiences here. I would only use it for reading, so Ipad and similar stuff are out of the question. just looking for a nice one that is about 200 euros tops
In short, if you have an Ebook reader, do you enjoy using it, or is it a waste of money getting one? Additional information like what type it is, and where you get your Ebooks would be a real big bonus too ofcourse.
thanks a lot in advance
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I have a Kindle third generation (wifi, no 3G) and I enjoy it a lot. But what kind of ebook reader you want depends on how you use it. The kindle has no good pdf support, but for reading books it is imo way better than the sony (which has pdf support, but sadly a touchscreen).
There are tons and tons of reviews at mobileread.com, but like I said it really depends on how and what you are reading. For the kindle there are already thousands of books available so if you enjoy reading, but don't mind not having fancy stuff like surfing around etc. the kindle might be right for you. Keep in mind that almost all books at Amazon have a kindle version now, but only in english (books in foreign languages are almost non-existing).
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Honestly the ipod actually may have an application as far as E-book readers go I use my ipod touch as an e-book reader while I listen to music on it and you could get one on ebay or craiglist for about the same price youd get a kindle for (and it has more functionality).
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I've used a 3rd generation Kindle for a few hours. It was great. The e-ink display is easy on the eyes, but has tens of milliseconds of delay at page transitions. You need an external light source with the Kindle as well. PDF reading works really well. The battery life is long, but the CPU is as slow as a Protoss reaver and web browsing sucks with the current firmware.
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Thanks for the answers so far. I don't mind reading in english, I'm used to that. How much does a book normally cost to get on kindle? And is there any way to use my .pdf books on a kindle or not? since zealot says it's easy, but rflcrx says the support sucks.
Thanks a lot for the advice so far tough! really helpfull
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On February 13 2011 23:37 Zealotdriver wrote:
PDF reading works really well.
No, the kindle is unable to resize pdfs, meaning you need to scroll in both directions. PDFs with picture texts or pure pictures are even worse.
Oh and no, anything that doesn't use e-ink (any kind of pad) cannot be compared to a real ebook reader.
On February 13 2011 23:44 horste wrote:
Thanks for the answers so far. I don't mind reading in english, I'm used to that. How much does a book normally cost to get on kindle? And is there any way to use my .pdf books on a kindle or not? since zealot says it's easy, but rflcrx says the support sucks.
Thanks a lot for the advice so far tough! really helpfull
See: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b/ref=sa_menu_kbo3?ie=UTF8&node=1286228011 for cost (it usually is ~5$ cheaper than a hardcover).
It does support pdf but not good. It takes too long to load and you need to scroll. You can however convert every pdf to mobi/pcr (kindle native format), either by using the amazon service (you mail it to your own kindle email address) which does a decent job, or you can do it with third party software (I do it that way to have a better result (pictures/format etc.) but it takes longer (but I think it is worth it if I convert huge books).
You can download the software at mobileread.com and test it yourself (open the pcr/mobi file with a software reader like ybook).
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I don't think it is a waste of money, you will never have to buy a book as pretty much every book is online for free. I have a Sony, My brother a kindle, and my sister a Kobo. Any one who says its easier to read a book on one over the other probably has never tried the others because there is almost no difference. The Sony is by far the easiest to download your own books for free because yo don't have to convert anything, where the others ones usually have a step or two more. I have about 1600 books and I have not payed for a single one.
But it is different for every person, I go through periods where I will use it everyday and don't touch it for a month at a time. The main use I have is going to the science library at school and they will put your text books on my Sony for me and have it auto delete after 2 weeks.
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I have an ebook reader, but I would have bought a Nook if it was available in my country. And do not buy a non-e-ink screen e-reader. If you have a smartphone, you can probably download a ereader app, which is free. E-ink screens read much better though. Also, for free ebooks, go to projectgutenberg.com, there are lots of them there.
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On February 13 2011 23:47 Wesso wrote:
I have an ebook reader, but I would have bought a Nook if it was available in my country. And do not buy a non-e-ink screen e-reader. If you have a smartphone, you can probably download a ereader app, which is free. E-ink screens read much better though. Also, for free ebooks, go to projectgutenberg.com, there are lots of them there.
That is a good site but for the most part just classic books.
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I own a Kindle 3 and it fully supports .pdf since version 2. You can check the Kindle prices here: Kindle Store, there are also tons of free e-books around and amazon regularly offers free kindle e-books aswell. The nook would be a good alternative but as far as i know it isn't supported in belgium. And please for the sake of your eyes don't use anything with a LCD(read ipad/ipod) as ebook reader.
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I have a Kindle 3 as well and I really like it. I can read for hours on the screen, much longer than I can sit infront of a monitor. Battery time is great and I use Caliber to convert/transfer everything over just fine even though it doesn't support epub.
If your intentions are strictly to read ebooks nothing beats a Kindle or another e-ink reader, but it's really admittedly weak for anything else
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Frankly, i think the Kindle 3 is strictly better than the pre-color Nooks - it's smaller, faster, has better battery life, and really doesn't lack any functionality. However, the Nook color adds several extra capabilities that make it a compelling alternative. Kindle and Nook are both well designed devices - at the end of the day which is better depends on what you want your reader to do. I own a Kindle 3, but I know people who have a Nook color, and they're both great devices at doing what they're designed to do.
The Kindle 3 is a single function device - it reads books, and does so with awesome battery life, fast page refreshes, and not much else. It can do some other things (like browse the internet), but not that well, and it never sacrifices its core functionality in order to fit in other capabilities.
The Nook Color is a diet ipad. It can read books, but since it has a full color screen it has a worse battery life and more glare than the kindle. However, you can use it to browse the internet easily, watch movies, and do almost anything you'd expect an ipad to do - minus the apps.
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Also, don't freak out too much about formats. The Kindle is a bit more restrictive, but it's not so bad it's insurmountable. It can read txt files, meaning that if you have an ebook in another format you can pretty easily just copy paste it into something it can read.
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Ebook readers really are for that purpose. I have a kindle and it is great. I wouldnt recommend ebook readers that do not have the e-ink display as it is really like staring at a computer screen. I dont really care much for color displays since I just read text-heavy books most of the time.
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I have a kindle. I really like it. I actually read faster on a kindle than with a book. It may lead you to buying way more books though as it is super easy.
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I have a sony PRS-600. It's really good and cheap. I got one used for 130$ and it's actually great really awesome.
Could play mp3'd too. Really solid aluminum frame. Screen could have some glare since it's coating is whatever.
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I have a Kindle and I love it. I've heard the Nook is decent too. Never had a problem with the Kindle personally and plenty of books to get on it 
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Why do you guys buy books? Can't you just convert to epub through different programs (IE: Calibre)??
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Too bad we all have to work with budget restrictions. The upcoming iPad 2 *could* be a very good reader, I think.
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On February 13 2011 23:56 zyax wrote:
I own a Kindle 3 and it fully supports .pdf since version 2.
no, it doesn't *sigh*
And yeah, people should really stop say that an Ipad can be a ebook reader, because it can't.
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i really like the kindle i think its by far the most superior e-reader out there atm.
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On February 14 2011 00:20 frozenclaw wrote:
Why do you guys buy books? Can't you just convert to epub through different programs (IE: Calibre)??
Yes we can. I do, great program.
I own a Sony PRS 350. Largest downside is that I can't turn off the touch screen. I don't use it for next page, so the only time I want to use it is when I change zoom (at start of book) or when I want to switch book.
I do like the size though, fits in my pocket. The size I wanted.
Consider size when you buy. Do you carry it in a bag or a normal pocket? Some readers are huge and you will need a bag to carry it around. Upside is larger screen size.
Oh and you can ignore wifi, you have to charge the reader sometime anyhow. If you are going to use USB to charge it, then you might as well handle your book collection at the same time. Considering you can have over a thousand books on a modern reader there is no reason to have to update daily.
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Actually there is, fetching news from 3 or 4 different newspapers in the morning full automatically without having to connect the kindle is a huge plus. I have different newspapers always up to date everyday without doing a single thing. I can also add books on my kindle everywhere (when I am at university, work, on the move via mobile phone) without having to carry a cable. Given that the kindle does not need recharge for a very long time not having to use a cable is just awesome.
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On February 14 2011 00:46 Rflcrx wrote:Show nested quote +On February 13 2011 23:56 zyax wrote:
I own a Kindle 3 and it fully supports .pdf since version 2. no, it doesn't *sigh*
It actually does support the file type and I can read my PDFs. IT DOES NOT work like an .azw file though and it takes a little getting used to but I can read pdfs just fine.
Some people rotate the screen and read on the kindle sideways to get a more continuous page view.
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I don't mind the size, since it'll be in my bag most of the time. And I use my pc every class I go to, so I don't really mind handling it that way. I guess I'll get myself a kindle then, since it seems most of the people here are really happy with it. Only thing I wanted to know last: can I convert my pdf's to another format for the kindle, and if so, which one would be best? the program you use would be handy as well. thanks a ton for the info, you got me convinced to get one :D
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Well thats not the definition of fully support is it? There is a lot of stuff the kindle cant do with a pdf, like break lines/resize text/load as fast as pcr.
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On February 14 2011 01:11 horste wrote:
I don't mind the size, since it'll be in my bag most of the time. And I use my pc every class I go to, so I don't really mind handling it that way. I guess I'll get myself a kindle then, since it seems most of the people here are really happy with it. Only thing I wanted to know last: can I convert my pdf's to another format for the kindle, and if so, which one would be best? the program you use would be handy as well. thanks a ton for the info, you got me convinced to get one :D
Calibre is the most used program for converting and handling book collections if you ignore the ones that belong to the reader itself. It works very well.
On February 14 2011 01:05 Rflcrx wrote:
Actually there is, fetching news from 3 or 4 different newspapers in the morning full automatically without having to connect the kindle is a huge plus. I have different newspapers always up to date everyday without doing a single thing. I can also add books on my kindle everywhere (when I am at university, work, on the move via mobile phone) without having to carry a cable. Given that the kindle does not need recharge for a very long time not having to use a cable is just awesome.
I do not read the newspaper (at all), so that is kind of void for me. I know average charge time is above 1 week depending on amount of usage, but I have no reason to update my collection even that often.
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my kindles keep goddamn breaking cuz im clumsy as fuck
EDIT: oh and I'd like to call attention to amazon's great hardlyanyquestionsasked warranty policy, it pretty much consisted of this
ME: "hey can i use my warranty on my kindle?"
amazon: "yeah whats the problem"
m: "screen's broken"
a: "did you break it"
m:"...no..."
a: "ok we'll ship you a new one just send the broken one back with the box the new one comes in"
m: "wtf you guys are awesome"
great shit though i love reading e-ink screens
i hear nook has a cool touch screen lcd thing at the bottom though and barnes and noble ahs more books than amazon
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On February 14 2011 01:16 SpiritoftheTunA wrote:
i hear nook has a cool touch screen lcd thing at the bottom though and barnes and noble ahs more books than amazon
Sony has full touch screen on their readers. Nice if you want to take notes or draw something. Also good for on the fly switching between books, zooms and looking things up by highlighting them or noting a page in a book. Also decreases the size of the reader since you don't have many/any buttons outside of the screen area.
Over all touch screen is overrated while e-ink isn't.
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On February 14 2011 01:16 SpiritoftheTunA wrote:
my kindles keep goddamn breaking cuz im clumsy as fuck
EDIT: oh and I'd like to call attention to amazon's great hardlyanyquestionsasked warranty policy, it pretty much consisted of this
ME: "hey can i use my warranty on my kindle?"
amazon: "yeah whats the problem"
m: "screen's broken"
a: "did you break it"
m:"...no..."
a: "ok we'll ship you a new one just send the broken one back with the box the new one comes in"
m: "wtf you guys are awesome"
great shit though i love reading e-ink screens
i hear nook has a cool touch screen lcd thing at the bottom though and barnes and noble ahs more books than amazon
I have been on one end of that conversation many a time. )
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one last question before I would order one then. Is there any benefit of getting a 3g kindle over one with just wifi? I guess not, but wanted to be sure :p It's not something I'd use to browse the internet or anything, just for reading, so wifi should suffice I suppose?
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On February 14 2011 02:52 horste wrote:
one last question before I would order one then. Is there any benefit of getting a 3g kindle over one with just wifi? I guess not, but wanted to be sure :p It's not something I'd use to browse the internet or anything, just for reading, so wifi should suffice I suppose?
Wifi will be enough yes
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I have a nook, wifi version, my mom has the Kindle 3G. The nook color and ipad is awful please don't get it, tabs, computers and phones are not meant for reading. That is simply an extra feature that they threw on, get one of these for the other features and accept the e-reader capability as a bonus feature.
A few pointers.. the wireless internet is absolutely useless for me. Unless you think you will be on the road all the time and won't already have books ready to read, you should get the wifi version, it's not worth the price to upgrade.
The kindle is a much nicer machine imo, i really dislike the book organizers (bookshelves etc, but the kindle is slightly better for this, and easier to navigate,( I'm not a fan of nook touch screen), but it has 2 major draw backs which kept me from buying one. You can't expand the memory with sd cards(this only matters if you plan on having music or audio books, It would be very difficult to over flow the memory), and you can't get books from most libraries. Libraries now have e-libraries where you can check out books for a short time, and then they go away. Almost none of them have kindle support, there are very few that do.
Get the e-reader if you plan on reading, the other features are there for show on the store shelf, they don't actually do much for anyone that I know that has one. You should try to use one of the e-readers you want before you buy one.
I personally use my nook a ton, I've read quite a lot on it since I got it for myself for Christmas, I don't think you can go wrong with either device.
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On February 14 2011 01:19 Yurie wrote:Show nested quote +On February 14 2011 01:16 SpiritoftheTunA wrote:
i hear nook has a cool touch screen lcd thing at the bottom though and barnes and noble ahs more books than amazon Sony has full touch screen on their readers. Nice if you want to take notes or draw something. Also good for on the fly switching between books, zooms and looking things up by highlighting them or noting a page in a book. Also decreases the size of the reader since you don't have many/any buttons outside of the screen area. Over all touch screen is overrated while e-ink isn't.
I disagree. I have a Sony and I don't do annotations or anything, but the touch screen is amazing in conjunction with looking up definitions.
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On February 14 2011 03:25 Chaoz wrote:Show nested quote +On February 14 2011 01:19 Yurie wrote:On February 14 2011 01:16 SpiritoftheTunA wrote:
i hear nook has a cool touch screen lcd thing at the bottom though and barnes and noble ahs more books than amazon Sony has full touch screen on their readers. Nice if you want to take notes or draw something. Also good for on the fly switching between books, zooms and looking things up by highlighting them or noting a page in a book. Also decreases the size of the reader since you don't have many/any buttons outside of the screen area. Over all touch screen is overrated while e-ink isn't. I disagree. I have a Sony and I don't do annotations or anything, but the touch screen is amazing in conjunction with looking up definitions.
I havn't looked up a single definition in ~50 books read on my Sony. I guess that says more about my book taste than anything else. ^^
Before deciding which one to buy, either go to a store and check them out (there is none near here) or compare them some other way such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_readers .
Then decide which ones that fits you best and then compare them closer such as looks, if still even, get the cheaper one.
I would suggest getting one with epub support, but that is just a feature I want. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats#Comparison_tables
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I imported a Kindle recently and I like it a lot. It's more comfortable to read on than a book in my opinion.
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thanks a lot for those links yurie, they're really helpfull! and ofcourse all the other people too I appreciate it
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i use kindle for the ipod touch. for pdf files i use an app called PDFReader and it works great.
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I had gotten the Kindle when it first came out and went through 2 of them within the first year due to screen breaking in my magical bag of holding. Switched over the the iPad and my only complaint is that it also has VLC/TED on it so I often find myself not reading. The portability can be a bit of a pain there is no way you can fit it in a pocket.
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I have a nook. The reason I got the nook is that it supports the epub format which the kindle does not. epub is the closest thing to a common standard for ebooks and it is also the standard that libraries use (those who offer ebooks). The kindle supports amazons own proprietary format that only amazon uses to publish books. This is of course great for them as they control what is being published and in some sense what is being said in public. Being somewhat attached to my freedom of speech this is just not acceptable for me.
So I went for the nook which on paper seems like a great product. Unfortunately I don't think it is in real life. This is just my personal opinion but one of the problems is that the battery life is just not good enough. I don't want to have to constantly charge my "book" (yes I have turned off wifi). In my experience it hardly has enought power to read a full book. The other thing is that the little color touch display (which drains all the power) is just not very good. It is often very unresponsive and inaccurate and I still have not gotten accustomed to the interface. To be fair I have not used the latest software update as I have practically stopped using it. The last books I have bought I bought in the old fashioned format.
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It has been almost two years since I bought my reader now and the battery life is going down a bit (only about three days now). So looking into the current models I see that the Sony PRS 350 is still the only 5 inch eInk Pearl device (according to wikipedia)?
Is there a new screen technology after Pearl that is better which also has a 5 inch model? (The largest size I consider portable.)
If there isn't one I guess I'll have to replace the battery/buy a new one of the same model (none for sale in my country).
Edit, correction on battery life. The battery life is still decent, not low as I said. Never did let it run to 0, just trusted the warning and it seems normal now. Parts inside it are moving a tad though, so I expect it'll break internally in the next half year.
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Bump, looking for something that reads PDFs well, color preferred but not necessary.
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This is actually the kind of information I have been trying to find and it's all about book. Thank you for writing this information and Anybody who loves to read and is eager to do it can easily use this zlibrary.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www.loopygadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Sony-PRS-600-Reader-Touch-Edition-silver-black.jpg)
