e-book readers

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RedArgo
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e-book readers

Post by RedArgo »

I've kinda been looking at the variety of e-book readers that are available now and I'm just wondering if anyone here has any thoughts (and I know you do.)

Besides regular books, I think they would be great for all those digital download game manuals that we have to print out now and also I already have one magazine that is released weekly in PDF. So far, it looks like Sony would be the best fit for me, since it can read PDFs, but there are a bunch of new ones coming out in the next few months, so it may be better to wait anyway. Hopefully, the price will come down too.

I have an Ipod Touch now, which I really like (been playing through Doom Classic), but I don't think it can handle PDFs and the screen is rather small to do a lot of reading.

Thanks for your input.
TR
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RE: e-book readers

Post by TR »

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Greybriar
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Greybriar »


I was so hoping for a list of recommendations for e-book readers and instead got "Top 100 EBooks yesterday — Top 100 Authors yesterday — Top 100 EBooks last 7 days — Top 100 Authors last 7 days — Top 100 EBooks last 30 days — Top 100 Authors last 30 days"

*sigh*
This war is not about slavery. --Robert E. Lee
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Lützow
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Lützow »

Didn't you read about the incident some time ago, when Amazon subsequently deleted books from their Kindle ?

I would rather refrain from purchasing an ebook reader which uses any kind of DRM sheme.
Hanal
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Hanal »

Ironically I am shopping for an ebook too and just picked up the brochure for the new ebook that is coming out from Barnes and Noble. It is to be released on Nov. 30th....

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/
Shawkhan
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Shawkhan »

Get the Sony Reader. I got it at BestBuy, the expensive one, for $300. Kindle uses a proprietary format which means you only get to download books from Amazon. The Sony Reader comes in two models, with the expensive model using a touch screen and having voice options for handsfree operation. The wife and I like this feature as we can listen to it while driving.
 
Of course next year there will be better models at a lower cost, but that is the reality of modern electronics.
 
Over a million books already available for download. Step into the future, the paper book is dead. Great advertisement there, huh?
Hanal
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Hanal »

You know, I did not think of the pdf aspect to an ebook, and as mentioned by RedArgo, the idea of being able to read a game manual on an ebook while playing the game, would be appealing...
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Jevhaddah
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Jevhaddah »

Does anyone know of any 'Back Lit' E-book readers?

Cheers

Jev
I am really quite mad yoo know!
Hanal
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Hanal »

ORIGINAL: Jevhaddah

Does anyone know of any 'Back Lit' E-book readers?

Cheers

Jev


The B & N Nook makes the following statement:

"The 16-level gray scale display offers great contrast with no glare or backlight."

Not sure if they are implying that it will be easy to read in any lighting situation.....

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RedArgo
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RE: e-book readers

Post by RedArgo »

I was looking at the Sony PRS-600 (the $300 one), but the Nook looks pretty similar and cheaper. Maybe there will be some black Friday deals or after Christmas deals.
Hanal
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Hanal »

Here is a Discussion Board regarding the NOOK...

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/ ... Books_Help
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Hertston
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Hertston »

Don't rely on a book reader for game manuals if and until their authors start producing versions intended for reading on them. With a minority they are fine; but in most the print is too small for comfortable reading. Sure, you can increase the font size but then the formatting frequently gets screwed, and in both cases flipping back and forward to places of interest is a pain in the backside. Likewise with most academic and technical texts.

Book readers (I have a Sony PRS-505) are super bits of kit for what they were designed to do, but what they were designed to do principally was host novels, 'popular' history and biography, and such.

Look wider than Gutenberg and such, too. Some publishers, such as Baen, are making a lot of their stuff freely downloadable presumably just to 'hook' readers who will buy new novels. You can get all of David Weber's 'Honor Harrington' series for free, for example (absolute must-buys if "Hornblower in Space" is a phrase that appeals!)
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Capt. Harlock
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Capt. Harlock »

I've been using my Palm PDA as an e-book reader. Granted, the screen is really too small (reading glasses are almost a necessity), but there is freeware for both Palm-format books and pdf files. And, you can use the PDA for a lot more than reading e-books. If you're on a limited budget, I'd recommend getting a Pre, and you'll have a smartphone and e-book reader in one.
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JamesM
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RE: e-book readers

Post by JamesM »

I have an I-Rex illiad ebook reader, it reads both pdfs and mobipocket format books.  It is not cheap (more expensive than the kindle), but it has a large screen size, adjustable text size. the ability to make hand hand written annotation and it has multiple memory card inputs (SD, CF and USB) plus a small internal memory.  I had one problem but that was solved with a software upgrade.  My first one was an ebookman by Franklin, but that one seemed much more fragile than the illiad, but it was backlit. 

http://www.irextechnologies.com/

http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix (I found this particularly useful when I was researching)
Hanal
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Hanal »

I have a basic question for ebook owners....are maps, illustrations, and photos, that might for example be in a history book, included in ebooks?
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Hertston
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Hertston »

ORIGINAL: J P Falcon

I have a basic question for ebook owners....are maps, illustrations, and photos, that might for example be in a history book, included in ebooks?

Yes. Note what I said earlier though.
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Adam Parker
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Adam Parker »

The iPhone imo is the best e-reader I've ever had - and it seems the market is agreeing.

From PC world Magazine November 3rd:

"Apple's iPhone is quickly becoming the ebook reader of choice for many, and could steal market share from Amazon's Kindle, according to a report from market research firm Flurry.

The iPhone and iPod Touch turned into a popular handheld gaming platform over the last year, as most of the apps released for the devices were in the games category. Even Nintendo acknowledged that iPhone games were among the reasons its DS portable gaming machine under-performed in sales.

And now it appears it is the Amazon Kindle's turn to take a beating, as book applications for iPhone exceeded the popularity of games apps in the last four months, according the Flurry report. In September, iPhone books (some running on Kindle for iPhone) overtook games for the first time, while one in every five new apps in the App Store in October were books."

PC World iPhone as an eBook Reader

Personally, the iPhone is doing it all. EBooks when I want them and Audio Books when I want to rest my eyes. The iPhone's clarity and resolution makes me wish I'd never bought a PDA all those years ago. Not to mention its ease in reading PDF's like war game rules.
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Hertston
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Hertston »

ORIGINAL: Adam Parker
Personally, the iPhone is doing it all. EBooks when I want them and Audio Books when I want to rest my eyes. The iPhone's clarity and resolution makes me wish I'd never bought a PDA all those years ago. Not to mention its ease in reading PDF's like war game rules.

Depends on the PDA. My iPAQ 214 (210 in the States) is superior to Mrs Herts' iPhone in that respect, as it is for video. In neither case, though, would I consider the kit ideal or even really functional for meaty game manuals; maybe you just have better eyesight and/or more patience than me. Whatever the clarity and resolution (640x480 in the case of the 214) they just don't 'work' on a screen that size IMHO. Novels are fine on either.
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Adam Parker
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Adam Parker »

Yep Herston, there's going to be a compromise in some way with functionality no matter what people use.

Personally, I'm into good 'ol paper books and build 'em yourself bookcases!
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Fallschirmjager
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RE: e-book readers

Post by Fallschirmjager »

I have a Kindle and love it. I don't live in a major metro area so getting the Washington Post and WSJ each morning in a paperless format is huge.
I can also get The Economist in a paper format and a little bit cheaper.

I read it mainly for daily and weekly periodicals and consider the books to just be a plus but they are really are nice to have in such a compact form.

Yes the format is proprietary but as long as you own the Kindle you can access and own the content. And the device and service is here to stay so I don't have much fear of ever losing my content.


EDIT: I forgot to mention how easy the virtual paper is on the eyes. You can stare at it for hours and not feel eye strain or get a headache.
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