e-Book readers - Do you use them?

c - 13

Ill say something for the Sony ones, the screens are very delicate. Mine took an accidental tumble and the screen is in bits Absolutely ****ed now so it is.

Tom Dunne

As an avid reader and a gadget enthusiast, this is one area that intrigues me.

I have an iPhone and I have about €3 of iTunes vouchers left over from Christmas, so I decided to go looking for an e-book or two to try out. I've just downloaded Ulysses for the pricely sum of €0.79. It will be interesting to see how I get on.

Epic Tissue

With any of these ereaders.. is it possible to bookmark multiple pages at once?

skybluejay

Sigh. I see why they're a good idea, and I have no doubt that in a few decades time they will have all but replaced actual books. It's sad though. Books are just nicer, in some imperceptible way, in the same way that CDs and LPs are nicer than having all your music on an ipod. I like being able to hold the solid weight of a book in my hands, buying the tangible object and turning the pages and looking at the front cover and later having the satisfaction of seeing it stacked up on my bookshelf. You know?

MarthaT

I've been using a Kindle for a long while now and its been great, I've read a lot more books b/c of it I'm sure

lehcar

Anyone using the new Kindle, the larger size version?

The newspapaer and mag industry over here is looking at ereaders as a means for distributing their content, given that the trad paper versions are bleeding. Plastic Logic's device [when is it coming out?] should also suit this, it seemed geared more to business and school markets--large size, annotation etc.

The papers/mags could be the catalyst to tip ereading into the mainstream, concurrent with Amazon's hefty push of the Kindles. After a long wait, I expect the mainstream breakthru to happen in 2010-11. Apple joining in would help, ebooks aren't yet cool.

The main tipping point will happen after a few things:
1. A common format for ebooks, like MP3 for music;
2. A good choice of cheap, reliable, robust reading devices;
3. Realistic pricing.
ePub might be the format answer, although it's clumsy at the moment. Pricing may well be driven by indie epublishers and sellers, who don't have the trad overheads--I own a small epub company, and we can sell normal fiction for $2-3 once the market moves past tiny.
There's a decent chance those three factors will be in place within the 10s decade.

We've had various ereaders for about 10 years, herself still uses an old RocketBook as her default choice. Basic and heavy, but it does the job she wants--reading in bed without having the main lights on.

Btw if you're using Adobe reader for PDFs, I recommend changing to Foxit or PDF xChange. Both are free, much lighter on resources than Adobe, and [esp xChange] have extra capabilities.

Foxit also have a new reading device out, the eSlick. Anyone used it?

Print books won't disappear, anymore than radio or horses have. But print will contract considerably and lose the main consumer market.

Eoin

Does anyone here have a Sony eReader? I'm looking at the PR-505 or something no more expensive.

I'm trying to figure out definitively if I can put on eBooks from other sources than their own store - I really don't think $7 or so is a good price for a download.

Also, I don't do a lot of travelling - I just can't fit any more books into my house. Is it really a usable substitute for someone who reads a lot of novels?

Any opinions from converts who never thought they'd like it would be great!

ElNino

I have my Sony PRS-505 for about 18mths now and I am very happy with it. You can source books from practically any ebook store bar Amazon which only has ebooks in Kindle format. I am not sure what you mean about $7 not being a good price for a download as that is very cheap.

There is an excellent cross-platform open source free library management application called Calibre which I use to add and delete books to my Ereader. Calibre supports conversion from (HTML, LIT, RTF, TXT, PDF(simple text+few images)) to the SONY ebook reader format LRF or the more universal EPUB format and it is regularly updated. It works with the Sony firmware.

You can download it here:
http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/
It doesn't work with 64 bit Windows.

There is a big thread on the Sony Ereader in the gadgets forum.

Eoin

ElNino wrote: »

I have my Sony PRS-505 for about 18mths now and I am very happy with it. You can source books from practically any ebook store bar Amazon which only has ebooks in Kindle format. I am not sure what you mean about $7 not being a good price for a download as that is very cheap.

There is an excellent cross-platform open source free library management application called Calibre which I use to add and delete books to my Ereader. Calibre supports conversion from (HTML, LIT, RTF, TXT, PDF(simple text+few images)) to the SONY ebook reader format LRF or the more universal EPUB format and it is regularly updated. It works with the Sony firmware.

You can download it here:
http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/
It doesn't work with 64 bit Windows.

There is a big thread on the Sony Ereader in the gadgets forum.

Thanks - that's exactly what I'm looking for. I was just reading the thread in the gadgets forum as well.

$7 not being a good price for a download as that is very cheap.

I buy second hand mostly, so that's expensive for me.

Eoin

My local Xtravision had a 505 on display so I had a look today. I was very impressed with the screen, it wsa very clear without it being too sharp for the eyes - it really does look very usable. The black flicker while changing pages is a little annoying, but overall it really looks like a great device.

Eoin

Just thought I'd update the thread, as I got a Sony PRS-505 last week. I was a bit hesitant as although I love gadgets, I wasn't 100% sure that this could replace reading a proper book.

I am amazed at how easy the screen is on the eyes. There is very little glare, and because it's not a traditional screen, there is no refresh - so very little strain on the eyes. It doesn't take long to get used to pressing the button instead of turning a page.

There are some slight differences with formats - the word wrapping can be funny in some .txt files, so you can have lines of text with only a word or two - this could purely be because of line feeds in the text file though. It can be a bit slow to respond when changing the zoom size. There's a flicker when you change pages, but I've gotten used to that.

I downloaded the software that ElNino recommended, and it works perfectly with the reader.

So, overall - very happy with it. I don't think this is just for people who travel a lot - you really aren't compromising all that much over a normal book. If anyone is undecided, I'd recommend checking one out in Xtravision or anywhere you can have a go.

Ludo

I have started using my PSP as an ebook reader recently. I am on my third book on it now and was surprised at how good it is. It takes a bit of fiddling around on the pc to get a book into a suitable format for the psp but once that is done it works very well. I can now read easily in bed without having to have a light on which was annoying the wife.
I did not think I would enjoy reading books electronically but I find it just as enjoyable as a proper book.
I am looking around for a decently prices dedicated ebook reader as a result.

MacGyver

CraggyIslander wrote: »

*the sony one is cumbersome and more limited in supported formats, i.e no support for epub, but it's own DRM'd format. It's the one in the shops tho as it's got a big brand name pushing it...

AFAIK the sony one released an update for epub recently but worth check the support site for sony before buying

Eoin

Download Calibre and it can convert the formats. I've had my prs-505 for a month now and absolutely love it.

Ludo

Quick question... I see these ebook readers have no backlight. Does this mean you have to have a light on to see them?
Do some of them have a backlight?

ElNino

Ludo wrote: »

Quick question... I see these ebook readers have no backlight. Does this mean you have to have a light on to see them?
Do some of them have a backlight?

The new Sony PRS-700, which is only on sale in the U.S., has a built in backlight. You can get a replacement cover for the PRS-505 with a light attachment. I have one and it is pretty good. Peats.ie have them for €59.99 but you will probably find it cheaper elsewhere if you shop around.

ElNino

MacGyver wrote: »

AFAIK the sony one released an update for epub recently but worth check the support site for sony before buying

You are correct. The most recent Sony firmware natively supports EPUB as well as Sony's own LRF/LRX formats.

SeekUp

Andy-Pandy wrote: »

I dont understand the attraction. I love my book collection, i have a room filled with bokks and love looking through them. looking at the covers and remebering the storys

Don't have a reader yet . . . I mostly do my reading from the library, so buying a reader and buying the downloads just doesn't make much sense financially.

The only books I buy now are ones that I know I'm going to read over and over again, and they're mostly gonna be hardcovers for that very reason. I love books, but I wouldn't be against getting a reader for the books I might just read once and never think of again. But, as someone mentioned a while ago, until I can get those available to loan on an e-book reader, I'm gonna stick with my current system.

ElNino

bedlam wrote: »

South Dublin Libraries do ebooks. No excuse now ;]

Their selection seems to be fairly limited though. They only seem to have a few hundred ebooks.