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Which eBook Reader is the Best?
Mistress.Erin writes "I cannot decide between Amazon's Kindle and Sony's Reader. I've read some
reviews, but their motives can be somewhat suspect. So, I come to the most tech savvy group around to ask: which eBook reader is the best? If not Kindle or Reader, then what?" We've discussed this question before, but things have changed a bit since 2005.
Don't support DRM technology.
It probably should be the iPod Touch, but the bloody thing doesn't allow viewing/opening/saving locally stored pdf's, unless you jailbreak it and install apache, php and god knows what else. Such a WASTE!
lemonade was a popular drink and it still is
I would recommend the Kindle for only one big reason:
.PDFs with free Mobipocket creator), and there you go. No DRM necessary, unless you buy books from the Kindle store.
- Text search capability
It's hard to believe that in 2007, the latest Sony reader has no ability to search through the text of a book. This is important for technical reference manuals and textbooks, and was a dealbreaker for me. I don't use the Kindle store (other than to purchase one book when I first got it), so I leave the wireless off to save batteries.
I find the Kindle is dead simple to use. Plug it into your computer with USB, drag some Mobipocket, RTF, or TXT files onto it (convert your
Also, some people will complain about no native PDF support on the Kindle. This is not a bad thing. Sony reader displays PDFs, but shrinks an entire 8.5x11 page down to the size of the tiny screen, so it's almost unreadable! This is why you must convert your PDFs into Mobipocket format first, so that the Kindle can resize the fonts, etc., and it becomes an actually readable e-book, and not a glorified thumbnail viewer.
"When the president does it, that means it's not illegal." - Richard M. Nixon
10x the weight.
1/20th the battery life.
No cell-net connectivity
signifigantly larger closed
Immensely larger open
Much slower to come on / off
can't really be used with one hand
The list goes on. I love my laptop, but would never consider it as a book replacement. An E-Book reader is pretty much there.
I have used both. I also occasionally read books on my laptop. For most purposes, the eInk readers are a lot easier to read than LCD displays. I prefer the Sony Reader. DRM is not that much of an issue to me because I generally buy or download my books from non-Sony sources, BUT--and this is a major point--if you are a Mac User (or a Linux user), I recommend the Kindle. Sony, in their infinite ignorance, does not support anything but Windows. The other factor that I would check on is how many books are available in your format. I know a few people who have said that they couldn't find certain books for the Kindle that are available for the PRS-505. Personally, I have had the opposite results. One device that might bear watching is the OLPC computer because it offers the best of both worlds--it is a color display until you turn the brightness all the way down, and then it becomes a reflective gray scale display.
The best Ebook reader is the Hanlin Ereader v3. It runs the Linux OS, it is not DRM based, and it supports the most book formats or otherwise file format freedom. It supports PDF, DOC, WOLF, HTML, MP3, TXT, RTF, CHM, FB2, Djvu, PNG, TIFF, GIF, RTF, and JPG formats.
The XO Laptop display is visible in full daylight. Its software is completely open. It can read and display open formats like plain text and PDF. It can download the files from the Internet using WiFi. It has extremely low power consumption and if you find yourself too far away from an outlet, you can charge it yourself. For the cost of a Kindle from Amazon you can buy an XO and donate one to a child.
From the specs page of the XO PC at One Laptop Per Child:
http://laptop.org/laptop/hardware/specs.shtml
* Liquid-crystal display: 7.5" Dual-mode TFT display;
* Viewing area: 152.4mm × 114.3mm;
* Resolution: 1200 (H) × 900 (V) resolution (200 DPI);
* Monochrome display: High-resolution, reflective sunlight-readable monochrome mode; Color display: Standard-resolution, Quincunx-sampled, transmissive color mode;
* LCD power consumption: 0.1 Watt with backlight off; 0.2-1.0 Watt with backlight on;
* The display-controller chip (DCON) with memory that enables the display to remain live with the processor suspended; the display and this chip are the basis of our extremely low power architecture; the display controller chip also enables deswizzling and anti-aliasing in color mode.
I looked at the Sony reader in Costco and the Kindle online.
...) is the very high resolution and effective infinite refresh this makes it real easy on the eyes when you are reading for hours at a time.
The real nice thing about the E-Ink devices (Sony Reader, Kindle, Bookeen,
The Sony is sleek and well designed, didn't like being locked into one store though. I ended up getting a Bookeen Gen3 and am very happy so far -- it weighs very little and looks much nicer than the Kindle. It supports the Mobipocket format and there are 20-30 online stores that have content; you will find some stores have books others do not.
If you want to be able to browse web pages or other interactive things and believe that's more important than a reader device then I suggest you look outside of the E-Ink devices.
If you value being able to search your e-books, something like the Kindle or other readers which have a keyboard may be better suited to your habits.
This matrix compares specs of most major readers out there. http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix/
Books On Board has a pretty good deal on Bookeen: http://www.booksonboard.com//
An avid reader of Sci-F, Fantasy, and the occasional Mystery.
-John
I own a Sony eReader PRS-505. I got it to use mainly when I travel internationally, it's wonderful to carry 10+ hours of reading material in one slim package. I've found that it's also fine for everyday use. I use the USB cable (comes with the reader) to hook up to my WinXP laptop for charging and updating content.
You can get books either through Sony's eBook site or by uploading RTFs and PDFs. (And a few other formats, that I don't use.) I have yet to buy a book from Sony, but I'm a big sci-fi reader so I've downloaded a bunch of stuff from the Baen free library (http://www.baen.com/library/) and other sources.
Technically, I really like the features. The battery life is great, I've used it pretty much non-stop on international flights for 12+ hours and never even saw the battery indicator go down. The viewing area is plenty big, as long as you use the zoom feature properly to expand pages of PDFs. It's easy to switch from one book to another, and to maintain bookmarks.
My only real complaint isn't specifically about the Sony, it's more an industry thing - I wish there was a standard book format. Rocket eBook, Windows CE books, Microsoft reader, Palm format, etc. It gets old seeing all those different formats all the time.
I did see mention above about some other features missing, like a text search. Personally I don't really care about that so it's not an issue for me. Also I've seen folks complain about having to use a computer to get content (rather than wireless like a Kindle), but again it's not an issue for me. I work on my computer all the time, no hardship for me to use it for my reader content.
Skip Franklin
It's always darkest just before it goes pitch black. -- despair.com
Agreed. The reviews I've read for the Kindle are spot on, saying "wait for the 2nd generation". If Amazon will redesign the thing, so it doesn't look like it was made in the 80's, drop the need to email non proprietary file formats to Amazon so they can be converted, and add in support for hyperlinked files, I will be first in line. I have a pretty good size collection of books sitting on my computer that are in HTML help files, which allow for hyperlinking directly to footnotes, appendices, references in other parts of the book, etc. Build a device that can take these things natively (support for the occasional picture would be nice, too), and I will be on board.
Oh, and for some reason, the idea of being able to just plug in a thumb drive to the side of these things has escaped both of these companies. I can understand Sony's argument, since they make a whole line of flash media, but SD cards and the like are for cameras, not for storing books.
Raging in an online forum won't do anything for the world around you. To see change, you must take action.
At this point, for me at least, Sony is off the list of acceptable products. From their CD's with root kits, to mini-DV tapes recorded in professional grade camcorders that cannot be read in any other camcorder, their products will end up screwing you over somehow. They are way into lock-in and product degradation. They no longer care about making a good product that people will want to buy. They have the big name that is keeping them afloat as the common tech-illiterate will buy their stuff because they see the commercials and they are familiar with the name.
-- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.
Sorry, I'm a writer. That makes you raw material.
Great tip, thanks. I was intrigued enough to go looking further:
http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/09/18/hanlin-ereader-v9-due-later-this-year-with-10-inch-e-ink-screen-new-vizplex-tech-included/
Of all the readers out there, the only one that has me really interested is the Iliad (discussed briefly in a comment above), but the high price tag is making me a bit reluctant to jump. The price of the current Hanlin is much more reasonable, and I've been dying for an eReader with a big screen for me to read technical PDFs and RTFs on.
If you want it for the reading experience, get the Sony.
If you want it so that everyone will think you're geeky, get the Kindle.
If you want it because you're truly geeky, get the Irex Iliad.
There's more information than you ever wanted to know about e-book hardware, software, formats, etc. at MobileRead
Sorry, I'm a writer. That makes you raw material.
If you purchase .LIT files, you can strip the DRM using Convert LIT http://www.convertlit.com/, and convert them to Sony's format with libprs500. https://libprs500.kovidgoyal.net/
I'm uncertain of the legality of doing this (for personal use) in the US... see the DMCA exception on the convertlit legal page. Outside the US, check your local laws.
A good source of information is http://www.mobileread.com/.
The hardware is actually surprisingly attractive. The body itself has a nice brushed metal feel to it now, not unlike a MacBook Pro. Buttons were a silver plastic I believe. The device is also really thin, which was a nice change over the first Reader I saw, as that one was a little on the chunky side.
This being a store demo unit, I did not get to try out the Sony Connect store. This being Sony though, I'm not surprised if the experience had a tendency to suck. The Sony Connect music store's already been shut down, if you were curious how that effort was going in general.
Read the Ars review if you want a more real-life experience though. Personally, I'd like the Sony Reader hardware and exterior combined with the Amazon software and EVDO connection as an ideal ebook reader.
Having just gone through this process, allow me to pass on what I learned about the process.
.5-2 second refresh time. LCDs can have color while eink hasn't gotten that far.
1) Know what you are getting into.
Ebooks have some great advantages. However:
* DRM is common
* books are pricey
* selection is very limited
If you're still interested, continue.
2) LCD vs Eink
I read a lot on my Palm. Now that I have an eink reader, I'm not going back, I never thought LCD was "hard" to read on until I read on something else. However, eink means $$$ and few choices, while there's a number of established as well as new LCD devices for much, much less. LCDs can also scroll, while the eink has a
Your question implies you've picked, so we'll continue on, but others are recommended to visit a Borders and take a peek at a demo Sony Reader - the viziplex screen is pretty much the same for all the major eink readers.
3) Pros and Cons
There are basically 4 readers to choose from here (ignoring the fringe players):
Bookeen
Sony
Kindle
Iliad
Iliad has some real perks, but I wanted a reader not a computer, and certainly not $700 worth.
Bookeen has some nice features, but after my painful Zaurus experience, I wanted to stick to something intended for my language and a little more commercial support. When I bought my reader, the Cybook was still finishing off the rough spots. It may now be worthy of consideration, as it has a much wider selection of formats than the Sony Reader.
Kindle - though it wasn't out when I got my reader, it came out shortly afterward. Major Pros are wireless access to snag books, improved book selection (still limited), and much better prices on books. Major Con is the highly restrictive DRM. That latter is what kept me content with my Sony.
Sony - My eventual choice. It takes props as one of the only technology choices I didn't quickly regret. It has its limitations, most notably the crappy book selection, even crappier prices, and the eink refresh time. But it does what it tries to do reliably well.
Here are the things about the Sony reader that the review may not cover (505 only, not always true for 500)
It's a USB Mass storage device - so you can install books from any computer. What's more, it takes SD cards (and memory sticks, but I haven't mucked with that), and when the card is in the reader and the reader is connected to the computer, the card also appears as a drive on the USB device. I've been able to use my Reader on multiple computers, Windows and Linux, with no issue. There is no need to use the Sony software except to download from their crappy bookstore.
You may see talk of a credit at the bookstore - that's for "Sony Classics" only, i.e. books you can grab off of Gutenburg for free. I recommend you turn to mobileread.com for your ebook needs and wait for Amazon et al to get a clue like they have (started) with Mp3s. Either way, don't factor the $100 credit into your comparison.
The Sony Reader can handle LRF (it's propriety but not necessarily DRM'ed format) well, offering hyperlinking and 3 levels of magnification along with landscape/portrait modes. It can also handle TXT (I believe the zoom offerings are the same). PDF is also handled, but (1) Not "Digital Editions" (Adobe's DRMed books) and (2) It only offers 2 "sizes". Most PDF books come across as very small even when I have it zoomed and landscape. RTF doesn't resize in my experience, but it works well enough. Notably HTML, Mobi, Palmdoc, Word doc, and Openoffice formats aren't supported.
Installing a book can be done with their crappy wanna-be Itunes like software...or you can drag and drop via USB and ignore that. I recommend the latter.
The charge for me, reading a couple of hours each day, is a little less than a week. It charges off of USB no problem, standard mini connector. Your current position in books is lost if it goes dry, but nothing else, including hard boo
I know Amazon has been really bad in communicating this, but you can copy non-proprietary formats to the Kindle for free. TXT files are supported natively, and most other files can be converted to Mobipocket files (.mobi) by the Mobipocket conversion tools. Once you have either a TXT or .MOBI file, you can copy it to the Kindle over the supplied USB cable. The $.10 transfer fee is only to use Amazon's converter and to copy the file across the Sprint wireless network. Yes, your HTML files aren't natively supported, but you can pretty easily convert those to MOBI (you may lose the hyperlinks, but the images should come through) and use them on a Kindle.
Ask and you shall receive:
http://www.bookeen.com/ebook/ebook-reading-device.aspx
It supports the same DRM mobibook format that the Kindle does, also has unencumbered support for HTML, PDF and more, doesn't have the ugly casing or awkward controls that the Kindle has. And yes - it runs Linux.
Happy to help,
-H.
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
Well, the OLPC XO-1 handles most of those formats and has a daylight low power reading mode and a screen that flips around for tablet reading. Mine arrived yesterday. It is one of the coolest things I have ever play with. Completely silent too, won't bother folks around you in a quiet coffee shop. Has an SD card slot and wireless. Battery has good life and handles 2000 recharge cycles. Not quiet pocket sized though ;).
Computer Science is all about trying to find the right wrench to bang in the right screw. -T.Cumbo?
Well the CNet "review" says:
"Disclaimer: This is all based on what I've seen and read. I haven't seen a Kindle in person. Yet."
WTF?
If you want an excellent review that goes through the whole thing in excruciating detail, you should read the AppleInsider review:
In-depth review: can Amazon's Kindle light a fire under eBooks?
Disclaimer: I wrote it.
If you like that sort of non-stop information that demands an attention span, I also wrote about iPod/iPhone video cables.
I also wrote a disassembly of the George Ou Mac OS X vs Vista Vulnerability Numerology
Well, your statement is obviously true, but I think the point the GP makes is that libraries should be seen as a feature of dead-tree books. Sure, you can go to the library anytime and leave with a couple of books, but that's got nothing to do with owning an eBook reader. So the key point is that when you purchase an eBook reader, it's a brick (to use popular nomenclature here on /.) unless your purchase content, to some extent. Dead-tree books you can read one a day without paying more than you already do, if you don't mind going to the library.
Oh, I can't help quoting you because everything that you said rings true
You're right; it's illogical. However, there is method behind the madness. I haven't, and wouldn't, come right out and say, "I've never seen an e-book, and I think they suck," but I'll venture an apology for those who do. I've been hearing people proclaim that displays are good enough to replace books, newspapers, etc. for twenty years. Not just futurists or marketers, but real people who actually used the technology. That's two-thirds of my life, so you can't blame me for being cynical by this point. E-book proponents suffer from being preceded by decades of enthusiasts who eagerly and prematurely embraced whatever technology was currently available as the successor to print.
In fact, as the technology has become better and better, the predictions of the death of print have been toned down considerably. People made ridiculous claims about the supremacy of 80-column text on monochrome CRTs that no one would dare make about the Kindle today. I repeat, these were not (all) futurists, marketers, attention whores like Dvorak, or semi-literate basement gnomes, but real, educated professionals who had to spend a considerable amount of time in front of those CRTs. So, people who have never seen an e-book and feel safe disregarding all positive reports are just adopting a strategy with a proven track record. It's cheaper to assume e-books are useless, because you'll probably be right for years and years and save yourself tons of time and expense checking out new products, and then one day you'll be wrong, and you won't lose much over it. Unless you're Amazon, which is why they're going to be on the cutting edge the whole way, just to make sure they don't miss the turning point.
By the way, I do have a Nokia n800, and I'm pretty sure it does suck
While books are relatively small in disk usage terms, I doubt you're going to fit the whole library on an e-book sized device. Maybe a laptop, but I kind of doubt even O'Reilly is "free" enough that they're going to give you their whole library on a laptop with only some DRM to protect it. One dedicated cracker and the whole thing escapes into the wild.
If you take away the "on the plane" requirement, the Safari library subscription already allows you to do the type of search you're envisioning, for about the same price as a typical tech book per month. You can use that interface on any web browser, so you can do what you're requesting on a good cell phone right now.