Digital Reading: e-books discussion

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roseaurora
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Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by roseaurora »

dimber wrote:
Lieziewiezie wrote:My reader support about any type of e-book except the type fitted for the Kindle ;)
It supports PDF which is great, cause alot of documents are like that and then you can just put it on the reader.

Alot of the classics (Little Women, all Jane Austens, .....) are legit available for free. (which makes I have over 60 books on there and only own the reader for 2 weeks).
These are two strong pro's for sony, at least for me...the mp3 reading is also a very tempting thing since it would prevent me for bringing with me the ipod too.
Just wanted to say that both those pros are true for the Kindle as well :D I just recently put the draft of Midnight Sun on my Kindle and just downloaded 4 "classics" (including Little women) for free too!

Also, my Kindle malfunctioned while I was on travel at the end of last week, something went screwy with the e-ink and the top right corner wasn't showing the print properly, tho I could still read it because it was only the last letter that was unreadable. I signed up online to have Amazon customer support call me and after talking with the guy, they sent me a brand new reader for free! It was at my apartment when I got home from travel! Fantastic customer support if you ask me!

Has anyone seen the new Barnes and Noble ereader? I've heard a little about it but am curious what someone who's seen it thinks.
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dimber
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Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by dimber »

I've just contacted the Barnes & Noble customer service because their new ereader seems to be quite good...it only reads PDFs and Lit files but it supports mp3's (which is a plus) and mpeg (which is of no importance). It's very cheap, if compared to the Sony, but it's hard to judge, especially regarding the tech spechs and the shell, which is really important in electronics. You might save some money and have a good product too but...what about two or three years for now? Will it still work? Sony seems to be more reliable than B&N...at least to me! Besides, I have to check if the customer service is available for Italy too...

Do you know if there are any readers with an 8" or 9" screens? If not, do you find the classic 6" screen easy to read?
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carranzaya
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Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by carranzaya »

Hi, i have some doubts that you people who are experts in this e-reader stuff can clear it up.

Does it hurt the same as if you were reading on a computer or there is no eyes pain?
What it is the average cost of e-book, i mean you have to buy it nothing it is for free, ie: New York Times Betseller list?
Is it really worth it?
Should i choose Barnes & Nobles instead of Sony?

I hope you guys can help me.

Thanks, Yadira.
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roseaurora
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Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by roseaurora »

carranzaya wrote:Hi, i have some doubts that you people who are experts in this e-reader stuff can clear it up.

Does it hurt the same as if you were reading on a computer or there is no eyes pain?
What it is the average cost of e-book, i mean you have to buy it nothing it is for free, ie: New York Times Betseller list?
Is it really worth it?
Should i choose Barnes & Nobles instead of Sony?

I hope you guys can help me.

Thanks, Yadira.
I have a Kindle (and you should get one, not Sony or B&N- but I may be a little biased because I love mine so :D )

Reading off of it is exactly like reading off a book page, nothing like reading off a computer screen, so there is no eye strain. They use what is called "e-ink" (electronic ink). In fact, at least with the Kindle and I'm sure others, you can change the size of the font too.

With my Kindle, books range from FREE (for things out of copyright) up to $14.99 for new releases, and then everything in between. I just bought Twilight for it and that was under $6.

Hope that info helped, maybe someone with another type of reader can fill you in on those ones, since I only know about the Kindle.
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Lieziewiezie
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Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by Lieziewiezie »

carranzaya wrote:Hi, i have some doubts that you people who are experts in this e-reader stuff can clear it up.

Does it hurt the same as if you were reading on a computer or there is no eyes pain?
What it is the average cost of e-book, i mean you have to buy it nothing it is for free, ie: New York Times Betseller list?
Is it really worth it?
Should i choose Barnes & Nobles instead of Sony?

I hope you guys can help me.

Thanks, Yadira.
The e-reader defenitly doesn't hurt your eyes. And I have eyes that are very easily tired and have to wear glasses if I look at the computerscreen for long, but I have absolutly no problem with the e-reader. It doesn't look like a computerscreen either, the background is white and it doesn't light up cause that would be hurtfull to the eyes.

I couldn't buy a kindle since that doesn't support the format of books we have here and we don't have an amazon. My cousin went on holliday to the US and when she saw my e-book and saw a lot of kindle's on the metro she said the kindle was way thicker and not as pretty as my sony :p Depends on what you like I guess ;) I haven't tried the kindle, so I can't compare it in use, I can only say the Sony lays perfectly in my hand and is extremly pleasant to read. And they have it in red. (important pro ;)

I think you mainly have to view at where you would buy your books from and see that the e-reader supports that format.
The Sony doesn't has wireless internet acces so you would have to connect your reader to the computer to download books to it.

I own the Sony and I wouldn't want to loose it anymore. I have the touch version, which has the biggest screen and the most high cost.

Ooh and yes you can change the format of the letters. With the sony touch you have a pen attached and you can write notes in your book or mark certain parts of you book. Very cool is you have study books on there or have to make a book review or are in a book club or something. Then you can go straight to the pages where you wrote something so it's very easy to find. The sony has place to add a memory card to it so you can upload as many books or music that you want.
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carranzaya
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Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by carranzaya »

Thanks a lot to you both girls: Roseaurora and Lieziewiezie, how kind of you! that was extremely helpul, so now i have to think about it before a make my mind.

Sony seems to be a good e-reader not as expensive as Kindle, my only concer is where do you buy e-books to Sony e-reader? can you do it at any online store? or there is a special one for Sony?
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roseaurora
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Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by roseaurora »

Lieziewiezie wrote:
I couldn't buy a kindle since that doesn't support the format of books we have here and we don't have an amazon. My cousin went on holliday to the US and when she saw my e-book and saw a lot of kindle's on the metro she said the kindle was way thicker and not as pretty as my sony :p Depends on what you like I guess ;) I haven't tried the kindle, so I can't compare it in use, I can only say the Sony lays perfectly in my hand and is extremly pleasant to read. And they have it in red. (important pro ;)
I bet it was a the first generation Kindle that she saw.... that one was much bulkier than the second generation one is, which I have. Its thinner than a pencil and much more comfortable to hold to read. Tho both my dad and my brother have the older one and they like it just fine. Mine's sleeker looking.
Lieziewiezie wrote: I think you mainly have to view at where you would buy your books from and see that the e-reader supports that format.
Excellent advice!

The pencil thing sounds pretty cool too! The Kindle has a keyboard on it and you can type annotations as you read which is pretty cool.
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dimber
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Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by dimber »

I finally have good news regarding the ereader and some info for those of you who want to purchase one :mrgreen:

Some of them are available in Italy so I had the chance to test them in a shop. I tested three different models from Cybook and the new Japanese Iriver. As far as I've seen they're not what I want. The case seems too weak for me. I'm sure the hardware is pretty delicate so I guess plastic is not the best way to protect it. Besides, the cybooks are slow, don't have the reflow function and the touch screen. The Iriver plastic case seems tougher and the software quicker. Unfortunately, the Iriver has a lot of side functions, like vocal recording, diary and daily organiser that are useless for reading. Besides, the keyboard takes a lot of space and makes handling the reader a little ackward. Neither of these two brands have the highlight thing.
I was pretty discouraged when I found out these were the only ones available in Italy.

But...since I usually get what I want, I kept searching the net. I found an Ebay shop selling the Sony touch worldwide. The shop has very good feedback on Ebay and excellent prices. They're selling the Sony Touch Prs 600, with leather folder and wall charger for 314 U.S. dollars. It's an extremely competitive price in Euros, though a little higher than the Cybook and the Iriver because of the shipping rates. The shop gives also a one-year U.S. warranty. All the readers are brand new and sealed.
Send me a private post if you want more info...I'm waiting the new year to purchase it. I'm so excited :lol:
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dimber
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Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by dimber »

Just a quick message to let you know that the ebay seller is good. The delivery is fast and the Prs600 was in perfect condition.
It's definitely the best reader I've seen so far: strong but light case, simple software, no particular installation needed and easy to read. The software works like the itunes library.
I strongly advice anyone of you who want to purchase a good reader in a country where none is available to try this. The seller gives a one-year world warranty :mrgreen:
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ringswraith
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Re: Digital Reading: e-books discussion

Post by ringswraith »

I bought my mom a Kindle DX (the slimmer, international edition one) for Christmas, and I'm quite envious and thinking about getting one for myself now. :lol:

This edition has coverage most anywhere in the world (there is a map you can check to verify coverage) and you can purchase your books directly from the unit but: you have to create your account and register a payment card on Amazon.com first.

Most books on their Kindle website run around $9.99 (including NY bestseller listers) and there are a lot of books that are free. (I downloaded a compilation of Sherlock Holmes because of this.) Delivery is quick, using the device is quite simple- overall, very impressed with it.
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