eReaders

Has anyone bought one and are they any good?  There seems to be a lot of faulty ones on eBay that still go for a mint.  I can't see they warrant the expense at present, especially when an eBook is not considerably less than a paper version?

The iPad I thought might be a good idea, I can't really see how something the size of a clipboard is easy to carry about.  Not sure it works in my humble opinion, plus what will the battery life be like on something that big?

The Barnes and Noble Nook looks a lot smarter for the money than the Sony version, it uses the e-ink screen for the printed page and oLED screens to represent other info at the bottom like cover pages.  Not sure if it will be available over here yet though?

Thoughts?

This is the best reader I've seen.  Quite expensive though, it's an early release.

http://www.que.com/

I would like a e reader for my vast e book collection - just havent found the right one which i like look of yet - i thought ipad was going to be it but i dont think it will be as good as the true e readers...that one in ur like the barnes and nobble one looks good though.

I've read good things about Amazon's Kindle...but too expensive for all I would use it for.

I've got a Sony PRS505 which I've had for 15 months now and have not read a dead tree book since. It's all about how nice the screen is, e-ink might be a bit slow but it's the best screen for reading by a million miles.

There was a fairly good discussion on this a while back that you might want to look at.

I read a huge amount of books and I love the act of opening and working my way through a book - I could never trade to an e-reader.  What sort of a library could you build on one of those jobs?

Plus you wouldn't get that paper smell......

^^^^ I know what you mean. There are ceratin mini pleasures you get from reading something tangible like a book. I was the same with mp3's over CD's but came round eventually.

My CD shelf was groaning under the weight. My book shelf isnt far off, plus the book is free if it is out of copyright. Ill stand corrected but I was lead to believe that essentially a book more than 70 years old is free.

Darth Darth


I read a huge amount of books and I love the act of opening and working my way through a book - I could never trade to an e-reader.  What sort of a library could you build on one of those jobs?

Plus you wouldn't get that paper smell......

Plus there will be no enjoyment in getting rare copies...(1st ed, hand-signed etc)

I don't read as much as I used to and having moved around so much I find every time I move I downsize all my books, there are only a few books that I hold on to for personal and financial reasons.  The trouble is I also love books and can see the problem you have Darth Darth but I like the idea of an eReader as I find reading from a laptop or PC seems alien.  Many of my books that were purchased new look as though they have never been read.

I loved my pocketPC for reading when I was travelling but the screen was just far too small, very convenient though and read quite a few books on it. 

A dedicated device seems the way forward and I seem to be warming to the idea quite a lot.  Some of them just seem a little cheap and plasticky though - the Sony one looks quality I must admit but the amount I have seen on eBay broken is shocking.  Plus I dont think the screens are available to buy and replace yet?

I have an PSR 505 aswell. Just note PG that alot of the new, popular books, e.g Lost Symbol or something, are released in ebook form at the same time as in paper form, and if you look hard enough (actually not hard at all) you don't have to pay a penny for them.
It doesn't take many free books + the added convience for the reader to pay for itself.

RE: the iPad - the tech specs for battery life are:

Battery and power4

Built-in 25 Whr rechargeable lithium-polymer battery

Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music.

Seems plenty of juice for using it as an eReader.

The eReader technology is still in its infancy. I got one as a present from my gf and im a bit annoyed as i didnt want it as it is out off date already with all the newer models being touch screen etc. I knew this would happen which is why i was delaying buying one.

These will be improved upon hugely in the next 12 months.

I don't want touch screen because it's puts more crap between your eyes and the text, which is exactly why e-ink is good compared to tft/lcd/oled. I also don't want Wi-Fi as it drains the battery. My Sony lasts at least a month of very heavy use on a charge because it doesn't have any of that crap.

It might do it but I can't see how the Apple pantyPad is going to be anywhere as nice to read as an e-ink display. Plus as it's Apple I bet you'll only be allowed to read officially DRM'd Apple Book Store books at premium prices.

I agree with you David, I like the fact that the e-ink screen has the look of the printed page, which it was invented for, start adding all the other stuff and you get a device with too much baggage - at the end of the day when you finish with a book, you very rarely start playing games with it or writing emails!!

There is a colour e-ink screen screen which has been kicking about for about 5 years, it must be prohibitively expensive to use at present though as no one seems to be adopting it.  I think the technology is very impressive, especially as many people don't realise the only time it uses any battery life is in effect when you turn the page, or refresh it!!