Onyx T68 - Is it right for you

[ST-One]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Is there any explanation, why the display appears a bit darker/somewhat yellow?
They (Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Onyx) use the same manufacturer. As far as I know, Onyx didn't add any layer (touchscreen and such) or something like that?!
I guess, it can't be the fonts. The yellowish appearance, in my opinion, is from the background, not the text...

But there is a layer for the capacitive touch screen which (like on the Cybook Odyssey) caused that slight shift toward yellow.

[ST-One]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

My libraries on all my readers, for whatever reason, are way bigger.

On Paperwhite 2, the 2GB hold about 650 books.
On Aura HD, the 4GB aren't enough to hold my 450 books.
On Nook GlowLight, my 300 books take about 50% of the 2.5GB reserved for B&N content.
Meaning:
In your 3.5GB of storage, I could fit maybe 400 to 1000 books, depending on the file format.
Less than 10% of my books are "storage killers", such as travel companions or Dilbert and Garfield cartoons. Those may add up to 1GB alone on each reader.
But that doesn't explain it entirely.
Only explanation:
Your conversion to ePUB is way more efficient, than the original file structures.
But since I'm not doing this anymore, I want to use as many of my books as possible in the original apps...

So, your library doesn't even scratch the storage limit of a 32gb SD-card

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Just out of curiosity:
What's the benefit of the Calibre Companion and/or Onyx T68?
Couldn't you conveniently and efficiently enough use all your ePUBs via side loading on Kobo or Nook?

The benefit is the enormous flexibility it gives you of finding books in your library. You can search by author, title, series, genre, language, or any other tag you may have assigned to the book in Calibre. It's hugely better than any system of folders, collections, or bookshelves. The problem with a large library is not storing it, but being able to efficiently find what you want in it, and CC gives you the ability to do that it a highly efficient manner.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Only explanation:
Your conversion to ePUB is way more efficient, than the original file structures.

No, not at all. Let's look at the figures more carefully. On my T68 I have 4275 books, occupying 3.67GB of storage. That's an average of 900k per book. The typical ebook is a lot smaller than that - around 400k or so. The average is pushed up by a small number of large books, such as the 12 book "Flashman" omnibus, which is 6MB in size. The ePub and Mobi versions of the books are pretty much the same size.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by FinancialWar

You're in Germany.

For me it's $158 plus 51 postage, and after converting it to AUD, it's about $300 AUD.

Then the Sony is very cheap for you...
The Sony here is €169. And I bought the T68 for €179...

---


I really like the T68. As with HarryT, I really like the fact that I can organize my library with CC. No more searching for that one book you know is somewhere on your device... The screen is much whiter than my Sony and especially than my BBMini (which is natural, as that one doesn't even have a pearl screen ). The backlight I don't really use that much (it's way too bright for night time reading so I just use my windows tablet for that).

And I really like the fact that I can install other apps too, though everything I did install has something to do with reading.

[FinancialWar]

Ended up getting the Aura HD for $200 AUD, passed the Sony T3 because resolution is low and no lighting and slow pdf rendering.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by ST-One

So, your library doesn't even scratch the storage limit of a 32gb SD-card

Yes, not even close.
But I don't move books around anymore.
Way too time consuming.
I use them in their respective native app.
And if this app can't access the SD card...
I'm not rooting or jailbreak my units anymore either.
All has to work out of the box.
If I have to touch the book, it would be the most expensive ever.
Having saved 10 Euros for not purchasing again, but having spent 5 minutes (downloading on the PC, stripping from DRM, adding to Calibre, converting to other formats, maybe even modifying the metadata, ...) in my book is no bargain at all, but an enormous loss of time and resources, especially when multiplied by 2000 times/books.
That's why I'm buying and not downloading from the darknet...

[ST-One]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Yes, not even close.
But I don't move books around anymore.
Way too time consuming.
I use them in their respective native app.
And if this app can't access the SD card...
...
All has to work out of the box.
If I have to touch the book, it would be the most expensive ever.
Having saved 10 Euros for not purchasing again, but having spent 5 minutes (downloading on the PC, stripping from DRM, adding to Calibre, converting to other formats, maybe even modifying the metadata, ...) in my book is no bargain at all, but an enormous loss of time and resources, especially when multiplied by 2000 times/books.
...

[shalym]

Originally Posted by ST-One

No reason to smack yourself in the head over it...
There are many people for whom time is MUCH more precious than money.

Shari

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by shalym

No reason to smack yourself in the head over it...
There are many people for whom time is MUCH more precious than money.

Shari

This is very true, but if you add each book to your Calibre library as you buy it, it's really no effort at all, and "future-proofs" you for new devices. It was a trivial effort for me to load my library onto my T68 for that reason. Forward planning pays dividends.

[ST-One]

Originally Posted by HarryT

This is very true, but if you add each book to your Calibre library as you buy it, it's really no effort at all, and "future-proofs" you for new devices. It was a trivial effort for me to load my library onto my T68 for that reason. Forward planning pays dividends.

Exactly.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by HarryT

This is very true, but if you add each book to your Calibre library as you buy it, it's really no effort at all, and "future-proofs" you for new devices. It was a trivial effort for me to load my library onto my T68 for that reason. Forward planning pays dividends.

I buy books every day.
Sometimes 2, sometimes 5.
I buy from numerous sources. I've rediscovered iPad recently, so I bought a few dozen titles in iBooks.
In a few hours I'll get my Lenovo Thinkpad 8.
When configuring it, I'll certainly buy a few dozen titles on some Windows apps.
I buy my books in numerous locations: Hotel, train, at home.
Of course, most of the time I have my MacBook Air with me and could add to my library.
But if you don't do it immediately (and I certainly won't do so while still in the bar or cafe), things pile up quickly.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by shalym

No reason to smack yourself in the head over it...
There are many people for whom time is MUCH more precious than money.

Shari

Thanks for jumping in!
But there's even more to it.
I very well value money.
But exactly because of that, I carefully consider for what to invest my time.
If I spend 300 Euro for a brief business trip, I don't even feel the € 30 I might spend additionally for 3 eBooks.
But I'd definitely feel the 20 minutes, it takes to download and such.
And if I really want to fill those 20 minutes, I can spend them more productively (and profitably) working.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by ST-One

I always smack my head about people, not calculating/valueing their time.
My sister in law would drive 10km, to save some 10 Euro on household devices.
Most expensive purchase ever!
Actually, she didn't generate any savings, but an enormous loss.
Not even considering life quality or spare time, but simply her time invested.

Look up "Black Swan".

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I buy books every day.
Sometimes 2, sometimes 5.
I buy from numerous sources. I've rediscovered iPad recently, so I bought a few dozen titles in iBooks.
In a few hours I'll get my Lenovo Thinkpad 8.
When configuring it, I'll certainly buy a few dozen titles on some Windows apps.
I buy my books in numerous locations: Hotel, train, at home.
Of course, most of the time I have my MacBook Air with me and could add to my library.
But if you don't do it immediately (and I certainly won't do so while still in the bar or cafe), things pile up quickly.

It's precisely because I buy a lot of books, and because reading is my main hobby, and because I want to be "future proof" my ebook library, and not have it tied to any particular device, app, or supplier, that for me it's a good investment of my time to consolidate all my books into a single library. It's been quite a lot of work getting it all set up to my satisfaction, but now I have, the time that I've invested in it is paying off. It means that I don't need to have half a dozen different reading apps installed on a device, and I don't need to worry about what app I need to use to access a particular book. It's all there for me in one place.

Of course I appreciate that everyone's needs are different, but for me personally, the time I've spent setting up my Calibre library has been time well spent.