Story HD for $49 in US target?

[CJJ]

I'd say I find myself using the arrow keys located in the bottom right of the keypad 90% of the time. I find them very convenient, especially when reading in bed. I hold the reader at each bottom corner with my right thumb floating over the button in the bottom corner of keypad.

[Gardenman]

thanks for the info everyone

[Billi]

Originally Posted by tuxor

being jealous

You're not alone!

[CJJ]

I ended picking one up for the wife. She's addicted to her Kindle Fire but liked the idea of an E-ink reader.

It's really came down to price point. At $50 even she (a very frugal woman, not a shopper, the Fire was a gift) thought why not. Of course access to my Calibre library was a large part of the motivation. If I want a book I'll buy it, where she'll only buy "must" reads.

So I said I wouldn't buy one as a back-up but I can't pretend that in a way I did.

[ilovejedd]

Finally bought one. Been meaning to get one of these for a while now but kept putting it off. I'm glad I waited. Overall, I still like my Sony PRS-350 a lot better as a reader, specially with PRS+ installed. Heck, even the default Sony firmware is pretty decent. I've never quite appreciated the default Sony firmware before but I do now after comparing it to iRiver's.

The progress bar at the bottom is very annoying and so is the big notice overlay that says you've reached the last page. I'd rather they kept the progress bar there permanently instead of it blocking part of the screen and causing some ghosting when it goes away (for text, it doesn't matter so much but for manga it does).*Having to go through hacks just to get a working browser is also a bit disappointing.

That said, text is noticeably sharper on the Story HD than on the PRS-350. Given the 5" 800x600 display on the PRS-350, text is already sharper than models at 6" 800x600 but you can definitely notice the Story HD's is better. The SD card support is also really nice. Makes it possible to carry a *lot* of stuff. While ebooks tend to be fairly small, comics and manga aren't so having extra space on demand is quite handy.

The Story HD works pretty nicely for manga despite the smallish screen as far as rendering is concerned. The high resolution goes a long way in making text legible. However, the progress bar and last page notice make it annoying to use as a manga reader.

This could be a much better device if only iRiver improves the firmware. For the $50+tax I paid for it, I'm quite satisfied. If it had cost me $100, I probably would've wished I'd just gotten the new Sony.

[soilwork]

I just got one from a local Target store (in Brooklyn, NY). Now the website shows $49.99 so I think you can order online if you don't have Target stores around.
http://www.target.com/p/iriver-Story...G/-/A-13576738

[tuxor]

This is so unfair, why don't they ship internationally. It would be cheap even with an additional $8 tax and $20 shipping and even with another additional duty fee... it would still be half of the German price...

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

The progress bar at the bottom is very annoying and so is the big notice overlay that says you've reached the last page.

I posted a HideProgress mod here https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=168339 - Unfortunately it does not completely remove the bar (it's hardcoded), but only the background and numbers around it.

For the last page notice, if possible just add another (empty) page to your documents. In many books this isn't a problem since they usually have copyright notices, author information, advertisements for other books of the same author, or even sneak previews at the end.

[chuckz]

Sorry for a double posting

[chuckz]

$49 is like a lottery win for this kind of E-reader (I had returned a Kindle Touch in disappointment). I am not regretting that had paid for mine $99, it's worth the money, and I picked another Story HD at Target as a gift for a friend.

[CJJ]

Agreed. It's a shame that our Euro brothers can't share in the windfall. When I picked up my second one I counted 8 units on the shelf. The sales associate said I was the first sale she'd seen since the price drop.
Interestingly when I bought my first one back in the beginning of December I counted 9 units. I'm assuming this is a coincidence, but it makes you wonder.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by CJJ

Agreed. It's a shame that our Euro brothers can't share in the windfall. When I picked up my second one I counted 8 units on the shelf. The sales associate said I was the first sale she'd seen since the price drop.
Interestingly when I bought my first one back in the beginning of December I counted 9 units. I'm assuming this is a coincidence, but it makes you wonder.

Frankly, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the 8 you saw were still the same ones from back in December. It's just not as well-known as the Kindle or the Nook. Heck, even the Kobo.

[frostschutz]

Most reviews weren't particularly good, and not every store sells them... even online it's usually hidden away, in this forum in the "more ebook-readers" category, where newcomers are unlikely to look first... and in the german ereader forum there is this unbelievably crappy ereader (oyo) to be found in the main category whereas iriver is the very last in the also-rans category...

For the display alone this device deserves some more attention, but it's simply not getting it. iriver really dropped the ball here, they should take a leaf out of pocketbooks, they're such a small company it's a miracle they survived this long, but they have people in every forum giving very direct support and help to the community, that alone makes a huge difference...

[ctjameson]

I nabbed one yesterday at Target. After owning a Sony PRS 300, PRS 505, Kindle Keyboard, Basic, and Kindle Touch, this is the best E-Ink reader I have ever used for CBZ/CBR comics/manga. It renders it as fast as a normal page of text and is actually readable because of the resolution.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by ctjameson

this is the best E-Ink reader I have ever used for CBZ/CBR comics/manga. It renders it as fast as a normal page of text and is actually readable because of the resolution.

On this point, I heartily agree. Even normal epubs look a lot better on the iRiver than on other e-ink readers (crisper text, whiter screen than any of my PRS-350's). Unfortunately, the firmware leaves much to be desired particularly when one has been spoiled by PRS+. It really is such a shame because the hardware is very, very good.

Oh well, folder view works well enough for manga so I'm content with that. *sigh* If only it's possible to get rid of the last page notice without needing to edit my CBZ files.