Help : Kindle, Sony, Irex 800 or Nook?

[gin_ger]

Hi Folks,

I am a first time buyer of an e-reader and a noob at the forums. I am puzzled with so many readers out there in the market. Of the all the ones out there I am favouring Kindle 2, Nook and Sony PRS 900. Can someone help me compare them with Irex 800?
I read a lot of technical PDFs. Although, the 6"-8" readers may not help much, I would like to have one all the same. I plan to go for a Que, an enTourage Edge, a DX, or a better PDF reading capable reader later this year.

Can the screen quality, dictionary lookup, file format support, associated bookstore, ease of use(physical keyboard vs touchscreen), auto/manual rotation and annotation/highlighting feature be ranked in order of importance? This may not make sense but it would help someone who's never used an e-reader before.

Also, Sony PRS 505 appears to be a popular choice among portable e-readers. It is no longer available on Sonystyle and am not sure if I want to buy it from ebay.

Please help since I want to buy the reader by the end of this week.

Thanks,
Ginger

[A4-]

A good starting place for info about the readers: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix

If you plan to read a lot of A4/letter sized pdfs: get the biggest screen, you might even be better off with a laptop/netbook. The idea of eReaders lies in the screen-type(no backight).

What feature is important is highly personal. But i guess Screen quality is usually at the top of the list.

I'd suggest you go read reviews and user opinions for each reader you're interested in, browse a bit in the shops, download a few free books, and look at alot of pictures. Postponing the buy so you can make an educated/informed choice isn't a bad idea either imo.

[thinkpad]

Take a look at this post to get a feeling for the size of the different readers:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=568

[hike_gc]

I finally got a chance to check out a nook in person at Barnes and Noble over the weekend. In my opinion, that unit weighs too much. My hands would get tired holding it. I wasn't that impressed with the second screen and it seemed more for looks than function. I also finally got a chance to check out the Sony 300 and 600 at Target over the weekend. The five inch screen on the 300 isn't as tiny as I thought and I would definitely consider purchasing a 5 inch reader. I wasn't that impressed with the 600. The touch screen ignored me too often. I do own the Sony 505 but have considered buying a 5 inch model for more portability. If you want a 505, watch the flea market here on MR as they do get listed from time to time but get snatched up pretty quick. Your best bet is to visit the forums for the readers you are considering in order to get more details. Good luck!

[gin_ger]

Originally Posted by A4-

A good starting place for info about the readers: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix

If you plan to read a lot of A4/letter sized pdfs: get the biggest screen, you might even be better off with a laptop/netbook. The idea of eReaders lies in the screen-type(no backight).

What feature is important is highly personal. But i guess Screen quality is usually at the top of the list.

I'd suggest you go read reviews and user opinions for each reader you're interested in, browse a bit in the shops, download a few free books, and look at alot of pictures. Postponing the buy so you can make an educated/informed choice isn't a bad idea either imo.

I did a quite a bit research but I ended up getting confused. Hence, the post

Thank you for the suggestions. I visited the stores to check out Sony PRS 600 and Nook. PRS-900 wasn't available but I was putoff by the Sony screen glare. I found the Nook much better. Nook's touchscreen was sluggish. Although some features of the nook had me going for it. Considering the cost and a few features I have decided to stick with Kindle. If I don't like it I might return it and end up buying a Nook.

As for the pdfs, Nook did a decent job for the ones in the store. I could not highlight/annotate but I was able to read the pdf with the fixed font size and change it too.

I am unsure as to how the Kindle will perform, but I do want to give it a try as I've always wanted one since a couple of years. I intend to buy another e-ink device based on the reviews for the upcoming big screen ones.

Thanks,
Ginger

[gin_ger]

Originally Posted by thinkpadx

Take a look at this post to get a feeling for the size of the different readers:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=568

Thank you. That link was helpful.

[gin_ger]

Originally Posted by hike_gc

I finally got a chance to check out a nook in person at Barnes and Noble over the weekend. In my opinion, that unit weighs too much. My hands would get tired holding it. I wasn't that impressed with the second screen and it seemed more for looks than function. I also finally got a chance to check out the Sony 300 and 600 at Target over the weekend. The five inch screen on the 300 isn't as tiny as I thought and I would definitely consider purchasing a 5 inch reader. I wasn't that impressed with the 600. The touch screen ignored me too often. I do own the Sony 505 but have considered buying a 5 inch model for more portability. If you want a 505, watch the flea market here on MR as they do get listed from time to time but get snatched up pretty quick. Your best bet is to visit the forums for the readers you are considering in order to get more details. Good luck!

I agree with you on the second screen on the Nook. That put me off too. The PRS-600 was alright but the screen glare was something I didn't like. I can do with lesser features but not the glare. In the end, I prefer to be immersed in whatever I am reading and not the secondary LCD screen/coverflow or any such thing. Though Nook was sluggish, I might end up buying it for the screen if I am not satisfied with a Kindle. I decided on the Kindle 2. I can still return it if I don't like it. I will not have that option with Sony 505


Thanks, your post was very insightful. Just reiterated the fact that I was right about the cons of Nook and Sony models.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by gin_ger

I agree with you on the second screen on the Nook. That put me off too. The PRS-600 was alright but the screen glare was something I didn't like. I can do with lesser features but not the glare. In the end, I prefer to be immersed in whatever I am reading and not the secondary LCD screen/coverflow or any such thing. Though Nook was sluggish, I might end up buying it for the screen if I am not satisfied with a Kindle. I decided on the Kindle 2. I can still return it if I don't like it. I will not have that option with Sony 505


Thanks, your post was very insightful. Just reiterated the fact that I was right about the cons of Nook and Sony models.

Can you really live without zoom for technical PDFs?

[gin_ger]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Can you really live without zoom for technical PDFs?

No I cannot. I plan to wait until summer for the new large screen readers. And in the meanwhile, I will be gifted with a Kindle 2

I travel a bit and I don't want to carry a 9" reader. I intend to buy two readers, each serving a different purpose.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Can you really live without zoom for technical PDFs?

As you of course know yourself, that's really why there's no one "ideal" reader. You're best off having (if circumstances permit) a large-screen reader for those technical PDFs, and a smaller one for fiction which is easy to carry around.

[JerseyBiker]

Originally Posted by gin_ger

Though Nook was sluggish, I might end up buying it for the screen if I am not satisfied with a Kindle. I decided on the Kindle 2. I can still return it if I don't like it..

How long ago did you test the Nook? There has been 2 software upgrades that seem to address the sluggishness of the Nook among other issues. I don't find mine sluggish at all now. You can also softroot the Nook giving you many more features that are all ready available and there are sure more to come. The Nook is newer technology than the Kindle so it may take time to iron out problems and some of the issues have already been resolved. There will probably be other updates as B&N fine tunes the Nook.

~eddie

[cmdahler]

Originally Posted by gin_ger

No I cannot. I plan to wait until summer for the new large screen readers. And in the meanwhile, I will be gifted with a Kindle 2

I travel a bit and I don't want to carry a 9" reader. I intend to buy two readers, each serving a different purpose.

That sounds like the best solution if you have the wallet for it. Those large readers (Que, Skiff) are retailing in the $650+ range.

As far as a 6" reader goes, the 505 is really top quality if you don't care about the wireless connection to a bookstore. You might not be able to find it online, but Walmart still had it for sale where I live as of just a couple of weeks ago. They've got a nice return policy for it, as well, so you might check that out.

[PhishStyx]

Originally Posted by gin_ger

No I cannot. I plan to wait until summer for the new large screen readers. And in the meanwhile, I will be gifted with a Kindle 2

I travel a bit and I don't want to carry a 9" reader. I intend to buy two readers, each serving a different purpose.

That's what I did, and I'm very happy with my choices, the original Kindle and the iRex DR 1000s.

[jessTay]

No I cannot. I plan to wait until summer for the new large screen readers. And in the meanwhile, I will be gifted with a Kindle 2

I travel a bit and I don't want to carry a 9" reader. I intend to buy two readers, each serving a different purpose.

Good call!

I bought a K2 in the new year, and I really love it. Like you, I was also hoping to use an ereader for pdfs. Classes often assign online material, and it's brutal on the eyes. PDFs were almost impossible on the Kindle unless I formatted them by hand from 2 page to one page documents to one page documents, and even then the font was small.

Like you, I'm going to buy a bigger ereader for graphic novels, and Pdf journal articles down the road.. Probably will go with the Kindle DX. Great price point and loving the kindle service so far :P

[lene1949]

I just love the kindle2...