05-07-2010, 11:56 PM | #1 |
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Consumer Reports... doesn't report
Sorry ahead of time if some one already posted this.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/e...ders/index.htm Consumer Reports did a terrible job of reviewing ebook readers. Apparently only Apple's Ipad and Amazon's Kindle exist, though those "other" ereaders are mentioned... not really by name though. I suppose the member area might have more information that I did not see. Especially since the image of a ebook reader is not a Kindle or a Ipad, I believe it is a Jetbook? I give Consumer Reports a big failing score on their rating of ebook readers. Amy |
05-08-2010, 02:05 AM | #2 |
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Amy,
I know what you mean. However, for your average Joe Bloggs (from 29th May) or John Doe (now), the Kindle or iPad are the only two logical choices. Do you want expensive with lots of extra functions (iPad), or cheaper for really just books (Kindle)? The hoops we at MR have jumped through to organise, convert and port our titles just won't work for the vast majority of the population. amjb |
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05-08-2010, 07:27 AM | #3 |
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It appears that the actual evaluations of different readers are in the member area.
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05-08-2010, 08:55 AM | #4 |
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05-08-2010, 11:02 AM | #5 |
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See editing reason.
Last edited by Xanthe; 05-09-2010 at 11:56 AM. Reason: Removed pending permission to post excerpt (sorry about that) |
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05-08-2010, 11:53 AM | #6 |
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Thanks, Xanthe - It's interesting that the multi-device syncing seems to be important; I have several readers, but I don't try to read the same books on different readers - it's just not my use case. I just got a Kobo, and I think it's that multi-syncing that makes the desktop app so frustrating to use. Maybe some knowledgeable soul will put together a poll about reading the same book on different devices... clearly Kindle and Kobo think it's important, and it looks like Google would use it, as long as your device is a browser and not a reader or maybe
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05-08-2010, 02:16 PM | #7 |
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Regarding the Aluratek Libre, they fail to mention that it comes with a 2GB SD card and that books can be loaded onto the card with an external card reader very quickly instead of directly to the reader via USB cable. I wonder what they mean by "responsiveness". I would say that nearly instantaneous page turns constitute good responsiveness compared to e-Ink readers' flash and delay. I wouldn't say that a reader has only "fair versatility" when it reads PDF, TXT, FB2, EPUB , MOBI, PRC and RTF ebook formats and supports Adobe Digital Editions DRM. If they don't like the "uncomfortatable" page turn slider they might try using the other two page turn control options.
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05-08-2010, 02:45 PM | #8 |
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Wonder how they tested readability? Kindles are better than all the others? I can understand with the large dx screen but the K2?
I dropped consumer report a couple years ago. I found them too biased with some brands (kenmore anyone). I have my doubts as to how thoroughly they test everything. |
05-08-2010, 06:50 PM | #9 |
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I'm glad to see the Sony readers rated so highly, I think they tend to be left out of most articles in favor of a focus on Kindle & Nook.
But I'm not sure how they place the Sony touchscreen readers with their diminished contrast at the same level of "readability" as the Bebook Neo and the Nook. |
05-09-2010, 01:22 AM | #10 |
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See editing reason.
Last edited by Xanthe; 05-09-2010 at 11:58 AM. Reason: Removed pending permission to post. |
05-09-2010, 01:32 AM | #11 |
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I also don't get the importance of synching. Whenever I finally get the new Astak that's coming out soon, I don't plan to read the same book on both of my readers at the same time. I usually have several books going at the same time anyway.
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05-09-2010, 03:32 AM | #12 |
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They have a pretty strange concept of "responsiveness" and page turn speed.
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05-09-2010, 10:37 PM | #13 |
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Syncing speed
Yeah I have to say syncing speed would be low on my list of things that would matter when I bought a ebook reader. I suppose if one had a extremely slow sync speed, but as of yet none of the ebook readers that I have, have that slow of a sync speed!
Once again people think having a lot of memory is important, while I like having a SD card slot, I think its pretty much a consensus that keeping more than 50 or so books on ones reader becomes frustrating and difficult when it comes to sorting. They mentioned MP3's players, my Cool-er has a built in MP3 player that I have yet to use. I have a MP3 player for my MP3's (fancy that!). It seems that people judge the ebook readers on the bells and whistles, when really they should be looking at how well they do their primary job... displaying books to be read. Amy |
05-09-2010, 11:10 PM | #14 |
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Consumers Reports is overrated
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05-10-2010, 02:29 AM | #15 |
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Nah, not with a collections/folder system. I have 160 books on my 505 and still have half the 256mb memory left... Sorting is no problem as long as you can break things up by genre or by the date you added them to the device.
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