E-book reader (e-ink screen) suggestion ?? [updated first post]

[macsimus]

hello


does anyone have a good recommendation to read ebooks, mostly pdf but if it can read chm and djvu files, that would be very good.


I need a thing big enough to not have to zoom in and out, in pdf (mostly technicals), and it has to be e-ink screen, i cannot stand reading on lcd screens.


and i don't need drm


I've been thinking about the kindle DX, because it's big, but i think it is a very closed device, and it cannot read chm or djvu...


Anyone with a good experience ?


thanx


Kisses


Mac


---------- NEWS -----------------


Ok little feedback/grave-digging on this one because the suggestions helped me a lot...


So as @christoph pointed me to pocketbook machines, i felt that the 902 model (9.7" screen, wifi) suited me well, and i said i would order it when it would become available..(we were in mid september at this time).


It became available in December, and i ordered it from the US late December and it arrived today.


So here's a little feedback/first impressions as this is my first ebook reader, and as so many people helped me, it could help others guys with similar needs


I tested a technical pdf (python related, 5.7 Mo), a chm file (c++ related, less than 1 Mo) and a djvu file (a french undergraduate math ebook, 9 Mo) successfully.


the rendering is very good, easy access to the TOC in all 3 files. No need to zoom, the 9.7" screen fits very well the page size in all 3 files.


First opening of the pdf was slow but after that, it's reasonably fast.


The epub files preloaded render nicely too.


The device is correctly recognized by my ubuntu machine and i can drag and drop the files easily, organize them in directories/sub directories.. very cool.


So, i would say the device seems very good for my main need : read scientific/technical books with good comfort, on a screen big enough to escape the need of reflowing the document (this is not important for literature books, novels etc. but it's very annoying in maths books for example, withs formulas and graphics..).


The fact that it is open (linux powered), as i can throw any file at it without depending on amazon/apple/whoever was also mandatory for me.


Ok, so I need to test it furthermore, update firmware, test bigger files etc. to give it a vote of confidence, but for now, i'd say i'm very pleased.


Have a nice day boyz and girls


Big Kisses


Mac


P.S : sorry for the bad english for this long post, i'm french

 

[Poem58]

hello


does anyone have a good recommendation to read ebooks, mostly pdf but if it can read chm and djvu files, that would be very good.


I need a thing big enough to not have to zoom in and out, in pdf (mostly technicals), and it has to be e-ink screen, i cannot stand reading on lcd screens.


and i don't need drm


I've been thinking about the kindle DX, because it's big, but i think it is a very closed device, and it cannot read chm or djvu...


Anyone with a good experience ?


thanx


Kisses


Mac

I found a wiki that might be helpful, otherwise I don't know a lot about these devices either.


http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix


Down in the larger devices list check out "Pocketbook" it lists those formats among others and has a 9.7" screen. Edit: Crap that one looks to be an unreleased (rebranded as Kindle) with better format support.

 

[macsimus]

thank you very much for this useful link, i will check it.


But if anyone has real experience, i'll be very happy to read about it (especially for viewing pdf without using zoom..)


Mac

 

[lostsoulparry]

thank you very much for this useful link, i will check it.


But if anyone has real experience, i'll be very happy to read about it (especially for viewing pdf without using zoom..)


Mac

I've had a Sony reader since 2008 (got it 3 months after I ordered the Pandora), and it's great. Excellent build quality, sharp image quality, relatively fast refresh rate on the screen and it works with both my PC and my Mac. TBH, the functions on most ebook devices are so similar that the biggest issue is the formats that each one supports.


Most publishers pick one format (Adobe, Mobipocket, EPUB etc...) and stick with it, but not all publishers use the same one. So, if there's a book or a series of books you know you want to read, find out what format you can get it in and choose a reader which supports that format.


2 more useful links:


The first is http://www.e-reader-reviews.com/ which contains reviews written by users, including which formats the devices support and what extra features they have.


The second is http://www.booksonboard.com/ which is an international store with (probably) the biggest library of titles, usually in multiple formats. Their search feature is a little broken, but if you know the exact title then their prices are very good.

 

[macsimus]

@GojiraPrime :thanx for the links !


man, i was practically sold on the DX, until i saw there is no way to organize your books :/


anyway, i think i need a 9' device at least, that's sure !


keeping research ..


Mac

 

[Orion4874]

I have a Sony Reader and a B&N Nook. I'd definitely recommend the Nook, IMO it's probably the best ereader out there now. At least until color e-ink is perfected.


Oh, and it's hackable depending on the firmware version. The OS is basically a stripped down version of Android.

 

[macsimus]

@Orion4874 : thanx for the info. But is'nt the Nook's screen too small to read technical textbooks in pdf format?


for example, how does it render this book


how to think like a computer scientist


thank you, and have a nice day


Mac

 

[siddharta]

Hi


I can recommend the pocketbook 301/302 though I'm not sure if you're able to read pdf's without using the zoom. Check out http://www.mobileread.com and search for Pocketbock 301/302. Nice device with great firmware.


There should also be an educational version which is equipped with a 9" screen, hence it seems as it is not yet available. Maybe, they copied the 2months tm :rolleyes:


Regards christoph

 

[macsimus]

@christoph


wow thank you for pointing me in the direction of pocketbook, the 902/903 models appear to be really the kind of device i want as an ebook reader..


it will apparently be released in october/november worldwide...


I'm waiting for this ! (perhaps i'll have my pandora too around these dates!!)


Kisses


Mac

 

[macsimus]

bump update

 

[second exodous]

Hmm, sounds interesting. I'm checking out the 902 right now. I have a nook, love it, it is great for books but I pen and paper role play and notice a lot of people put their books on iPad. I was going to get an iPad or a Android tablet so I don't have to lug stacks of books around but I like e-ink better than LCD.


I don't know if it is possible but could you throw a Pathfinder PDF on there and see how it does? Nook obviously can't handle it as it is a larger book and no zoom. I also own the PDF of Little Fears which is a smaller size book so it looks ok on my nook but it is heavy on graphics and my nook struggles with it. Color doesn't bother me much on RPGs, it isn't really needed, so for RPG books I don't need to wait for color e-ink.


Also, how 'open' is it, like do you have access to the main OS to modify it or is it like the nook where the company takes measures to lock it down?

 

[- Theo -]

I'm a big reader (average 1 book a week for the last 20 years). I have an iPad and I tried a friend's 3G Kindle, but so far for me the best book reader is... a book. Nothing can (currently) be better than the look, feel and smell (yes!) of a paper book. A book has to live a book's life, can be tossed around, scribbled on, lent to friends, etc.


Only problems for me are the room they take (last time I moved to a new flat, I had 53 cases of books...) and the inability to use some kind of search feature.


Still waiting for the perfect e-solution (and open-source, of course)

 

[SNESFAN]

I'm a big reader (average 1 book a week for the last 20 years). I have an iPad and I tried a friend's 3G Kindle, but so far for me the best book reader is... a book. Nothing can (currently) be better than the look, feel and smell (yes!) of a paper book. A book has to live a book's life, can be tossed around, scribbled on, lent to friends, etc.


Only problems for me are the room they take (last time I moved to a new flat, I had 53 cases of books...) and the inability to use some kind of search feature.


Still waiting for the perfect e-solution (and open-source, of course)

I am not a HUGE reader, but I do read books from time to time, I own a kindle 2nd gen and love it very much. I previously owned a barnes and noble nook. My opinion might be biased because I'm not actually huge on physical books. But as far as readability of text regardless of source media, the kindle is great, it attempts to remove the technology layer as much as possible and does one of the best jobs of that specific goal. It's still there, but you really do forget it's a gadget after getting over the novelty of it. (month or two of ownership, see specifically not days or just at first glance)


As far as which ereader is best, obviously eink is by far the best option. LCD is not a good alternative for eink when reading, for one, it's backlit which helps but is unatural to the eye. Next is if screen is reflective, you will notice the reflection when you're reading, and it's pretty distracting. Next you have to take in consideration of price, which meets your price-point. Then it's additional features. Free 3G is a huge plus, it allows for checking of email etc while out and about, it's worth a point. Wifi is a great bonus if your device supports other functions or sideloading of additional software or downloading books from the net etc etc.


One particualy cool feature if you have the kindle with 3g/wifi is the socal networking, you can lend out e-books with drm, you can put comments into the borders of books, highlight sections for reading later or when loaning to a friend. You can publish clips from a book to your facebook and do all types of other stuff of that nature. Your comment about scribbling and lending made me think of those.


the people that make e-readers aren't just hardware geeks, they are readers... they want what you want. What makes a e-reader than a book... the amount of content in the same physical space or much much much less. The iPad... that's just another computer.... the kindle/nook is the real deal.


As far as your comment about open sourced, I can't think of a e-reader that is actually closed source? The biggest names I have listed their publicly distrobuted souce code below. The DRM portion of their content is closed off for obvious reasons, but you can sideload without hacking anything and run any ebook or pdf that you own more than likely, unless it's infected with DRM it's self, if not viewable you can convert it for viewing very easily.


kindle


http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200203720


nook


http://images.barnesandnoble.com/presources/download/nook/source-code/nook-source-code.zip

 

[Blue Protoman]

I wonder if such devices will ever replace (or at least become more known than) real books.

 

[Asiyura]

I don't think so for the simple reason that a book doesn't require any batteries to display the text

I don't know how drm'ed ebooks are working, but I think they're harder (if not impossible) to resell or lend/give to family/friends.


Electronic books are great and handy when you have to carry around a pile of book (pen and paper is the perfect example).


Or if you're still using books to find hints when programming like me.


But I love getting my old battered books to read novels.


Even more when those books are older than me

 

[SNESFAN]

I don't think so for the simple reason that a book doesn't require any batteries to display the text


I don't know how drm'ed ebooks are working, but I think they're harder (if not impossible) to resell or lend/give to family/friends.


Electronic books are great and handy when you have to carry around a pile of book (pen and paper is the perfect example).


Or if you're still using books to find hints when programming like me.


But I love getting my old battered books to read novels.


Even more when those books are older than me

my kindle lasts like 2 weeks+ on a single charge, a absolutely stupid amount of time, not standby either, practical daily use, more if not used frequently. It charges almost completely in like an hour or two.


both amazon and barnes and noble have drm'd book lending, I believe up to 2 weeks at a time, it removes it from your device and puts it on theirs, and after two weeks it comes back automatically. You might be able to give perminately but I never tried that. Non-drm'd books can be emailed to anyone and are useally very small 1-2mb each depending on format.


nothing will ever replace a book, for it's other aesthetic qualities, but this sure does come close.

 

[second exodous]

@ Theo: It took me a few books to get used to my nook, I love it but I do miss the smell of a book, both new books and old books, but other than that I don't miss the feel, the look, or the weight. I'm guessing because as long as I've been reading books paper back novels have always smelled the same, I'm guessing it is the ink that is standard, so that is why I miss it, nothing else is standard.


I have re-read books on my nook that I had read in dead tree form and it changes the experience for me, it is just not the same. Now that I've gotten about 15 books read on my nook those probably won't be the same in dead tree form.


For me it is not just a different way to get the same information. I think when schools, k-12, start using digital books exclusively print books will see a rapid decline over 10 or so years. I'm basing this off of my experiences with books both on and off of my nook. I bet if kids grow up digital they'll never ever want to pick up a dead tree.

 

[- Theo -]

I think when schools, k-12, start using digital books exclusively print books will see a rapid decline over 10 or so years. I'm basing this off of my experiences with books both on and off of my nook. I bet if kids grow up digital they'll never ever want to pick up a dead tree.

I agree completely. It's just that I'm too old for that But that does that only for books. I was delighted when CDs replaced my old vinyl records, or when MP3 replaced my old CDs. And I sure don't miss my old brick phones or typewriter But for books? Dead trees FTW, even though I know my grandchildren will one day accuse me of having killed the forests...

 

[macsimus]

@second exodus : i just tried the pathfinder pdf (the Errata for Core Rulebook First Printing v1.2 file) and it renders correctly. it's a bit slow first time, but then you can navigate quite easily.. if you have good eyes, i think you can read it directly without any zooming, but for me, at 110% zooming, it is very comfortable and all the page is still displayed.


@johnsongrantr

As far as your comment about open sourced, I can't think of a e-reader that is actually closed source? The biggest names I have listed their publicly distrobuted souce code below. The DRM portion of their content is closed off for obvious reasons, but you can sideload without hacking anything and run any ebook or pdf that you own more than likely, unless it's infected with DRM it's self, if not viewable you can convert it for viewing very easily.

when i said open source, i probably misspoke..what i meant was that the applications to read many formats are available with no conversion, not only the formats the big names are selling : for example, FBreader is available for the pocketbook, and i can read out of the box epub, pdf, chm, djvu files and many other formats. i'm not tied to amazon or any other ebook seller.


for example, can you read chm or djvu files on your kindle ? i bet not..


in fact i would have gone for the kindle DX, if it could read chm, djvu, and have a decent pdf reader (with TOC support, zooming/font modification possible,..), and a way to organize files. And it clearly lacked in all these areas, when i searched forums about it.


Kisses


Mac

 

[SNESFAN]

@johnsongrantr


when i said open source, i probably misspoke..what i meant was that the applications to read many formats are available with no conversion, not only the formats the big names are selling : for example, FBreader is available for the pocketbook, and i can read out of the box epub, pdf, chm, djvu files and many other formats. i'm not tied to amazon or any other ebook seller.


for example, can you read chm or djvu files on your kindle ? i bet not..


in fact i would have gone for the kindle DX, if it could read chm, djvu, and have a decent pdf reader (with TOC support, zooming/font modification possible,..), and a way to organize files. And it clearly lacked in all these areas, when i searched forums about it.


Kisses


Mac

ohh compatibility, yea I don't think they run chm and djvu files, I know there's applications that can convert all the different file types but I know epub and pdf work on both the kindle and nook. I converted my image based PDF steven king collection with a text identifying ebook converter, it reduced the size from ~800mb down to ~20mb


You can also modify the reader software on both devices to support extra formats etc if you know what you're doing... but I wouldn't have the slightest idea even with the source code on how to add the book reader equalivant to a codec.


I'm completely sure it's doable, if you're a code ninja. I know FLAC wasn't supported by android until someone in the community added the compatibility to the OS. It's not so much as them blocking it, as much as not supporting the format, agree non-open device would not be the same thing as that.