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It's 2010; What's the Best E-Reader?
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"Experience has proved that some people indeed know everything." -- Russell Baker
"Experience has proved that some people indeed know everything." -- Russell Baker
Answer: (Score:2, Insightful)
Reads all file formats, browses the internet at hot-spots or anywhere with add-ons, variable brightness, 32-bit color, access to free bookstores (The Pirate Bay being the most popular free store) and much more functionality that one couldn't eke out of small overpriced pieces of shit like the Kindle or -- ha HA! -- the iPad.
And yes, laptops do run Linux
Re:Kindle (Score:5, Insightful)
It's 2010 (Score:1, Insightful)
Screw the e-readers... It's 2010. Wheres my flying car and jetpack already?
And i want some quasi-futuristic clothes too...
Re:Answer: (Score:5, Insightful)
The don't have e-ink. Game over.
Re:iPad? (Score:1, Insightful)
Clue: e-ink does not melt your eyes like a TFT with a backlight...
Is that the technical phrase for a well understood phenomena or filth raised to the status of fact by repetition? Really, I'm curious if this oft repeated 'fact' is substantiate by anything other than anecdotes.
Re:Kindle (Score:2, Insightful)
Sorry, but this is for the "best" eBook reader, not the one "most crippled by DRM."
Why is the "only" factor DRM? We're talking devices not media. It accepts PDF which works for most non commercial applications. The fact you can buy books through the internet without having to buy a mobile service is huge. For features, speed and ease of use Kindle appears to be the best so far and yes ePaper is a huge deal and far more important than DRM. Based on your reaction I'm sure you don't own a Kindle which hardly makes you an authority. Take it from some one that actually uses one and reads a great deal they are a godsend. The problem with people making their decisions based purely on DRM is they miss out. It's like my iPod Touch. I watch movies with it all the time and use it every day. Just how much do the people with non DRM devices actually use them? I think all the whining from AT&T is proof of how popular the Apple handhelds are while the other services struggle to sell apps and content. The same with Kindle. It's the most popular for a reason. If you don't want an eReader then why do you care? If you do isn't it better to have one you'll use than one that makes a political statement?
Re:iPad? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Kindle (Score:3, Insightful)
leaves out the iPad doesn't it?
as for the DRM comment, what would you want, a crash all the time Nook, or something that works?
If people think we won't be locked down to hell and back on the iPad they are delusional. The nook would be nice but until they fix it the stability kills it
Re:Kindle (Score:5, Insightful)
One word: 1984 [slashdot.org]
Re:Kindle (Score:3, Insightful)
"I think all the whining from AT&T is proof of how popular the Apple handhelds are while the other services struggle to sell apps and content."
So I suppose that means that the best of all worlds would be running Windows ME on a 90's era Dell in sub-saharan Africa...
Re:The Sony (Score:5, Insightful)
I've heard the Iliad is amazing, but I think it's about 700$.
Re:The one with DJVU support (Score:3, Insightful)
The Aztak EZReader Pocket Pro does DJVU and if you download & install Calibre you can convert DJVU to any other format.
Please mod parent up (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyone that thinks that the Kindle is even barely acceptable doesn't know the iLiad. Better hardware, open system (I installed an alternate PDF viewer on mine, with better features for my usage than the builtin one) and MOST important it's my device and my books.
With the Kindle, Amazon is just temporary allowing you to read their books on their device: they can at any time remotely delete books you paid for (it already happened and it WILL happen again, or they wouldn't have spent money developing this "feature"), remotely change the contents of "your" books even after you have paid and downloaded them (it already happened and once the capability is there it WILL be abused for censorship) and remotely disable functionality on the Kindle itself. All this without your consent.
Mark my words: if you buy books on the Kindle, 10 years from now you will not be able to read them without breaking anti-piracy laws, even if you think you can make backups now.
Please don't give money to Amazon for the privilege of raping your freedom to read books.
And, going back to the hardware thing, the bigger screens of the iLiads (8.1 or 10.2 inches) are waaay better for content that can't be reformatted on the fly (e.g. PDF files). Remember this is not an LCD, you can't scroll: a page must fit entirely on the screen.
Re:Ipod Touch + Stanza (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I still use my N800 daily... (Score:3, Insightful)
If I'm on a 24-hour plane ride, I'll probably be spending more time pestering the crew about how the plane stays in the air so long.
Re:The Sony (Score:5, Insightful)
And I must add - pick the one without touchscreen. It's not particularly useful for reading fiction books, anyway (and reading tech books on those things isn't very convenient), and it darkens the screen. Readers without touchscreen have noticeably better contrast, which means less eye strain.
Re:iPad? (Score:4, Insightful)
I know where you're coming from. I was of the same opinion as you, until I saw a sony e-reader, then a friend's Kindle. They absolutely blow LCDs and CRTs away for reading purposes, they simulate printed paper to such an extent that you can't read them in the darkness, they need a active light source around like you need for real books.
I've never used an ereader. I've no intention of doing so anytime in the next decade. ... You can tell me that e-ink is better for my eyes till you are blue in the face. I do not give a fuck. It smacks of FUD coming from people who are shills for the e-ink industry. Seriously, this is absolutely NOT an issue for me at all in any way. This will in no way affect my decision in choosing a device to read on.
How the fuck do you know that they're bad when you haven't even looked at one? I guess you're a Apple fanboy shilling freely for them who is unable to see past the RDF. Maybe you think looking at one will make you disloyal to Apple? In that case, I rest my case. For others who never looked at a e-reader, try it once, you may like it.
Note: e-ink is not suitable for tasks like color rendering, browsing etc. so it doesn't really compete with laptops or tablets but is really great for reading.
Re:iPad? (Score:3, Insightful)
Really, I'm curious if this oft repeated 'fact' is substantiate by anything other than anecdotes.
Common sense helps.
When you're looking at a TFT screen, you are, effectively, staring at a rather bright lamp. It's not like we've just found out recently that this kind of thing is not good for the eyes.
Pure FUD and lies. (Score:4, Insightful)
You can mount Kindle just like the Sony reader or any other USB storage device. Plug it into Linux and go.
And then copy over all of the books you want, including (for example) the entire Project Gutenberg, which (unless I am very much mistaken) is not DRM-encumbered.
Re:iPad? (Score:4, Insightful)
Hint: if they equate eink to ebooks they probably are new to ebooks.
Seriously... while I think the iPad is a poor choice in ebook readers it sure as hell isn't because it has a color screen that doesnt require an external light source to make it readable. In fact, my choice currently is an iPhone. Why? Because I have it with me ALL the time. I can read at night while my girlfriend is sleeping without having a light on and finally, it can do lots of other things besides being a book. Oh, and turning pages doesnt take an insanely long amount of time like e-ink does.
Also, the iPhone offers you many options in terms of ebook readers. Stanza is the one I use, but if you have a kindle, you can use the Kindle reader and read the books you have already "purchased" there. Built in web browser for online repositories.
Re:Kindle (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Just got a Nook (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd ask the same of you. Everyone knows about project gutenberg, that's not what he's asking. He's asking about stores with current content which have cheaper prices alongside comparable selections. I don't know the answer to that, but I can still tell his question is valid.
Re:iPad? (Score:2, Insightful)
You should check the metadata on your link... it's from 2005 and deals exclusively with CRTs.
There is NO evidence because tech routinely outpaces the lifespan of a scientifically meaningful clinical trial.
It would be like trying to measure the effect of modems or Sonic clinically, when they've been phased out of relevance.
What there IS plenty of is unsophisticated superstition on par with fear of microwave ovens.
Light is light.
Re:The Sony (Score:5, Insightful)
Didn’t you all swear to boycott Sony, after the rootkit debacle? ;)
Re:I still use my N800 daily... (Score:1, Insightful)
if you're on a 24-hour plane ride, you're soon going to get tired of reading what's available for free.
Are you kidding? The bigger and best part of world's literature has its copyright expired before I was born.
Your statement makes perfect sense for people that only like this year best sellers, but for the vast majority there's more goood quality free content that they can handle.
Re:iPad? (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't want to start a holy war here, but what is up with you e-ink greybeards? LCD does not 'melt your eyes' literally or figuratively. Do you read this page and all other websites using an eink screen? If not, why does an LCD suffice for most computing activities (including reading), but is then suddenly inappropriate for reading?I look at an LCD perhaps 8 hours a day with no eyestrain, as do millions of office workers.
LCD is a much better general purpose screen, deals with colour for photography and diagrams, lets you use the device to browse the web and play games, by sacrificing some battery life.
For this reason I think general purpose devices like the apple slate will overtake ereaders very quickly in the marketplcae. You're welcome to your eink screens though; I won't try to claim that they make your eyes bleed, they're just less useful than an LCD or OLED.
Re:Answer: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Kindle (Score:1, Insightful)
Illegal distribution of a novel by a publisher. Purchasers got to keep their copies anyway in violation of publishing rights. Oh no, how unfair is Amazon!