ereaders and ebooks
Last week, I bought my new ebook reader, an Onyx Boox. It should be arriving any day now. It ended up being even more expensive than I had planned, what with shipping and duty across the border, but I'm
super excited. It's a 6" touchscreen device, works with a plethora of formats, and has wifi (actual wifi, not 3G) capabilities, plus its firmware is in active development and has open SDKs, so there's new stuff coming all the time. It's definitely the reader that best fits my needs.
Anyway, I was inspired to post today because (while supplies last, for today only) woot.com has the 5" Sony Pocket Edition (PRS-300BC) ereader on sale for $109 (US delivery only). It's not the right reader for me, but I hear that it's a good little machine with decent functionality. At its normal price, it's worth shopping around, but if you've been waffling, this might be the right choice for you.
(I've also heard good things about a variety of ereaders. For most of them, the decision just comes down to what features are the most important to you. If you're thinking of getting one in the $150 to $300+ price range, do some research and talk with folks - I found the MobileRead
Matrix good for making my wishlist.)
There are then lots of free (and legal) options for reading. There are public domain books available for download at Project Gutenberg. You can use a system like Calibre to convert webpages (newspapers, fanfiction) into ebooks. If your local library uses OverDrive (and your chosen device supports it), you can check out ebooks (and audiobooks) from your computer.
Plus, if you're the sort who is willing to pay for the convenience of ebooks, but you don't really think that you're likely to keep them long-term, there's a great topic about buying the ebook for your library. (You do have to make this decision upfront, you can't donate an ebook later.) It sounds like it's a bit of a hassle the first time to figure out the details, but the more people who do it, the easier they should make the process. And it would be a great benefit to other people in your community.
Anyway, anyone who wants to be giddy with me about ebook readers (e-ink, lcd, netbook, phones, pdas, regular computer devices, anything) or ebooks or ebook software or WHATEVER, please do :D
super excited. It's a 6" touchscreen device, works with a plethora of formats, and has wifi (actual wifi, not 3G) capabilities, plus its firmware is in active development and has open SDKs, so there's new stuff coming all the time. It's definitely the reader that best fits my needs.
Anyway, I was inspired to post today because (while supplies last, for today only) woot.com has the 5" Sony Pocket Edition (PRS-300BC) ereader on sale for $109 (US delivery only). It's not the right reader for me, but I hear that it's a good little machine with decent functionality. At its normal price, it's worth shopping around, but if you've been waffling, this might be the right choice for you.
(I've also heard good things about a variety of ereaders. For most of them, the decision just comes down to what features are the most important to you. If you're thinking of getting one in the $150 to $300+ price range, do some research and talk with folks - I found the MobileRead
Matrix good for making my wishlist.)
There are then lots of free (and legal) options for reading. There are public domain books available for download at Project Gutenberg. You can use a system like Calibre to convert webpages (newspapers, fanfiction) into ebooks. If your local library uses OverDrive (and your chosen device supports it), you can check out ebooks (and audiobooks) from your computer.
Plus, if you're the sort who is willing to pay for the convenience of ebooks, but you don't really think that you're likely to keep them long-term, there's a great topic about buying the ebook for your library. (You do have to make this decision upfront, you can't donate an ebook later.) It sounds like it's a bit of a hassle the first time to figure out the details, but the more people who do it, the easier they should make the process. And it would be a great benefit to other people in your community.
Anyway, anyone who wants to be giddy with me about ebook readers (e-ink, lcd, netbook, phones, pdas, regular computer devices, anything) or ebooks or ebook software or WHATEVER, please do :D