Ebook Reader
So I got a Sony eReader (except mine's in black) as an early graduation present. I had been looking into eBook readers in general for about a month before I got it, and finally settled on this one for a couple of reasons.
The other main competitors in the running were the Kindle, from Amazon, and the Sony eReader Pocket Edition. I looked at some of the other brands, but didn't seriously consider them for long-- they all seemed to have issues that I didn't like.
I should also note that none of the options had all the features I wanted. Amazon's Kindle 2 does not have an SD card slot, and is apparently quite difficult to transfer books which you already own to, especially if they aren't in Kindle's format. I guess recently it seems to have gotten native PDF support, but the reviews I was reading implied that you had to send the PDFs in to Amazon to get them converted to Kindle format. I looked into getting a Kindle 1, probably refurbished, but couldn't find one for less than $350-- more than the Kindle 2-- not a chance on that one.
By contrast, the Sony pocket edition also did not have an SD card reader, but handled PDFs as well as the ePub format, which is the eBook standard. The touch edition did those things, but did have an SD card reader. Unfortunately, it also used a touch screen, which had additional glare on the screen (something I really did not want in an eBook reader).
In the end, the Sony touch edition turned out to be the one that had the most features I wanted and had the least features I didn't want. The touch screen was going to be annoying, but would not be deal-breaker annoying. Now that I have it, I have to say, I really love it. The glare is a bit higher than I would like on the screen at times, but by and large, it's pretty good. I bought 1 book for it, and liked it so much that I bought another 2. (The Dragon Champion series by E. E. Knight-- very good books). I'm only half way through the second book, but I've only had the thing for almost 2 weeks now and I'm doing more reading than I did before I got it. (That may also be because I'm beginning to tire of the other books I was reading).
Anyway, I have to say, I'm really pleased with it.
- Has an SD card reader
- Uses the ePub format
- Supports PDFs, and should render them rather well (haven't actually tested it on mine yet...)
The other main competitors in the running were the Kindle, from Amazon, and the Sony eReader Pocket Edition. I looked at some of the other brands, but didn't seriously consider them for long-- they all seemed to have issues that I didn't like.
I should also note that none of the options had all the features I wanted. Amazon's Kindle 2 does not have an SD card slot, and is apparently quite difficult to transfer books which you already own to, especially if they aren't in Kindle's format. I guess recently it seems to have gotten native PDF support, but the reviews I was reading implied that you had to send the PDFs in to Amazon to get them converted to Kindle format. I looked into getting a Kindle 1, probably refurbished, but couldn't find one for less than $350-- more than the Kindle 2-- not a chance on that one.
By contrast, the Sony pocket edition also did not have an SD card reader, but handled PDFs as well as the ePub format, which is the eBook standard. The touch edition did those things, but did have an SD card reader. Unfortunately, it also used a touch screen, which had additional glare on the screen (something I really did not want in an eBook reader).
In the end, the Sony touch edition turned out to be the one that had the most features I wanted and had the least features I didn't want. The touch screen was going to be annoying, but would not be deal-breaker annoying. Now that I have it, I have to say, I really love it. The glare is a bit higher than I would like on the screen at times, but by and large, it's pretty good. I bought 1 book for it, and liked it so much that I bought another 2. (The Dragon Champion series by E. E. Knight-- very good books). I'm only half way through the second book, but I've only had the thing for almost 2 weeks now and I'm doing more reading than I did before I got it. (That may also be because I'm beginning to tire of the other books I was reading).
Anyway, I have to say, I'm really pleased with it.