Ask Engadget: What's the best e-book reader?
By Darren Murph 
posted October 9th 2008 11:28PM
posted October 9th 2008 11:28PM
Tim from Australia sent in a question via our super-sophisticated submission method (that'd be e-mailing one in to ask at engadget dawt com) regarding e-readers, and given that Sony just pushed out a new one of its own, we found this one particularly timely: "I'm starting a PhD next year and I'm looking to get an e-book reader so I can read PDFs of journal articles on the bus. It would have to be readable in direct sunlight and have a display large enough to read pages of about 400 to 500 words. Stylishness would also be nice. I don't know the going rate for decent e-readers but I'd be prepared to spend up to $500."
So, intellects -- what's the best piece of kit to snag for visually inhaling those scholarly articles in PDF form? Will it handle the occasional FCC user manual, too? Because that's really important, you know.
Another vote for the iRex iliad here, or its big brother A4 variant, though that one would get expensive.
The iliad is multi-format, and can handle pdfs easily. Its biggest weakness is the lack of support for licenced propriatary formats - it will cope with mobipocket well, but doesn't yet support Microsoft's or Sony's proprietary formats.
The sony reader is nice as well, but its smaller screen makes it more suited for novels.
All the e-ink devices are quite astonishing when you first look at them. You want to peel of the demo sticker on the front with all that unrealistic perfect text on it, and then you realise that it's not a sticker at all. The difference to an LCD screen is huge, and it works best in bright light. Of course, if you're reading in bed alongside someone who's asleep, it's a different matter, as there is no backlight, but usb-led lights can be plugged into the ioliad at the cost of battery life, and book reading lights will generally work.
I understand those suggesting a netbook, but it really is like suggesting a netbook as a replacement for an iPhone or a N95 - yes, it's more capable, yes with the appropriate cellular card and software it can do everything the iPhone or N95 can and much more, but the different form factor, weight, size, heat emitted and particularly battery life make it a less than perfect idea. If you have a one cm thick netbook that weighs well under a kilo and has a battery life long enough to read for some twenty or thirty hours, with a portrait-style screen that can be opened and reversed so it can be held just like a book, with easy to use page turning controls as well, then I would be suprised.
That eReader from Plastic Logic is just fantastic! But as they say it will be for business use, the price might be more than I can afford.
I've been using my iPAQ HX 4700 as a book reader for 4 years.
4 inch screen, 640 x 480 resolution, pocketable, can read any format because there are so many readers available (.lit, .pdf, etc.), I can read it in the dark without bothering my wife, or in lectures without being obtrusive, and as I fall asleep with the reader on, it plays me music and shuts itself off when I'm a log. Can't imagine life without it.
Boris mentioned mobileread.com, which is where anyone eager to find out about readers should go. I just bought me the iLiad book ed., which also got the annotation ability, and it works great at uni, and gives a very pleasant reading experience. Another place to visit is http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix Here you can find comparisons of the different e-readers out there, and some that we're waiting for.
My thoughts:
If I had the patience to wait for another reader, I'd wait and see about the plastic logic one. Other than that, for use with work or studies, one of the iRex iterations (probably the new ones) is the best choice out there.
I've been using my iPod Touch as an ereader with the eReader app, and I love it! I've read about 5-6 books on it so far, and it is cheaper to buy a book and keep it on there than it is to buy the book conventionally. Sure, there are more pages since less text can fit on a screen, but I enjoy the fact that I always have something to read whenever I go out when I keep my iPod touch with me!
I love my sony ebook reader PRS-505. I take it everywhere with me. It has a great battery life, sturdy construction, has two memory expansion slots, and still has a wow factor around campus. More importantly you can use it to read PDFS, Word Docs, and various ebook formats including Amazons. With the recent flash update I can resize text in PDFs. And since sony just introduced a newer model, the PRS-505 series should see a price cut. I am not apt to get the newer one because a touch screen and the led lighting isn't really necessary in my case.
I use my LifeDrive and wouldn't want one of those ginormus things. I'm hoping to get the AT&T Fuze someday and will use it. I don't see any reason to use a separate device especially one as big as the ones that are out. Where are other places to get ebooks? My wife and I use eReader.com now.
My wife uses her Treo 750 and has just discovered much faster and easier it is to buy the book online from the phone. My vote for best ereader is the smartphone.
I'm looking to buy one myself. The new sony prs 700 looks to be what you need. It's compact, battery last long time and screen is really nice. And it's not fugly like the kindle, or kindle2. Now it is expensive though, 400 for a reader is still pretty expensive. You might want to wait a bit and see if the sony prs 505 goes on sale after the new one comes out. I might go that route, The 505 is still pretty nice, without the touchscreen, annotation, and built in reading light. Some people bitch about the reader not having a wireless access to buy books. I don't see that as a big deal, it's not like you're going to buy books every damn minute. Just hook it up to your computer, transfer your books, you have almost limitless space with memory cards and there you have it. Besides, having wireless will significantly reduce your battery.
The only problem with the current crop of eReaders is the ability to view DRM protected PDF files. Unfortunately, my bet is that is what this person will find for all the text books. Sony PRS can, if I understand it correctly, copy an encrypted/drm'd PDF to the PRS if one uses the Digital Editions software.
I have a number of technical references and book that I would love to have on a separate reader, but because they have DRM, I'm somewhat stuck. I also would like to be able read and tap into the growing library of eBooks, and Amazon has the larget collection.
PRS for DRM'd books, it seems
Kindle for regular ebooks..
All in all, no one device does it (that I know of).
I have a PRS-500, and have been quite happy with it. Sony just announced the PRS-700 last week, which includes a touch screen. I believe notes have to be taken with an onscreen keyboard, but it should fit nicely in your price range, and cover all your requirements except maybe the number of words per page. That, however is dependent on the zoom level you choose. Check out the forums and wiki over at http://www.mobileread.com/ They even have a nice matrix comparing past and current readers.
Check out the new Plastic Logic reader... not available until early '09, but very cool technology and form factor.
I am in my second year of PhD and I use an Iliad. First off... let me say that, to be honest I don't think any one device is perfect and no matter what reader you use be it iphone or laptop or Iliad, you will have to do some tweaking and some messing about and yes you will still need to print out atleast some of the papers.... Plus everyone has their favorite reader......
That being said, I just love working with my Iliad. It allows me to carry almost the complete library of my papers and most of my research notes with me in a very small package. This is an advantage to me since I tend to do a lot of thinking while sitting on bus (coming and going from University) I can quickly refer to my work without shifting through a lot of papers on bus....
It is true that you that you will need to zoom into pdf to read it on Iliad if you use the pre-installed pdf reader but there are some very useful community provided pdf reader available that are specially designed to make reading technical pdfs easier. You can test them out and choose the one that suits your needs.....
On important side note.... It seem that iRex is shifting its focus to their new reader but there is still a very strong community support available for Iliad.
In the end its your own decision but I would recommend Iliad.
I feel the best way for E Readers to make into mainstream is in universities or at least aiming it to students!!!
I have been reading books and articles electronically starting way back with a Palm III. I am currently using my iphone for everyday reading (Black screen white text with 200 words per page) and the sony reader at work for large tech documents. The Kindle will not allow the import of the documents I need and I can even import graphics to the iphone if needed...
Well, among other difference between an eReader (I have an iRex Illiad and a Sony) and a laptop are:-
- lighter, and much more comfortable form factor to read, whether at home on the couch, or holding in one hand standing in a bus...
- more robust to dropping etc (but still a glass screen, so be careful)
- visible in VERY bright conditions (outdoors, beach, etc)
- easier on your eyes when you can read it
- almost instant on and off, compared to minutes for a laptop to boot/shutdown
- 7500 pages of reading ON ONE CHARGE (Sony) means you can take it on a week long trip or longer, WITHOUT a power adapter, and not have to recharge it
Others have covered the differences with an iPhone, so I won't repeat that.
Sony
Do any of the readers render sheet music .pdf's well? Specifically bigger files...maybe in the 50 mb range?
My iphone renders it ok but it doesn't do big documents well (50 mb) and is kinda slow - maybe it's my program? I'm using air sharing (and it's free).
My PRS-505 renders sheet music readably, but the page size of my source isn't music-standard 9x12... nor even downloadable sheet music standard 8.5x11; what I've been using is the publications from http://metropolitancantorinstitute.org/Publications.html... shrink them to 3.75x4.5 to see how small they render.
It's good enough for practice, but not for performance, since page turns take about a second for graphically intense pages, and with the current software, it won't optically zoom, only text-reflow zoom.
The 10" displays will probably be better.
I'm quite fond of my Sony PRS-550, which is both sturdier and cheaper than the Kindle and doesn't raise the same privacy concerns (I'm not a privacy nut, but Amazon doesn't need to know quite that much about what I'm reading).
The 550's recently upgraded software solved the biggest issue with PDF books, which was that the text couldn't be reflowed or, often, magnified to a comfortable size. I take it everywhere and have used it with no problem under most conditions.
The soon-to-be-released PRS-700 will probably be fine, too, although -- at least as far as I can tell from the specs on the website -- turning pages requires using the touchscreen, so it can't conveniently be used one-handed. I have issues that make that a deal-breaker for me, but it may not be a problem for others.
I have an Iliad. I've used it for the past two years for exactly the purpose you're talking about: reading PDFs from social science journals for grad school. And also quite a few books related to my area of study--academic books are increasingly available as etexts.
I am not entirely happy with the Iliad: page refresh is too slow for skimming back-and-forth in an article or book comfortably, and the screen is not as white as paper by any means: you're reading black text on a light gray background. Finally, the screen is a little bit small for reading PDFs meant for bigger than A5 journals: A4 is doable, but kind of annoying.
However, with those three caveats (slow page refresh, gray background, and smallish screen), I would say the Iliad is the best Ebook reader now available for your needs: the first two limitations are present in all other epaper readers, and the Iliad's screen is MUCH bigger than anybody else's: the Sony and the Kindle just aren't going to cut it for reading PDFs unless you laboriously reformat them for your device's screen, which will get annoying after the 300th iteration...
The killer device for this application is going to be the plastic logic, when it comes out in the next couple of years, but for now, the Iliad is the best option.
My favorite right now is the IpodTouch 1st gen with BookShelf($9.99), It allows you to get books from you own pc via the free Sshelfserver aswell as the pay for sites with the Wifi. When reading Nortel product manuals, it was good enough. My HTC touch with mobipocket is ok for novels but not really all the great with any kind of manual. My Dream reader would be a MobiPocket with a 7"screen with the paper back ground that Palm and Hp played with on the Palm M series and Ipaq 41xx's.
I have a Sony and it is not usable for any scientific papers in pdf format unless you first get hold of the latex sources and then regenerate in the reader display size. The much ballyhooed pdf functionality on the recent firmware update is only suitable for the most basic of single column, not technical pdfs. The iliad is most certainly the way to go for ease of use when using pdfs. This isnt a bash so much of the sony, its just the shitty way pdfs work. For anything else, the sony is quite ok and the battery life is now much better.
My favorite: iPod touch 1.1.x with ruBooks from installer.
Nokia N810
N800 / N810
Has built in reader plus other apps like:
Evince
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2008/evince/
FBReader
http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2008/fbreader/
Great battery life, light, good screen, lots of apps, open platform.
I second the Nokia Tablet N8xx. I've used my N810 as an ebook reader (FBReader) and media player (Canola2) for almost a year now and it's great. The device is very pocketable, has a good resolution and tons of other features like GPS, web browser, etc. It's also cheaper than most alternatives, but has a smaller screen and isn't integrated with Amazon like the Kindle. And I wouldn't recommend it for PDF reading, unless it's short or you just want to skim it.
Plucker on a Tapwave Zodiac or Tungsten T3/T5/TX handheld. www.plkr.org
You can also download Adobe eBooks to the Sony Reader for free from many public libraries.
Best ebook reader ever is the Nintendo DS with DSLibris.
I too am a PhD student (Univ of MO). The iRex DR1000S is 10 inches compared to the iLiad's 8, and is better suited to read PDFs. HOWEVER, since it is brand spanking new - there are a few bugs which are being worked out. I have had mine a week and even with some of the issues, it is a fine Reader! I do recommend it highly.
Hanlin's V9t is expected to come out in the Spring, also at 10 inches, as well as PlasticLogics (10 inches). Soon, there will be some good choices for those who want primarily read PDF docutments, such as businessmen and academics. For now, there is really only iRex DR1000S.
I just got a Sony 505 and the font is way too small to read for PDF's...and 95% of what I read are PDF's. Its such a bummer that I can't return it. Does anyone know how I can make the PDF type/font larger? Otherwise I will have to sell this thing at a huge loss. Any idea's will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much.
Wow, I didn't even realise they'd put it up yet. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, especially for pointing out mobileread.com where they're all there side-by-side. So far it looks like only the iRex range has big enough screens and they're a bit steep. I reckon I wait a year and see (1) how much the prices drop, (2) whether anything more suitable comes along - if I get a scholarship I might shell out for that plastic logic one - and (3) whether the Aussie dollar ever rebounds (seriously, $1,000 AU for the iLiad).
The eeePC is the best ebook reader of them all!
The Bebook is the way to go with e-book readers. It supports a number of formats and is easy to use.
A word of caution though for e-readers in general the screen is extremely sensitive. I've only had mine ~ 6 weeks and the screen has fragmented so its now unusable. I was taking good care of it too! Endless ideas says that this is not covered by the warranty despite them claiming they offer a 'full 1 year warranty....which covers normal use'.
Hopefully someone is working on producing a more robust screen. I can't afford to get mine repaired particularly if it is going to break even when being treated with kid gloves!
I like the concept but clearly more work needs to be done
If you still decide to purchase one check out the bebook site and use my email address for a discount of 25Euro
ann.drummond@princehenrys.org
http://uk.askmen.com/entertainment/guy_gear/11_guy_gear.html
The new Sony PRS-700 gets a thumbs up in this review: http://www.techheck.com/journal/2009/1/7/sony-prs-700-portable-reader-review.html