Comments on: A Tale of Three e-Book Readers

By: SAM

SAM — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:33:48 +0000

I use FoxIt reader for pdf’s on my WinMobile phone, as I’m able to reflow the pdf’s and make the font as large as I need.

I have a Fujitsu u810 5 3/4″(?) screen mini tablet pc.
This works great as an ebook reader, becasue I can read abut any format because it runss regular Win XP and is in colour. It gets 3 1/2 – 4 hours battery time for just reading. By that time I’m too tired to read for that long of period. It also doubles as a very mobile computer.

A small adjustable screen tablet to fit in your pocket would be nice, but colour and backlight.

By: eufreka

eufreka — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:00:19 +0000

…forgot to mention how AWFUL all the eReader apps are in terms of actual TOUCH control, however! For now, I am using mobipocket…

By: eufreka

eufreka — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:57:54 +0000

Yep, I was considering the kindledx, but then did a 3-way compare of it along with the viliv x70 and the asus t91…

ended up with the viliv and think it is the best blended device. I can remotely manage my servers AND read.

By: JohnB

JohnB — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:27:53 +0000

Yup, my Nokia N810 tablet running FBReader does a fine job — so much that I’ve not even tried an ebook app on the iPod Touch lying around in my house.

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:24:42 +0000

Thanks for the comparison… I hadn’t really thought of the ultraportables as an ereader but that is good way to kill 2 birds w/ 1 stone on my tech toy budget. :D

By: James Kendrick

James Kendrick — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:02:31 +0000

The app displayed is eReader on all three devices. I use it a lot in addition to the Kindle for iPhone app you mentioned. eReader is much more configurable in regards to the display font, colors, etc. than most apps.

By: Scotty

Scotty — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:24:33 +0000

I spent alot of time with my LE1600 as a Microsoft Reader device but the thing was so heavy it strained my wrists and they were always sore after a couple months. Then I got my Sony Librie and life was instantly MUCH better.

The hotness in the Sony space has me a bit peeved though. My PRS-700 should be capable of the same annotations as the PRS-600. But so far all Sony has had to say is that they’re discontinuing the PRS-700. No word on if we get a firmware update before it goes off to the junk heap. A $400 dedicated ebook reader that is dead and unsupported after a life span in the market of Nov 2008 until Aug 2009? Whoosh!

I know I didn’t get my $400 worth out of mine before they killed it.

By: Xerxes

Xerxes — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:58:40 +0000

iPhone is a great e-reader if proper apps are used. Most iPhone reader apps have small fonts and whenever you zoom in you have to scroll horizontally to read lines. However, apps like Kindle for iPhone are really great. I’ve read a 700 pages novel on iPhone Kindle without any eye strain and I should admit that the reading experience was somehow better than a real kindle. BTW, which app have you used in this example? Doesn’t look like Kindle app.

By: James Kendrick

James Kendrick — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:17:50 +0000

It would be more correctly stated that I prefer to read on devices I have with me. I have the original Kindle but don’t use it much at all as it’s never with me. At least one of these gadgets are with me at a given moment and that’s what I use.

I read a lot in low light conditions and the Kindle fails miserably at that.

By: Henry.p

Henry.p — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:09:20 +0000

So James you prefer multi-purpose devices for reading vs a dedicated e-book reader like the Kindle or Sony? I prefer the kindle or reading on my Fujitsu T4220, although I’ve used both my palm centro and OQO to read books. Anything smaller then the kindle is far to small to enjoy the experience. Still the kindle fits best, battery that lasts for days, e-ink screen that I can read in any light, although a backlight or built-in LED lamp would be nice for night reading.

By: borax99 (AlainC.)

borax99 (AlainC.) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:01:17 +0000

Thank you for using shots of the three devices with the exact same book open – provides for an excellent comparison. I’m a bit of an ebook fiend, I use:

- Sony 505 – for longer books, my eyes appreciate it
- Viliv S5 – quick n dirty read-anywhere
- P1610 – read Sony, ereader, or mobi books, mostly at home. (I primarily use a landscape, two-page view with this one, as opposed to portrait on the others)

I’m considering the X70, but may wait until it (or hopefully a successor device from Viliv) ships with Windows 7…

Great post !

By: hadoualex

hadoualex — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:39:07 +0000

For ebook reading i prefer devcies with 4-6 inches as they provide the best weight/text display balance for long reading sessions. I have tried reading in my touch pro and find the screen size and resolution to be too much of a strain.

To develop furhter on the point of reading, we should consider mangas or comic books. I been trying to read mangas since I first got my Tapwave Zodiac, yet the continue scrolling due to the screen resolution, made it less than ideal for such task. It wasnt until the samsung q1 and more recently my nokia N810, that i found the best suitable resolution/screen size for manga reading. The 800X480 resolution makes it the best compromise.

My question to James would be: can you read the mangas of onemanga.com comfortably in the viliv S5? maybe post some pictures, if its not too much to ask. Thank you in davanced and keep up the good work.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:23:41 +0000

I’ve found that my Q1-UP is also a great ebook reader, and if I want a really big screen, I use my Motion LE1600, it’s thin, light weight, and offers the best experience I’ve had with reading ebooks on eReader or digital magazines from Zinio.