Feygan's Drowning Pool

I was browsing ebooks, trying to see if there was anything good out, and there are just a few issues I have about ebooks. So I made a couple of lists.


Pros:
-convenience (you can read an ebook anywhen and anywhere as long as you take your reader with you. Long trips and waiting room waits don't have to be a complete chore anymore.)
-portability (you can carry dozens of ebooks around with you wherever you go and they take up a lot less room than printed books.)
-news feeds (you can download RSS feeds from your favorite newspapers or blogs and take them with you to read later.)

Cons:
-expensive (for some reason, publishers feel the need to make ebooks the same price as printed books, even though they're obviously much cheaper to produce. There's no printing costs, so you would think they would offer them at a sweeter price, but no.)
-available formats (it seems everybody wants to make their own ereader software that is completely incompatible with every other kind of ereading program. Take my eBookwise for instance--it's great and does what I need it to do, but it doesn't work with microsoft reader, mobipocket, pdf, etc.)
-ereaders (every company is coming out with their own ereader, and they're making them all different format compatible. The Sony Reader is very prettyful and awesome, but eInk page turnings can take an unacceptable amount of time, especially if you're on a strictly regimented schedule, like on your work break. The
-ereader price (for a single-purpose electronic gizmo, they can be awfully pricey. $70-800.



eReaders:

For the longest time I just used my PDA to read on while at work. The main drawback? Screen-size. When someone has funky formats for their html page (Voracity), well, it's a complete headache to try and read one of her stories offline on a PDA. I was always having to scroll down because I was reading too fast and not enough words would fit on a single screen.

The Sony Reader is very prettiful and awesome, but eInk page turnings can take an unacceptable amount of time, especially if you're on a strictly regimented schedule, like on your work break. The Sony Reader is also under the Sony DRM policy, which is incredibly strict and, dare I say it, Nazi-ish. Gray-scale screen. Reading formats available: BBeb (Sony Connect format), txt, rtf, pdf (unencrypted) jpeg, gif, bmp, png, mp3 (unencrypted), aac. (Retail price: $400) Does not work with html. Not compatible with Mac.

The Cybook is a beautiful piece of technology. It has a full-color screen, is wi-fi capable, Word compatible, has an mp3 player, and if it would have my baby, it would be perfect. I'm leery about buying one because at that price I could buy a whole computer, and I would be afraid to carry it around with me because I would probably scratch the screen or drop it and it'd shatter into a million pieces (I've dropped my PDA so many times I'm surprised it still works.) Works something like 3-4 hours between charges. Reading formats available: mobipocket, html, text, oeb, xeob,rtf, jpg, gif, png. (Retail price: $400) Does not work with PDF.

The iRex Iliad would be the perfect machine if it wasn't so damn expensive. It does everything and is pretty too boot. Only problems are the cost, the lack of service for them, and the fact that they are still in beta, though you can still buy one if you want. (Retail price: $800)

The Hanlin eBook is nice, though it's a Chinese machine, which means most of the info on it is in Chinese. Wolf compatible. (Retail price: $300)

The eBookwise is a hardy, working machine. Grayscale screen, paperback book sized, it's made for reading and none of the crap you don't need. Works something like 15 hours between charges. Reading formats available: oeb, html, txt, rtf, rocket ebooks (Retail price: $130) eBookwise Review


More info available at: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/

I was seriously considering getting myself a Cybook, 'cause they sure are pretty, what with that full color display, the internet capability, the pocketWord, pocketInternet Explorer, and basically the capability to read almost anything I can throw at it. The only thing that stopped me? The price.

I know I read a lot of stuff. I know I waste a lot of money buying gadgets and gizmos. But after seriously considering the Cybook, I was forced to give it a pass for the simple reason that it was too pricey and too pretty for me to be just tossing it around.

It would be nice to be able to browse the internet while doing whatever. It would be nice to be able to look at full color images. But do I need to be able to do that? No.

I have the internet at home. I can look at full color images at home. I wanted an ebook reader that I could take to work and use on my breaks. I need something rugged enough that it won't shatter if I toss it around with my stuff. And I need something that's cheap enough that I won't suffer guilt pangs the first time I drop it and ding it up.

Which is why I went to eBookwise and picked myself up an eBookwise 1150 for $135. It does everything I need it to do... lets me read while at work. It accepts html, text, docs, rbs, jpeg, gif, and rtf files. It's just too bad that it won't show mobipocket books, 'cause that would be great. But I really don't need mobipocket to read saved fanfic or manga. So there.