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eBook Formats and Readers ?'s

Joel_Kirk said:
Interesting thread. (And, no, I didn't read all 11 pages).

I was talking to two friends about getting an eReader, since my pile of books is huge...and I know I will be doing lots of reading in the future for my writing projects and film ideas.

The biggest concern was that, for out of print books, there is no kindle or eBook option. For example, if I wanted to put James Blish ST log books on Kindle...or my Pippli Longstocking collection...(yes, I grew up watching Pippi Longstocking!)

Even books that are in print are not available in eBook format (ex: Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee, which I had interest in reading)...

Too, I probably would rent books from a library before actually committing to buy anything.
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eReader has nothing to do with a PADD (Star Trek named eBook Readers first so they get to go with the name). eReader is a program and a format for eBooks.

I have a Sony PADD 505 and I like it a lot. I'm thinking of going to the new PADD 650 or maybe the PADD 950. I know the PADD 650 is more expensive then the Amazon PADD 3. But it has better features for reading like not being locked into just one store and the build quality is better.
 
garoo1980 said:
Joel_Kirk said:
Interesting thread. (And, no, I didn't read all 11 pages).

I was talking to two friends about getting an eReader, since my pile of books is huge...and I know I will be doing lots of reading in the future for my writing projects and film ideas.

The biggest concern was that, for out of print books, there is no kindle or eBook option. For example, if I wanted to put James Blish ST log books on Kindle...or my Pippli Longstocking collection...(yes, I grew up watching Pippi Longstocking!)

Even books that are in print are not available in eBook format (ex: Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee, which I had interest in reading)...

Too, I probably would rent books from a library before actually committing to buy anything.
Click to expand...

That's a limitation for sure. But in a few cases it works the other way. Ask David Mack about getting all the Vanguard novels in print and you'll get the story, but they are not all available in print but are in ebook format.
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For finding old/older Star Trek books in print, you'll either have to hunt far and wide or pay through the nose. it's easy to find most of them as eBooks. So really, it's a no-brainer in this case.

garoo1980 said:
I saw the Kobo I have (I guess we'll call it V1 now) on sale at Walmart for $119 the other day. Then the inevitable announcement of the V2 came. The good news is they're adding:

Faster processor
Better battery
Reduced weight
WiFi for buying books without having to sync
Lists for $149

Bad news is I naturally don't get to trade up for free, even though mine cost $149 6 months back. That's the way with tech I guess

Anyway, definitely shows the tech is getting better and cheaper
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But the problem with the new Kobo is that it has no easy way to enter text. It has no on-screen keyboard or a keyboard. Really, the wifi is not going to be nice to use.
 
JWolf said:
But the problem with the new Kobo is that it has no easy way to enter text. It has no on-screen keyboard or a keyboard. Really, the wifi is not going to be nice to use.
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Wow good point. I never even thought about that. I must be an on screen keyboard, right? With only a directional button how are else are you going to select characters?
 
garoo1980 said:
JWolf said:
But the problem with the new Kobo is that it has no easy way to enter text. It has no on-screen keyboard or a keyboard. Really, the wifi is not going to be nice to use.
Click to expand...

Wow good point. I never even thought about that. I must be an on screen keyboard, right? With only a directional button how are else are you going to select characters?
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http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99988&highlight=kobo+keyboard&page=6

The link is a link to MobilRead where you can see a picture of the new Kobo. It is an onscreen keyboard where you use the keyboard with the pad. The advantages of the new Kobo vs the older Kobo is that the new one has a faster processor and supports 16 shades. My guess is a different screen controller. It's still not a Pearl screen yet. They all will be once they run out of the old Vizplex and only make Pearl.
 
Wow that keyboard looks pretty annoying. So bad in fact I'd probably find it better to buy the book on laptop and sync it over :)

What's a Pearl screen?
 
JWolf said:
Snaploud said:
garoo1980 said:
What's a Pearl screen?
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It's the latest generation e-ink display. Kindle 3 uses the Pearl screen, and the contrast is better than the older Vizplex e-ink screens (used by the current Nook, for example).

http://www.eink.com/products/High_Res_Pearl.html

http://www.eink.com/products/matrix/High_Res.html
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Sony is also using the Pearl screens and ePub.
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I'm not up-do-date on which brands are using Pearl or Vizplex at the moment. I just know that Pearl is the better/more recent technology.
 
I've seen the Kindle pearl screen and I seriously doubt that the average reader could tell the difference. I still actually prefer the readability on the nook but like all things it's a matter of taste.

Kevin
 
I've compared the 505 to the 650 and the screen on the 505 is quite good actually. But then, it also has to do with the font used. The eBooks I was comparing were using Fontin r Charis and those are both good fonts for an eink screen.
 
I definately would recommend the ipad if you've got one, i especially like the formatting of the text and the ability to change fonts and turn it into a sepia book like its a paperback. A lot of the books are in the ibooks store for 7.99, including all of the TNGR, VOYR, DS9 and Titan series.
 
Blackwaltz said:
I definately would recommend the ipad if you've got one, i especially like the formatting of the text and the ability to change fonts and turn it into a sepia book like its a paperback. A lot of the books are in the ibooks store for 7.99, including all of the TNGR, VOYR, DS9 and Titan series.
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Only if you want to read on a wonderfully backlit mirror.
 
ST-One said:
Blackwaltz said:
I definately would recommend the ipad if you've got one, i especially like the formatting of the text and the ability to change fonts and turn it into a sepia book like its a paperback. A lot of the books are in the ibooks store for 7.99, including all of the TNGR, VOYR, DS9 and Titan series.
Click to expand...

Only if you want to read on a wonderfully backlit mirror.
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lol ive never really had that problem
 
I just bought the Adobe version of Zero Sum Game for my Nook, but I can't get it to load on my computer. When I first downloaded it, I hadn't gotten the Adobe Digital Editions, but now I have and when I try to open the e-book it says that something hasn't finished downloading. When I tell it to finish it says that it I get an error that says:
Error getting license
Server communication problem:E_ADEPT_INTERNAL
What do I do to get it onto my computer and then onto my Nook?
 
JD said:
I just bought the Adobe version of Zero Sum Game for my Nook, but I can't get it to load on my computer. When I first downloaded it, I hadn't gotten the Adobe Digital Editions, but now I have and when I try to open the e-book it says that something hasn't finished downloading. When I tell it to finish it says that it I get an error that says:
Error getting license
Server communication problem:E_ADEPT_INTERNAL
What do I do to get it onto my computer and then onto my Nook?
Click to expand...

Where did you buy it from? Some stores when you buy the book it gives you a acsm file first. You have to have Adobe Digital editions to open it. You doubleclick the ascm file and the ADE will download the book into it. Then you connect your nook and register your nook with ADE. But not knowing where you got the file I can't advise any further. You probably should have bought the B&N version. It would have been easier.

Kevin
 
I got it from S&S. I've decided to just give up and take the loss of $$ as a lesson and get the Nook version.
 
I found Adobe Digital Editions a complete trial to get working on my Sony; sometimes it would work fine and transfer the book, other times and from other stores it took several attempts.

Since moving to Kindle, I've had no trouble getting things from the Amazon store; everything just seems to work. I'm yet to find a flaw, but I'll wait and see ;)
 
I don't see the point of the NookColor - seems like a wannabe micro-iPad to me. Definitely not what I want to see in an eBook reader. I wonder what Amazon will do, if anything, to go against Nook. I've not heard anything.
 
I'm still waiting for Zero Sum Game to be available on Kobobooks. I don't know why it takes them so long to get the ebook available since everyone else seems to have it. I'm starting to regret my decision to get the Kobo.
 
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