jamesb Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 I'm getting a Sony Reader sometime over the next week and have been hunting down eBook sellers. So far I've got Blackwell (Academic specialist, not that useful for me), ePubBook (free stuff mainly, and some e-Vanity publishing as far as I can tell), Waterstones and WHSmiths. I'm just wondering if anyone knows any others out there, or can recommend any particular sites with free/cheap self-published books which are above the average for quality?
tech_guy Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 I have a Sony Reader (and so does the wife). Brilliant bit of kit. We mainly buy from Waterstones as they have some good deals. If you are into history I can recommend 'Quartered Safe out Here' - an account of serving in Burma during the second world war. I've downloaded a few files from file sharing sites but haven't looked at them yet. Naughty I know. Tsk.
SteveBentley Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 Project Gutenberg is definitely worth a look - gutenberg.org
Ric_ Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 Slightly off-topic, how well do PDFs get rendered by the Sony Reader thingies? There's a wealth of PDF-based reading out there (particularly technical stuff) and the Reader would be an ideal thing for carrying around service manuals, etc. if image reproduction is OK.
jamesb Posted August 25, 2009 Author Posted August 25, 2009 Slightly off-topic, how well do PDFs get rendered by the Sony Reader thingies? There's a wealth of PDF-based reading out there (particularly technical stuff) and the Reader would be an ideal thing for carrying around service manuals, etc. if image reproduction is OK. A large part of the reason I'm getting it. I'll let you know how well it does once I've got my hands on it.
JJonas Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 They are £179 in Waterstones now. Which probably means there is a new model on the way. I would go into Waterstones with some pdf's on a memory stick and ask to try them out. If they want the sale they should be able to accommodate you. 1
JJonas Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 (edited) They are £179 in Waterstones now. Which probably means there is a new model on the way. PRS-300 and PRS-600 Sony Reader - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/03/full-specs-leak-on-sony-reader-prs-300-and-prs-600/ Edited August 25, 2009 by JJonas
jamesb Posted August 25, 2009 Author Posted August 25, 2009 They are £179 in Waterstones now. Which probably means there is a new model on the way. I would go into Waterstones with some pdf's on a memory stick and ask to try them out. If they want the sale they should be able to accommodate you. Yep, I know, but I quite liked the look of this model. Picked it up twenty minutes ago. Unfortunately I'm back in work now, and on a trip for the next couple of days so I don't know when I'll get to play with it. 1
tech_guy Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 (edited) I've got the PRS-505. It's worth getting the charger at Waterstones too for another 20 quid. I use mine to look at PDFs and picture files and the image quality is superb. The audio isn't bad either. The beastie takes ProDuo and SD cards as well so storage isn't a problem. You also get over a hundred classic books with it as well. I took mine to India and it was brilliant - much better than lugging a load of paperbacks around and everybody on the flights who saw it said they were going to get one. Here's a link to the new readers that are coming out. Edited August 25, 2009 by tech_guy 1
dalsoth Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 Just bought the PRS 505 from play.com for 169 which includes the tri fold case and free delivery. Also purchased one of those cases with a light panel that swivels across the screen for night reading from Amazon for about 30 quid. Just could not resist any more. Have been dying for one of these for soooooooo long. This thread just made me get one. Was holding back for ages because i had seen the PRS 700 was newer and not available in the UK but that seems to be discontinued now with the new touchscreen 600 out soon. The reason i got the 505 is because i saw some videos of the image quality on the new 600 version and was very disapointed compared to the 505 which does not have a touchscreen (not really vital to me). The 505 also seems a bargain at 169. Here is a video of the 2 side by side. I read more forums and reviews and everyone seems to agree the new version has a poor image. Video: Sony PRS-600 Touch is fast but too dim to satisfy PRS-505 owner Oh and i forgot to say, did not really consider the smaller 5 inch prs 300 because i saw a video of all 3 and it looked too small with the text on screen. Much prefer the larger 6 inch display of the 505.
tech_guy Posted August 25, 2009 Posted August 25, 2009 I agree. The PRS-505 image is superb. Sometimes I forget and think I'm reading an actual book and go to turn the page as you would with a real book!
JJonas Posted August 26, 2009 Posted August 26, 2009 So what are they like with PDf's? Im thinking of filling one with IT books
tech_guy Posted August 26, 2009 Posted August 26, 2009 I'll do some screen shots tomorrow and upload them.
JJonas Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 Feedbooks: Food for the mind ManyBooks.net - Free eBooks for your PDA, iPhone, or eBook Reader
JJonas Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 Video: Sony Reader Touch Edition gets touched, desktop software upped to 3.0
SteveLaw Posted August 27, 2009 Posted August 27, 2009 I have a Cybook Gen 3. Best thing I ever bought I think. Almost all of what I read on it so far is free (I use Project Gutenburg and those two from JJonas above). Because the Cybook uses Mobipocket format you can create your own. it also reads pdf, but they usually look rubbish (fixed width pdf does not flow and you have to scroll about or squint - don't know if the Sony can re-flow pdf but I'm not sure it's possible with the format) however the mobipocket creater program will convert pdf anyway. Awaiting the next upgrade which will also support epub.
jamesb Posted August 28, 2009 Author Posted August 28, 2009 So what are they like with PDf's? Im thinking of filling one with IT books I've found them to be crystal clear. I had to refer to some technical manuals the other day, which I have in PDF format. Since even the 6" screen was a little small for them I just rotated the display (hold down the zoom button for a few seconds) and could read through without any problems. Links within the PDFs do work, using the navigation keys. You can jump directly to a page by typing in the number. The interface has been very carefully thought out, particularly shown by the ease of bookmarking and the number of ways you can turn pages. At first I thought three (or maybe four, I forget) ways to turn pages was a bit much. Then I started actually using it. Since its light enough to hold one-handed comfortably it really does help to have page controls in the three areas where your thumb naturally rests. The Sony can reflow pdfs as far as I've seen, and the text comes out great. It will break any graphics though if you zoom in too far. Notably, the only PDFs I've had any trouble with and had to rotate the display for are A4 sized. All the others I've been able to read comfortably. I feel like I've started something. Where's the eBook owners social group?
Sylv3r Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 My Sony e-Book reader should be here next week - another little gadget to have a play with!
dalsoth Posted August 29, 2009 Posted August 29, 2009 Got mine yesterday and also got the case with built in light which looks brilliant. So happy i did not choose the newer version as i could not imagine tapping the screen and smudging it. Sooooo easy to use the little buttons to turn pages and a hell of a lot more responsive and fast to switch pages and menus than i thought after reading lots of posts about how slow they are. On Windows 7 i just copy and paste across the books to the device and they work without any annoying software like the annoying itunes. The only software i have tried to transfer books is the free calibre which will let you convert to epub and transfer across if you prefer it. Another nice bit of software is Stanza Desktop which is also free. This lets you convert loads of types of files such as rtf, pdf, lit, epub. doc etc.... With Sony converting all of its library to the epub format i have converted mine to that also as it is an open format i believe. I did try a pdf file i downloaded yonks ago of a technical manual i owned as a real book. Did not work on the reader when i converted it to epub as apparently the file was too long and did not have proper spacing paragraphs etc although it looked ok to me. I found that if i saved it to epub format then renamed it to zip, then converted it from zip to epub again using calibre, it then worked once transferred across to the device. Apparently calibre formats it properly. Moral of the story is to buy your books and they will look much better than those downloaded! It is a shame though that the books i like are as expensive or more than the real versions especially as i have them all in hard format already!
jamesb Posted August 29, 2009 Author Posted August 29, 2009 It is a shame though that the books i like are as expensive or more than the real versions especially as i have them all in hard format already! Its my only complaint about the device. It'd be useful if there were some way to automatically get a copy of any books you already own the hardcopy of, but somehow I don't see that happening. I guess for re-readings I'll just have to stick to primitive hardcopy.
JJonas Posted September 18, 2009 Posted September 18, 2009 This might be useful Best Places to Get Free Books – The Ultimate Guide
duncane Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 I've always thought that e-readers were silly - the thought that they could possibly compare to the pleasure you get from holding a book - the simple user-interface, the long-life, ease-of-use etc... This thread inspired me to get a Sony PRS-300 - I'm hooked. I think I knew it had clicked when instead of saying, "I'm just going to get my e-reader", I said "I'm just going to get my book" - for the first few days I'd read a page and feel like turning it to get to the next page - the resolution and contrast is wonderful. Luckily there's plenty of material available for free - I think the cost structure for commercial books is wrong - I'm sure that the material costs for books are significantly more than for CDs. Plus, you don't have to pre-create and store warehouses full of books for an e-reader, which should be a significant cost saving. I think e-books are going to drag publishing-houses kicking and screaming into the 21st century, just as mp3 did for music. (It won't be pretty, but we'll get there.)
elsiegee40 Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 I have 2 problems with e-Books... 1. Not sensible to read in the bath (waits for the launch of the waterproof variety) 2. I can see the battery running out just as I get to a good bit. Paper for me!
mossj Posted October 28, 2009 Posted October 28, 2009 1. Not sensible to read in the bath (waits for the launch of the waterproof variety) I was thinking this would make a nice x-mas present for the gf, until I read this... SHOCKING!
russdev Posted October 28, 2009 Posted October 28, 2009 Small article here by some bloke bit outdated now but gave a run down of readers at the time. Technology & Learning - May 2009 - (10) Russ
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