01-08-2010, 06:22 PM
> But I have absolutely no idea what to pay attention to. :-/
You should look towards battery life, what kind of file-formats it reads.
Right now, you should "wait" because current ebook readers have short battery life and needs constant recharging. Catch22 is Ebook readers costs $$$ money and to buy next year's model costs $$$ money again, and not all Ebooks are equal.
Most Ebooks are DRM protected, and that limits your choices. So if you buy that knock-off no-name China Ebook reader, don't be surprised you'll have to buy another Ebook reader. That's why you see plenty of them on Ebay LOL.
You cannot easily convert PDF to Mobi format, CHM to PDF, or DOC to Mobi easily. Then again, you'll find reading PDFs on Ebook a finiky process with sometimes Ebook reader hanging out, or just unable to render that page. It's a hit and miss affair, so you need to get the original files from vendor (or else expect to spend ages re-formatting and re-checking your conversion).
Ebook readers are one thin long device that looks like it could probably get bent, scratched or broken easily. Which means you have to get a cover. If you mishandle it, you come back to square one, having brought an ebook reader and not able to use it. That also voids your warranty, or means expensive repairs.
You should consider current ebook readers like first generation handhelds (WinCE, Palm, Apple Newton) - very slow (to turn page), klunky to operate.
Another annoyance with Ebooks is lack of "bookmarks" or last turned page remember.
DRM protected Ebooks have limited numbers of activations. Depending on which ebook-store you buy from, you could find yourself locked out from your ebook.
There are competing formats, such as Adobe Ebook, Microsoft Ebook, Mobi, Silo, and others, but I have not seen any ebook which supports both Adobe Ebook and Microsoft Ebook format, so beware.
If you really need ebook reader, you should get netbook anyway, since, you cannot just read a book anywhere. If you bring a book, you probably cannot read it while riding a bus or in subway. If you bring it to friends house, you probably spend more time talking and doing things rather than reading.
With the slate (google for iSlate), more thinner netbooks, iPhone (you can actually read your ebook from iPhone).
Last, with this kind of economy, don't be surprised you'll spend that money you needed for an Ebook towards some immediate expense, such as gas, food or paying off debt.
You should look towards battery life, what kind of file-formats it reads.
Right now, you should "wait" because current ebook readers have short battery life and needs constant recharging. Catch22 is Ebook readers costs $$$ money and to buy next year's model costs $$$ money again, and not all Ebooks are equal.
Most Ebooks are DRM protected, and that limits your choices. So if you buy that knock-off no-name China Ebook reader, don't be surprised you'll have to buy another Ebook reader. That's why you see plenty of them on Ebay LOL.
You cannot easily convert PDF to Mobi format, CHM to PDF, or DOC to Mobi easily. Then again, you'll find reading PDFs on Ebook a finiky process with sometimes Ebook reader hanging out, or just unable to render that page. It's a hit and miss affair, so you need to get the original files from vendor (or else expect to spend ages re-formatting and re-checking your conversion).
Ebook readers are one thin long device that looks like it could probably get bent, scratched or broken easily. Which means you have to get a cover. If you mishandle it, you come back to square one, having brought an ebook reader and not able to use it. That also voids your warranty, or means expensive repairs.
You should consider current ebook readers like first generation handhelds (WinCE, Palm, Apple Newton) - very slow (to turn page), klunky to operate.
Another annoyance with Ebooks is lack of "bookmarks" or last turned page remember.
DRM protected Ebooks have limited numbers of activations. Depending on which ebook-store you buy from, you could find yourself locked out from your ebook.
There are competing formats, such as Adobe Ebook, Microsoft Ebook, Mobi, Silo, and others, but I have not seen any ebook which supports both Adobe Ebook and Microsoft Ebook format, so beware.
If you really need ebook reader, you should get netbook anyway, since, you cannot just read a book anywhere. If you bring a book, you probably cannot read it while riding a bus or in subway. If you bring it to friends house, you probably spend more time talking and doing things rather than reading.
With the slate (google for iSlate), more thinner netbooks, iPhone (you can actually read your ebook from iPhone).
Last, with this kind of economy, don't be surprised you'll spend that money you needed for an Ebook towards some immediate expense, such as gas, food or paying off debt.