[Web4lib] RE: E-book readers

[Abbey Warner]

Re: the question about ebook reading devices - I bought a Sony E-Reader and
use it primarily to download the content of online magazines and long
articles for reading at my convenience.

I would recommend it for personal use, but as a library product for reading
ebooks...I don't know.  Judge for yourself.  

It's very light and small (the reading area is about the size of a paperback
book), and it's less than 1/2" thick even with the cover on it.  However, it
is pricey - $300.  The capacity is huge.  I haven't added an SD card for
more memory and I have 55 books on it, plus hundreds of pages of articles.

The navigation is very simple - off/on, next page, previous page, choose a
menu item, make a bookmark.  There's no search function, and no way to input
notes or cut and paste, but that's not what it's meant to be.  It's for
reading, and that's what it does.

The battery life is phenomenal. It charges while I'm connected to my
computer to download content, and only uses electricity to "turn the page."
It also plays mp3 files, but I've never used it that way so I don't know
about battery life using as an mp3 player.  It's hardy - I've had
heart-stopping drops with no damage.

Now - would it work with other ebook subscriptions?  It would, but only if
the book could be downloaded and converted as a pdf, or rich text, or Word.
You could pre-load the ebook for patrons since it takes Sony Connect
software, and then they could check out the Reader like any other book. I
think it could be a nice change from the grousing we hear about our ebooks
that can't be downloaded (from netLibrary). 

Downsides: it has a proprietary book format from the Sony store for their
copyrighted books and the store has a disappointing selection, although
they've promised to load many more.  I've downloaded many free books in pdf
or Word from UPenn's ebook site.  The other downside is that it's not
black-on-white text - it's darker gray on lighter gray, which demands a
strong light source to read, but indirect so I don't get glare on the
screen.  You can get an after-market light that clips over the top for
reading in low light. 

I'll never toss around for something to read ever again, and I can take it
whenever I'm waiting on the spouse...again...

Abbey Warner
Univ. Central Oklahoma
awarner at ucok.edu


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