I would really like to get an e-reader for my birthday in April.  I tried the Sony ereader and wasn't that impressed with it.  What do you ladies use and/or recommend?

Hey, Happy Birthday next month, Sherri!  I got my e-reader for my birthday last April as well and I love it.  What type of Sony did you try? I have a PRS-505 but unfortunately, that model is no longer available.  I heard some not so great things about the 700 model - mainly that because it has a touch screen, it adds an extra layer of plastic over the view screen that can make it more difficult to read.

I have a Sony pocket edition and I love it!  I bought it last December with a giftcard I got from work.  I liked that I was able to go to Target and play with the display model there to get the feel of it.  Plus, the price was right.  It's small and compact (about the size of a MMPB).

I decided against a Kindle because I don't like Amazon and didn't feel I needed to be able to wirelessly download books anytime.  A coworker of mine has a Kindle and just loves it.  I didn't see much difference between the screen on it and on my Sony.

Someone over on the Games board has a Nook and was trying the lend feature with it but can't get it to work.  Apparently, after reading the BN forums, no one can get that to work she said.

There are lots of other readers out there too, someone else on the DOS chat had bought a cheaper one and likes it.  I was just over at PCworld.com and see they have reviews of ebook readers now.

I got the sony 505 that I guess has been discontinued..I was planning on mostly erotic romance and those were available in pdf so I could put them on my computer then transfer to the ereader. I honestly don't use mine a whole lot but I like how I can get the classics already formatted for it and change the font size.

I had this Sony and it didn't work.  I could never get it download any books from my computer.  I ended up taking it back.  I don't think I'm ready for another Sony but I'd love to hear about some other types of devices.

I have a couple of handhelds, which are good for other things other than reading ebooks, then I won the original Kindle and pretty happy with it, as I do like reading on the larger screen.  Doesn't have a backlight like my handhelds, which I wish it did, but not a big deal.  Also on the original, it doesn't have an option to go to last page read (I can do that in some reader software on my handhelds), instead you have an option to "go to location" and have to put in a number (sort of the page number), so I have to guess and play around for the few times it doesn't open up where I left off.  A bit of pain, but I can live with that.  Not sure if the newer Kindles updated this to go where you left off.

The wireless option is kind of nice, you don't have to bother synching, it goes right over, and you can even do it from the Kindle, shop from there if you happen to want a book instantly and not at home on your PC.  Also, you can get a lot of other ebook formats on to the Kindle through Mobipocket Reader software (the Kindle is based on Mobi).  Amazon has a way that you can use a special email with them to send these other formats they allow to your Kindle, but they charge something like ten cents, mabye a bit more now to do it.  The other way I use is through the USB port on my PC, for no charge.  I import these other formats into Mobipocket on my PC (and Mobi can convert quite a few if they aren't secured ebooks, though sometimes secured PDFs I have been able to import into Mobi), then just send the converted Mobi ebook easily to the Kindle.  Mobipocket is my second favorite reading software after MS Reader (even those I can convert the lit format using the free Amber Lit converter to another format works with Mobi, then import to Mobi, then to Kindle (doesnt' take me long at all).

Dearauthor.com has done blog posts/reviews on many of the readers, check out their site for more input.

You already know how I feel about my Kindle 2.  :)  I love it!

:) :)

I have a Jetbook Lite which I bought here It is great. There is no wireless, but I didn't care about that. This is a basic reader, no music etc. It can read almost any format. It takes regular AA batteries. Its awesome!

Sherri, you might check out this article about e-readers that were introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. I've got my eye on the Samsung reader...

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/new-e-readers-and-e-book-players-for-2010/

But what I'm really looking at is a UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC) that can run Microsoft Reader. I like the way pages look and the adjustable type size of this format. With the going price on e-readers, they're not much cheaper than a netbook/UMPC which is much more versatile/functional. Kindle, Mobi, MS Reader, and Acrobat all have software versions that will run on a PC and the hard drives are much larger, allowing you to store a bazillion books without any problem.

Colleen

Colleen and Sherri. Do you guys know anything about Apple's I Pad?  or does anyone here have one?

I guess I just have that old lady resistance to scary voodoo technology.  I'm stuck with reading ebooks on my computer:P  I won't even carry a cell phone, but that has more to do with hating to talk on the phone & refusing to do it anywhere but at home.  And I look at the Kindles & it just seems weird to me.  A book without pages... weird:P

I have read reviews that say the new Sony 700 has some serious problems.  You can still buy 505's on E-bay.  I would not buy a Kindle becaue if you do, you are locking yourself into Amazon's proprietary system for downloading books.  My local library has E-books, but none that will play on a Kindle.  All of them will play on a Sony. 

I would love to be able to try an e-book reader out to see if it's something I would really use in the long haul, but I don't know anyone who has one.  I mostly would like an E-book reader so that I could increase the text size when my eyes get tired.  What I know is that my frugal nature will rebel at paying up to $10.00 for what is essentially a paperback and not be able to pass it on to someone else when I am done. 

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/

this site has a lot of info on different readers , there are tons of them.

http://www.inkmesh.com/

this site consolidates ebook prices.  you can see where an ebook is available and how much.

http://inkmesh.com/blog/2009/11/

they did a price comparison in nov & it looks like amazons prices were lowest most often.

I have a kindle 1, because they had lowered the price of it after the kindle2 & dx were out and I wanted wireless delivery.  I like amazon and order stuff from them a lot.  So far I have only gotten free books & have way to many paper books to read still.  But I always liked paperback better than hardback because they are lighter and the Kindle is even lighter.  I like it a lot.  It is easy to use.  The only concern about it is that it is books are in amazons format so the books can't be used on other readers (they do have kindle for pc, iphone and blackberry).  So later if I decide no more kindle, a new ebook reader might not work with my kindle books.  Amazon will convert other formats to the kindle format if they dont have digital rights management (DMR) on them.  People posting on bb say that kindle support is great, I have not had to use them.  For your kindle account you can use up to 6 devices, so you can share with someone, but if you give them access to your account you need to trust them with your credit card.

The ipad is not out yet, no one has it yet.  It is more of a tablet computer than a book reader.  It weight about 1.5 lbs.  It is back lit which can cause eyestrain.  I think something like the ipad would be better for magazines, textbooks or comic books, but not for reading novels.  If you want a novel reader, i think one of the dedicated readers is probably better.  if you want a tablet computer with book reading, maybe you want an ipad.

Kim, I would not have bought myself an ereader except I had a giftcard from work that covered all but like $10 of the cost of the Sony pocket edition so I went for it.

Kate, do you live near a Target store?  They have the Sony readers there and demo models of the pocket edition and the next size up (not the touch edition).

I appreciate all the reviews and websites.  Thanks!  I think I'm actually leaning more towards a netbook now or maybe a small laptop.  From everything I've read about the different readers, formats and prices - you can get a refurbished netbook from Dell for about the same price as the Kindle 2.

I love my little Sony 505, but don't have any hands-on experience with the other Sony models. A friend of mine has the pocket edition though and seems to like it.  Last year I was torn between a Kindle and the Sony and finally went with the Sony because I didn't like the proprietary nature of Amazon and wanted to be able to store/save books on my PC.  I also didn't like the high price of the Kindle books.  There's no doubt that Kindles are very nice though.  I honestly haven't looked at their book prices lately, so maybe they're coming down.  I usually pay anywhere from $2 - 4 something on the e-bks that I mostly get from fictionwise.com.  I joined their buying club, which helps bring the prices down as well (but there's a fee of maybe ~$20 something/year).  They also have a lot of sales, and a good rebate plan, especially for new books.  You buy the book, then get 100% of the price back as a store credit.  I love that.  I just got Black Jack by Lora Leigh the other night for five something, and turned around and used the credit to buy another book. 

I'd love a netbook.  I seriously thought about that too.  You can buy new ones for like $300.  It was a bit more than I wanted to spend plus I hardly ever travel so I just didn't see myself using it as much.

Sarah for me it would be the convenience.  Taking it to the living room, back porch, riding in the car, etc.

I LOVE my Kindle2 as well and Amazon is now coming out with software for your computer so that you can read it there as well!

I have a netbook, its the only laptop I have, and I like it. Its not good for reading ebooks while lying in bed, though.

Anne, why is that?

Sherri, if you are laying flat on your back in bed its hard to get the screen angled right, and its just so big (relatively speaking). I guess if you are sitting up and leaning back on something it would work great, I can't do that (don't have the right kind of headboard for that).  Since I lay flat, it just doesn't work for me. Even a hard cover book is too big to read in that position. Paperbacks and my jetbook lite are great, so is my old ereader (ebookwise).

OK thanks Anne.  I usually read laying on my stomach if I'm in bed so that wouldn't be a problem for me.  

oh good, Sherri! The netbooks are great for ebooks. But another disadvantage could be, that the netbook won't fit in your purse (if you use one) while the ebook reader will. Also my ebook reader was less than half the price of my netbook. Of course, I can go on PBS on my netbook, but not on my ereader :)