freethinkermom Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 ETA: The title should say I "got," not "hot." I am too tired for much of an in depth review. Really I do not know what to say that isn't written a dozen other places on the internet. Basically.... I LOVE IT!. It is so much nicer to read on than my Palm PDA. It feels like a dedicated reading device (which it is, but it feels right). The e-ink screen is neat and very crisp. Books load fast and the page turns are plenty quick enough. The included software to manage it is OK, probably the weakest part, but it does the job. I did download a third party open source program to tweak my files a bit because I have many in a variety of formats from years of reading ebooks. That took care of any issues I had with the included software. I activated it with Sony's book store and now have credit for 100 free classics (OK, 99 I downloaded Madame Bovary). I spent most of this evening reading The Disposssed by Ursula K. LeGuin on it. I have not tried to play an mp3 on it yet. I have an ipod classic, so I doubt I will use the Reader's audio functions much. I plan on reading as much of tomorrow as I can get away with! Now I am off to a warm bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamagistra Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Yay, ftm! Thank you for the report. :001_smile: I am so jealous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahwahnee Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Do you think there are applications for an ereader in homeschooling at the present state of this technology? I've been looking at the Kindle as a way for my kids to read the classics without overwhelming my overloaded bookshelves. I don't like reading computer screens all day. Do you find the Sony Reader better? A few more questions, do pictures look ok if you have a pdf file? Lastly, my first laptop was B&W at a low resolution; I always regretted not having spent the extra money for color. Would color help? Enjoy your new toy.:drool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freethinkermom Posted April 18, 2008 Author Share Posted April 18, 2008 Do you think there are applications for an ereader in homeschooling at the present state of this technology? I've been looking at the Kindle as a way for my kids to read the classics without overwhelming my overloaded bookshelves. My ds11 has been reading ebooks on a Palm PDA or his computer for a couple of years. So yes, we use ebooks for homeschooling all the time. As for the Kindle, I think it is a good option if you plan on buying a lot from Amazon, but if you want classics like from Project Gutenberg the Sony Reader is less expensive ($270). For us we know exactly what we wanted from an ebook reader. Our plan is to have 3 Sony Readers by then end of the year. Mine ,then one for dh, and one for ds11. Ds6 is happy to read on my old laptop. He loves mainlesson.com. I don't like reading computer screens all day. Do you find the Sony Reader better? The screen uses a new e-ink technology. It is not backlit like a computer so it is less strain on the eyes. It is very close to a regular book page on paper. To read in a dark room you need a book light, just like a paper book. A few more questions, do pictures look ok if you have a pdf file? PDFs look pretty good. The Sony Reader has 8-bit gray scale (Kindle is 4-bit) so the pictures are good quality b&w pics. The writing on pdfs is a little small (although you could fiddle with the page size in Acrobat if you have it fix that), but still very readable. PDFs were always a pain on my PDA. On the Reader the load quick, are clear, and useable, but I would convert any heavy text based pdfs to another format if there was a lot I wanted to read (easy to do with thrid party free applications). Lastly, my first laptop was B&W at a low resolution; I always regretted not having spent the extra money for color. Would color help? I have heard that there are color versions beign researched, moslty for comic fans. Personally, I think b&w is better for regular book reading. After using it for almost two days, it is hard to imagine how color would work on it. From what I understand color e-ink is still a few years away from being retail ready anyway. It is so different from a laptop that it is hard to make that comparison. You don't think "boy I wish this page was in color" as you are reading Wuthering Heights. Enjoy your new toy.:drool: Thanks, I am! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 DH loves his too. I'm thinking of getting one for my oldest and loading it up with books for the car. This would solve the problem of using the car as a library annex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volty Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 I'm going to get one too. Ebooks are critically necessary since I live overseas. As soon as I can figure out where they are sold in Chengdu, I'll have one. I'm going to go online now to look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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