Mine: I like my laptop. I live with it. And it has color, as well as pretty clear screens. I can also read it in the dark: I understand the eInk screens require an external light source just like paper. As I get older, my eyes get worse for close work, and my need for good lighting becomes more acute…so the lit screen is a plus for me. Plus I already own the laptop. That makes it cheapest. 😉 Paging-over is easy–just hit an arrow key, with the cursor set to rest on one of the ‘advance’ buttons.
Another route might be to get one of the superlight drive-less notebook PC’s, lighter, but smaller. I like my nice wide bright screen on the Dell Latitude.
But there are some of our group looking for the best reader, the one with the best support, best technical performance, best file access, user friendliness, readability, and best future support.
What would you recommend based on your experience? And if you know what kind of files the device you’re recommending uses, state that, too.
I use Stanza on my iPhone. This doesn’t sound perfect at first, but it’s always with me. Font size is adjustable. It doesn’t weigh anything. It uses eReader (.pdb) files. Page flipping is fast, so you can read seamlessly despite small screen size. And I can download onto my laptop and read there too.
I also use Stanza on my iPhone. I have a laptop as well, but I haven’t downloaded any readers on it yet.
Ready4more has spelled out most of the benefits of having a Amazon Kindle. I have the Kindle 2. Amazon just upgraded the “firmware” and we now have native .pdf reading as well as the ability to rotate the image from portrait to landscape mode on the screen. Most good for the .pdfs. It deserves to be said that reading without the whispernet on gets two weeks from a battery charge. I believe the Kindle 2 to be the BEST one-handed reader around. And half of my eBook library has come from places like BAEN where I have downloaded books for free to my PC and read them on the Kindle or the PC, as I see fit. I only buy from Amazon when it is in MY benefit to do so. And it often is. Their charges for current work is less than Barnes and Noble or other online eBook sources (across a shopping cart of works), in my experience.
Just sayin…..
I use the Kindle and Stanza apps on my iPod Touch, which I can read lounging on the couch. (Sorry, I can’t get interested in Windows or Linux netbook.) I was amazed how quickly I adjusted to reading on the small screen. And the supply of compatible or convertible freebies from Google Books and Project Gutenburg helps keep my reading addiction satisfied without spending too much between library trips.