Edited to Add: Below I recommend buying the Sony PRS700 with the built in light. According to the guys at Gizmodo and Sunita below, this light actually degrades the quality of the screen. You may, instead, want to go the PRS505 route from Wal-mart who is selling them (including the red one) for $269.99. I highly recommend getting a light and the Sony light is a really elegant addition.

Last year, I posted a buying guide for those who are looking for ebook readers and I thought it would be kind of fun to do that again, given that technology keeps changing.   I’ll give a list of pros and cons for each kind of device and my opinion as to why to buy a certain one.    I hope those who own these devices will jump in and give their own opinions as well.   Today’s article addresses dedicated ebook readers and next week’s article will address the multi-function devices.

Black Friday Tip:   

While ebook readers aren’t part of the Black Friday sales, often times memory cards are.   If you are out and about you might check to see what SD cards are going for. I’ve seen ads in Wal-mart and other stores that are selling 4 GB SD cards for $9-$15.   You could fit a lifetime of books (10,000) on a 4 GB SD card.   Most of the newer ebook e-ink devices (Cybook, Sony Reader, Kindle) will accommodate a SD card.   

Dedicated Reading Devices

All of the dedicated readers on the market, other than the eBookwise, are eink devices.   This section of the buying guide will first address eink devices and then the eBookwise because the pros and cons are different for both.   

Eink Reading Device Pros:

Eink readers  boast a screen that can’t be found on any other ebook reading device.   E Ink technology is like a sophisticated etch a sketch.   Negatively charged black and positively charged white pigmented microscopic capsules are encased in a clear fluid.   Negative and positive electric charges tell the machine which particles should be visible to the user.   Because the devices use power only when the page is changed, i.e., when the electric charge changes the image, eink devices have extremely long battery life.   I was able to read on my Sony PRS 500 for an entire week on vacation without a charge.  

While lcd screens constantly refresh, an eink device has a flat display.   The lack of refresh combined with the black/white pigmented capsules gives the eink device a near paper like look.   In bright sunlight, it’s hard to believe that you aren’t looking at a notepad instead of an electronic device.   

Individually, each eink device has its own pros.   An ebook reading matrix can be found here.   The Kindle is connected to the internet all the time via a cellular connection (Sprint).   This is free for now.   You can do limited browsing and sending of emails.   More importantly, however, you can buy a book with one click of the Kindle button anywhere you have that cellular connection.   You can also email files to yourself and Kindle’s back end software program magically converts those into readable files. The Kindle is the only device with an integrated physical keyboard.   

The Sony Readers are able to read more than one secure file. The Sony Readers accept Sony BBeB files but also Adobe Digital Editions.   The Sony PRS700 has an integrated front light and a touchscreen that allows you to take notes with its on screen keyboard.

Generally, though, the pros for the eink reading device:   Paperlike display in well lit areas and long battery life.

Eink Reading Device Cons:

Most e-ink devices have only one secure format it can view.  

• Kindle = AZW or TPZ (both a form of Mobipocket)
• Sony = Sony BBeB or Adobe DRM
• Cybook = Mobipocket
• Iliad = Mobipocket
• BeBook = Mobipocket

Most eink readers will view a variety of non DRM’ed formats.   You can see the format matrix for eink readers here.   This can be circumvented by using DRM breaking software.   There is a DRM crack/hack for every format out there including the Kindle (except for one format of the Kindle called tpz and I don’t think a reader knows whether the format is a tpz until it is purchased).   You need to have some technological know how to get a book from a secure format to an unsecure one that can be used on more than one device (and this isn’t the post that will explain how to do it).   Because most readers are limited to only one proprietary format, it is harder to take advantage of sales and promotions at competing etailers.   An owner of the Sony Reader can’t take advantage of the ebook prices at the Kindle store and vice versa.

Another drawback for most eink devices is the lack of an integrated lighting source.   Because of the eink technology, a backlight is not possible which means that you will need to have a booklight available for use with your eink reader at all times, unless you purchase the Sony PRS700.   The Sony PRS700 comes with an integrated front light that runs off the battery power of the reader itself.   It’s a very elegant solution but one that draws down the battery faster.  

Cons: higher cost per function, Limited format options (unless you are willing and able to break the DRM), no backlight, harder to read in low lit areas.

Ebookwise:

The eBookwise (currently selling for $119.95 with free shipping) is grayscale LCD touchscreen device with backlight.   It reads only IMP formats, although eBookwise offers a free online conversion program  (for RTF, MS Word, Plain Text, Rocket eBook, or HTML files).   The PROS include the price – it is the lowest dedicated eReading device on the market; the touchscreen, and the ability to highlight and take notes.    The CONS is the grayscale LCD touchscreen.   I found, when I used the device, that in brightly lit areas, it was hard to read.   It has a bulky design and will accept only one format like the eink devices unless you know how to circumvent the DRM.    However, for the price, it is the best eBook reader on the market today.

What device you should buy depends on what is most important to you. If price is the most important feature to you, get the eBookwise.   It does the same thing as all of the other devices in this post, just a little less stylishly and with a little less clarity in the screen.   If having an integrated light with your eink device is important, you need to get the Sony PRS700 which runs $399.   While the Sony PRS505 is $100 less, the stylish booklight that serves the same function as the integrated front light on the PRS700 costs $69.99 so for a $30 price difference, you might as well get the one with the light built in.   If ease of use is the most important, then you want to get the Kindle at $349.00.   The ability to email yourself content is one of the favorite features of SB Sarah and the one touch buy can’t be beat by any device (even the multi function devices) on the market.   I don’t recommend the Iliad because the price, $699.00,   doesn’t make sense as a dedicated ebook reader.  

I don’t recommend buying the Sony PRS505, BeBook, Cybook at $299.99 subject to my note to MAC users.   I think that one is better off upgrading to the Kindle for $50.00 for the cellular connectivity which is currently free or all the way up to the PRS700 with its integrated frontlight, touchscreen, and notetaking abilities.   

Ending Note for Mac users:

One reader emailed me and requested some input for MAC users.   There is no dedicated desktop reading software that works with the MAC that also matches a format viewed by a dedicated ereading device.   There are a couple ways to get around this.

Kindle

The easiest way to avoid the desktop software problem is eliminate it altogether.   The Kindle books can only be read on a Kindle device and no other device (not even a computer).   Therefore, you can buy Kindle books via Safari (the web browswer) or you can buy via the Kindle.   You can send a number of different file formats to your Kindle via email.   The Kindle is not platform dependent.

Mobipocket + SD Card

The second easiest way to avoid the desktop software program is to buy Mobipocket files.   You can then put your Mobipocket files on an SD Card and pop the card into the ebook reading device.   To that end, MAC users may want to consider purchasing a BeBook, Cybook, or Iliad.   

Sony + Parallels

If you want to get the Sony PRS700, you must also purchase Parallels.   Parallels is a program that allows you to run Windows software on your Macintosh.   You must first install Adobe Digital Editions using Parallels and then Authorize it with your Adobe ID.   Attach you Sony Reading device to the computer and it should ask if you want to Authorize your Sony Reading device.    You then switch over to your regular MAC Operating System and install and authorize Adobe Digital Editions.   Any secure Adobe files you have purchased and downloaded should be viewable on your Sony Reader.   You can simply drag those eBook files to your Sony Reader which appears as a mass storage device (like a USB drive).

Related posts:

1. Dear Authors 2007 Christmas Buying Guide for Ebook Readers, Part 1 of 3
2. Dear Authors 2007 Christmas Buying Guide for Ebook Readers: The Dedicated Reader
3. Dear Authors 2007 Christmas Buying Guide for Ebook Readers: The MultiFunction Device

I think that becoming e- acclimated takes time and an open mind. If you aren’t prepared to allow yourself to take a chance with e-reading, I think that you’ll not ever like it. And I think that each reader has to be ready for the e-reading experience because it isn’t just for technogeeks like myself.

Each person’s entry into the e-market will be different. There will be some readers who will never go, tied too strongly to the paper and glue. Other readers will make the transition gradually due to various reasons, but I’ve seen, time and again, that those who do make the transition using a decent e-reading device often become e-vangelists.

Readers who read on the desktops/laptops alone will never be ebook aficionados. The constant flicker of a monitor screen tires ones’ eyes and it might seem to much like work with so many of us tied to our computers during the work day. Only those readers who can go untethered from the laptop/desktop will truly feel the joy of the ereading experience.

So what are those joys? I’ve talked about them before, but they bear repeating.

Convenience.

Possibly the number one reason that I love ebooks is the convenience of them. I think that is partly why the Kindle has been a success. It provides instantaneous access to your library and to a bookstore, no matter where you are located (provided you are within the coverage area). With an eBook reader and a digitized library, you are never more than a few clicks away from any book you care to read. Recently I went on a Susan Mallery glom. This was made possible by the fact that nearly every single title book by Susan Mallery is in eform from either Pocket (The Marcelli sisters) or Harlequin (Buchanan Brothers and the Bakery sisters).

I finished Irresistible last weekend sometime in the later evening hours and was able to hop online and download the other two Buchanan Brothers books. And later in the week, when I had gorged on nearly everything that Harlequin had to offer I moved onto the Pocket ebooks. I don’t know that would have been possible in a bookstore. First, it’s questionable whether the bookstore would have had the entire backlist available. The Marcelli sisters books were first released in 2003. Second, the bookstores weren’t open when I purchased the books either because it was late at night or early in the morning. Third, I was able to buy them without leaving my house, changing my clothes, or spending gas. A trip to the bookstore would have cost me at least a book.

Cost.

Which leads me to another reason I like ebooks. The price of ebooks, while higher than I like, are almost always discounted. Generally speaking, I don’t pay more than 75% off the cover price of an ebook (unless I am buying straight from an epublisher like Samhain or Loose ID). I know that for some readers this actually seems like a detraction because ebooks, overall, may cost more money given the lack of resale. However, two things come into play for me here. First, I only have the Half Price Bookstore to send my books to. I think that they give me 25 cents to a dollar for each book, depending on the format. My ebook discount makes up for that. Second, I tend to keep my books. I am always afraid that I might want to re-read them.

The non returnability of ebooks is frustrating for books that I am not happy with and I don’t like that there is no secondary market from which I can purchase. Lowering ebook prices could go along way in changing reading/buying habits. I noted, though, in more than one article about the Kindle that the $9.99 price point for hardcovers was a big plus.

Integrated Lighting Source.

A third reason I really love ebooks is the nighttime reading environment. Probably 75% of the reading I do is in bed. With a job, my family, and other obligations, I rarely have time to sit down during the day time hours to read. The lack of an integrated backlight is what prevents me from wholeheartedly embracing e ink technology. Booklights are just as intrusive, in my opinon, as a lamp. A backlit device such as the iPhone or eBookwise will not disturb your partner and it makes the eBook reading device available to you in all lighting situations such as subway tunnels, planes, and cars (or at the movie theatre as your daughter watches Happy Feet for the 5th time).

I asked Ned what he liked best about e-reading and he said that it was the convenience but also the nighttime reading environment. He falls asleep reading and his e-reading device goes to sleep with him after a period of inactivity.

Reducing Clutter.

The fourth reason I love ebooks is the declutterization (is that a word?) of my home. I’ve got hundreds of paperbacks vying for storage. I have books under my bed, in the basement, on a wall to wall bookshelf in a guest room. There was a time that it seemed like we couldn’t turn around without stumbling over a pile of books. With ebooks, I’ve managed to take a bit of control over the disarray and reinstitute some order.

There are more reasons that I love ebooks but these are four good ones. At some point, one of these will drive a commenter here to ebook reading and she may never go back to paper. What are some of the reasons that you like ebooks and what are some of things that hold you back?

Related posts:

1. If You Love Reading, You’ll Love Ebooks
2. Professional Reading Apps Around the iPhone Corner
3. Ebooks Does Not Equal Free Books

Harlequin is having a 50% off all its ebooks December 5, 2007. Yes, all. We’ve recommended some of them in the past and those will be a whopping 50% off which means many of these books are going to be under $3.00.

• Beyond Breathless by Kathleen O’Reilly
• A Christmas Wedding Wager by Michelle Styles
• The Roman’s Virgin Mistress by Michelle Styles
• Billionaire Next Door by Jessica Bird
• Hard and Fast by Lisa Renee Jones

If you win the Book Binge Holiday Contest, you can read those ebooks on an eBookwise Reader. Nice, no?

Related posts:

1. Dear Authors 2007 Christmas Buying Guide for Ebook Readers, Part 1 of 3
2. Dear Authors 2007 Christmas Buying Guide for Ebook Readers: The MultiFunction Device
3. Dear Authors 2007 Christmas Buying Guide for Ebook Readers: The Dedicated Reader

HOT HOT HOT: THE EBOOKWISE-1150 BONFIRE SALE! $10 OFF PLUS FREE SHIPPING!
Why fool around with kindling when you can have a roaring bonfire? Get the hottest eBook reader in the industry at a sizzling price, $10 off all models plus FREE USA ground shipping. (All other shipping options are also reduced by $9.95.) That makes our popular 64 megabyte Memory model only $129.95. At those prices you can afford to buy two or three for perfect holiday gifts! For more information Click Here.

Related posts:

1. Ebookwise Conversion Issues
2. REVIEW: Convert Ms Reader Files into eBookwise Compatible Formats
3. Universal Strips Down and Offers DRM Free Music

I’ve rounded up a list of ebook reading devices and some pros and cons and recommendations. There are two basic options for the reader who is looking to buy an ebook device. 1) dedicated reader and 2) multi-function device.

Dedicated Reading Devices

Dedicated Reader Pros:

Most dedicated readers have a larger screen size for less money than multi function devices. For example, the eBookwise has a screen size "about the size of a paperback" and costs $109.95. The Sony Reader has a 6" inch screen and runs $300.00. A comparable screen size in a multi function device would be found in an ultra portable and those devices run from $1200-$2500.00. Larger screen sizes can be had at similar price points like the Motion Computer slate tablet PC starting at $1699, but then you start sacrificing portability.

Another big plus for the Dedicated Reader is the battery life. Because battery power is used only when the page is turned for the e ink devices and only a minimal amount of battery is used from the backlight and page turning on the eBookwise, the time you can read between charges is quite long. With the Sony, I have been able to go three weeks without charging the battery.

The Sony device and the eBookwise are both sized to fit into any regular sized handbag and thus can go anywhere you go. So for a reasonable cost, a dedicated ereading device will deliver long battery times, a paperback sized screen, and easy portability.

Dedicated Reader Cons:

The obvious con is that each dedicated ereading devices uses proprietary software meaning that you have to engage in circumventing the DRM, down converting the encrypted book file to an html, and then converting the downconverted contents to the proprietary software that the dedicated reader uses. Confusing, isn’t it.

Essentially the path is this:

Encrypted MS Lit file —-> ConverLit GUI —-> Contents including HTML file and graphis —-> eBookwise Librarian —-> IMP

For a non technologically inclined readers and those who don’t want the DRM police after them, this presents a large barrier to reading ebooks. If the books you want aren’t in the format you need (i.e. Sony’s BBeB or eBookwise’s IMP), then you are out of luck as a reader even if the book is available digitally in other formats.

Worse, sometimes you can’t take advantage of sales or promotional campagains that are available on other sites in other formats. For example, Harlequin and Simon & Schuster sell ebooks early, before the paper counterparts are released, but only at their sites. These two webstores sell only Adobe PDF, Microsoft LIT and Mobipocket PRC formats. So Sony and eBookwise readers cannot avail themselves of the benefits of digital reading that HQE and S&S offer unless they engage in the aforementioned machinations of downconversion and reconversion.

The other main con would be that some believe a device like the Sony Reader is too costly for a dedicated reading device.

Multifunction Devices

Multifunction Pros

A multifunction device is one that can be used for more than one purpose. For example, a PDA or Smartphone can run an ebook reading program; maintain a calendar, an address book; and a to do list; play music and videos; connect wirelessly either via wi fi or bluetooth to the internet to allow the surfing of the internet and exchanging of emails and instant messages.

If you go one step up to the ultraportable, you are essentially getting a miniature laptop. These devices have, approximately, a 7" screen and an attached keyboard. They run a slimmed down version of the Microsoft operating system and start around $1200.00. I don’t know of a comparable MAC/Apple device. With an ultraportable device, you can do almost everything that you could do with a regular computer from read ebooks on all ten different software platforms to editing documents. All those nasty encryption issues are no barrier with these mini-computers.

Multifunction Cons

The cost v. screen size is the biggest con. The largest screen size for a PDA is the IPAQ 211 which has a 4" diagonal screen but runs $449.99. This is the same size screen as my former favorite reading device: IPAQ 4700 and is only slightly smaller than my iPhone which has a 3.5" screen. The popular MAC compatible Palm T/X has a 3.8" diagonal screen and runs $299.99.

Ultraportables or Tablet PCs have a larger screen from 7" to 10"+ but you exchange portability for some of the devices in order to have a larger screen size. Another issue is eye fatique from the flickering of the lcd (the refreshing of the screen). Further, the cost of the larger screened PDAs, Ultraportables, and Tablet PCs is at least 50% more than the highest ereading device.

Conclusion

To a large extent, the multifunction devices makes sense in this world with the 10+ ebook file formats and the lack of a front lit e-ink reader. If there were one universal format, such as an mp3 for books, then the dedicated reading device would be the reader of choice.

For me, I use the multi-function device the most (my iPhone) but if the Sony Reader had a front light, that would be my device of choice. For the rest of you, the best device might be determined by the specific features of each device and how that fits in your life and your handbag.

Next week we’ll take a look at the dedicated readers and the week after, we’ll explore the multi-function devices from personal digital assistants that fit in the palm of your hand to the ultra portable and tablet pcs.

Related posts:

1. A Romance Buyer’s Guide to eBook Readers
2. REVIEW: Ebook Readers 2007: Mid Term Report
3. Ebook Readers for 2007

Q: Can I read secure ebooks that are sold by Simon Says, Harper Collins and other NY publishers?

A: Yes, but you have to use a converter which may be illegal in some countries. The converters that are out there are Amberlit and ConvertLit.

Q: What about PDFs?

A: Only if the PDF is unsecured (meaning that is has no DRM attached), can you do so. If your copy is unsecured, then you need to do a ) copy and paste into word or wordpad or b) a conversion program like ABC Amber PDF.

Q: What do you do with those free books at Black Mask or at Project Gutenberg like Jane Eyre.

A: At PG, you generally have the option to download the html or the txt file. I find I have fairly good success downloading the html file. To download the html file, hover your mouse over the link and right click. Select “Save File As” or “Save As”. A dialog box will open and you can navigate to the folder that you are keeping your ebooks. Save it.

A: Using the Ebookwise Librarian or eBook Librarian, you can convert html, rtf, or txt files into the “IMP” format that your Ebookwise can read. If you have extracted a “lit” file, look in the folder for the “opf” file. With either program you can use the “drag and drop” method. Dragging involves clicking on the item that you want to convert and then, while still holding the mouse down, you drag it onto the program window until a “+” sign appears. Then you release the mouse button or “drop” the file. For the rtfs, htmls, just drag those file. If you have an “opf” file, drag the OPF file.

The key to using this “drag and drop” menu involves making sure both the file and the program appear in the same window space. You can do this by resizing the program and the file folder.

Q: What are you talking about? I don’t see any “.opf” or “.html” or anything like that. For that matter, I don’t even know what those mean.

A: Every file has a three or four letter extension. That three letter extension tells your computer what program to open. For example, a file named letter.doc will tell your computer to open Microsoft Word for the computer believes that all files with the extension “doc” is a Word file. These are called “file associations.” Your computer “associates” files with programs based on their extensions. A file with an extension of “pdf” opens Adobe Reader. A file with “html” opens an internet browser. That internet browser may be AOL, Internet Explorer or Firefox. Here’s a handy file –> program association index:

Q: That’s all well and good, but my computer doesn’t show those three letter extensions.

A: They are hidden and you have to “unhide” them. This is how you do it. In any File Explorer window, Click Tools –> Folder Options –> View –> Show Hidden Files and Folders

Just be careful that when you rename a file, you remember what the file extension is.

Q: Do I have to buy those two software programs mentioned above?

A: No, you can use the online conversion.

Q: Sometimes my conversion fails when I try to use an html.

A: You may need to do a couple of things. You can try renaming the file. (getting any punctuation out of the name helps). One thing that has always worked for me is to open the file in Word and save as an RTF. If you have Amberlit, you can save directly to rtf from the LIT file and skip this process.

Q: But I don’t have MS Word! What then?

A: You have a couple of options. One option involves using a program called HTMLTidy. This is a program you can download and run from your computer or you can use the online Tidy program. If you use the online Tidy program, you will be given the option, in the upper right hand corner to save the “tidied” file. I would click “save as” like you did here

If you use the HTML trim program, simply download and extract the program. Under the “options”, go to the last tab “CleanUp.” Look at the below picture. I have had success “tidy”ing files with the options below checked.

Q: I have used up all my passport activations. What do I do now?

A: You need to call (866) 834-8317 and get more. Or, if you are anxious to read your new books as it can take up to 5 days to get a call, you can create a new passport and get 6 new activations. The catch is that all the books that you purchased and read under the old passport are not readable so be sure to convert those files to htmls or rtfs before getting a new passport.

Q: What about Adobe, do they have an activation help number?

A: They do. It’s 800-833-6687.

For fun, here’s a collection of bookshelf photographs. What do your bookshelves look like? Drop a comment, ask a question, give a tip, and I’ll send a random winner, Rachel Gibson’s I’m In No Mood For Love and Julie Kenner’s Carpe Demon, both books which will be reviewed this week. Right Jayne? Oh, and I am sorry but this free book giveaway is only available for those in the US and Canada. It is tres expensive to send these books overseas. I am sorry. :(

Next Sunday will be feature a review with lots of pictures of the Sony Reader. I broke down and bought one. For the good of the blog, of course.

Related posts:

1. REVIEW: Ebook Weekly: Desktop Ereading Programs
2. Good Things Come to Those Who Wait