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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

My eBook Reader Dilemma

I have now gone through 3 eBook readers. By "gone through", I don't mean that I ruined them or ran them into the ground. I just wasn't completely satisfied by any of them. Sure, there were things that I absolutely LOVED about them but....alas, they have all gone the way of eBay.

The Cybook from Bookeen was my first love. It was all new to me. So nice and so simple. Something that was portable and held hundreds of books. What's not to love? Then I learned about the different formats and files that various readers could accommodate. *sigh Unfortunately the Cybook didn't recognize all PDF files. =( I was under the impression that it did.

Next was the Sony 500 that I won in a blogging contest. It was shiny and red and new. This one read all PDF formats BUT did NOT read all of the mobipocket books that I had already purchased for my Cybook. I sold this one right away to so that I could get the full value back. Free money since I won it in a contest. =)

Actually, as I stated in a previous posting, I sold both of them because there was an even newer and "better" Sony....the Sony 700. THIS one had an internal light so that I could read in bed and not disturb Adam if he was sleeping. WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me? Absolute genius!!! or so I though. This is a definite plus as I am someone that tends to stay up night in order to finish a book. I figured that the money from both of the readers would help me buy and replace a lot of the books that I had already purchased.

Sadly my hopes and dreams were shattered because of the glare from the screen. *sniff sniff. In order to accommodate the internal light, they had to add an additional piece of glass to "sandwich" it in. Big mistake. BIG! (BTW, you need to read that last comment like Julia Roberts says it in Pretty Woman). Due to the glare I found that I barely used the reader. I tried holding it at every conceivable angle but there was always a glare. The Sony was sold on eBay the last week of December.

So....now I am at a loss. I am seriously temped to go right out and replace my eBook readers but am torn. I have read a lot about the Kindle but I don't like the fact that you HAVE to purchase everything through Amazon. I already have books that I have purchased twice and do not relish a 3rd purchase of the same books! The Nook also looks pretty nifty. They are pretty comparable from what I can see. The Nook is much newer and needs a few more updates but...it looks promising. At the moment I am anxiously awaiting Apple's new announcement on the 27th. I am hoping that their new release will be an eBook reader and not a notebook. I figure I may as well find out if they will have a reader to see its pros and cons. I am also trying to force myself to wait for the next updates for the Kindle and Nook. If anyone owns the Nook, Please let me know what you think of it!

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