Ok Du'ers, I know one of you got one of these

[nadinbrzezinski]

http://www.pandigital.net/pandigitalnovel

Been reading reviews... and them reviews are not that good.

Me... well quite frankly don't want to spend 600 buckaroos... but 200 on this toy seem to be alright. And if I get the 20% off from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Seems that firmsware updates improve it's touch screen... and it looks like a good way to keep my eyes. I READ a lot of ebooks these days. I know I could get a dedicated... but you know how that goes. And the sony one is not doing exactly what it should do. My eyes still insist on color for whatever reason.

(IT also could be sony... why I have been looking at Nook too, but this looks to be a little more capable than the nook)

[LWolf]

1. I think I'll wait awhile.

Not really a choice, since I don't have the cash for new toys, but this kind of concerns me.

My books take up way too much space; I'd love to go digital and narrow the physical books down to only one wall. But...new technology; if I buy one kind of reader, can I read ANY kind of file on it?

And, as technology advances, does my library become obsolete? Do the e-books I've purchased become like vhs tapes, or floppy disks?

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Well the default format now seems to be EPUB

I have a bunch on EPUB that I got for the SONY, and I know they will transfer fine.

Also if you want to try and not buy toys, I highly recommend the Barnes and Noble Computer client. You will be able to read and mark up your books on the computer...

I've been using the NOOK study client and it is a little more memory intense.

But I have the same problem you have. Granted, some of my books don't exist in electronic form and will not for years, if ever.

And yes, the only one that does not play with others is kindle. Why I am going... I might have to pull the trigger in six months and get something that will use any and all clients. (read IPAD)

But if I can hack this one... it is a MUCH cheaper Android machine.

[aquart]

8. I use my old $80 iPAQ.

I've got Mobireader and MSreader and ePub books on it just fine. When I break one, I go to eBay and buy another. It also comes with a universal remote which is just sooooooooooo handy. And games and music and wifi.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Oh dummy me

And yes I just was looking for mostly a larger screen.

[aquart]

13. Eh, do you really need a bulky larger screen?

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. With the amount of reading I am doing, yes

and some of those pesky historic documents in oh 17th century English...

[aquart]

15. The older stuff doesn't bug me as much as modern essays with charts.

Can't read charts on my wee screen at all. But for Jane Austen, Dorothy Sayers, Josephine Tey and all manner of old histories, just marvelous. I've been on a downloading frenzy with Gutenberg Project in Australia, America, and Canada.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. It is the ORIGINAL PDFs of the actual documents

where I need a larger screen, or plain out print them.

Yes, they were transcribed, but if I am to do this right, I need to actually read the actual document (or as close as I can get to it). That means old fashioned paleography...

On the bright side English had an established set of letters by the 17th century, even the 16th century... unlike Spanish...

[aquart]

19. Okay, WHAT are you researching?

And how many languages are you researching in? How's your Renaissance French and German? Just wondering.

[Spike89]

10. Don't count on EPUB compatibility

As part of a magazine article I wrote, I got my hands on a Kindle, a Nook, an iPad, and an Android-based hybrid (e-ink and full-color touchsceens) called the entourage edge. I almost turned the Nook into a worthless hockey puck by putting a EPUB file I bought from the entourage site on the Nook. I had to disassemble the Nook, remove the battery for 30 minutes, reassemble it, cycle it through startup about 10 times while connected to my computer until I could access the folders on the device and delete all the downloaded content--then it began working again.

Despite what everyone says in marketing, EPUB is only semi-compatible. Each and every vendor can (and generally do) add their own DRM code to EPUB titles (and/or add requirements to their firmware) that make it totally locked to their system.

[hlthe2b]

3. Someone posted a few days ago they were waiting on theirs

to arrive that day... I'll see if I can find the thread. I know that they are available from BB&Y online, but not sure if they are in stores. I was going to check my local store since I'd like to take a look at it. Yeah, the price is right and I already have a great laptop and a netbook, so I don't really need another major device, but...

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. They had it at Bed bath yesterday

why I asked...


If I can hack it... I might be able to install Kindle too... and a light word processor.

[hlthe2b]

5. Check this thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8999270

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Thanks will wait for his answer

on whether it does full app store access.

[pscot]

7. I'd wait for the reviews.

It won't be long.

[sailor65]

11. I'd avoid it

If you do as lot of ebook reading as you said, any current technology backlit LCD is a bad thing in the long run. The thing that makes E-Ink so much better is that your eyes view it the way your eyes are designed to. Using reflected light. Any device that produces light within the viewed medium is going to strain your eyes and in the long run, weaken them. The IPad, Iphone, Laptop, etc, all hare the same problem when it comes to reading.

Even if you like color, you're better off with one of the good e-readers already out there using E-Ink.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. I have one and I cannot really stand it

Really, cannot stand it.

[VMI Dem]

16. Horrible review on G4 the other night.

Slow slow slow was the biggest gripe. Kindle still the way to go...and its cheaper.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Yeah the reviews are just horrid

I spent three hours going though them. This thing was far from ready for prime time.

I am a geek so having to update the firmware don't scare me... but for non geeks! Oy... what where they thinking? And they are selling at places where tech support is not there.

If it were open from word go to the app store... but having to hack it... and when hacked it works better... they are just plain nuts, to be honest. (Yes again, I could hack it, but the effort is way too much)

I guess I need a screen stick with the nettie.