Teddypig Hacks An eBook: Winter 2007 ~ An eBook Reader Review
November 17, 2007
I knew it would come to this. It’s OK, I understand. Just let it out honey it will be alright. So let me guess. You decided to go looking at eBook Readers and got abused again. Hey, we have all been there. “So what does the Teddy Pig recommend?” you ask while drying the tears from your eyes and checking around for something to smack me with. Well…
First do yourself a favor and checkout sites like MobileRead and their eBook Reader Matrix which is the shit. Or… You can hang out here while I do my little soft shoe routine and show you how easy it is to decipher the crap they try and sell you when looking at these dogs with fleas.
So on with the show!
Name: iRex iLiad
Reading Size: 8.1 inch screen Gray Scale
Price: $699.00
DRM eBook Format: Mobipocket
Has Wi-fi
Name: Bookeen Cybook
Reading Size: 6 inch screen Gray Scale
Price: $350.00
DRM eBook Format: Mobipocket
Name: Amazon Kindle
Reading Size: 6 inch screen Gray Scale
Price: $400.00
DRM eBook Format: *Kindle Proprietary* Mobipocket
Has wi-fi
So first off I just wanted to group these three together. Why? Simple, because they are basically Gray Scale and Linux based and do one thing. They all support only one DRM: Mobipocket. You buy one of these and that’s all you are getting as of today is a stupid Mobipocket Reader.
See, I do not listen to promises. People promise you anything to get you to buy junk and then they head out the first time they are asked to cough up the goods. So the over priced iLiad looks good with it’s list of promises about what it could do but I ask a simple question “What does it do today?”
The answer to that question is that it does the exact same thing as any of the smaller eBook Readers in this category do, or in the case of the Amazon Kindle, promises they will do.
See just more promises. Listen, you want an eBook reader then do what I do and look at the bottom line…
What mainstream DRM Formats do they support as of today?
Name: eBookwise 1150
Reading Size: 5.5 inch screen Gray Scale
Price: $109.95
DRM eBook Format: IMP
Name: Sony PRS-505
Reading Size: 6 inch screen Gray Scale
Price: $299.99
DRM eBook Format: BBeB
Now you might be sitting there saying Teddy Pig “Why do you group these together?”
Because this is some funny ass shit. Big old Sony is basically pulling a Fictionwise. Both are running websites that sell eBooks and both are providing their own proprietary DRM format eBook Reader.
Now who do I trust here to provide support in the long run? Remember Betamax? Remember the Sony Clie?
So for the cheap price, for the support and for the simple fact they have been doing this for a while I would lay the money down for the eBookwise before taking a chance on a more expensive one trick Sony gadget that, if you notice, does not have a Sony VAIO tag on it. That is a dead giveaway to me what will eventually happen to the Sony eBook Reader when they get tired of throwing money at the publishers to support their DRM Format.
SUCKERS! Yeah, I bought a Sony PSP too… Why? I still have no clue.
Name: Palm T/X
Reading Size: 4 inch screen Color
Price: $282.54
DRM eBook Format: Mobipocket, Adobe Reader, Palm eReader
Has wi-fi
Ah, now we are getting into things that make sense to the gadget minded pig. This is a Palm. Everyone knows what a Palm is and everyone has played with these before. It supports both Mac and Windows for its sync program. It is now in color with the introduction of the Palm T/X. There simply is no surprises with the Palm and it supports Three DRM Formats. Mobipocket, Adobe Reader, two of the most stable, well known, fully supported and easily bought eBook DRM Formats today and Palm’s own eReader to boot.
I say with all that going on this is actually an eBook Reader that calls itself a PDA. Hell, this is such a run-of-the-mill, no brainer purchase, you can run down to your local Walmart and buy one of these things and be using it in seconds. Palm does not make false promises, they simply continue to provide executives across the globe with pocket toys. Get it? Executives… No Brainer? *heh* Solid bland old Palm is probably a better bet than a Sony eReader since just about every Fortune 500 company I have worked at hands these Palms out like candy. I always trust there will be tons of third party support for a business related product for a long time to come.
Name: HP iPAQ 211
Reading Size: 4 inch screen Color
Price: $449.99
DRM eBook Format: Palm eReader, Mobipocket, Adobe Reader, Microsoft Reader
Has wi-fi
Jeez, getting a little more expensive. This iPAQ is still $250.00 less than a iRex iLiad! Are you figuring out that a lot of these eBook Readers are sold to people who are a little lost in the shuffle? Why get a one trick pony when you can have one of these jumping through any hoop you buy? Let the Geeks with lots of money play in the shallow end of the pool. So here you get color, plus wi-fi, plus the damn thing supports 4 major DRM Formats. It’s almost a sure bet that any eBook you want will be available to be purchased and read on this Windows CE running iPAQ. Thanks HP!
Name: Sony VAIO UX280P - VAIO® UX
Reading Size: 4.5 inch screen High Resolution LCD 120DPI
Price: $1094.00
DRM eBook Format: ALL eBook DRM Formats and ALL eReaders on Windows XP SP2
Has EVERYTHING!
So here is the end of our tour folks and I’ll just sit right here and drool over this baby. See, when I look for gadgets I like going all the way and this is alllll the way. 48 GIGS of solid state memory storage running on a 1GHZ chip with 1GIG of on-board memory and a LCD screen that can pull off 120DPI without breaking a sweat *talk dirty to me daddy*. All that jargon should tell you this thing is tech speak for REALLY GREAT SEX. It even comes with a dock station that you can hook a full size monitor and keyboard to and use it just like a laptop. In fact look it has the Sony VAIO tag on it so Sony will support this thing for a long long time.
Because baby it is what it is. A James Bond-like laptop, the size of a paperback like The Thorn Birds or Roots or The Stand, that fits in your purse. It can hold every eBook you have and let you download more to your hearts content anywhere you want to be. This thing is all about immediate, delicious, instant gratification while giving you stunning Mega-Tokyo eye candy. Try and top that for this price at Overstock.com Jane. Uh-huh, yeah, who’s your daddy now?
Think of it this way. It’s only $500.00 more than a stupid iRex iLiad.
So you ask “What does the Teddy Pig use?”
This is my hulking 12 inch *Sha-wing!* G3 iBook that I bought for $300.00 off Craigslist. Actually it is nice and small. I typed this whole article out for you on it and I read all my eBooks with it. Sure it does not support Microsoft Reader and a couple of other DRM Formats but hell, it was cheap and it does everything I want.
Without eye strain.
Listen I am not against buying toys. I bought an Apple iPhone, I bought a Sony Playstation 3 damn it! These are all extremely expensive risks. Some have surprised me with doing more than expected even after I got them. It’s just that in my mind the gadget either has to be so ground breaking (iPhone) it makes some sense or is so practical (PS3 + HiDef TV = Bluray DVD Player + Awesome Video Games) it sells itself.
That’s the point folks, this market is all over the place and it constantly changes with new promises of better functionality every day. The major problem I see is ancient DOS level-like functionality (Displaying a text file) and hardware (Crappy gray scale eInk screens) being thrown together on freebie Operating Systems with some hybrid DRM no one else supports and sold at Snake Oil prices. So know all your options and make your choices carefully and above all else…
Happy eBook Reading!
Tags: eBook Tools
Garh. I almost bought that Sony POS the other day. So glad I didn’t. Great post. Still don’t know what I’ll buy, but great post. I’m technologically delayed, but trying to improve. I’m torn between needing a palm for my scheduling and wanting to combine that option with reading and surfing. But a lap top? It won’t fit in my lady bag! Although, the eye strain comment is most appropriate. What about a pc option that is small enough?
Well I think you just answered your own question.
You have need for a scheduler then look at HP iPAQ or Palm T/X.
They are both solid and Palm is at Walmart on sale. So I would at least go hold it in your hand and stare at the screen and decide for yourself.
Tech porn. :-)
Pity the Palm TX is 175 pounds (US$360) for those of us on the other side of the Pond. For now I’ll stick with my Thinkpad and Palm IIIxe…
Would you believe everyone at work takes their old Palms home once they get an updated model. I think they are using them for cheap eBook readers too.
If any of you guys out there are a good Sprint customer go check out the HTC Advantage it’s Windows CE which means it is a phone just like the HP iPAQ which has Palm eReader, Mobipocket, Adobe Reader, Microsoft Reader and the best part is it has a “5 inch” color touch screen.
You might get a substantial rebate or promotional price cut for switching to it and it could be an awesome eBook Reader.
Freakin amazing.
I actually use my geriatric Palm mostly as an ebook *writer*. I’m one of the mutant freaks who can use Graffiti, so I use the Palm for taking notes when I’m away from home. It’s mostly to take notes in con panels, and to scribble down odd fragments of dialogue or story ideas that occur to me while I’m out and about.
Sad to say, I just don’t get on with eBooks on anything other than a well-specced 14″ or better TFT screen. But I do keep a couple of things loaded on my Palm to keep myself amused with while sitting on a train, or ignoring the ads in the cinema.
Wow, well then if you do that much note taking I would be looking at the full on computer models like the HTC advantage or Sony UX or OQO. But yeah, they are still way expensive but it could be a business write off for taxes deal.
Oh and I use a cheap Blackberry for work which can be useful with the Gmail program it has for just note taking.
The note-taking is sufficiently intermittent that it doesn’t justify buying a new palmtop shiny. (The big deal for me would be getting something with non-volatile memory, and I’ve got a Psion 5MX for situations where I don’t mind carrying something heavier than a Palm.)
I’m holding off buying *anything* at the moment, because I’m trying to work out what the hell is going on with the UK mobile gadgetry market. When I left in 2000, mobile phones were still moderately expensive, and DSL was being rolled out as slowly as the main UK telco could get away with. When I moved back a couple of months ago, it was possible to buy a Pay As You Go mobile for about thirty quid including the starting ten quid of call credit, DSL is ubiquitous, and there is a system of wifi hotspots that allows you to use other people’s bandwidth if you sign up to share some of yours.
I saw something today suggesting that a TX can be used with the hotspot system that we can sign up to with the home broadband service we currently have. So that may be the way to go for the sort of usage I’m likely to have. But apparently the Graffiti 2 on newer Palms sucks galaxies through a straw…
[…] would head over to Amazon.com and check out the PALM T/X currently listed for about $257.00 and if you read my review you would know it is also wi-fi connected and reads Mobipocket, Adobe Reader, Palm eReader. Which […]
Thanks tons for posting this, TeddyPig. I need a new Palm anyhow. You just made the decision for me.
Still with the Sony Clie SJ30, which I think is the last one that would actually dim down low enough to be comfortable reading it in otherwise total darkness.
Got a T-615c as a backup but it won’t dim all the way down.
Still hoping to buy someone’s unwanted dusty old TH55, which is about as new a device as I can imagine wanting, it’d be about perfect for my next ebook reader.