Hello everyone. I'm looking for an inexpensive digital reader that can hold at the very minimum 100 books ( at least 500 megabytes ) at a cost of $150 or less. I don't want spend 250-300 bucks for an ereader if the possibility exists for the thing to get stolen, stepped on ( kids ), or lost. A basic digital reader that can display pdf and word documents. No wifi capability needed. Kindle digital readers have nice features such as basic web browsing, free access to wikipedia, e-mail, and speech to text. However, I'm looking at sony pocket digital readers. I can buy the ereaders from amazon at a price lower than kindle. There is the ectaco jetBook and aluratek libre eBook, but I am unsure about the quality of these brands. I found these ereaders at amazon. I'm thinking about purchasing an apple itouch. I figure I can have the best of three worlds by accessing ebooks and magazines through kindle, skype, and free wifi. Any thoughts. Thanks everyone. By the way, there is a nice collection of free ebooks located at ( www.bookboon.com ). Topics about business, IT, engineering, and even mathematics. Nice stuff. A little disclaimer, the way they make a profit is by including advertising in the ebooks. Big Disclaimer: I do not work for bookboon nor have I been paid to advertise for them.
Another free collection of business ebooks that I found useful are located at (http://www.flatworldknowledge.com) Another free collection of business ebooks that I found useful are located at (http://www.flatworldknowledge.com). You can read the ebooks for free online but you will not be able to download them to your computer unless you purchase the books for pdf downloading. Great free study resource for business exams offered by Clep and Dsst. Disclaimer: I do not work for any of the above companies nor have I been paid to advertise for them.
My wife and I (and my kid, actually) have the Touch. I personally think it works great (which is saying something because I have a deep-rooted bias against Apple and their products.) There's an app out there called Goodreader that makes PDF and text document reading easy, and I think it was only 99 cents when I got it. I use a program called the iPhone Explorer to just drag PDFs from my computer and drop them right on the Touch in the Goodreader directory. Easy and quick. There's the kindle reader for the Touch (and now the PC) which works exceptionally well. My wife loves it, and has been ordering books on it left and right since I got her the Touch for her birthday last May. I'm not sure if the new iBooks app is going to run on the Touch, or if they're marketing it only for the iPad, but that's going to be another source for books coming out. And of course, there are a lot more things you can do with the Touch. Music, Video, WiFi, all the different apps, and if you get a 2nd gen or higher, you can even get a kit from Magellan that turns it into a GPS. (The 2nd Gen and higher Touches have a GPS receiver chip which you can use without the wifi connection.) I was going to get my wife the Kindle, but then I chose the Touch because of the utility of the device. She doesn't mind the small screen at all, and she loves being able to take a library of books (and audio books and podcasts) with her. The Touch costs a little more than your listed price range, but I think its worth it. And you can find used ones on eBay & Craigslist (But as always, Caveat Emptor.) Good Luck!
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I found the touch on Amazon at a price almost equal to the sony pocket ereader. So the touch is first on my list.
I will cast my vote for the Itouch as well. I purchased a refurbished one from Apple for $150. I have both Goodreader and the Kindle software on it. Reading on the smaller screen is fine for the most part. I also have flashcard software that works with quizlet.com so I can brush up on definitions, study topics, etc. I have many fine (free) games when I wish to take a quick break from studying. I have watched many a fine lecture through Itunes University. Finally, I have a nice selection of Brainwave Entrainment or 'binaural beat' software to get me into that focused 'Theta' state so conducive to studying effectively...well, for me anyway I consider my Touch to be one of my primary educational tools. I love its versatility.
