An update for people looking for the best and most flexible ebook software options.

Palm Reader (formerly Peanut Reader) http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/ is looking like the best option out there for people that want to buy encrypted books. It has by far the best library of books and the lowest ebook prices, plus they have added support for desktops as well. Its also backed by Palm's software division so it probably will be around long into the future.

It now supports:
Palm
Windows CE
Pocket PC
Windows
Mac

That covers all the major platforms, but it sucks if you use Linux or another lesser know device.

Mobipocket http://www.mobipocket.com/en/HomePage/default.asp has also gone multiformat and supports more devices, but has a much, much smaller library of books.

It supports:
Palm
Windows CE
PocketPC
SymbianOs
Franklin eBookMan
Windows

The encryption used by Palm Reader is still the best. It goes simply by your credit card number only and you can install your books on as many devices as you want and you don't have to link to them to get permission to read a book as with Microsoft Reader.

I've bought about 80 ebooks now and I love the format. It will probably never be more than a niche market, but I think there is enough of a demand to keep it around. What I don't think has a future are ebook only devices like the hiebook and gemstar ebook. These devices are just too expensive and limited in function. The PDA looks to be the only viable means for ebooks to survive.

Another good ebook store that has stuff in open formats that will work with various ebook reading software and encrytped ebooks for Mobipocket and Microsoft Reader is Fictionwise. www.fictionwise.com However, they seem to focus most on the Sci-Fi genre.

If for some reason you decide to buy something at Palm Digital Media use the following code at checkout CRYPTO. It will give you 10% off any book over $3.00 and is good through Aug 27th. They change the code weekly.

Wow--I've been busy, and kinda have not had an opportunity to update here! In about a week, I'll go through my links and see what is still good and what's not.

Still have the Hiebook, still like it. I had a wierd power issue about a month ago. If you let the battery die down too much, it will have issues with the display. Charge it fully and it's fine. I just updated the OS, and it also has third party software creation software available, as well as a dictionary(which is actually really pretty cool. With the new OS, you can install only the apps you want on there. I expect that it won't be too much longer before there is pdf support.

I'm still not really impressed by the customer support, but do enjoy the Hiebook.

A while back I even bought a few books online, and the process was pretty smooth. I'll check to see where I was downloading them from.

robyn

Well, after much researching and soul searching, and the added bonus of a $200 birthday gift from my sister (and my parents putting in the difference) I just ordered the hiebook and a 128mb smc, which should be arriving sometime during the week. I can't wait, because I have no current portable device for a) books and b) mp3s, and this serves both functions, plus i'm taking a workout class at school and it should come in handy. Thanks for the info RDYoung and others!

I just went through and verified that the links there still work. With the exception of the Rocket Library, they are all still pretty good. I'm also going to add another site--Knowbetter.com This is a pretty good resource as well.

Well, I'm more impressed now by Hiebook's support. I had a problem with my ac adapter--It was brittle and kept cracking, exposing the wires. It's got a ton of electrical tape on it. It took me forever to figure out who was doing the support, and just the other day I called, and the guy sent me out a new adapter. No questions asked. They also have the third party software creation program now, so hopefully it shouldn't be too long before we start seeing some actual programming for the device.

robyn

Well, even though the website has "in stock" all over the products, they emailed me saying they are temporarily out of stuck "until friday or monday" so I guess it's a few more days before they send me the hiebook (they "upgraded" to two day shipping at no expense though). I was actually planning on seeing what the sdk is all about, and maybe try building some programs (I'm tempted to try and go for pdf reader but that's a HUGE step I might try for pdb (palm pilot file) reader though, since there's some open source code out there).
We shall see.

Let me know what you come up with. I don't know a thing about programming, but I'd love to try out some new things.

Frankly, i want solitaire and some other games, but a dvd catalog that would be able to import backup files from dvdprofiler would be nice. Maybe even with picture and report support.

I should search around and see if anyone's actually used the thing yet.

Keep us updated!

robyn

Till I add it later. Here is a forum for Hiebook folks. Looks pretty promising right now.

http://www.withinc.com/~wwang/hiebook/

Toxygen, you might find it interesting because there seems to be a ton of buzz re: the sdk.


robyn

So I got the Hie book yesterday, didnt' get a chance to try it til I got home at night, but wow! this thing is awesome.. after one minor glitch with the usb cable, i got it working fine, downloaded a few mp3s to the smc and a few books to the hiebook's internal memory, took it around the house and started reading listening to music and playing around with it.. i love it, it's a big step from my previous pda. One question though, is there a problem with the mp3 player? every now and then it seemed to "skip" (like a scratched cd would skip) or just pause for like half a second. Anyone know? or maybe it was my mp3s

Other than that, I love this little gadget.. the screen is great, I feel like i'm actually reading a paperback (I started reading John Steakley's "Vampires" (from which the movie was adapted i guess) and I must've read for like 4 hours, and the battery meter didnt even hiccup once).

I'm just very happy to have bought this

I've never had any problems with the mp3 player that I've noticed. I really haven't used it much for that, though. Nor have I played mp3's since I upgraded the OS. I'm totally stoked that now you can get spare batteries and stuff, too. Be careful with the ac adapter, though. They may have replaced them, but my old adapter kept cracking.

I downloaded the SDK thing, but I'm not a programmer, so I really have no clue as to how to use it.

Glad you're enjoying it, though!

robyn

For you bargain hunters out there, while I was at costco yesterday, I saw the eBookman for $49. This is 70-80 dollars off of retail. It comes with 8MB of RAM and is expandable to 64MB with MMC type memory. Quite the deal, I may have to pick it up.

Anyone else use one of these?

Another source of older public domain ebooks and text is at:

http://ftp.std.com/obi/

RDYoung?

Startide?

Others?

Where's our latest update to this great thread?

Been busy as heck. I have a couple of days off, though, and after tomorrow, I'll go through and see what's hot and what's not.

robyn

Not much has changed for Software ebook readers.

Microsoft Reader and Adobe Reader are unchanged.

Palm Reader has made some improvements. Their new Win/Mac Pro version is cool and has a lot of neat themes you can download. The Palm version has improved text on the OS5 Palm devices and now lets you highlight.

Mobipocket also has a Pro version of the Palm version with improvements like highlighting and external memory support.

Dedicated ebook readers like the Ebookman and Gemstar seem pretty much dead. Gemstar is trying to revive their reader by offering it for $99. However you also have to agree to a $19.99 a month for 24 month subscription fee to their books.

Hiebook is still around, but support for it hasn't increased much.

Microsoft seems to be hoping the new Tablet PCs might be the new choice for ebook readers, but those devices are still a bit pricey. Looks like ebooks will still be a small niche market for a long time to come.

Time to un-stick this rascal, methinks!

I hate to see this thread dropped. It has some great information for newbies interested in ebooks. I just wanted to note that the usenet ebook FAQ Startide referenced has moved to here: http://ebook.23ae.com/
it has excellent information about popular file formats and ebook readers.

Nothing has really changed in the last 6 months

The dedicated ebook readers dead. Ebookman is discontinued and the Gemstar reader is no longer found in stores. Hiebook has a very small following, but really isn't much of a factor.

Palm and Pocket PCs (PCs and Macs as well) are the future of ebook reading. Palm Digital Media whose reader works on all four of the major formats listed above is pretty much the leader right now. Microsoft still has a strong ebook presence and they hope the Tablet PCs will make the format more popular.

Basically if ebook reading interests you, you will need a Palm OS or Pocket PC PDA or a laptop.

The really good news for the format is the prices are dropping for new books. Many pulishers like Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, and Time Warner are pricing new books at nearly half the price of hard cover. For instance The Da Vinci Code and Lost Light were $18 at Amazon, but I paid only $9 and $11 for the two novels in ebook form.

Should this thread be revived? With the e-ink displays now available, e-book devices may become viable again. These should address concerns/dislikes many have for PDA and laptop displays. (Although they have not yet addressed the 'smell' issue!)

I recently ordered a Sony ereader (PSR-500 or something like that) which costs less than $60 from sonyrewards.com if you sign up for a Sony Visa card (thru Chase bank). These usually cost about $300 or so. I tried on at a Borders and the display is *very* easy on the eyes. It is not backlit, so you do need a booklight for reading in the dark!

Has anyone else been using an e-ink-based ebook device?

That actually looks pretty cool. Do you know how much they charge for books? And can you only get books through their service, or is their a standard format out there?

I'm tempted to get one of these for my Dad, but am not sure if he is willing to try to adapt to the new tech (he just retired and is on the road with boxes of books in his motorhome, and one of these would make a lot of sense if it's economical)

The Sony reader has their own format (lrf), and handles text, rtf, html, and pdfs too. (pdf format isn't the greatest wrt legbility.) Plus you can convert Microsoft Reader (lit) files using free software. The ereader is built basically for reading, with no web browsing, no search, no fancy tech stuff. Just select books and turn pages. The display is more like a real paper page than any other display out there. So "old school" book readers may well find it to their liking.

Ebooks aren't that cheap in general, but you can use and/or convert various formats for the Sony reader. There's a killer deal from silkpagoda.com for a DVD containing 10,000 books nicely formatted in the Sony ereader format for only $9.99 shipped!

10,000 e-books for $9.99

Mostly Project Gutenberg-type stuff, but a lot of good reads for next to nothing! The forums at mobileread.com also have a lot of info on where to get free or cheap ebooks in various formats, along with format conversion info, device info, etc.

I like the Sony reader because battery life depends only on how many pages you turn, not on how long you are reading. It's a "permanent on" display that uses no power to maintain an image, only to change the display. Battery life is estimated as about 75,000 page turns between charges.

Thanks for all that info, the # of Zane Grey titles on the disc alone might make this worth it. (he's a big western and scifi guy) Now the only question is whether or not he would actually use it or just go back to the paperbacks. I suppose worst case scenario is that I would get a nice ereader out of the deal

Another great place for some free first-rate sci-fi is Baen free library. From what I read (haven't tried it yet), best way to go for the Sony reader is to download the rtf version and convert it to lrf using the BookDesigner software.

Nice to see that there are a few sources for free or affordable books out there. Im going to go to Best Buy and Barnes and Noble today and try to find one of these things to test it out. Hopefully they have display models.

Let me add a few cents to the revived discussion......

Ebooks are the best. It appears from a quick overview of this thread that there are strong opinions on what reader is best, but let me add that I have used a palm v a treo 600, 650 and now a 700 as my ebook reader for about 5 years now. Prior to that I would read primarly paperbacks. I read 4-6 books a month, and that is limited by the time i have to read. As you can imagine, a large portion of money was going to waldens and barnes and noble prior to me finding out about ebooks.
There are sooooo many ebook sites where you can purchase ebooks, as well as free sites and "grey area" sites to obtain books. I use mobipocket, which is a fairly intrenched std that has its own creation app so you can convert almost text format into. I can quickly and easily convert word, txt, html, lit, etc to a mobiformat, as well as create my own content, and add pictures and descriptions into the book.
Here is a list of the ebook sellers I frequent:

www.fictionwise.com: great selection across all genres. Many new releases concurent with publication date.....cost is close to list for the regular versions but there are some small discounts and a rebate system. They sell various formats that appear to be limited by the publisher, not the site....palm reader format, mobipocket and LIT are the main formats sold.

www.mobipocket.com: mobipockets site. You can download the reader and creator from here. They also have a store, but since you can purchase almost every book they sell from fictionwise and get the rebates, its better to shop there first unless its an exclusive release. I have seen this once or twice, but not often enough to loose sleep over.

www.baen.com: baen is a publisher of sci fi and fantasy. They are the absolute leader of ebook publishing. They have a LARGE free library, as well as a ebook store via webscriptions. webscriptions is very cheap, usually books cost 4-6 dollars reguardless of if they are only in hardcover in the stores. They also release books prior to print dates, and have advanced reader copies of some of the more popular authors available for a premium price ($15 to read a book 3 months early is worth it for some of their authors!!!)
In addition to the free library they have included ebook cds with some of there more popular authors and series. these cds genraly contain all the prior books in the series. Because they have no issues with distributing these cds, you can find them hosted on the web in many places.
baencd.thefifthimperium.com/ is one of the hosting sites. If you are an ebook user, and read Sci Fi and fantasy and have not gone to Baen or to thefifthimperium, do not finish this post, stop now and go. you will thank me ....go on.

Amazon.com even has a small number of LIT ebooks available. I have not purchased any from them, since any book I have seen there was available at fictionwise, and again I could get the rebates.

It is possible to find a legal purchasable copy of most new books on or shortly after the publication date. If you are willing to invest the time and effort, even those not found for purchase can be uncovered elsewhere on the web......

If anyone is interested in more details of conversion etc, post and I will do my best to help.

Aaron,

Good comments. I should have posted this earlier, but the best single source I've found for info on obtaining ebooks, discussing ereaders (software and hardware units), file conversion, etc. is the MobileRead forums. They have all of the links you (and I) posted above, plus links and instructions for conversion software, etc.

IMO the Treo is great for portability, but the new e-ink readers (like the Sony) have amazing book-like displays. I'll admit, my eyes are getting older and surfing web pages and reading long e-mails on my blackberry is a bit of a strain!

BTW, I think the best bet for trying out a Sony ereader would be at Borders. Haven't seen them at B&N or BB. (But they might be at some stores.)

Also, here's a link for the deal to get a new Sony Visa card which allows you to buy an ereader from sonyrewards.com for only $60 shipped! I signed up for this card (didn't have a Visa anyway, just 2 MCs and an Amex.) It has no annual fee, you can get extra Sony Rewards points for using it, and I also got one year of no interest on purchases and balance transfers. Got a phone call confirming approval and had the card within a week. Ordered the ereader for $60 online with no problems. A detailed discussion of this deal is here .

I think that covers most of the important new stuff I know of wrt ereaders. The MobileRead forum link above will have just about all you'd want to know!