ANSWERS: 3
  • The Sony Reader http://products.sel.sony.com/pa/prs/index.html
  • There are quite a few, but given the nature of PDFs, I would just take the plunge and get a netbook, and here is why. 1) Cost. At $350, my Acer Aspire One is priced comparably to any of the dedicated e-book things. 2) Screen. Many of my PDFs are from 8-1/2"x11" books. If I tried to display them on most readers, either I would have to scroll constantly to get the full width of the page OR I would be reading micro-print, and they generally lack the resolution to pull that off. Print four pages on one sheet of paper to see what I mean, then imagine it grainier. Once you account for margins, the screen on my AA1 is about as wide as the average page from one of my books, and easilly legible. Also, I have 32-bit color instead of 4-bit greyscale 3) Size. My AA1 is barely any bigger or heavier. I can hold it comfortably and securely in one hand, and I can rotate the screen orientation is I want to hold is sideways like a book. 4) Durability. My AA1 is considerably tougher. When not in use, it is it's own hard-case so I don't have to worry about something else in my bag punching through the screen. 5) Storage. Many of my PDFs are >50MB. Most readers would not be able to hold very many, but the 160GB hard drive in my AA1 has no problem holding an entire library. 6) Versatility. I have a thing against single-function gadgets unless they cost less than $20. If I am shelling out a few hundred, I want a multi-tasker. Try watching movies on a Kindle ;) PDFs are one of the reasons I wanted a laptop, but until the netbook revolution they were too big, heavy, and pricey to make it worth my while. Now that is no longer true :)
  • If you're really getting the device for reading. I would advice The Sony Reader. I have one and I've read many many books on it, in all sorts of formats, with great pleasure. It's ideal when on the road. The biggest advantages over a netbook are: it is perfectly readable in sunlight and the batteries last much longer. When you get it from eBay you can get it new for under $200.

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