Better e-book palm?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

I have a Zire 21 which I use solely for reading e-books.

I'm wondering if there's any new palms that might tempt me to upgrade.

Right now I have 8 megs of ram and decent battery life (however, I
can't swap out the batteries). I'm more than happy with the B&W screen
(color might tempt me to play games).

I'm interested in units with more ram, and longer-lasting batteries
(particularly those with easily removable batteries). Also, maybe one
that holds additional books on a memory card (CF, or something like
that)?

Gwen

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

Gwen Morse <goldmoon@geocities.com> wrote:

>On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 22:22:06 GMT, AaronJ <noemail@noemail.com> wrote:

>>Why? Your current 8 megs should hold 20 or more ebooks. And some ebook reading
>>programs (like TiBR pro and Isilo) will allow you to read ebooks off the SD card
>>memory so you could carry 1000+ ebooks if you wanted on your Zire 21. However
>>the suggested Tungsten E does has 32 Meg which is more ram as you requested.
>
>What is the SD card memory? I know you can plug SD cards into newer
>palms, but, mine doesn't have a slot. Is there one built internally
>into my Zire?

Sorry Gwen, my mistake. I thought that the Zire21 had an expansion slot but
you're quite correct, it doesn't. But still, your current 8 megs of memory
should be plenty for ebook reading. I lived on an 8 meg IIIxe and later an 8 meg
m105 and never wanted for more memory. In fact my full Noah dictionary took 5
meg and the 3 meg left over still could carry 9 books give or take. The
expansion card is nice for sure, but IMO not absolutely necessary for ebook
service.

>I had been hoping that this situation changed since I bought my Zire
>(either that a new B&W palm had been released with more RAM, or, that
>they'd found a way to make color units more efficient).

The newest model that uses AAA's and has 8 meg and an expansion card is the
m125. But it's been a long while since I've seen new ones sold. However if you
have a Frys or similar electronics store in you area keep an eye out. My Frys
has had refurbished m125s recently for US$50. I still use my m125 on long plane
trips and camping trips where my color models battery would run out, or
sometimes I take it on regular trips where I just don't want the hassle of
carrying a charger along.
>
>I'm still very happy with my Zire, I'll stick with it!

However once you read an ebook on a *high resolution* color screen such as the
Tungsten E (US$199), you may change your mind. The quality of the read is very
close to that of a good quality paper book and much superior to the older mono
screens. Once you get used to it you may not want to go back. Except perhaps for
the places I mentioned where the battery challenged color models become
impractical...

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 22:34:50 GMT, AaronJ <noemail@noemail.com> wrote:

>Gwen Morse <goldmoon@geocities.com> wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 22:22:06 GMT, AaronJ <noemail@noemail.com> wrote:

>Sorry Gwen, my mistake. I thought that the Zire21 had an expansion slot but
>you're quite correct, it doesn't. But still, your current 8 megs of memory
>should be plenty for ebook reading. I lived on an 8 meg IIIxe and later an 8 meg

No worries! It was an easy mistake to make.

I like to carry (and read) several dozen books. So, the more I can
fit, the happier I am.

>>I'm still very happy with my Zire, I'll stick with it!
>
>However once you read an ebook on a *high resolution* color screen such as the
>Tungsten E (US$199), you may change your mind. The quality of the read is very

Which is all the more reason _not_ to go color (if I'm inclined to
like the visuals, I'll be that much more disappointed when I have to
keep recharging it).

I replaced my Zire (which had gone "missing" ) with a new one, for
about $60. Much better than the $200 I would have been paying for a
Tungsten. If I could just get it to sync the data from my old palm,
I'd be a happy camper.

In any case, I appreciate the discussion. It was good to learn that I
hadn't missed any new technology.

Gwen