People complain about the PRS-500, but really the complaints about it were inconsequential (David reports a problem with glare, but I haven’t found this to be a dealbreaker). I regularly read the Cybook 3, but I sometimes read material on PRS-500 with little complaint. Two reasons to avoid PRS-500: if you have a special interest in novels with lots of graphics and if you are running Vista on your PC. The USB driver is incompatible with Vista. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure you could transfer the prs files directly to the card (I don’t remember).

For pure cheapness and convenience, I still like my Palm IIIxi, which runs on standard AAA batteries. A pair of rechargable AAA batteries lasts for multiple days of use. I’ve installed both the PDF for Palm (which works and does reflow PDF pages so you can actually read the print) and eReader. I prefer the eReader because it’s faster. I paid $50 for a factory reconditioned model years ago, but I’ve seen them on eBay as cheap as $20.

I read all of my submissions, and many other books on my eBookWise, which runs about $139–clearly more expensive but still cheaper than the ePaper products. The eBookWise is a better reading experience for when I’m going to be sitting and reading, but it’s a bit big to slip into my pocket (which is why I like the Palm) and I can’t switch between reading and writing (so I normally take my Jornada with me on the train).

Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.BooksForABuck.com

HP 100LX & 200LX
These two palmtops run DOS. Yes, DOS. So far as I can tell everything has to be done from the command line. I’m sure you could use either model as an ebook reader, just don’t ask me how.

They have CGA resolution, no touchscreen, and run on 2 AA.

According to one seller on Ebay, the 200LX can run Windows 3.0. I’m almost tempted to get one just to see if it’s true. If it can do it, then you might be able to run Windows programs.

HP 300LX & 320LX
These next two are several steps up in hardware, and run WinCE 1.0 and can be upgraded to WinCE 2.0. This is your good fortune because there is a huge supply of software you can run on them including Mobipocket and eReader. You can also run MSReader, but getting it authorized to read DRMed ebooks is very difficult.

There may be more related models. I just came across the 360LX, but the seller might have labeled it wrong.

All these models have certain hardware similarities. The screen is 6.5″ HVGA grayscale, with a resolution of 640×240. They also have a keyboard plus reprogrammable hot-keys. And they all run on 2 AAs.

I have a 320LX. It weighs just over a lb, but the screen is huge.

HP Jornada 680, 720, 728 (There are more models, but these are the ones I’ve found on Ebay.)

These palmtops have a similar size, shape, and weight to the LX series, but come with color screens, and better processors. The 720 and 728 are basically the same except that 728 has 64MB RAM instead of 32MB. They also come with a couple different versions of WinCE, ranging from 2.0 to 3.0.

I don’t know about the 680, but my 720 has both a CF card and PC card slot. I currently have a 2GB CF card with a dozen programs installed and a thousand or so books.

These are usually at or above $100. They’re worth it, though.

The Psion series 5 can also be found for under $100 if you are careful and patient. If you can find the 5mx model, I’m pretty sure there is a Mobipocket Reader for it. If not, then you might try the Mobipocket Reader anyway. It might work.

The Psion Series 7 is rarely on Ebay, and probably can’t be had fopr less than $150. It’s a nice looking sub-sub-notebook. It should have a version of Mobipocket Reader that you can use.

There are also a number of variants on the Series 5 and Series 3 that you might see on Ebay. Some are better, some are worse.