Looking for an Ereader type device?.

My wife is an avid reader and asked me to find out for her about a device which could be used for storing and reading a book on. After a search on Google I quickly came up with the Kindle, Sony and BeBook E-reader devices which all seem like overkill to be honest, as well as quite expensive. My wife is not really interested in "computering" as she calls it and just wants a simple device which I can connect to my PC and download a few books for her to read. I don't really see the need for it to have the capacity to hold the British Library as when she has read them they can either be stored on my PC or just deleted. Is there such a device available to purchase or are the only options similar to what I mentioned above?.

Edit: Moved topic from All Other Applications to the more appropriate forum. ~ Animal

If you read a lot, the Kindle is your best choice by far. Amazing battery life since it uses power only for turning pages or for WiFi (I keep the WiFi turned off when I'm not downloading). Any book you download from the Amazon Kindle store is saved on their server and you can always download anything you want to reread, so there is no need to keep an enormous number of books on the device.

I have the older Kindle 3 (WiFi only, $139), so you should read the reviews of the others. It may be that the $79 one is what you want.

If you want to borrow library ebooks Kindle is about the worst choice you can go with, as Amazon has only just gone on board with OverDrive (one of the main vendors supplying library ebook platforms) and doesn't work with any other of the library ebook platforms that I know of. Kindle also can't handle .epub file format. Any of the other ereaders can handle .epub and .pdf, and while ereaders seem to generally be connected to specific stores, its not that hard to make it so you can put ebooks from one store on a reader connected with a different store.

If your looking at Sony ereaders take a second look because they have ALOT of options, including some noticeably scaled down ones (with correspondingly lower prices).

The whole idea of eink is that power is only used for internet connection and turning pages, so you will find that feature in just about any black and white ereader. The nook classic has a touch lcd screen - so that obviously took power (the new nook is touch screen e-ink, just as the newest Kindle to be soon released will be).

What I always recommend to library patrons is if possible go to a store and actually handle some of the ereader options and see if you like them. There are demos out there. The other thing to keep in mind is tech support - by far nook seems to be the easiest to get help with because you can go to a store and make a person help you, in addition to phone or online help. If you and/or she are comfortable with tech and figuring out quirks on your own when you need to, then go with the one that she likes how it feels, handles, and looks.

I tried to keep this to my experience as someone who regularly helps people with a wide variety of ereaders, but I do have my own personal preferences as well that may have tainted this a little.

Also another thing to keep in mind if you want - additional storage space options on the device (ie can you put in a SD card of any form?).

I think an online account access to any of the titles you have purchased is standard, though now and then things do come up where books are removed from future online access (most of what I have heard related to Amazon, once with messed up publisher rights and once or twice relating to gay and fetish adult material). So whether or not you want to be able to retain your own back up copies and how that works is something else to keep in mind.

Over all I'd make sure to focus on the black & white e-ink ereaders, the color ereaders are largely locked down tablets, which seems to beyond your wife's desired parameters.

A few links to ereaders, sometimes worth looking back at the older models rather than the brand new one that's just come out. Tried to avoid linking you to any of the solely color/limited tablet ereaders.

http://ebookstore.sony.com/reader/
http://www.kobobooks.com/
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp
https://kindle.amazon.com/
http://aluratek.com/products/ebook-readers

Formats can be converted for Kindle with programs like Calibre, provided they do not have DRM.

Calibre is pretty awesome, however if library ebook borrowing is being considered that doesn't work with Calibre.

Calibre can be used to strip the DRM that restricts say a nook ebook from being read on a sony reader (or vice versa).

The Jetbook is an excellent ereader that is just an ereader -- no wifi, no browser, no angry birds ... Just download books onto your computer, send them to the Jetbook via a USB connection or copy them to an SD card, and you're set.

The Jetbook will handle just about any ebook format you throw at it, including epub, mobi, prc, etc. DRM does pose a problem, although I believe the Jetbook will handle a couple forms (I'm pretty sure it will handle Barnes and Noble and I think the latest ones will handle Adobe Digital Editions -- double check me on that, since I never use DRMed ebooks). There are plenty of places to buy legal DRM-free ebooks (Fictionwise has a large list of "Multiformat" books that are DRM-free, Baen, if you like SF, many authors' sites, etc.)

I have had a Jetbook Lite for a year and I LOVE it! Biggest difference is that the JBL uses AA batteries (rechargeables work fine) but the JBL was recently discontinued. The Jetbook is the same hardware but uses a Lithium battery that charges via the USB. Still easy to find for about $90.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the Jetbook will handle Overdrive library books (double check me, since I don't use them). The Jetbook is not eInk, but is very readable (I have family members with eInk readers and I don't like them -- personal taste).

Check out the forums at Mobileread.com for more info on any ereader and for more in-depth discussion.

User reviews of four different ereaders:
http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2011/10/11/four-librarians-four-ereaders-one-month/

And chances are the Jetbook works with overdrive, most do. :D