My e-reader and I are back from our wonderful vacation. I have to admit, the e-reader was very handy for travel. It didn’t take up much space or contribute much weight to my carry-on. It was great for filling time while sitting in the terminal, but I found it harder to read by the airplane reading light. I tended to give up and sleep or do crossword puzzles rather than read on the plane.
I didn’t have any trouble with the battery running out, which had concerned me before I left. Of course, there were days when I didn’t read at all, and I made sure the e-reader was completely off when I finished reading, rather than having just the screensaver. I’m sure that helped save the battery. I’m glad I didn’t buy the converter for the country I visited.
My e-reader had wi-fi, but it would have been nice to have 3G as well. Many places we stayed had wi-fi, but it was not free and I would have had to buy the password (which I didn’t). Having 3G would have helped get around that problem.
Now that I am home, I have tried unsuccessfully to finish the book I was reading on the e-reader. Curling up in bed with an e-reader just isn’t the same for me as curling up with a book. I’ll just wait for my next trip to see if Katniss defeats President Snow and the Capitol.
PE
Actually interestingly enough, the way e-ink works is that it only uses power while it’s changing the screen, i.e. turning the page, and uses no power while it’s static on a page.
You don’t say which e-reader you have, but some of them re-index all of the books when you switch them on after being completely off, which can use more battery than just leaving it on standby.
I’d still like to get myself an e-reader, but I’m going to hold off until there is a deal where if you buy a physical copy you get an e-copy of the book as well.