Which E-reader?

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adamjh3

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Hello all, I was recently in a Barnes and Noble and was shown the Nook (sp?) e-reader, which gave me the itch to buy something like it.

Which e-reader do you have?

What do you like about it?

What don't you like about it?

What would you change about it?

Have you had any issues with it?

Would you buy it again knowing what you know now?

Some of the things I liked about the Nook were the expandable memory, the long battery life (this will be with me for 12-72 hour shifts on an ambulance), the 3G option, the slim size, and the touch screen on the bottom.

I want to use this thread to make an informed decsision about which e-reader I should purchase, so if anyone has any information or opinions to contribute, it would be greaty appreciated.

Thanks, everyone
-Adam :thumbsup:
 

StarHalo

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I don't yet own one just because of all the obscure titles I like, but it'd be hard to beat the price and number of titles available on Amazon's Kindle. Plus their service is available for PCs and phones, so you can read their books on whatever's handy..
 

Norm

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I know it's not what your asking but I'm very happy using my iPad as an E-reader.
It's good to go from reading to browsing to playing a game or answering email, I can even watch a video or listen to music, I find it's very versatile.
Norm

What is an E-reader?

kindle2.jpg
 
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Monocrom

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Despite being a specific Barnes & Noble product, I've seen the Nook get very positive reviews.
 

arek98

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I started using Kindle app on my Droid X, and it works fine. I think dedicated e-reader may have some advantages like long runtime on one charge and good visibility in bright light but for me phone works better. I use it mostly when on the way, i.e., airport, on the plane or when in the bed and then it actually helps that LCD does not need external light. I have it set to black background and white (dimmed) letters and it works well. CHarger is always handy in my scenarios so no problems there.
Only thing, that having Kindle reader there is a discount on books. I may buy some dedicated reader at some point.
 

adamjh3

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Those who suggested the iPad: Thank you, but that is out for a couple reasons, the first being the price, the second being the LCD screen which makes it difficult to read in sunlight.

Lite me: Thank you for that article, I had been looking for something like that, it helped me a lot.

It looks like I'm going with the Nook like I originally thought.

Thanks for all the info, everyone!
-Adam :thumbsup:
 

wyager

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I love my kindle-I don't like the nook because the last time I was on it it had a very limited selection. The kindle had all sorts of obscure texts, many of them free.
 

StarHalo

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An article in Slate predicts sub-$100 readers by the end of the year; the technology to make the readers is becoming so common that the parts prices are plummeting, and everyone's competing to make their book selection the iTunes for books, so each company must sell as many readers as possible.

The iPad isn't in direct competition with e-readers, so its price isn't going anywhere; $499 to start for the foreseeable future.

I wouldn't be surprised if in the not-too-distant future the reader companies go with the "inkjet printer/shaving razor model" and just sell the readers at a huge loss to get all the profit from book sales..
 

wyager

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An article in Slate predicts sub-$100 readers by the end of the year; the technology to make the readers is becoming so common that the parts prices are plummeting, and everyone's competing to make their book selection the iTunes for books, so each company must sell as many readers as possible.

The iPad isn't in direct competition with e-readers, so its price isn't going anywhere; $499 to start for the foreseeable future.

I wouldn't be surprised if in the not-too-distant future the reader companies go with the "inkjet printer/shaving razor model" and just sell the readers at a huge loss to get all the profit from book sales..
The nice thing about this is that amazon really doesn't care all that much whether they make any money from books (I'm sure they care, but they won't punish you if you don't buy). There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of free books in the kindle store, and there are no access charges. I think the internet is free too, but somewhere in some fine print I read that they have the option to charge you for internet usage, but I don't think they are exercising that option. Also, it's a plus for the buyer and the seller with amazon's e-reader, because they always drop the price in the kindle store (I bet other sellers do this too). So we pay less, amazon saves money on shipping and buying a physical copy, and the trees are happy too :p
 

Alaric Darconville

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I got my wife a Kindle for her birthday last year-- it's the GREATEST THING EVER! She uses it every day, and has not gotten bored with it.

Her Microsoft Zune, her Creative Nomad Jukebox, her Sony Clíe-- all have been relegated to only very occasional use. But the Kindle is still exciting for her. The screen is absolutely fantastic, the free wireless (and access to wikipedia and other sites) is extremely useful, and it goes a long way between recharges.

Her brother bought one a few months after she got hers-- and he loves his almost as much. He has the Kindle App on his iPhone 3GS-- but the Kindle is so much easier to read.

Another bonus is that there is plenty of free stuff on Amazon (like the classics) and often you can get sample chapters of books to try before you buy.

I strongly recommend the Kindle if you do much reading at all.
 

kaichu dento

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I love my kindle-I don't like the nook because the last time I was on it it had a very limited selection. The kindle had all sorts of obscure texts, many of them free.
The only two that I have tried is the Nook at Barnes and Noble, and my Nintendo DS Lite, which I got in trade for a light in the MarketPlace.

Reading on the DS Lite is pretty enjoyable, not to mention compact and I really like the ease of operation. When I tried the Nook a couple months back I was surprised that a dedicated reader only unit was not as nice to use and decided that if I did get one I'd be looking into the Kindle before making any decisions.
 

jrmcferren

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What is your primary usage of the device? Is it reading books, browsing the web (including posting on CPF), or consuming all kinds of media (including books)? That is the real question you have to ask yourself. If the sole purpose is reading books, an e-ink device such as the Nook, Sony Reader, or the Kindle is the best bet. Otherwise you are stuck with the iPad and the upcoming onslaught of clones. Here is my comparison of devices (with limited knowledge)

Kindle:
-3G wireless free of Charge, download books from the Kindle store almost anywhere you can get an at&t cellular signal or from a roaming partner. This means you can get on the internet in many countries with only paying for the book.
-Supports Kindle Format, Mobibooks format, and PDF (Kindle 2 Only). Amazon will convert Microsoft Word and HTML format to the Kindle format for 15 cents a megabyte.
-E-ink display for better readability in many lighting conditions and long battery life (2 weeks without wireless access).
-If you upgrade to an iPad or a few other platforms (iPhone, iTouch, PC, Mac and maybe more), you can download a free app to access your kindle books.
-Does not have WiFi so you have to use at&t (or partner's) network even in your own home.

Sony Reader:
-Supports BBBeB format, as well as PDF, ePub, TXT, RTF, DOC (converted to RTF by desktop software), JPEG, GIF (will crash on animated GIF), PNG, MP3, and unprotected AAC
-No Software to support iPad, iPhone or other devices
-No Wireless connectivity except on PRS-900 which is the larger unit, then it is free at&t cellular only.
-eInk display for long battery life.
-Expandable memory

iPad:
-Supports many formats, including Microsoft Word, Kindle, PDF, and others with apps
-Requires iTunes on PC or Mac
-Full Web Browsing with no limits
-Full color LCD touch screen display
-Runs iPhone apps
-Extensive Wireless connectivity with Bluetooth to allow for keyboards and other devices, 802.11 a/b/g/n (dual band), 3G cellular (supposedly unlocked but limited to at&t in USA due to frequencies, EDGE or GPRS on other carriers).
-Limited Battery Life (hours instead of days)
-Backlit screen can cause eyestrain at night (even though it can automatically adjust to ambient light)
-Expensive
-Cellular Access requires a data plan from at&t (other carriers at your own risk, blah, blah, blah) $15 monthly for 200 MB or $25 monthly for 2GB.
-Can connect to a keyboard, and full word processing is possible with third party applications (Documents To Go, etc)
-3.5mm Headset jack
-Microphone
 

geepondy

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I have a nook and am happy enough for what it does am sure I would be with a Kindle as well. I bought it for $150 because I was satisfied with wifi only without 3G and at the time the Kindle did not offer a wifi only model. Now I see they have a wifi only model for $139. The nook is a bit sluggish in operation but not so bad once you are actually reading the book. I wouldn't spend a lot of money for an e-reader because as mentioned the technology is rapidly changing and I'm sure a couple of years down the road, I'll upgrade to a much better model for the same price.

The question I'm curious about, is the ebook format for Nook and/or Kindle proprietary? Can I read books downloaded thru one of the services with the other reader or another third party reader?
 

wyager

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I have a nook and am happy enough for what it does am sure I would be with a Kindle as well. I bought it for $150 because I was satisfied with wifi only without 3G and at the time the Kindle did not offer a wifi only model. Now I see they have a wifi only model for $139. The nook is a bit sluggish in operation but not so bad once you are actually reading the book. I wouldn't spend a lot of money for an e-reader because as mentioned the technology is rapidly changing and I'm sure a couple of years down the road, I'll upgrade to a much better model for the same price.

The question I'm curious about, is the ebook format for Nook and/or Kindle proprietary? Can I read books downloaded thru one of the services with the other reader or another third party reader?
I know kindle lets you transfer the book files to and from the computer-but my guess is they have some kind of DRM built in.
 

adamjh3

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What is your primary usage of the device? [Berevity]


It will be a dedicated e-reader. I have my Zune for music, my phone for internet, and my laptop for movies etc.

I want an e-reader with the eInk screen for both the long battery life and for the ability to read it in sunlight.

3G capability is unimportant to me. I have access to several wi-fi hot-spots throughout the day (unless I'm busy, in which case I won't be reading, anyway). If it was free I'm not going to complain, but it's not a major issue for me.


The question I'm curious about, is the ebook format for Nook and/or Kindle proprietary? Can I read books downloaded thru one of the services with the other reader or another third party reader?

Only Kindles can read Kindle books, I'm not sure if Kindles can read anything other than Kindle books. Nooks will read anything in the EPub or PDF formats, maybe a couple other formats that I'm not aware of (TXT?)
 

Alaric Darconville

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I'm not sure if Kindles can read anything other than Kindle books. Nooks will read anything in the EPub or PDF formats, maybe a couple other formats that I'm not aware of (TXT?)

The 2nd generation Kindle supports .PDF and .TXT. If you have a Word document (or some other file format you can ordinarily print) that you want to read on the Kindle, just use CutePDF to print it to a .PDF, then use the USB cable to copy it to the Kindle.
 

LuxLuthor

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Illustration of an e-reader in use:

LOL! The world is a better place because StarHalo is in it! Now who is that sweet young thing?

Back on topic, I just got my wife the $139 WiFi Kindle, because she reads at least 4 books a week, and can load it up while at home using our WiFi network. Speaking of hot pink, I didn't see the need to get the 3G for $50 more, when it could be better spent on this cute pink case with slide out light. If you need poolside waterproof, just put it in a ziplock.

My wife is a complete technophobe, where a crisis was precipitated when I switched from Direct TV to AT&T Uverse because it required a new remote control which took weeks for her to master. However, I was impressed with the intuitive, easy to learn functions, and bright sun readability. It supposedly lasts a month on a charge if you turn WiFi off after stocking up on books. She loves looking through all the endless supply of books, and using it.

The only downside I saw with it was lack of p0rn capability. :sssh:
 
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