|
I am considering making the leap to e-reader-dom for a few reasons. First and foremost, having the book available to me forever is appealing. If my apartment burns down, I get a new reader with the insurance money and download my books again. Secondly, I think its more environmentally sound. While a lot of paper is recycled, I figure the less of it I use the better. I tend to read a lot of books, and that's a lot of paper. My hope is that the one battery in the device which will hopefully last for a few years, will have a lesser impact on the environment than the 40 or 50 books I may read. Also, e-reader editions are cheaper. I'm leaning toward Barnes & Noble's Nook device for the following reasons: 1. User-replaceable battery. 2. Lend a book. I am going to get a reader for my son for his 16th b-day, so this has appeal 3. Micro SD slot - I can store all my books on cards, and in the event of a disaster, buy new cards and repopulate them from my account 4. Price - While a lot of price dropping has been going on, it looks to me like the Nook is the best value. I've looked for unbiased reviews online, and find very few. It seems sort of 'fanboy-ish'. Does anyone have any real experience with any or all of the contenders? Can you offer opinions and comparisons as well? I'd also be interested in any "I thought I'd love an e-reader, but I put it away and still buy books" points of view as well.
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2010 17:03
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 16:09 |
|
|
There's a fantastic eReader thread in IYG that you should take a look at.
|
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2010 17:18
|
|
|
Unless you are very eager to get one, you might want to wait just a few months more before buying. There is a newer display technology called "e-ink pearl" that claims to have 50% improved contrast so that it actually looks like an average paperback book. It recently came out on the newer Kindle DX but it should roll out on other devices later this year. I am not surprised that you're having trouble finding an unbiased review. E-readers are very fetishized at the moment.
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2010 23:46
|
|
|
I love my Kindle 2, but like Mathlete said, I'd probably wait a little while and see whats going to happen with the new e-ink technology. That being said, The Kindle is pretty awesome, I really like only having to charge it about once a month, and as far as i know, no one has as large of a library for e-books as Amazon.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2010 11:51
|
|
|
Does the kindle also let you get books via Overdrive? I was reading up on this and it sounds like a pretty fantastic service at your public library. Sign on to your library's web site, check out an e-book with your library card number. Download it to your PC then side-load it to your Nook. I think I have my options pared down to Nook v. Kindle.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2010 13:04
|
|
|
I don't think the Kindle supports it right now, at least not without converting them into a format the Kindle can work with. I'm not sure if Amazon will support it in the future or not. I mean, I'd imagine it would be something they'd be interested in, but who knows, it took them quite a while to get pdf support working.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2010 13:32
|
|
|
Phummus posted:Does the kindle also let you get books via Overdrive? I was reading up on this and it sounds like a pretty fantastic service at your public library. Sign on to your library's web site, check out an e-book with your library card number. Download it to your PC then side-load it to your Nook. What format is it in when you download it? If it's something Calibre can handle then you're set. Calibre is a seriously awesome piece of free 3rd party software that can convert ebooks in a ton of different formats and transfer them to your e-reader. It can also make a backup of your library, something that I do fairly regularly since I'm pushing 1,000 books on my Kindle and would be pretty upset if I lost them.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2010 16:15
|
|
|
I own a Sony PRS-300, which I absolutely adore but it's not for everyone. It's a very basic, budget e-reader (I believe it's the cheapest of the big three's options) which is perfect for someone who doesn't care about buying books on the fly or having crazy amounts of storage (the 300 doesn't have an SD slot). Also the 300 lacks a button on the side to change pages, which is a very minor nitpick but it would be nice if it did. On the plus side it's very small and weighs about the same as your average paperback so it feels very natural to hold and use. It's also a nice solid reader with metal casing that can take a bit of abuse - I don't know about the nook but I used a friend's Kindle 2 recently and the plastic body of it felt kinda cheap/flimsy in comparison - that said, if you were to gently caress up your Kindle Amazon are apparently pretty amazing with the customer service. I have no idea how Sony or B&N's customer service compares. I am weird and really enjoy managing and expanding my library on my PC using Calibre so storage is no issue for me, but it probably would be for a lot of people. I tend to recommend Sony for people who are on a tight budget and don't care about the bells and whistles. The other Sony models do have SD slots, but the lack of wireless downloading is still present. There's a Sony model with a touchscreen which is pretty nifty but on the whole it sounds like Sony's readers aren't what you're after. One thing to know about the nook is that "lend a book" doesn't work with some books, as the publishers have to OK it. I don't know how often this is the case but I'm sure one of our nook owners can give you an idea. Penfold the Brave fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Jul 16, 2010 |
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2010 17:17
|
|
|
Personally I rank them with the Kindle and Nook first, Sony's lineup a close second, and pretty much everything else trailing behind. The choice between Kindle and Nook is all down to preference as they both seem to be really solid. I already used the Amazon store frequently and I prefer physical buttons to the Nook's lower touch screen, so my choice was obvious. It's fairly hard to go wrong with any one of the three major readers. ebook formats are largely a non-issue since Calibre converts nigh perfectly between mobi (Kindle) and epub (B&N, Sony). Independent ebook stores like Smashwords usually offer downloads in multiple formats, while the reader's home store will obviously only offer books in the reader's native format. Project Gutenberg and the Baen Free Library offer a motley assortment of formats, but don't use any DRM so it's easy to convert from html, prc, etc to your reader's format.
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2010 23:52
|
|
|
Hmm... Gotta throw my worthless 2 pennies in. INCOMING WALL OF TEXT! I have had an ereader for a few years, and I love the thing, but at times I hate it for it's lack of features or "cool stuff". This stuff may not exist yet, but it's still annoying for me to not have it. Right now, this is how I would rank my choices for ebooks. For wireless downloads of books, I would have to think Kindle. I think the nook is an awesome idea and I LOVE the idea of wifi and setting up a calibre server, but honestly john or jane doe isn't going to set that up. They want to search for ebooks and buy them and read em NOW, and not after they set something else up. I know that they have the online store as well, but I don't think the have the same good deals that amazon has on the ebooks. I am not 100$ sure though, so I may be completely wrong. Don't really feel like checking right now. For overall awesomeness, I would have to think Sony 505. I love mine, and while I rarely use the memory card, the god drat thing is a tank. It reads epubs (which most companies use or offer), it's got a bitching leather cover so it looks like a real book, and most importantly it feels like a real book with the leather cover opening and closing. It's thin, and basically just rocks. It's got a metal casing and frankly I am surprised it has survived as long as it has with the knocks it's taken. It's loving sweet. If I had 150$ to spend and I wanted something I could wirelessly download my books onto, I would probably grab a nook though. That feature is available in calibre and it is something I plan to use one day, but right now the idea of a color touch screen to see the covers, and net usage when/where I am (be it at home, work, or on the can at either) would let me grab whatever book I want. I strip the DRM out of each and every book I buy, because I don't want to be 3 years down the road having to rebuy my entire library of stuff because I bought a new ereader. That's my personal choice though. For someone who is JUST getting into the ebook game/hobby/addiction, I would say kindle is the best kind of crack to have. It's easy, it sets up fine, and works in most places in the US. For someone like me, who wants a few different options and likes the smaller reader, the 505 is awesome. If I could somehow put wifi and a bigger hard drive in my 505, I would never upgrade to another reader. I love this thing. The nook has that neat "I can tinker with it, cause it runs android and it has wifi  " feeling to it too....When my 505 dies though, if BN doesn't screw the pooch on the readers and library, I will probably go with a nook. I like the idea of a user replaced battery, and I guess I can find a cover that resembles the 505's opening book look. Sony is pretty awesome about getting the books working and helping customers, Amazon has a pretty sweet deal on some ebooks sometimes, and the nook has that cool color touch screen so you can see the cover of what you are reading. It's all about what features you want, and what features you can live without. If you can handle loading books up via USB and don't want to throw a lot of cash around, and don't mind only putting 500 books on your system, you can get away with a prs300 and it's pretty loving sweet. If you REALLY need wifi or the ability to download books wirelessly, either go with a nook or the kindle. The web browser on both is asstastic since it uses an ereader screen, and most people nowadays have cell phones for maps/email/wikipedia, so if you have a smartphone that's probably going to be your go to device for this kinda stuff. Whichever one you choose, just make sure it has the features you want, or more importantly the authors you want in the library, if you don't want to strip the books to convert em. Again, got a 505, and it's awesome and I love it, but it's not for everyone.
|
|
#
?
Jul 18, 2010 08:46
|
|
|
If you're considering a Kobo, wait a few months or get something else. Its software seems rather unfinished, but if its developers work out its kinks then it could be a nice bargain bin reader. The Nook is a better choice if you want an e-reader today.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2010 02:00
|
|
|
Gary2863 posted:If you're considering a Kobo, wait a few months or get something else. Its software seems rather unfinished, but if its developers work out its kinks then it could be a nice bargain bin reader. The Nook is a better choice if you want an e-reader today. I've had to play with one of these at my job and I can confirm this. The current Kobo is way too sluggish when changing pages and the lack of "basic" features like bookmarking or page/chapter searching makes it way more of a chore than it should be and even at a budget price I don't believe it justifies the price. Having said that once they work out the kinks it should be an excellent bargain e-reader. The physical construction of the reader feels excellent and even though the D-Pad loads pages forward way way too slowly I prefer it to any non-touch e-reader I've used.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2010 04:03
|
|
|
Bought a kobo a few weeks ago as it's the only one I didn't have to order in from the states and it's not a bad ereader. They released a firmware update that solved some of the issues , namely the battery not lasting more than 2-3 days and not being able to change the size of the text on epub files converted from pdf. I have no complaints about it anymore except maybe a way to go to a certain page without having to next-page through page by page would be good. That could be solved with a firmware update so maybe it'll be sorted sometime. Most of the time , the lag in turning pages isn't more than a second , but sometimes it takes maybe 3-4 seconds. Startup time (it automatically goes to sleep after 5 minutes) is maybe 20-30 seconds.
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2010 11:34
|
|
|
Phummus posted:
I think you answered yourself there. These are strong reasons to buy a Nook if you're Nook vs. Kindle. That said, I love my Kindle 2 and could go off on a rant about how fantastic it is, but these four things might appeal to you more.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2010 01:46
|
|
|
Just ordered a nook Wifi. Reading reviews about it, it seems a pretty decent device and has a great product design. The only other option I considered was the Kindle 2. There didn't seem to be much more to chose from, since I like my gadgets to look cool. I've seen the Kobo mentioned here and various Sony offerings, but it didn't really click on first sight. Being in Europe, it's easier for me to get a Kindle, since Amazon ships them directly to this place. However don't they sell eBooks in my language. At all. I can actually get eBooks in German and French, but they're all in ePub format, so the choice was rather easy (also thanks to services like Borderlinx). And the nook looks sexier than the Kindle.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2010 03:03
|
|
|
Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:It's got a metal casing and frankly I am surprised it has survived as long as it has with the knocks it's taken. It's loving sweet. I've dropped mine a dozen times at least. I feel bad for the people who put a Kindle in a backpack and come home to a broken screen, because my 505 gets hammered by textbooks daily and holds up great. If you want connectivity I'd go with the Kindle, though. I've played around with the Nook and I can't see the LCD as anything but a useless waste of battery power. Plus, Amazon has something like 80% of the eBook market so that counts for a lot as far as selection and they're pretty consistent with the $10 price point. Magnificent Quiver fucked around with this message at 07:17 on Jul 20, 2010 |
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2010 07:13
|
|
|
Magnificent Quiver posted:I've dropped mine a dozen times at least. I feel bad for the people who put a Kindle in a backpack and come home to a broken screen, because my 505 gets hammered by textbooks daily and holds up great. FWIW, I've beat the living poo poo out of my Nook for the last 9 months or whatever and it is perfect. I've done all the normal poo poo - forgetting it is in a chair and sat on it... forgotten it was in a backpack and slung the backpack somewhere and it struck a table corner... dropped stuff on the nook. Anyway, yeah all I have it in is one of those leather folder-cover things and it is pretty bullet proof. also, RE: the nook's LCD, it shuts off pretty quickly (I have mine set to 30 seconds) and so it doesn't really drain the battery much. Mine will go about a week and a half or so being used pretty heavy without needing a charge. Also, it charges really quick when it does need one.
|
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2010 14:55
|
|
|
Thank you everyone for your replies. I'm definitely going to set up Calibre. I'd love to spring for a Kindle DX, but I want to stay below the $250 price point. I think the Nook is probably going to be my device of choice. E: Do I understand correctly that I can set up calibre on a machine that will automatically download my content (say from the Wall Street Journal), then when I connect my e-reader it will side load that content? Phummus fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Jul 20, 2010 |
|
#
?
Jul 20, 2010 16:11
|
|
|
I just returned my Nook today and dropped another 20 bucks on a Sony Touch Edition (PRS-600). So, here's my thoughts on the nook: Good: Ergonomically decent. Fits my big hands pretty well. Pretty light. Nifty color capacitive touchscreen. Excellent E-Ink display. Once it initiates a page turn it happens pretty fast. Surprisingly useful web browser. Bad: For a 7" reader it seems excessively big to me. Slow as balls UI. Hit the Nook button and prepare to wait 10-15 seconds for the home menu to appear. Slow PDF rendering. If I put a copy of Scientific American on it, it's a good 10-15 seconds per page turn. Typing on the screen is simply maddening. Possibly not a hardware issue, but content takes 10+ hours to be available for download. This was the last goddamn straw. If I had to sum it up in a sentence, it'd be "slow but pretty". I kicked it to the curb and got the Touch Edition. It's more pleasing to hold and goddamn, this thing is so much faster. I'll just go with busting the DRM and transferring ePubs to the reader over USB using Calibre. I'm loving this thing so far. (Is it kah-lib-er or Kah-lee-bray? The second pronunciation just dawned on me and it makes more sense.) Oh - interesting bit of trivia on the Sony: PSP chargers work on them. Same voltage, enough current and the same pinout.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 11:05
|
|
|
I bought a nook a few months ago, and it's been great to me so far. I haven't had any problems with lag since the 1.3 firmware hit. One of my friends has a Kindle, and it seems perfectly fine too. I chose the nook because I preferred the LCD touchscreen to the kindle keyboard, and I wanted the memory expansion option. It should be mentioned that the battery life on the Kindle is significantly better. I get about 4-5 days of use for my nook before I have to recharge it.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 12:48
|
|
|
I have a Sony Daily Edition: +Comes with a pretty nice cover, so I don't have to pay extra like with the Nook and Kindle +Can take drat near any format (though I usually take the time to convert it to epub) +Haven't tried it yet, but you can draw, circle, and mark passages if you are into annotations. Can also write notes +Nice screen size, bigger then the Kindle (1st generation) that my sister has +Can set up keywords and "collections" if you are aspie and must organize your collection -The program to interface with it SUCKS, ditch it immediately and get calbrie -No games if you are into that type of thing -No speakers if you are listening to music on it. Need to use headphones -The sony book store is pretty clunky -No nice turn page button like the Nook and Kindle on the sides. Not a major problem but it would be nice.
|
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 19:26
|
|
|
Phummus posted:Does the kindle also let you get books via Overdrive? I was reading up on this and it sounds like a pretty fantastic service at your public library. Sign on to your library's web site, check out an e-book with your library card number. Download it to your PC then side-load it to your Nook. Kindle, IMO. I just pre-ordered the v2 a few weeks ago and I'm stoked. If you can download ebooks from the library on a PC, I don't see why you couldn't do it with the free 3G wireless on the kindle. And, format-wise, if they are in a format that the kindle doesn't support, Amazon has an e-mail address for kindle users (free if you own a kindle) that will convert your document to a kindle format. poo poo IS BALLIN, YO, I CAN'T WAIT.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 21:28
|
|
|
You don't even need to go through Amazon to get stuff to your Kindle that you don't buy from them. I cannot stress enough how awesome Calibre is. EVERY E-BOOK READER USER SHOULD DOWNLOAD AND USE CALIBRE. This software is just simply the best. Use it to transfer books to your e-reader, use it to back up your library, use it to quickly remove stuff from the e-reader...the list goes on and on.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 21:59
|
|
|
Kynetx posted:(Is it kah-lib-er or Kah-lee-bray? The second pronunciation just dawned on me and it makes more sense.) How does it make more sense? Calibre is just the British spelling of Caliber.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 22:14
|
|
|
Penfold the Brave posted:How does it make more sense? Calibre is just the British spelling of Caliber. In both french and spanish the word for "book" is "libre" derived from the latin liber. It's also the root of library.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2010 23:32
|
|
|
pienipple posted:In both french and spanish the word for "book" is "libre" derived from the latin liber. It's also the root of library. In Spanish it sounds like you're mispronouncing hummingbird.
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2010 03:37
|
|
|
pienipple posted:In both french and spanish the word for "book" is "libre" derived from the latin liber. It's also the root of library. In french, it's actually "livre".
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2010 03:45
|
|
|
pienipple posted:In both french and spanish the word for "book" is "libre" derived from the latin liber. It's also the root of library. We have a winner... (IMO) However: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91020&highlight=pronounce Look at post 2. This is straight from the horse's mouth.
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2010 05:03
|
|
|
Fire In The Disco posted:I cannot stress enough how awesome Calibre is. EVERY E-BOOK READER USER SHOULD DOWNLOAD AND USE CALIBRE. I'm so happy I read this thread today. Can't wait to go home and set Calibre up. Wow it looks great in the demo video the guy has up. Can't stand his accent though. Or maybe it's not the accent, just the way he uptones the end of every sentence.
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2010 17:02
|
|
|
Khatib posted:I'm so happy I read this thread today. Can't wait to go home and set Calibre up. Wow it looks great in the demo video the guy has up. Can't stand his accent though. Or maybe it's not the accent, just the way he uptones the end of every sentence. I read the original calibre post and was confused about what exactly the software was. I thought it was maybe an OS for the reader hardware until I found: http://calibre-ebook.com/demo Everyone should go watch this demo. The software works for all platforms (OS X, Windows, Linux) and communicates with all e-reader platforms (Kindle, Nook, Sony, etc). loving AWESOME.
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2010 18:14
|
|
|
Can any Calibre experts tell me how I might get a book from Calibre into the Nook e-reader application on an Android device?
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2010 13:17
|
|
|
Can you plug the phone into your computer? I am not sure how else you'd be able to do it. If Calibre doesn't recognize the phone as an e-reader, I don't know how I can be done.
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2010 18:12
|
|
|
I can plug it in and Calibre recognizes it as an Android phone. And I can use a different e-reader to bring the book up. I just wondered if there was a way to use the Nook app to read it.
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2010 19:10
|
|
|
Phummus posted:I can plug it in and Calibre recognizes it as an Android phone. And I can use a different e-reader to bring the book up. I just wondered if there was a way to use the Nook app to read it. You should be able to just drag and drop the files into the folder the nook app uses on your phone.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2010 00:50
|
|
|
pienipple posted:You should be able to just drag and drop the files into the folder the nook app uses on your phone. I have no experience with the Nook app, but the Kindle app for android won't display EPUB files if you place them in the Kindle books directory.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2010 05:10
|
|
|
Epub is the format for sony's ereaders. I think kindle is .mobi
|
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2010 05:16
|
|
|
JammyLammy posted:Epub is the format for sony's ereaders. I think kindle is .mobi EPUB is an open standard. Sony's proprietary format is BeBB. .mobi is from the old PalmOS (and maybe WM) based Mobi Pocket Reader.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2010 05:51
|
|
|
Kynetx posted:EPUB is an open standard. Sony's proprietary format is BeBB. Sony switched over to epub, so it's correct saying that that's the format for their ereaders.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2010 05:52
|
|
|
Holy crap, when did that happen? Does EPUB support DRM?
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2010 05:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 16:09 |
|
Kynetx posted:EPUB is an open standard. Sony's proprietary format is BeBB. .mobi is from the old PalmOS (and maybe WM) based Mobi Pocket Reader. Ah, learn something new everyday  I just dealed with my sony and my siter's kindle and calibre has it set up as Sony:Epub, Kindle:Mobi. edit: At least I think its mobi. I might be misremembering it. JammyLammy fucked around with this message at 06:04 on Aug 13, 2010 |
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2010 06:01
|
|