Kindle or Sony ebook reader ... or the Nook? - Page 3

Thanks for the link, Johnny. There looks like a lot of useful information on that forum.

Your welcome.  When I first used my Kindle and saw that the screen would go black when turning pages, I thought it would bother me.  Now I don't even notice it.  I am really enjoying my kindle.

I prefer to read books the old fashioned way... from a BOOK.

Why? Have you tried an ereader?

If you have an iphone or a touch the kindle app works very well.

 

I didn't think I would like reading on a small device but it works very well.  The backlighting is nice since you can read in the dark.

 

There are also three text color modes;  Black text, White text, and Sepia

 

The black on white background is too bright, black text with the sepia background works best for me in bright to low light.  In the dark the white text on black background is perfect with no eye strain.

 

There are a bunch of different text sizes as well.

The Nook app similarly appointed.  I enjoy reading on my phone (Android) far more than I expected to.

No, but I do want one. (That post was just a joke BTW... )

Never mind. On second read, it's not as meaty as I first thought.

 

Must-read Kindle rumor

http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2011/02/free_kindle_thi.php

 

I ended up picking up a NOOKColor and turning it into an Android tablet (sans camera and cell connection).

I got the Kindle Special Offers free via the Hotels.com promo. I'm getting to really like it, and the deals are good. I've got a few $1 books and $10 or more in Amazon savings.

 

To my surprise, I really prefer reading books on an eink screen to an LCD.

I have both a Kindle and an iPad2. I installed the Kindle app on the iPad, but rarely use it for reading. The Kindle is much easier on my eyes, there is no glare when I am reading outside, the device is lighter, and the buttons make it very easy to turn pages while holding the device in one hand.

Holy thread resurrection, Batman! I'm late to the party but wanted to post that I received a Kindle Touch for Christmas and I couldn't be happier with the gift!

Those of you who know me know that I'm an Apple acolyte (MBP, iPhone, iPods, etc.) but have always an avid book reader and collector. I was one of those who valued (and continue to value) the physical artifact that is a book. Whether it's the tactile feel of the paper in my hands, the fact that reading in a coffeehouse with an actual book can generate conversation (people see the cover and ask about it, in a way that they probably won't when I'm only holding up a Kindle) or the sheer collectible value of the book (I own many Stephen King limited editions with artwork that I plan to keep forever, but if I ever go broke I could resell for a profit).

However just like with music, I realized that there were books that I will always collect and want the physical entity, and there are books where I'm not so emotionally attached and the e-version will suffice…and in fact be superior to the print version due to its portability and convenience.

I've already downloaded over two dozen out-of-copyright classics which I'd always meant to read but had a hard time finding in bookstores. I'm also reading The Fall by Del Toro and Hogan. I love the e-ink model for lengthy reading, much easier on the eyes than my iPhone and my parents' iPad.

There are a few minor improvements I'd like to see Amazon make:
1. Better e-ink refresh. Right now I have it set to refresh every page turn because if it isn't set to that, I occasionally see ghosting of previous words.
2. More fonts. One of the big deals for me about having the physical text is that a lot of my favorite authors also use fonts I really like (Garamond 3, Electra, etc.) and Kindle only has a couple of fonts to choose from.
3. Ligatures. Call me an uber-dork, but I also find ligatures to be very pleasing to the eyes, and would like to see them in the Kindle book.
4. Combo print+electronic pricing. For those instances where I want the physical artifact and the convenience of the e-version, and where I'm buying both from the same source (like Amazon), how about a combo price? Maybe 50% off of the e-version if I bought the print simultaneously?

Make no mistake, I'll buy an iPad for myself eventually when it goes Retina display, but I highly doubt it will displace my Kindle Touch anytime soon due to the ease of e-ink on the eyes. Meanwhile, I've rediscovered reading in a very exciting way. Now I can read on the bus ride to work, and can bring a ton of books with me when I travel without adding to the weight of my luggage!

uber-dork

 

 

 

 

 

what? You asked me to...

 

We gave a Kindle 3G w/ keyboard to my mom for Christmas this year. She is completely anti-technology (she's never used a computer), but is a big reader. She seems to really like the device. It only took a brief tutorial to get her going. Since I linked the device to my Amazon account, she already has access to about 150 books I've purchased (most were free).

Scott - thanks for sharing! Is there a limit to how many kindles can sync to your amazon account? I want to get another one eventually and give it to my gf to read books I've purchased. Can we be reading the same book at the same time or will that trigger some kind of simultaneous use prohibition?

Carlo,

I am not sure if there is a limit to the number of Kindles allowed on a single account. If there is, there should be some mention of it on their terms & conditions page. Right now, I have four devices -- my Kindle, my Mom's Kindle, my Droid phone, and my IPad -- all registered on my Amazon account.

You can be reading the same book simultaneously. However, be aware that if you have your wireless connection on, Kindle will synch your place within the book on their server. The intent of this feature is so you can read the same book across multiple devices without losing your place. The downside is that if you have two people on one account reading the same book at the same time using different devices, it can move the other person's place within the book. You can avoid this by turning off either the synch feature or the wireless connection.

Thanks Scott, I'll give that T&C a look, I'm hoping it's nothing like the iTunes T&C which are like 50 pages! I'd rather spend the time reading the Kindle books than the T&C!

Good point about the syncing. I will have to turn that off if I buy a second one. I'm planning to use it like you, make it so that me and my gf just have to buy the book once, and we both have access to it on our devices (since we're cohabitating I think this is fair…or at least ethical in my mind).

And the truth is that we would rarely if ever be reading the same book simultaneously. Our tastes are very different. But she'll occasionally want to read one of the books I liked a lot, and vice versa (implying that one of us has already finished it).

There is no limit to the number of devices or apps that can be linked to the same account. The number of books that can be downloaded to the same device or app at the same time is set by the publisher, but the default is 6 (not many publishers go against the default). If books are being read on two devices/apps by two different people (meaningn a different last page read for each) then you have to go to your online Amazon account, go to the Manage Your Kindle page, go to Manage Your Devices and turn Whispersync to off. This will prevent page syncing between your devices/apps.

My wife has now been using a Nook for roughly a year and three months (and to a lesser degree I myself too).

Our 3000+ book cabinets were really getting too crowded, still filled too quickly further on and the sheer weight of several books being carried on a vacation trip became too much of a nuisance. You really have to sort of manage the weight of your suitcases these days, when flying on airplanes (on what else?).

 

Back in 2009, we bought a Nook-original while in New York, and recently, in September, a Nook-color when in the same city again.

(A bit of a let down was the fact that the price in September was still $249, while two months later it decreased to $199 and recently tumbled to $99 to match the Kindle. But really, we're not angry, we love the thing a lot.)

 

Today she bought the whole set of Patrick O'Brian books (of "Master and Commander" fame), also called the Aubrey/Maturin series, which is one of her favourites, as well as several of the books of P.D. James. The first come next to the real books of the whole series in her library, the latter replace the pile she would have to put on top of the current set of P.D. James books on her cupboard, the rest of which may all be e-books. Reading a Nook in bed is much handier (and more sociable to a sleeping mate  ) than trying to read a book, BTW.

 

The Nook-books cannot officially getting bought when one is outside the American continent (the guy selling me the first one didn't know about this limitation when I specifically asked about it). At first, I felt betrayed when I discovered some problems in that respect after returning home in Amsterdam. But, well, it's not impossible after all, especially if one visits the US now and then on a regular basis.

We're not restricted to buying from B&N, BTW, although I believe I won't be able to purchase and/or read Kindle e-books on it. But I alread have e-books of several other sources (including a periodic table of the chemical elements , as well as several free "classic" books in Dutch).

 

The Nook is a great read. It's handy, it's beautiful, it really reads like a book.

I myself have Nook-for-PC apps installed on some of my desktop-PCs as well as on my travel-notebook and HTC-phone. We can both read all books in our account wherever we carry or have one of the two Nooks or the computers.

 

Barnes & Noble still have much more e-book titles in their catalog than Amazon. Often they also happen to be less expensive than comparable Kindle titles, and although I may want to buy a Kindle in a near future as well, I just want to stress here how terribly happy we are with the Nook.

 

Don't put that one aside too easily: it's a winner (although perhaps not commercially for B&N, sigh)!

 

 

Cees

 

 

 

PS Did I say already we love our Nooks?

We do love our Nooks a lot! Really.

C.