Does anyone here have a NOOK?

[desflood]

My older boy (10) is a real bookworm and we were considering one as a Christmas gift.

[mrsmaalox]

My daughter wants one too and I figure why the heck not? Of course you're gonna get all the "it will never replace books/libraries" "it's not the same cuz you can't write on it" "it doesn't look the same" arguments and they are right; but kids today have grown up with a much more advanced level of technology than we did and that sort of thing is pretty normal for them.

[leemajors]

library card.

[Fpoonsie]

Like...a breakfast one? To read in?

[tlongII]

I have a breakfast nook and I like nookie.

[Slomo]

Technically all e-readers using e-ink display are pretty much the same. The defining factor when buying an e-reader is the catalog of books available for it.

i.e. if you're in the EU only the kindle makes sense.

[desflood]

library card.
Have one.

I have a breakfast nook and I like nookie.
Not quite what I was looking for, but thanks for contributing :lol

[robino2001]

I've been interested in an e-reader... but the whole fact of buying the book is keeping me away from it. I'd rather buy the cheap copy off amazon or get it "free" from paperbackswap.com. If there was a simple, easy way to bootleg the e-versions (anyone know of any), I'd be all over it. Otherwise, not interested in dropping $10 a pop...

[Slomo]

Amazon has bargain e-books too from .99$.

Then you have hundreds of classics with expired copyrights which are free.

For the latest issues e-books are still cheaper than hardcopies.

The only thing you can't do is swap e-books. Would be nice, but i don't see it happening.

[desflood]

Amazon has bargain e-books too from .99$.

Then you have hundreds of classics with expired copyrights which are free.

For the latest issues e-books are still cheaper than hardcopies.

The only thing you can't do is swap e-books. Would be nice, but i don't see it happening.
I know the NOOK has a feature that allows you to "lend" an e-book book to a friend for 14 days. Right now we're leaning more toward the Kindle, just because there are more books available for it.

[Slomo]

Is it a Nook feature or a Barnes&Noble feature?

Oh and don't buy a color screen reader (iPad or Color Nook). Low battery life and just as annoying as reading books from your PC (I know some people can, I can't).

What's the price difference between the Nook and Kindle for you?

[Cyrano]

I bought a 3G Kindle a few months ago, and use it quite a bit. There are hundreds of free classic books, and many of the titles I've bought are about 6.99.
The screen is very easy to see....much better than your average laptop screen. True, it is a black-and-white screen, but that's a minor consideration.
There are no charges for the 3G connection, so I can make a purchase while traveling with no problem.
The unit takes about 2 hours to fully charge, and a full charge lasts about 2 weeks. You get several hours warning about a low battery.
The 3G Kindle lists at 179 bucks, and I found that to be reasonable, as I no longer have to lug around a small stack of paperbacks on a business trip, and when I hear about a new book I'd like to read, I can have it in my hands within about 30 seconds.

[robino2001]

I keep any book I want to read in my cart on amazon saved for later and when I need to buy something from amazon, I go through the list and find the cheapest ones... so like the 3 last books I've added to my list...

$14.49 for kindle, $7.28 used
$1.72 for kindle, $0.01 used (okay... that's not bad... maybe I could get one after all)
$16.50 for kindle, $13.50 used...

Most of them on my list, the Kindle version is $10 and I can get a used hard/paperback for $0.50-4.00. I know about the free stuff, but honestly, it's mostly stuff I'm not interested in reading. I have a pile of books probably 20 deep I've accumulated since I've started back to school that I just don't have time to read now so buying one isn't the smartest idea for me... but I still kinda want one.

[SpursWoman]

I haven't paid too much attention to these things until I read this .... if I had a Kindle, I could download Stephen King's new book that came out yesterday for $14.99, instead of going out and paying $25 for it at Target or wherever.

Also, I just finished his Under the Dome ... which is over 1,000 pages in hardback. A Kindle probably wouldn't have been as huge & heavy to carry around everywhere as that book was. lol

But I don't know ... I still like holding books ....

[Bender]

3G & wi-fi, or just wi-fi?

current issue of Consumer Reports ranks Kindle as the best e-reader. Kindle 3G + wi-fi is #1, wi-fi kindle is #2, and the Nooks are #3 and #4.

[mrsmaalox]

No charge for 3g connection is pretty nice.

There are book clubs for the e-readers also which might be a cheaper source depending on how fast you go through books.

[desflood]

From what I understand the Kindle isn't compatible with ePub (the NOOK is), but I have to look into it more to see whether that should influence the final decision. One of my friends got a Pandigital, but I've heard a lot of complaints about those.

[Bender]

pandigital ranked #5 in consumer reports, below the two kindles and two Nooks, but CR basically says not to buy any other reader other than kindle or nook.

CR ranks nooks a little better than Kindle under "file support', maybe that's what they mean (ePub)...

[koriwhat]

my mother has a nook and it's cool i suppose. i have an ipad and the reason i like the ipad more is because i read technical books and never really regular ol' novels and whatnot. the books i read are usually filled with programming bs and photos so being able to read all my pdf's is awesome. i'd get a nook if i just wanted to read a regular ol' book.

[leemajors]

pdfs are easy to convert to epub, and there are plenty of books and comics out there available in pdf form

[koriwhat]

pdfs are easy to convert to epub

they're easy to convert but they definitely come out looking like crap

[Slomo]

I haven't paid too much attention to these things until I read this .... if I had a Kindle, I could download Stephen King's new book that came out yesterday for $14.99, instead of going out and paying $25 for it at Target or wherever.

Also, I just finished his Under the Dome ... which is over 1,000 pages in hardback. A Kindle probably wouldn't have been as huge & heavy to carry around everywhere as that book was. lol

But I don't know ... I still like holding books ....

For me it was the screen. I was lucky enough to get an early prototype of the e-ink screen from Sony and it behaved almost like paper. If reading is your thing you get used to it really fast.

The only thing I kinda miss is not having my favourite books in my little personal library, but since I have run out of space a long time ago it's actually becoming an advantage.

If you go for the kindle go for 3G&Wifi.

Formats are not an issue anymore. Calibre is a free software that converts between them very well (correctly transferring metadata and everything). My kindle is my 3rd "real" reader and I was able to transfer earlier books to my new device without problem with Calibre.

Now if the books are encrypted (or DRMed) you will not be able to transfer them from one format to the other so this is why it makes sense to buy the device that has the most books you want to read available for purchase. The free non encrypted ones you will be able to transfer from one type to the other.

Putting pdfs on an e-reader regardless of the format (epub, mobi...) is a bit of a black magic since many things influence the end result (graphics, pictures, page width...) but it can be done and playing around with it in Calibre is a good way to start. If you're only interested in the text of a pdf, then its much easier.

[Stringer_Bell]

I had no idea what a NOOK was until I saw this thread, but I'm wondering if...

1) you can use it outside to read on the porch like a normal book?
2) concentrating on the screen for extended periods of time hurts your eyes?
3) how tiny is the font?

Technology is some crazy shit.

[Slomo]

I had no idea what a NOOK was until I saw this thread, but I'm wondering if...

1) you can use it outside to read on the porch like a normal book?
2) concentrating on the screen for extended periods of time hurts your eyes?
3) how tiny is the font?

Technology is some crazy shit.

Don't own a nook, but e-readers using e-ink screens are very similar to each others (if not identical).

1) yes, there is slightly more reflection/glare from the screen as there would be from paper, but slightly adjusting the angle takes care of that. It is remarkably similar to print on paper.

2) Again similar to regular print on paper. I have been using computer since the age of 14 and I never could read long text from the screen. Even the most recent and best LCD screen make my eyes "itch" after prolonged reading (mind you I'm talking about reading pages and pages of text, not surfing the internet :) ). I have no problem with e-ink (or e-paper) screens and I've been using them for 6 years now.

3) It is still electronic, so you adjust the font size as you wish.

P.S. E-ink screens do not consume power when displaying text/graphics only during the changing of the content of the screen.

[Bender]

so can you browse the web if you get the 3G version, I mean other than just places where you can d/l books...

[Slomo]

Yes, but it's a limited experience. The screen refresh is very slow in these devices and also to achieve the really good battery life time the processors used are also very slow so don't expect video, flash or even animated gifs. Another problem is that the screens are capable of generating only 16 levels of gray - perfect for text, not so great for everything else.

Borders carries the Sony e-readers and B&N the nook, so getting to see one of these things in person before buying shouldn't really be too much of a problem for US residents.

[Bender]

I'm tempted to get the Kindle for an xmas present to myself.

[SpursWoman]

I'm tempted to get the Kindle for an xmas present to myself.


I'm beginning to think along the same lines ... or at least put it somewhere on my list for Santa. :)

[mrsmaalox]

I'm tempted to get the Kindle for an xmas present to myself.


I'm beginning to think along the same lines ... or at least put it somewhere on my list for Santa. :)

I think we should all get one!

And thanks to Bender and Slomo, I don't even have to do much research :toast

[Drachen]

I bought my wife a Nook for our anniversary (she is a voracious reader) and there is only a $10 difference between the two (nook is more expensive). I chose the nook because after going over the reviews (both expert and consumer) it seemed like the Nook was *slightly* better FOR WHAT SHE WOULD BE USING IT FOR. The two really are neck and neck and I am not surprised when I read that experts suggest to only buy those two. The main disadvantage that I found with the Nook was that its battery life is not as long. This isn't really a big disadvantage to me seeing as the difference was you would have to recharge after 8 days with the Nook and 11-12 days with the Kindle. I really cant see that being a problem either way. The reason for the difference in battery life is because the Nook has a color touch LCD screen at the very bottom for navigation, to help with the integrated web browser, etc. As has already been said, the LCD takes a little more power to run, so thus the battery life difference. Luckily the Nook, unlike the Kindle, has a user accessible battery so if this really is an issue you can buy a backup battery (cheapest I found was about 20-25 dollars). Once again, though, if you can go over 5 days in between charging, I cant imagine a scenario where this would be an issue. One of the advantages that the nook has over the Kindle that has already been brought up is the ability to lend books to friends. If I have purchased a book, and you want to read it, I can lend it to you for 14 days (during this time I won't have access to the book). As you can imagine, this has caused groups of Nook users to band together and create book lending clubs, so you really don't need to know anyone with a Nook to be able to take advantage of this, just use google to find one of these clubs. Speaking of google, it is correct that the Nook can read epub while the Kindle can not. Google books is a service that google started to catalog all of the books with expired copyrights to make them available in one place for public consumption. These books are in epub format which (from what I read) is starting to become the standard. This gives you access to, not hundreds, but far far more free books. To Amazon's credit, they have a similar service which has a ton of free books, which are not in the epub format. One more feature that the Nook has which the Kindle does not, is the ability to walk into a barnes and noble and be able to connect to their wifi through your Nook and read any book in the store while you are there. This is one of those features that I think looks good on a feature list, but doesn't get used in practice.
Speaking of that type of feature, this is the way I see the 3g feature on both e-readers (Nook and Kindle alike). With the prevalence of wifi everywhere the only time I could see the necessity of a 3g connection is if you were going on a long road trip through BFE, and even then I see the value as very little. The reason for this is that both e-readers can hold in the area of 1500 books, and if I am going on a long trip, I download 4 or 5 and can be on my way. Its value would only surface if I don't plan, or in a pinch and I really can't see myself paying $40 extra for a feature that I may use 8 times over the next 5 years. As far as using the web browser over 3g, I think I would just use my phone that already has that service and be done with it. the Consumer reviews pretty much confirmed my thought process here, almost all of them that purchased the 3g version of either e-reader basically had the same thing to say about it "it works really well, and I will never use it."

I know there are a few things that I missed, but I can't think of them at the moment. If you have any other questions, though, let me know and I answer to the best of my ability.

*side note, the nook is android powered so I have been reading that developers are gearing up to begin developing apps for it (already has a chess game and a solitaire game). Also, a new firmware update is coming out to make the "page turns" even faster.

[Bender]

yeah, I agree about the 3G thing... I would buy the wifi only kindle for myself. I see myself just d/l whatever I want while at home...

[Creepn]

Don't mean to highjack the thread but I just wanted to give other options. I use my Blackberry and psp to read ebooks. One of the Blackberry apps lets you have access to thousands of books for you to download and read on your phone, for free. I'm sure you can do this for the Iphone too. Last book I read on the blackberry was The GodFather by Puzo. It didn't hurt my eyes or anything and it was nice because i could read in the dark and not bother anybody.

With the psp, you can go to 'rent sites and download ebooks from there and download them onto your psp. The interface for both the Blackberry and PSP are pretty easy to use and friendly.

[Slomo]

5 days battery life is not nearly enough. I travel a lot and to get stranded on an airport without a book is a scary thought. I can actually get over 3 weeks out of my kindle if I switch off the wireless communication (which I have to anyway when traveling by plane) - I can easily see how a less avid reader could get up to a month of reading without recharging.

I like the user accessible battery solution though.

3G is really for newspaper/magazine subscription, where the (still) limited availability of wifi hot spot would a limiting factor (and its free).

The lending feature I like. I'm guessing it's really a B&N feature (not the device itself) so I guess a firmware upgrade could be possible for the other devices. The real problem here of course is not technical, but really whether or not they want to make such a feature available to their clients.

The free Wifi books in the bookstore is a cute marketing thing. Not really a deal breaker, but still useful and shows some effort on the B&N people.

As I said before it is easy to put epubs on the kindle or any other devices by using Calibre which is a free software. And since epubs are e-books you get perfect results (unlike the problems that you may encounter when transferring pdfs to e-readers).

[Stringer_Bell]

Don't own a nook, but e-readers using e-ink screens are very similar to each others (if not identical).

1) yes, there is slightly more reflection/glare from the screen as there would be from paper, but slightly adjusting the angle takes care of that. It is remarkably similar to print on paper.

2) Again similar to regular print on paper. I have been using computer since the age of 14 and I never could read long text from the screen. Even the most recent and best LCD screen make my eyes "itch" after prolonged reading (mind you I'm talking about reading pages and pages of text, not surfing the internet :) ). I have no problem with e-ink (or e-paper) screens and I've been using them for 6 years now.

3) It is still electronic, so you adjust the font size as you wish.

P.S. E-ink screens do not consume power when displaying text/graphics only during the changing of the content of the screen.

Thanks the info! :toast

[Slomo]

Don't mean to highjack the thread but I just wanted to give other options. I use my Blackberry and psp to read ebooks. One of the Blackberry apps lets you have access to thousands of books for you to download and read on your phone, for free. I'm sure you can do this for the Iphone too. Last book I read on the blackberry was The GodFather by Puzo. It didn't hurt my eyes or anything and it was nice because i could read in the dark and not bother anybody.

With the psp, you can go to 'rent sites and download ebooks from there and download them onto your psp. The interface for both the Blackberry and PSP are pretty easy to use and friendly.

You can even download the free kindle app on your BB, android, PC, MAC or i-phone and have access to your kindle books. Same for the Nook.

The issue is the screen. Some people can not read for long hours from a backlit screen and of course battery life.

On a side note if you use the kindle (and I think the Nook has a similar feature) with the kindle software on your phone, the last read page position will automatically sync on both devices so that you always continue reading from the right spot regardless of the device.
Nice idea but honestly I rarely use it :)

[Slomo]

Good forum and comparison table:

http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix

http://www.mobileread.com/

[Drachen]

5 days battery life is not nearly enough. I travel a lot and to get stranded on an airport without a book is a scary thought. I can actually get over 3 weeks out of my kindle if I switch off the wireless communication (which I have to anyway when traveling by plane) - I can easily see how a less avid reader could get up to a month of reading without recharging.

When I travel, I bring my cords (phone, laptop, etc) anyway so this would not be an issue for me, plus it uses micro usb, so I could just plug it into my laptop to charge if I didn't want to bring my main charger.



I like the user accessible battery solution though.

3G is really for newspaper/magazine subscription, where the (still) limited availability of wifi hot spot would a limiting factor (and its free).


I don't use this (mainly because I don't have one, its my wifes lol), but if I found a need for it, I wouldn't really have a problem here because at home: its hooked up to my wifi, on the road: I am not aware of a Hotel without wifi, at a friend's house: I am unaware of anyone I know without wifi. I would probably not buy it until the next versions come out because I would assume by then there may be an actual reason for it. If you travel ALL THE TIME, maybe I could see it being worth $40 so you don't have to connect to the Hotel wifi, but for me I would probably save my money and make the connecting to the hotel wifi a 30 second addition to my arrival procedures.




The lending feature I like. I'm guessing it's really a B&N feature (not the device itself) so I guess a firmware upgrade could be possible for the other devices. The real problem here of course is not technical, but really whether or not they want to make such a feature available to their clients.


The lending feature is pretty slick. I would assume it is just a firmware upgrade as well, but Amazon would probably have a hard time doing it since it is likely that this is spelled out in their contract with the publishers.


The free Wifi books in the bookstore is a cute marketing thing. Not really a deal breaker, but still useful and shows some effort on the B&N people.


From what I read, this was B&N's shout out to its advantage over Amazon of being a Brick and Mortar bookstore. With that being said, as I mentioned before, I couldn't see myself using this that much.



As I said before it is easy to put epubs on the kindle or any other devices by using Calibre which is a free software. And since epubs are e-books you get perfect results (unlike the problems that you may encounter when transferring pdfs to e-readers).

I guess this is kind of the opposite of the wifi conversation, you don't want to spend the extra time hooking up to hotel wifi, I don't want to spend the extra time converting files.

With all this, I truly believe that one couldn't go wrong with either company's offering. They are both just so close in capability that I could see it going either way. I am partial to the nook (because that is what I chose), but I am not some kind of fan boy over it. You really just have to sit down and figure out HOW you are going to use it before you make the purchase (i.e. if you aren't going to use the lending feature, and are comfortable converting your files, save the $10 and buy a kindle. Unlike many other things, you cant just say "I am going to buy this one because it's better".

[Nathan Explosion]

I have iBooks on my phone, but personally, seeing as how I don't have time to actually sit down and read a book, unless it's a bed time story for my 4 and 2 year old, I've actually considered audible.com or purchasing audiobooks for my iPhone/ipod.

I'm not too keen on having someone else read the book for me, but there are so many books I want to read (and the list is growing) that I won't have time to finish them all for years. Plus, books are expensive, and it's much cheaper just to get the audio kind.

[leemajors]

there's always time to read. much better for your brain than video games.

[Drachen]

there's always time to read. much better for your brain than video games.

I beg to differ, at least recreationally.

[Drachen]

I asked if I left anything out of my review that through her experience she found to be important. She told me that I forgot to write "I like it."