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Reputation: 43

What E-reader should I get (Update please)

This question has been asked before, but it was 8 months ago and I figure there might have been additions/changes in the market.

I'm buying an e-reader, not an iPad, and am debating between the Kindle and Nook. They seem similar, is there a major difference? I want to be able to download from Gutenburg, if that makes a difference.

Which do you recommend?

7 Answers

  • N871065272_8115_small
    Reputation: 959

    It's mostly about the books available, not the device. Here's how I would decide:

    1. Look at your current collection of books and make a list of the ones you really liked.

    2. Get a few copies of the New York Times book review, find some titles that look interesting, and add them to the list.

    3. Look to see which of the books are available as ebooks from Amazon has versus which B&N sells.

    4. For each one, also check to see how many let you download the first chapter as a free sample. (The sample chapter is, in my mind, the killer app that makes buying ebooks different than paper ones.)

    5. Consider how much of an advantage it would be to you to be able to read ebooks checked out from the public library. This can only be done on the Nook. Keep in mind that the library does not have unlimited copies of each ebook in its collection; you may have to wait for put a hold on it and wait.

    We gave my eleven-year-old son a Kindle to use while he was traveling and have been pretty pleased with it. We chose the Kindle because Amazon seemed to have more juvenile lit that he liked. We're pretty pleased with it.

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  • Avatar_default
    Reputation: 36

    I like the Kindle for one main reason - it's very very durable! I am one of nature's klutzes, always have been, always will be.

    My SO has a Kindle, and I've dropped it, sat on it, stepped on it, crammed it in a messenger bag and thrust it under the seat in front me on an airplane. The cats have slept on it and pushed it off furniture.

    It has been beaten up and horribly misused, and still works like it did the day we got it.

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  • Avatar_default
    Reputation: 5

    ..but what are you using it for? A straight Kindle is OK, haven't used the Nook but admire the native number of formats it supports.

    There are freebie conversion programs from Gutenburg to at least some of the available formats for just about any reader device you can name.

    I had originally gotten the Kindle with the idea of downloading many PDF manuals into the beast (which I did) but with the standard screen version I often have to go landscape to read those manuals at all. Diagrams are often too small to be useful. I do like the device a lot but....

    If I had to do it over again Maybe the Kindle DX (big screen) or more likely the iPad. The thing about the iPad is it really is a decent reader (for a device in mid 2010): between Kindle App, Apples native App, a PDF viewer, SPL Mobile, iBookshelf and eReader; an awful lot of bases are covered. The screen is clear, it has good support for zoomin/zoomout.

    A downside of the iPad (mentioned by Penn of Penn and Teller) is it has so much else on it, it is very very easy to end up watching a movie or something instead of reading.

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  • Kk_small
    Reputation: 154

    I own a nook (a gift from my SO) and I love it! I've had it about 2 months.

    What I love:
    So far, it's compatible with any format I've needed so far (including Seattle library's electronic books in epub format). I haven't tried to use Gutenberg.
    The battery lasts a very long time, and charges pretty fast. I haven't road-tested it on a plane ride or long trip yet, though.
    The menu is touch screen, and in color. You can browse for books by looking at their covers, which I love. I don't think the Kindle is in color at all yet (*I think*).
    It has a built in wifi connection so you can go online and buy books from anywhere. And you get bonuses (like free books) when you're in a B&N store.
    It also has a built in dictionary and highlighter so you can look things up or mark them as you read.

    The only real drawback so far is that you use the B&N website to search for specific titles (other than best sellers, new releases, or specific genres), and the interface is pretty clunky.

    I bought the damage protection plan because I'm pretty klutzy, too. I bought a durable cover, and so far, no issues!

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  • Gold-head_small
    Reputation: 6001

    I have a Kindle, and I've looked at a Nook, so I guess I'm qualified to say something. They're pretty much identical in terms of use; the Nook 3G is ten bucks more than a Kindle (you want the 3G, because otherwise you have to be in a B&N store or find wi-fi to download new books).

    I have to say, I really, really hate the second color screen at the bottom of the Nook; I think it's insanely distracting. It makes web surfing marginally easier, but I honestly can't imagine surfing the web for more than ten minutes on either device without hurling it into the sun.

    All in all, I'm not terrifically fond of my Kindle, either, but it is great for reading straightforward genre fiction, like mysteries, romance, etc. It's tolerable for proper novels and popular non-fiction, but useless for anything with footnotes and bibliographies and so on. But these things are all true of the Nook as well.

    Realistically, the biggest decider is which store you're more likely to want to shop in more often. I buy from B&N, but not as often as I do from Amazon.

    A note on durability: my Kindle itself is fine, but the connector where the power comes in got bent almost immediately, so now to charge the thing I have to prop it in a very particular angle, and hold it there with a weight, which kind of sucks. Fortunately, a charge lasts for a really long time.

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  • Me_small
    Reputation: 2

    All I would add, is that if you can wait do. Color e-ink is right around the corner and I wouldn't be surprised to see a color Nook or Kindle before the end of the year.

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  • Doorbells_002_small
    Reputation: 896

    I refuse to get a kindle or any other e-reader. I think there is a value to printed books that you can always touch and flip through. I veiw the development of these electronic books to be a step toward "1984" and I refuse to participate.

    Now, you can also argue that the internet and working in cyberspace is also a step in this direction, but there is not much I can do personally about that.

    I'm just sayin'... in my humble opinion...

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