E-Readers

[Atria35]

Well, when my parents came to visit last weekend, we ended up in Barnes and Noble, where they happened to get sidetracked looking at the Nooks.

My parents just don't do technology. When we're looking to get Wi-Fi, or to buy a new computer, it's me and my brother who are doing the research and pricing for stuff.

But they were really taken in by the Nook- so much so that my father, who 99% of the time will wander off by himself when something interests the rest of us, stood there and actively asked questions!

So.... my parents have offered to buy me one for my birthday. And I hesitate to turn them down because it's a large amount of money, an expensive piece of technology, and an offer that really is one in a lifetime. Plus, with the limited space that I have and limited cash flow, I feel that getting it for regular reading material would be practical.

I've already looked up a bunch of material on this vs. the Kindle, but I was wondering whether anyone had any practical experience with them- how they worked, general issues, etc.

*Note- they'd be buying me the regular Nook, not the Nook Color, though they have said that if I want the Color, they'll give me the amount of the regular, and I would pay the $100 difference.

[shooraijin]

I got my folks Kindles for Christmas. They have taken to them like fish to water, which now when you think about it, is a very strange simile. Nevertheless, they like them a lot; their only wish is that they were backlit.

[Okami]

My mom got a Kindle for Valentine's and it's making me really want one now, too. (If the textbooks I need ever open for an e-reader, I'm there!) We were goofing off and going through Bibles (She really wants one for her Kindle) and we actually found one digital study Bible (I believe it was the HCSB, which has updated from the NASB) for $17 Kindle price. My jaw hit the floor. A Bible like that is typically $40-$70+ in print!

She loves it so far, but wishes it was backlit. She's kind of obsessing on finding a case and light for it now. It's funny.

[Atria35]

Okay, so a major problem seems to be that the Kindle isn't backlit- that's rather important, as all of us in the family spend a lot of time on the computer, and don't want to strain our eyes when reading on an E-reader.

Point for the Nook.

Yeah, we are all rather impressed with how cheap various books can be in comparison with their print counterparts- I went ahead to compare some prices, and the complete Wizard of Oz collection was less than a dollar! Amazing.

[blkmage]

I would've assumed that it'd be the backlight that causes eye strain, since the Kindle is designed to look as much like paper as possible.

[Davidizer13]

My brother got a Kindle for his birthday a couple months ago, and a couple of cousins got one too before that, and they all love it. When I got to mess with it, I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to read, and with the selection they had for free books and classics. From what I've seen, e-paper works really well for manga, but I couldn't find any worth reading on the Kindle store (this was a while back, though).

Another person I know got a Nook, and that didn't look too bad either. I can't really say much about it, because I didn't get to look at it for too long, but it sounds like it's a bit more open than the Kindle about transferring PDF files to it. I think you have to pay a few cents each time to do it on the Kindle, but it's free for the Nook, so how often you're going to use Google Books' free library could figure into it. There's plenty of overlap between those and the free books on the Kindle store, I think, so it may not be as drastic a thing as it sounds.

[Htom Sirveaux]

My mom got a Nook (Color) for Christmas. She's pretty happy with it. I don't know the difference in technical specs between the basic Nook and the Color, but I'm guessing either way the battery charge life is a bit on the short side, and it won't have 3G. Also, if the basic Nook is black & white, there's no difference there between that and the Kindle. The first, most obvious difference will be that the Nook has a touchscreen, whereas the Kindle uses physical buttons.

Shortly after Christmas, I bought a Kindle 2. It cost about $190, which isn't too bad.

No, it isn't backlit, but this has never been a problem for me as I never thought it so annoying to have to turn a light on if I wanna read in a dark room. Besides, if it ever comes up, I could always buy a cheap little clip-on light. The "selling point" for the graphite screen is that it's easier on your eyes.

The K2 has 3G wireless and a crude web browser, so not only do you not have to be in a wireless hotspot to look for reading material, you can also access the internet (albeit in a limited capacity) from pretty much anywhere. You couldn't watch videos on YouTube or something, and my K2 doesn't seem to like Facebook very much either, but it's good for quick reference stuff.

If you get a Kindle, you should know that there is a common problem with them freezing up now and again. This is usually caused by things like turning it on and off too frequently (it's best to use the sleep mode for the day) or trying to get on a website it can't handle. This is easily remedied by holding the power switch to the right for about twenty seconds and then just wait for it to reset itself. It's happened to me a few times now. It can be a nuisance, but it won't do the machine any harm.

[Atria35]

Hitom, awesome for bringing that to my attention. Interesting....

Gah! I think the big draw for the Nook is that it has expandable storage, and if the battery burns out I can replace it myself. Can't do that with a Kindle.

But the Kindle has Amazon behind it, with all those books.

But it sounds like they're both easy to use, even though Nook has a slower internet connection. I could live with that.

So it's a hard call. I think I'll talk it over with my parents, but it looks like they're both close contenders.

[Nanao]

I have a Kindle, but I've used both. To add to the backlight issue. If you read a lot, a backlit screen (like a computer screen), can be hard on the eyes. As Htom said, that's the main point behind not having a backlight. Personally, I like the nook better in terms of handling. My Kindle doesn't move very fast (though it is an older model). But, Kindle does have a lot of free books which is nice ^_^

[Atria35]

Hmm. Okay, so I don't want backlighting. And after looking at the Nook and Kindle, neither have that (unless I get the Nook color). Which works for me. But that means both are still neck-and-neck, even if the Kindle has free books- they might not necessarily be ones I want to read.

[shooraijin]

I would've assumed that it'd be the backlight that causes eye strain, since the Kindle is designed to look as much like paper as possible.

I got them clip-on lights, and that seems to work somewhat.

[Atria35]

Well, after looking at the pluses and minuses of both, we've decided to get Nooks. Now I'm hyped- I don't know how I'm going to be able to wait!

(we all decided that expandable storage was important for our family- we read like no tomorrow!)

Thank you all for your input and experiences! We appreciated them so much!

[Okami]

Well, after looking at the pluses and minuses of both, we've decided to get Nooks. Now I'm hyped- I don't know how I'm going to be able to wait!

(we all decided that expandable storage was important for our family- we read like no tomorrow!)

Thank you all for your input and experiences! We appreciated them so much!

Sweet! Between the two, I'd personally want to have a Nook, as well. Also because of the expandable storage. xD

[Htom Sirveaux]

I don't understand the need for expandable storage unless you plan on constructing an entire library within your eReader. Honestly by the time you need to expand, you'll probably already have more books on it than you're ever gonna read.

[Atria35]

Trust me, it's possible to need it.

Besides, the other things (like being able to replace the battery on your own instead of sending it in) also factored in.

[Davidizer13]

I don't understand the need for expandable storage unless you plan on constructing an entire library within your eReader. Honestly by the time you need to expand, you'll probably already have more books on it than you're ever gonna read.

And even then, with the Kindle, the books you buy that can't go on the reader because you don't have the space for them are still available for you to read when you do, and any books that you delete to make room are still yours to put back on the reader when you want to. I don't know if the Nook has something like that, but I imagine it does.

Either way, though, I know people who have been happy with both, so more power to you and stuff. Enjoy your Nooks!