AT&T being the carrier for both the domestic and international Kindles is no glowing recommendation. Their domestic coverage is as spotty as Sprint's in certain areas and a lot of the US carriers don't have fabulous international coverage. Typically companies like T-Mobile have better coverage internationally than AT&T or Sprint but for domestic coverage to help decide on an eBook you might want to check here: http://www.cellreception.com/ Just type in your zip code for coverage or type in your city for cell tower locations.

I'm not saying it is anyone's fault. More along the lines of what Cheryl and Gary said, it just doesn't work everywhere. That said, I didn't know the originals worked on Sprint, no wonder! We had to trade in our Sprint cell phones because they outright STOPPED working after about six months of living down here. It's just something else to think about when you go to make the purchase.

Good to know the International Kindle would work. It is not a necessity for me, but it would be nice. If and when my K1 breaks down, I would definitely buy that one.

Ralph wrote: "Abigail wrote: "I just want to throw out there, that Kindle's whispernet does have some limitations. Mississippi is a dead zone. I road trip between here and the north a bit and on the way down, I ..."

Actually, for *new* Kindle 2 units (the Kindle 2 International), Amazon has now switched to AT&T as the 3G provider for U.S. and international from here out. Sprint will continue as the provider for existing U.S.-only devices already sold, and for the Kindle DX. So if you have the Kindle 1, the non-international Kindle 2, or the DX, Whispernet is still on Sprint.

Ralph wrote: "Abigail wrote: "I just want to throw out there, that Kindle's whispernet does have some limitations. Mississippi is a dead zone. I road trip between here and the north a bit and on the way down, I ..."

Folks really need to check wireless coverage maps in their areas since they vary quite a bit between carriers AND check online reviews also since carrier maps are produced by .... yep - the carrier. While Kindle is Sprint's 3G network the Nook is AT&T's 3G network. So if the wireless feature is crucial make sure you check coverage in the areas you use your eReader most!!

Connie wrote: "I think Amazon is basically taking a loss on most Kindle ebooks. Although, in all honesty, ebooks should be considerably cheaper then regular books because the publishers do not have to pay for printing or shipping costs, and I'm sure there are a few other costs that are negated with ebooks. I guess Amazon figured they got people to shell out $400 for the Kindle they had to make it worth our while. B&N may not be in a position to take the loss on the books."

Amazon is printing money with the kindle. Because of the factors you mention, the overhead of electronic books is much, much smaller. Neither company is selling ebooks for a loss, and the publishers are making money as well. I don't know why the prices are different, but I suspect they expect people to commit to a single device and then pay whatever is asked for a particular title.

Abigail wrote: "I just want to throw out there, that Kindle's whispernet does have some limitations. Mississippi is a dead zone. I road trip between here and the north a bit and on the way down, I completely lose ..."

That's not Amazon's fault, it's Sprints. Amazon uses Sprint's 3G coverage.

I just want to throw out there, that Kindle's whispernet does have some limitations. Mississippi is a dead zone. I road trip between here and the north a bit and on the way down, I completely lose signal somewhere in south Tennessee. If there was ever an upgrade to reduce that limitation I would strongly consider it.

I'm not in favor of touchscreens. I don't have a problem with the buttons. There are few books that I would want to keep after I have read them so I usually take them off my kindle. Even so, I have pages of books that clutter the screen...and Heaven forbid you click on the wrong one and then your nice que at the top is messed up. I also like the size (not the DX) of the kindle and the fact that I can get my books anywhere anytime.

Who says you have to get rid of your current Kindle. If I buy a Sony, I'm still keeping my Kindle. I have a lot of unread books as well. I just won't "upgrade" to a newer Kindle if they don't allow books to be downloaded from my library.

Well, having all those books already purchased from Amazon, (most not read yet) is the deal breaker for me to stay with the Kindle (and future Kindles). I'm sure they will keep improving to stay in the market.

I'm one of those that have about 30 HD-DVD's, and surprise, Blu-Ray won the HD war. Now I have to save the old player in order to view those dvd's.

Do I want that same thing to happen to all my books, if I "change sides"? No, I'll wait and see what Amazon does in the next couple of years. Hopefully, they will stay competitive.

Why do people always feel like we have to be loyal to one company or another. Granted, I love my K1 and I've had it for almost 2 years, but if something better comes out, I don't feel obligated to stay with Amazon. Seriously, the fact that I can't download books from my library after I shelled out $400 for my Kindle is a real sore spot with me. If Amazon wants me to buy a newer version of Kindle, they need to allow that and have several other upgrades. It's not about "changing sides," it's about pressuring companies to work for our customer loyalty instead of just expecting it!!!

IUHoosier said: "I probably won't be induced to change sides. I'll just hope that Amazon will add some of the features over time."

I feel the same way, especially since I have so many books for the kindle...just interested in what's out there;)

Yes, I think I would upgrade my device for folders - I've got the Kindle2 and am now at 39 pages worth of books to hunt through. And that's after I've deleted all the samples and books I've already read that Amazon stores for me.

As for the Nook - I liked the way it looked in the pics online, and especially liked the color portion on the touchscreen. I'm going to look at the device the next time I hit the local B&N, but I probably won't be induced to change sides. I'll just hope that Amazon will add some of the features over time.

I really hope when they do come up folders or tags or whatever for the Kindle, they can do it with a software update and not a hardware update! It would suck to have to buy a new device just to have folders, though so many people are desperate for some kind of organizational system that I'm sure they would.

Deborah wrote: "Good point...I can't read that many books. I just like to have as much as possible with me. I filled up my Kindle memory pretty fast. 11 pages of books. "

Oh, yeah, I'm with you. I'd like to have all my books there too. I am also at 11 pages. But I have deleted my Amazon books as I've read them, to eliminate some clutter. But if Amazon would give us "folders", I would put the "already read" books back on the K2. I can't imagine trying to negotiate the 1500 books that Amazon says we can store on our built-in memory, let alone an SD card. We need some kind of categorizing the user can make, like folders.

Laurie wrote: "Maybe the Kindle 2 doesn't have an SD card, but it can hold approx. 1500 books. How books can you read in one year? Don't forget, Amazon stores all purchases on their server so you can get them bac...

Good point...I can't read that many books. I just like to have as much as possible with me. I filled up my Kindle memory pretty fast. 11 pages of books.

Maybe the Kindle 2 doesn't have an SD card, but it can hold approx. 1500 books. How books can you read in one year? Don't forget, Amazon stores all purchases on their server so you can get them back in 60 seconds, (I've done that already) and you also can backup and store extra books on your computer. Then you just plug in you USB cable and transfer any book you want back onto your Kindle. It works for me. I don't need to store 10,000 books at a time on the K2. I don't read that fast. I also have some favorite photos (email size) on the K2 for showing people. Plenty of room.

I like the fact that the nook can take an SD card, while the Kindle2 can't. I have the original Kindle, which I love. Someone said that the Sony can download books from the library. Can the nook do that?

Ebook prices aren't stable yet. The publishing industry is still trying to figure out what an "acceptable" price is. Many people don't want to pay more than $8-9 for something that they only get an electronic copy of.

Ann (Noumena12) wrote: "So can someone explain the significant price differences in books to me? Here is a link to an example:
http://noumena12books.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-huge-price-differences.html"

I think Amazon is basically taking a loss on most Kindle ebooks. Although, in all honesty, ebooks should be considerably cheaper then regular books because the publishers do not have to pay for printing or shipping costs, and I'm sure there are a few other costs that are negated with ebooks. I guess Amazon figured they got people to shell out $400 for the Kindle they had to make it worth our while. B&N may not be in a position to take the loss on the books.

I have friends with Kindles, but the 14 day restriction would probably keep me from lending/borrowing much. My husband, daughter, and I are on the same account, so we can easily share our books.

So can someone explain the significant price differences in books to me? Here is a link to an example:
http://noumena12books.blogspot.com/2009/...

I won't be getting my Kindle until December, but I thought I'd pass it on that the recent update for Kindle for iPhone now includes the ability to highlight text and write notes. It's a little tricky to do the highlighting on a small phone, but it works.

I don't know a single person with a Kindle or any ebook reader. So lending, for me, is not a selling point. After having purchased the Kindle, I do miss being able to loan books out to my friends that read the same type of fiction I do.

Restrictions on the Nook's LendMe feature:
-ONE 14-day period per book, ever
-publisher gets to decide if the book is even "lendable" (and seeing how so many publishers have disabled Text-To-Speech on the Kindle, I bet they'll do the same with LendMe)
-you can't read the book yourself during the time it's lent out (this one actually makes sense... if you lend a physical copy of your book to someone you can't read it yourself at the same time either)

http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/23/barne...

A couple of things I have noticed. I've only checked a few books but BN's prices seem to be slightly higher than Amazon's. I also found a ebook on BN that isn't available on Kindle. I did download the BN ereader for my iPod Touch. It's not my favorite device for reading but it works in a pinch.

Off the top of my head without thinking about it I know about 15 people who have Kindles or ereaders.

Outside of groups like this, how many people do you know in your immediate circle of friends who have Kindles or other ereaders, though? \

Sharing is a marketing ploy ... "Hey look what our (less cool) reader does that the Kindle doesn't!"

I just like that they give you the option to lend a book. While I love my Kindle, I hate that I can't loan out books like I could if it was a paper edition.

Yeah, Bryan, I was thinking 30 days would be a manageable time for most people to read a book. I usually read a good book in 3 days, but when I get busy it might take me a couple of weeks. I wonder if B&N will get any feedback on that 14-day limit after the books start going out to the consumers.

I'm intrigued too, but Laurie, I think you are correct about the 14 days. Don't most public libraries have a 3 week loan period? I'd set it for 30 days.

The problem I see with lending is. . . what if the person you lent the book to doesn't finish the book within the 14 days? Then it's gone from their e-reader. My husband takes forever to read a book, because he has other things going on.

I just took a look at the Nook online. If I'm at B&N next month I'd like to see it. I have the K1. If you go to the B&N webpage and look up the Nook there is a comparison with the K2. Also, I think the touch screen is only at bottom to quickly switch between books. You still have a button to change the pages. I'm not a fan of the touch screen either. I'm looking at buying a Sony Reader (the older version) so I can download books from my library. I wish Amazon would let us do that so I don't have to buy a whole new reader. If B&N's nook let us do that I'd consider buying it.

I'm not a fan of the touchscreen. The lending feature is a nice addition, though I can't help but wonder if it's going to cause a fuss and end up going the way of the text-to-speech... Currently the only way you can share books on the Kindle is if you're on the same account (I think you can have up to six Kindles on one account).

Lots of opinions here :) --> http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/to...

I absolutely love my kindle but am intrigued by the B&N Nook. Apparently you can "lend" your ebooks to a friend for up to 14 days. As far as I know, there is no way to do this on the kindle, right?
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/featu...

If not, do you think this may come in the future? And would it be an easy upgrade for existing kindle owners or would it have to be rolled out with a new version of the kindle?

The touch screen in place of the keypad is pretty cool too. My curiosity is officially peaked.