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ereaders?
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Kimberly
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Dec 25, 2009 01:59PM
Do any of you own a Kindle or a Nook? What do you think of them? I'm trying to decided which one to get, and even after reading about each of them I'm not sure which one is best.
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I am currently shopping but am pretty firmly planted in the nook camp. It has the book lending feature, support for non-Barnes and Nobel books (the ePub format) and will have discounts and specials if you buy books using the nook in a B&N. It was also recently updated to have quicker page refresh times. Keep in mind, though, the nook is a first generation device so there may still be some bugs that pop up while the Amazon Kindle II is a second generation device and has been out long enough to work out most bugs.Availability is also an issue, the Kindle can go out immediately while the nook is so back ordered that new orders will not ship until February.
Hope I helped.
I have a Kindle and I love it. The battery life is good and so is the page refresh time. There's no problem with formats since the Kindle will read any .Mobi/PRC file and PDFs. Amazon also had excellent customer service if you ever have any problems too.The lending feature on the Nook is crap. You can only lend a book for 14 days, each book can only be lent once and books can only be lent to other Nooks, not any other readers.
I got my dad a nook for Christmas, and it's definitely convinced me that I need to get one in the future!I think either the nook or Kindle are good ways to go. I'm in the nook camp, but I wouldn't say no to a Kindle either :)
Ralph, at least you can lend them with nook! You can't do it with Kindle at all. I'm obviously biased with nook, I work at B&N and know quite a bit about it. One huge advantage is if you're confused about how it works, you can bring it in to a store and have them help you out with it. You can't do that for Kindle. You also have to order everything for it online, there aren't any retail stores to buy things for it. One other advantage is our replaceable battery; Kindle II doesn't have that, either.
I've had a Kindle 1 since April and I love it. The whispernet doesn't work (because Sprint is a dead zone in Mississippi but the K2 is on ATT so it won't be an issue for most areas from what I hear) but updating the device by computer is pretty easy. The battery has a pretty short life from what I hear (about 30-40 hours of "on" time) but I don't have a problem with it. If I leave it turned off and don't use it for awhile, the battery still lasts up to a month or more.
I love the note taking and dictionary features. I have pages of notes for most of the books I read. And it really is pretty quick.
Also I don't think it loads slowly at all. 3 seconds is average for a page turn. It's no more than 10 seconds to load most anything else most of the time. Yes, I counted. ;)
Kindle is really intuitive. I didn't feel like I had to read the instruction manual to use it.
I love having 200 or more books in bag at all times. Got something for every mood. I road trip several times a year so it has been very handy.
I have been going back and looking over both devices and noticed something on the Kindle that I missed, which is a deal breaker. It supports Audible audio books. So, I am sold on Kindle (primarily for immediate availability and Audible support). I do look for the nook to continue to force change in the Kindle.
nook can hold MP3s so you can put books from audible on there if you transfer it with a usb cable. :)
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I never thought I would use one enough to justify purchasing one, but since it was a gift......
The Sony Readers are pretty nice, especially the latest with the touchscreen. However, they lack a mobile store so they have be hooked up to a computer to download books and won't necessarily have the widest selection available to them, but they do support the Google books so you have a lot of free stuff you can download. It's a solid device even with the few limitations. But it does support a huge number of ebook formats including ePub which is DRM free.
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I have been busy making some calendars so I haven't had time to read, so I really haven't looked at it too much. As soon as I do, I probably will have a ton more questions. :)
My parents bought me a Kindle for my 20th birthday and I love it. I like to always have reading material with me- the Kindle is very light and doesn't kill my shoulders. When I first got the Kindle in March of '09, it was a little hard because there were a lot of books I wanted to read not yet available for Kindle (can you believe that?!). I am still very attracted to buying books from authors I read often and hard covers. It's sad to say, but my Kindle has been a little neglected! I wanted it to save money, but it seems I can't kick my nasty habit of buying books.
I love the way the Nook from B&N looks. I love the little touch strip thing at the bottom, and I love the "lend a book" feature. I know you can only lend for 14 days, but I don't see that as a problem personally. I hear there are many complaints about the Nook being slow- a problem that B&N is addressing and making updates for. Even with that, I love my Kindle!!
I love the way the Nook from B&N looks. I love the little touch strip thing at the bottom, and I love the "lend a book" feature. I know you can only lend for 14 days, but I don't see that as a problem personally. I hear there are many complaints about the Nook being slow- a problem that B&N is addressing and making updates for. Even with that, I love my Kindle!!
So the Barnes & Noble near me had a "test drive" day for the Nook (I don't know if it was a companywide thing or just my store) I learned a lot about and now I really want one! What really sold me is that if I have any problems with it I can just take it into the store, I also really like that I can load mp3's onto it which means I can put my audio books onto it.Question for those of you who work at Barnes: If you could change anything about the Nook, what would it be?
I read this article the other day (http://www.publishersweekly.com/artic...) about how B&N is going to try testing out bundle packages for the Nook. So you could buy a print version of a book and also get the e-book version for a discounted rate.
... it looks like my book buying habit is going to get worse... lolThanks for posting that link! That's a great idea, I hope they stick with it.
If I could change one thing, it would be for the touch screen to not be as sensitive, because people with larger fingers (and smaller brains) tend to press far too hard when I am trying to show them how to use it and then it doesn't work and I get frustrated. lol
Bundle seems like a good idea but I would rather it was the reverse. If you buy a book on the Nook you can get physical copy discounted. I've read several books on my Kindle and liked them so much that I bought physical copies (mostly used and for a fraction of the cost anyway) but I have yet to buy a real book then wish it was on my Kindle.
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His concern was that e-books would wipe out traditional book stores and make it harder for new writers to succeed. What are your thoughts on the issue? Do you think we are going to ruin the book publishing industry?
I think it makes it easier for new writers to suceed. Now, you don't need to be with a giant publishing house to get your books out there. Any writer with a computer can publish their ebooks and advertise it on place like Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook, etc. and make a decent living.E-books are not going to ruin the book publishing industry. They are, however, going to change it. There will always be people who want a physical book. On the same scale, without a publishing company, the writer is responsible for everything - editing, ISBN, cover image, etc. - and without these, the books won't do as well. Many self-publishing authors skip hiring a professional editor and their books suffer because of it.
Pretty sure that we won't ruin the publishing industry but we will most likely change it.
I'm in loooove with my Nook. Mainly because I am lazy and I hate going anywhere, so I can download books from the privacy of my couch.
I completely agree Meghann, my Kindle has also made me a cheapskate. Now that I know I can get any new release for 9.99 paying more just seems silly. Still love used books though because 5 bucks beats 10 any day.
Exactly, Annashu! I feel like they kind of pay for themselves with how much you save from buying books at full price, especially if you read a lot. And putting yourself on a wait list at the local library suuuuucks. I'm too impatient.
I just bought my nook yesterday! I am loving it!
Does anyone know where I can buy a cover for my nook? B&N is backordered more than a month..
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Kimberly, the bigger stores should have covers in stock as of right now, and the smaller stores should be getting them within the next month. I work at B&N too and we haven't had any problems ordering them and getting them delivered within a few days...
I don't know if anyone else knows this but Goodreads has 2,000+ free ebooks on the website (http://www.goodreads.com/ebooks?page=...) and you can read them on your computer or transfer them to an e-reader.I guess I need to start reading the Goodreads newsletter more often!
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Thanks for telling us Jen! My uncle is going to buy me a nook for graduation and I'm sooooo excited! I really hope he just buys it for me instead of giving me the money because I know I won't wind up spending the money on it.
Kelsey, thanks for the info. All of the big stores near me are still backordered until late May. I ordered mine online and got it a couple days ago, I love it!Thank you Jen! I didn't know that!
You're welcome everyone! I almost didn't post it because I thought it was something everyone knew but me.
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Jen, One of the main things I wanted to do with my eReader was get free copies of many of the books I already own so that I don't have to lug 5 or 6 (or more) of them when I go somewhere for a few days. So you just gave me a new source for getting free copies of many of those books!
I gave in last Christmas and bought myself a Sony eReader *one of the older models) in an attempt to save some money. For the longest time I wanted the Kindle but I went back and forth between the two. What pushed me to the Sony was that mine has two memory card slots. I could over look the lack of wifi because it isn't limited to one format (I can always convert the ones it can't read) and I can virtually have as many books as I'd like on multiple memory cards. I didn't feel as limited.Sadly, I don't use it as much as I'd like. I'm the type of person who has to have the physical book in my hands... I need the feel of it. I have used it on airplane trips though. Maybe later when I run out of room to house my books!
My library is part of a co-op that just started an online borrowing program for audiobooks and ebooks. You download them to your computer and can transfer them to pretty much any mobile device other than the Kindle, and the titles automatically expire at the end of your borrowing period without you having to go back to the website and "return" it.I didn't want an ereader before, but this REALLY makes me want one now.
Yeah, a lot of the libraries in the L.A. area are doing that too, which is so awesome! I used to think that I wanted the physical book in my hands, but the more I play around with nook at work, the more I want one! I just need to save up some money...
My parents are getting me a nook as a graduation present, I'm so excited!
I'm getting a nook as a graduation present as well! We should all have a nook party afterwards :)
I bought a nook last night. I've been struggling with the nook v. kindle decision forever. And it's strange cause I've always been lusting after a Kindle. And the nook won out. I've been spending last night/today figuring out how to put my epub and pdf books on it, and I think I'm getting the hang of it.
Denise- where did you find out about your library doing that? I wonder if mine is doing something like that too... :D
Paula wrote: "I bought a nook last night. I've been struggling with the nook v. kindle decision forever. And it's strange cause I've always been lusting after a Kindle. And the nook won out. I've been spending..."
butting in because my library has the same program...if you go on to your library network's website you should be able to see whether or not they participate :)
You can check www.overdrive.com to search for your library. I'm surprised I hadn't heard of this earlier--there are thousands of libraries worldwide that participate!
oh goodness. my library is on there. this is fantastic
This is killing me! I really want my uncle to give me my nook! Even though I'd probably wind up neglecting homework to play with it.
Just got an email from B&N today saying there is an update to the Nook that finally allows you to read books for free while in any B&N store. I think that's a great selling point for the device. As long as you're in the store, you can try a book and read as much as you want for an hour. Definitely a good way to get people in the store, looking around, and probably buying the books they've started.
I got the same email today. I'm excited about all the stuff they've added.
that's strange i didn't get the e-mail, but i checked "the daily" and saw the blog about it. updating my nook now :) thanks for the heads up Amy!
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