OT: eReader feedback please [Archive]

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Bruce K

11-28-2010, 08:53 AM

I have kind of settled on the idea of getting my wife an eReader for the holidays.

She reads one to two books each month so this seems like a cool gift idea.

Pluses and minuses would both be appreciated.

Best Buy seems to be big on the Barnes and Noble version but the Borders or Sony versions would be considered up there as well.

BK

Ken Robb

11-28-2010, 09:12 AM

Consumers Reports just tested these a few months ago. Leslie loves her Kindle and reads several books a week. She thinks it is just the right size/weight for comfort.

Ray

11-28-2010, 09:31 AM

The kindles really do just get better and better. The first one was pretty bad in retrospect but a good first attempt. The second one was MUCH better. The new ones (third gen now) are better yet and getting pretty inexpensive. I had the 3g versions of gen 1 and 2 and recently got the wifi version of gen 3, which is only $140 (3g and wifi is $180). I don't need the 3g at all - wifi is available almost anywhere now and I tend to keep my Kindle pretty well stocked, so even if I could only download books at home it would be fine. And downloading books with wifi is waaaaay faster than with 3g, not that 3g was bad - but wifi is pretty much instant - a few seconds per book.

Improvements over the second generation are the size, the feel of the controls (although I sort of preferred the joystick on the 2 to the four-way button on the 3), and battery life, but none of these are reasons to upgrade if you already had the 2nd gen. The BIG difference is the screen contrast. I was ok with the contrast on the first and second ones (no real difference between the two), but the contrast on the 3rd gen is in a whole different ballpark. Much whiter background and much blacker letters. Its much easier on the eyes and the earlier ones weren't hard on the eyes at all. The new one is better than most actual ink on paper, to be honest - its just VERY VERY good. The new Kindles also have a case available with an integrated LED light that you only pull out when you need it, and it runs off of the Kindle battery so you don't have to think about keeping it in batteries (although you will have to charge the kindle a bit more often). Pretty slick. And the whole package is about the size of a paperback now.

I've sort of lost touch with the Sony and B&N readers - I did all of the comparisons a couple of years ago, went with Kindle, and haven't seen any compelling reason to consider switching. So I'm pretty locked in for a while. I don't know if or by how much the Kindle is still better (I used to think it had a pretty clear edge when I was comparing them), but I can say you won't go wrong with a Kindle. I read quite a lot on mine.

-Ray

fourflys

11-28-2010, 10:18 AM

DfCas

11-28-2010, 10:41 AM

Can you chnge the font size on the ereaders? I have low vision and struggle to read normal size text.

Thanks, dan

Ray

11-28-2010, 10:41 AM

OK, I have a couple questions...

We've been thinking of getting one of these for our 11 year old who can read the entire Harry Potter series in about a week it seems like... ;)

Is the WiFi ONLY able to go to the book site or the entire internet? Can parents disable the WiFi with a password or otherwise?

What is the average price of books and I've heard they are available from most larger libraries as well, thoughts?

Thanks!

Chris

BTW- this is why I love allowing some OT threads... Ray seems to have a LOT of experience with these...
I only have a LOT of experience with the Kindle, but did a fair amount of comparison/research a year or so (I was thinking a couple but I don't think the Nook was available until about a year ago?). Others can tell you more about the non-Kindle varieties.

In terms of the "rest of the internet", the Kindles has a very rudimentary web browser that will work in either 3g or wifi - its faster in wifi but its really quite slow in either version. I tried using it once and it was unspeakably terrible! The Kindle just isn't really much good for anything other than reading. Frankly I'm not sure why they put the browser in there except for someone being stuck and having some sort of web emergency? ;) That said, I don't believe that you can disable it. But I don't know how much trouble your son could get into with it. The graphics are not very good on the Kindle screen, you can barely type on the tiny keyboard, navigation is terrible, so its just about a read only type of deal and a limited one at that. Any self-respecting 11 year old would HATE the Kindle browser and could probably find some other way of getting on the web just via telepathy before using that browser. But, theoretically, he could I guess. I believe the Nook has the same basic functionality, so if you want to make double extra secret CERTAIN that he can't get anywhere near the web, you might need to go with a Sony???

-Ray

Ray

11-28-2010, 10:45 AM

Can you chnge the font size on the ereaders? I have low vision and struggle to read normal size text.

Thanks, dan
Oh yeah, basic function on any of them I'd imagine. On the Kindle, there used to be three or four sizes, now there are like 7 or 8 and the big ones are HUGE - like just a few words per page. You can also set line spacing, font type (limited choices), screen orientation, etc. And the contrast on the new ones is really helpful for folks with poor eyesight. I used to need to turn a light on to read it waaaaay sooner than I do now with the higher contrast screen.

-Ray

djg21

11-28-2010, 10:52 AM

Dekonick

11-28-2010, 02:31 PM

We own the kindle wifi (3rd generation) and I bought the nook color (for work)

If you have light nothing beats eink - contrast, crisp, easy on the eyes. The newer generations also refresh fast. Having said that, I just did the old searcharoo for a back lit reader... Ipad too expensive. Samsung galaxy - too expensive. Nook color - just right. It fits in a back pocket (IMPORTANT!!!) so you can put it away if you need to have use of your hands quickly... and it runs android (but no ap store... but I'll bet it will get hacked err.. jailbroken... soon enough)

The contrast is excellent and I find minimal eye strain compared to the typical monitor... but I believe eye strain claims are over exagerated anyway. Back in the CRT days it was another story... today color screens are easy on the eyes.

What I find I REALLY like about the Nook color is MAGAZINES!!! They are in full color - it is almost just like having the real deal without the hassle. Newspapers delivered to your Nook instantly every day... NICE! Plenty of books, but I have not been able to find all of my old favorites... I am sure they will eventually make it to the epub format...

Gripes: Kindle is only black and white (well - black on grey) and sucks in low light situations. You can't share books with friends.

Nook Color is just heavy enough you can't forget you have it in your hand. I still find it comfortable to read a couple of hours at a time (battery lasts 8) and it pisses me off when the manufacturer locks down the hardware and prevents you from using the full potential. Let me hack the damned thing and just cancel my warranty! You can't use any Amazon books from the amazon store - they work only with Kindle... B&N uses the more open epub format. I bought 100 books and the collected works of E. Poe yesterday for $6 (classics that no longer have copyright... but excellent books everyone should read at lest once.) It is nice to have a library and not need to carry a duffel bag to hold the books.

For me the best part of the Nook Color is the backlight. I can read at night and not bother my wife (too much) and at work I can do the same. I can even read the Serotta forum on the nook as long as I have wifi... yes it has a browser!

So - what to get. Strictly for reading books eink is the way to go. Lighter, crisp text. It sucks for anything with graphs or pictures. Not a medium for textbooks... For a little more use the $250 Nook color gives you a good e reader with pretty good battery life - 8 hours isn't bad. It also gives potential for android apps in the future... and has a web browser. :)

GOod Luck!

Ray

11-28-2010, 02:59 PM

If you have light nothing beats eink - contrast, crisp, easy on the eyes. The newer generations also refresh fast. Having said that, I just did the old searcharoo for a back lit reader... Ipad too expensive. Samsung galaxy - too expensive. Nook color - just right. It fits in a back pocket (IMPORTANT!!!) so you can put it away if you need to have use of your hands quickly... and it runs android (but no ap store... but I'll bet it will get hacked err.. jailbroken... soon enough)

The contrast is excellent and I find minimal eye strain compared to the typical monitor... but I believe eye strain claims are over exagerated anyway. Back in the CRT days it was another story... today color screens are easy on the eyes.

What I find I REALLY like about the Nook color is MAGAZINES!!! They are in full color - it is almost just like having the real deal without the hassle. Newspapers delivered to your Nook instantly every day... NICE! Plenty of books, but I have not been able to find all of my old favorites... I am sure they will eventually make it to the epub format...

Gripes: Kindle is only black and white (well - black on grey) and sucks in low light situations. You can't share books with friends.

Nook Color is just heavy enough you can't forget you have it in your hand. I still find it comfortable to read a couple of hours at a time (battery lasts 8) and it pisses me off when the manufacturer locks down the hardware and prevents you from using the full potential. Let me hack the damned thing and just cancel my warranty! You can't use any Amazon books from the amazon store - they work only with Kindle... B&N uses the more open epub format. I bought 100 books and the collected works of E. Poe yesterday for $6 (classics that no longer have copyright... but excellent books everyone should read at lest once.) It is nice to have a library and not need to carry a duffel bag to hold the books.

For me the best part of the Nook Color is the backlight. I can read at night and not bother my wife (too much) and at work I can do the same. I can even read the Serotta forum on the nook as long as I have wifi... yes it has a browser!

So - what to get. Strictly for reading books eink is the way to go. Lighter, crisp text. It sucks for anything with graphs or pictures. Not a medium for textbooks... For a little more use the $250 Nook color gives you a good e reader with pretty good battery life - 8 hours isn't bad. It also gives potential for android apps in the future... and has a web browser. :)

GOod Luck!
Interesting - as I said, I hadn't kept up. Just had a look at the Nook color and it looks interesting and, for what you suggest, it sounds like a great all-rounder. Kind of like a mix of a Kindle and IPad. Some of the best and some of the worst points of both. And about midpoint in price as well.

I fully agree that the Kindle isn't good for much of anything other than reading books or long, text-intensive, magazine articles. For anything with graphics or that requires a lot of navigation, it pretty much sucks. I tried a few magazines and, except for the Atlantic, didn't like them on the Kindle. I'd love to have an iPad for all of that stuff, but it is bigger and more expensive. But I've tried reading on an iPad and other modern backlit screens (including the mac I'm typing this on) and I just can't do it for long. I can surf the web and read quick newspaper or magazine articles, but I wouldn't ever read a book on one. I have the Kindle app on my iphone for when I get stuck at a Doc's office or something, and I'm only good for about a half hour on one of those. I guess some people can read on them, some can't. My wife can last an hour or so on the iphone Kindle app.

The other problem with them, and I'm curious if you've run into this with the Nook color, is reading outdoors in sunlight. Nearly impossible with the ipad, pretty difficult with the iphone (but its small enough to sort of be able to shade it). How does the Nook do with this? Unless they've been able to work this one out, this is still a big advantage to e-ink, at least for those of us who like to read at the beach/pool, etc.

Anyway, for folks who prefer more functionality than just book reading, the Nook color (and some of the other upcoming tablets) looks really promising/interesting. For those who are just looking for an easy way to carry and read a lot of books, I'd still go for one of the e-ink devices. I keep hoping someday they'll come up with some sort of hybrid screen that can somehow do both well. But until that happens, I'll have an e-ink device of some sort. And maybe a tablet also, but not instead of.

-Ray

victoryfactory

11-28-2010, 03:51 PM

Interesting topic, thanks

Do any of these devices allow downloads of free and public domain books ?

VF

Dekonick

11-28-2010, 04:25 PM

eink is key to reading in the sun. I like the Nook color because I am usually reading in the dark... that is the big selling point for me. I also prefer the smaller size compared to an Ipad... can't shove your Ipad in your back pocket... and it isnt comfy for long to read an Ipad with one hand... as an e reader... Nook Color wins. Galaxy tab close second...(for color)

Just books, esp in bright light anything with eink.

Size does matter... in this case medium is the best size, just about that of a page of a paperback. You can shove some paperback books in your pocket too...but not 1000... :)

I like to re-read books for some reason...

Dekonick

11-28-2010, 04:54 PM

there are many book formats - you can find programs and online services that will convert reader formats.

B&N have a free section - thousands of books that have expired copyright... as well as every week a selection of almost free books. Think a buck or 2...

:)

97CSI

11-28-2010, 05:20 PM

Can you chnge the font size on the ereaders? I have low vision and struggle to read normal size text.
Thanks, danthis the reason my wife went with an iPad. Can make the font considerably larger than the Kindle. At least that was true back in April.

Ray

11-28-2010, 06:04 PM

this the reason my wife went with an iPad. Can make the font considerably larger than the Kindle. At least that was true back in April.
The largest Kindle fonts are probably TOO big on the new ones. Literally just a few words per page. But in this situation the larger screen of an iPad or a Kindle DX would be a real advantage because you can go with really large type and still get a few words on a line.

-Ray

KeithS

11-28-2010, 06:37 PM

Dekonick

11-28-2010, 07:35 PM

I had some unexpected downtime this summer an downloaded the Kindle for Android app. I really like books, the kind with hard covers and paper pages. It wasn't so terribly bad. Screen too small to be considered for anything other than it's convenience. Started using it on my indoor training last week, kinda nest it between my garmin and the stem, sitting on top of my sweat guard. I also downladed it via Kindle for PC. Keeps my book marks and everything. Lots easier to read on a big screen. I read my buddies Kindle device on vacation this summer, liked it a lot. I like the flexibility of the Kindle app, and if I was so inclined I'd probably get that.

The Barnes and Noble device is getting a lot of dialog these days too. We are looking at an iPad or an Android tablet.

The B&N color Nook is an android tablet - just no 3g, and they have the OS locked down tight... won't take some smart teens more than a month and it will be hacked... making it an inexpensive tablet... mind you... it has nowhere near the hardware that the Samsung Galaxy has under the hood... but plenty for watching movies, reading books and using rudimentary android applications... no flash support unless it gets an upgrade to Froyo (android 2.2) or the upcoming tablet specific android OS...

Time will tell, but for me it works. I don't plan on doing more than some soduku, chess, light browsing and of course reading... perhaps a movie...

Oh, it comes with pandora so you can listen while you read. :D

Dekonick

11-28-2010, 07:37 PM

The largest Kindle fonts are probably TOO big on the new ones. Literally just a few words per page. But in this situation the larger screen of an iPad or a Kindle DX would be a real advantage because you can go with really large type and still get a few words on a line.

-Ray

Important for some folks... my dad has vision issues and needs the large print :o For folks with similar deficits, a large screen in paramount. I still think 5-7" is the 'right' size for an e reader as you can hold it comfortably with one hand and still stow it easily in a pocket. I put my Nook in by back pants pocket with no problem. My sister has an Ipad... I played with it and while it is neat, it is just too big to use as a reader if you plan on reading for more than half an hour... Great for movies I will admit! :D

Bud_E

11-28-2010, 08:34 PM

FWIW I went with the $139 wi-fi Kindle which I ordered as soon as they were announced. I love it. I've had it just a few months and I've read several books. I picked one font larger than the "default" and my old eyes are quite happy. I also have the cover with the built-in light and it's not perfect but it works okay - I'm insomniac and when I read in the middle of the night I don't need to bug my wife by turning on a light. As far as I'm concerned the contrast is no worse than reading a printed page. Oh - and I love having a built-in dictionary AND I love when e.g. a character pops up who appeared earlier in the book but I can't exactly remember how - it's trivial to do a search to find where the character was introduced so my memory is refreshed ( I assume all the ereaders have these features ).

I do have some dislikes but they are minor compared to the pluses :
1) I wouldn't read a magazine on it. The layout isn't conducive to the Kindle form. ( I've heard the DX model is better for this ).
2) Charts, pictures, maps, etc. suck on it.
3) I like knowing what page I'm on in a book just to measure my progress. Kindle only gives you the percentage you've read - it's just not the same.
4) I generally like to stop reading when I reach the end of a chapter. With a regular book it's easy to flip ahead to find out how far to the end of the current chapter - with an ebook it's awkward.
5) Forget using the browser for anything other than looking stuff up on Wikipedia. It's near impossible to navigate around on most web pages.

I was in Barnes & Noble a few weeks ago but they didn't have a new Nook yet. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

FlashUNC

11-28-2010, 09:17 PM

I got my girlfriend a Nook for her birthday after she comparison shopped it pretty extensively.

She calls it, without sarcasm, the greatest gift she's ever received. I think she means that more as a statement of the Nook's brilliance over everyone else's inability to give her a decent gift.

Take that FWIW.

gone

11-28-2010, 09:20 PM

You can't share books with friends.

I could be wrong (and often am) but I seem to recall reading a few weeks ago that Amazon had instituted a sharing policy. IIRC, you could share a book with a friend for a two week period, during that period the friend was the only one who could read it and there wasn't a limit to the number of friends that you could loan it to providing you did them sequentially i.e., you couldn't "loan" it to 100 friends at the same time.

I could be completely wrong about the details as it wasn't (and isn't) a particularly important feature to me but I am pretty sure the general idea is correct. I'm sure someone will tell me otherwise if I'm mistaken :D

FWIW, I've got a gen3 kindle and love it. You can download a ton of free books (I'm reading Melville's "Moby Dick" right now) and it's very easy on the eyes - you can easily read as long as you can read a physical book. It sucks for newspapers and magazines, the DX would probably be better than that (I'm thinking of buying one of those too) but for books it's fabulous.

Edited to add: found the link here (http://www.technewsdaily.com/amazon-adds-e-book-sharing-feature-for-kindle-users-1501/). Nice to know my memory works sometimes :D

Dekonick

11-28-2010, 09:31 PM

I just wish you could easily buy books from both B&N and other souces as well as amazon - on either appliance.

Having multiple accounts gets old... fast.

gone

11-29-2010, 01:02 AM

I just wish you could easily buy books from both B&N and other souces as well as amazon - on either appliance.

Having multiple accounts gets old... fast.

Agreed. I'm hoping that eventually gets sorted out. Possibly by the 100th generation Kindle....

benb

11-29-2010, 10:28 AM

I've had the latest Kindle DX (with the newer screen) since July and absolutely love it..

I'd love to have one of the new smaller ones too.. they seem to be absolutely brilliant because they are so small but yet have the same size screen as most other 6" models.

Magazines are OK on the DX. I've played with the iPad a lot as well and in my opinion all of these devices are fine for magazines and newspapers, the problem is purely software in my opinion. The magazine and newspaper publishers are just not making much of an effort to make a compelling product.

E.x. I subscribe to Time on the kindle. Most of the photos are there, but for some reason they are not including graphs & charts. It's almost pure laziness, as the graphs and charts will display just fine on a kindle, they're easier to see then photos, and many technical books display them very well. Either they are not willing to do the work to convert the files due to some issue in their digital work flow, or they are simply trying to pick something to leave out of the magazine to save money and make the magazine more profitable. (Amazon takes $0.15/MB out of the price of the magazine to pay for network infrastructure & the 3G service). Either that, or they are still trying to protect the print magazine and have not come to grips with the idea that electronic media is the way forward. (Even as their print subscriptions tank) Time is not uniquely guilty here.. I've tried a bunch of magazines and have frequently been able to compare the Kindle & Print versions and they are all guilty of not preparing the digital version carefully.

Then you move over to the iPad, and on top of the same problems the kindle has, they're using very poorly thought out software to make the formatting look prettier, causing the files to be atrociously large, possibly eating into your 3G service, which is metered. And the costs are outrageous as well.

Eventually though they will "get it" and all these problems ought to be resolved very quickly. And the book reading experience is just fantastic already.

Dekonick

11-29-2010, 10:51 AM

I just gave Bicycling a shot on the Nook - boy that magazine is a rag... going to cancel my subscription (free trial) as the mag...err...rag... is more adverts than articles and the articles are pure trash. If they are going to force me to page through every single advertizement then it should at least be free not $2 a month... If I am going to read trash, I would rather read Maxim... and that is only a buck a month.

They really need to work on a menu system for e mags so you can easily navigate. Perhaps there is a way, but I haven't yet figured it out...

Nat Geo is really nice on the Nook Color and Maxim is good for the articles ;) ...

I am excited about the prospect of getting the International Herald Tribune... for real news... and the Baltimore Sun for local interest news. I just wish newspapers could report objectively and not... well... I am not going to turn this into a political thread so nevermind. :p

Edit - found out how to navigate by content and article... could be better but it is a start...

93legendti

02-01-2011, 10:14 PM

Dekonick

02-01-2011, 10:38 PM

Nook color update. I have hacked mine and now have the android market installed, including the kindle app. I have read my Amazon books on the Nook, my B&N books on the Nook, and a ton of freebies from the web. They all work well! It is fun to kill time with simple games, or read trash magazines (Maxim is $1 an issue on the Nook color... why not? Umm.... well.... it is trash...)

I am sure many more tablets are on the horizon, but a hacked Nook Color is nice and easy to use. I don't use the Kindle at all now. The kindle will work better in the sun... but it is winter so a non issue right now.

:)

Check out tablets as well as eink folks! Better for reading at night...

Ray

02-02-2011, 05:58 AM

I'm sorry to hear that the Kindle's browser is subpar. The 3g price seemed like a bargain for travel (I wanted to use it for reading, email and web browsing). I'm not ready to travel with a laptop and an e reader. :crap:
If you want all that in one device and don't mind a backlit screen (a REAL issue outdoors, more for some than others indoors), a tablet is the way to go. An ipad or Nook color (if you have the skills to jailbreak it) or probably any of a few coming down the pike. My wife reads on her ipad all the time with her Kindle app and doesn't have any problem. I read on it for half an hour and I'm squinting, my eyes are twitching, and I have a headache - depends on your personal tolerance. The Kindle is great, but JUST for reading, and really just for reading books and long form text articles. It sucks for graphics and the browser is barely a joke.

Just depends on whether you really want an ereader or really want a multi-function tablet...

-Ray

rugbysecondrow

02-02-2011, 06:19 AM

93legendti

02-02-2011, 09:11 AM

If you want a good reader, the nook or kindle do that well. If you want a multiple purpose product, then go for the iPad or another tablet. I have a nook and I enjoy t, but i also don't expect it to be more than just a reader.

Best of luck!

Thanks. That's what I'm doing, looking for a tablet.

If you want all that in one device and don't mind a backlit screen (a REAL issue outdoors, more for some than others indoors), a tablet is the way to go. An ipad or Nook color (if you have the skills to jailbreak it) or probably any of a few coming down the pike. My wife reads on her ipad all the time with her Kindle app and doesn't have any problem. I read on it for half an hour and I'm squinting, my eyes are twitching, and I have a headache - depends on your personal tolerance. The Kindle is great, but JUST for reading, and really just for reading books and long form text articles. It sucks for graphics and the browser is barely a joke.

Just depends on whether you really want an ereader or really want a multi-function tablet...

-Ray
Ray, that's what I realized...ipad or Nook. Spring is supposed to bring more tablets, so I'm waiting a bit before I buy.

Why does reading on the ipad bother your eyes? Font size?

Dekonick

02-02-2011, 10:52 AM

One last thing to remember - SIZE. The B&N Nook will fit in blue jeans back pocket. This may not be important to many folks, but having enough screen to read, and maintain easy portability is top in my criteria for choosing a reader. They all use the same bits, more or less, so whether it is Apple, Samsung, B&N - whomever - they are all mostly the same minus the operating system... and with a little tweaking they can all probably be made to run on any device. SO TRY TO USE ONE HOW YOU WILL USE IT. Don't just buy a name. A track bike made my Nagasawa will be a great bike, but it will suck ass if you plan on riding cross... size and function matters. There is a reason most paperback books are the size they are... and you probably want a reader to be somewhat close to that size... the 10" of the Ipad is too large for me... just cumbersome to hold and carry around. It feels like reading a coffee table picture book V.S. a paperback... if you get my drift.

csm

02-02-2011, 08:20 PM

I really like my kindle.

dave thompson

02-02-2011, 10:30 PM

My wife has a standard Kindle, loves it, it's been all over the world in the past few years. She gave me the Kindle DX and an iPad for Christmas. I too love my Kindle.