Electronic Readers-which one to get? (cover, ebook, great, buy book)

[sgresident]

I am considering an E-reader for Christmas and would like advice. I read quite a bit, and now that you can check library books out on an E-reader, I thought that my be a good present for my husband to get me for Christmas. Suggestions appreciated!

[PA2UK]

Between Nook and Kindle, I would recommend a Kindle. Advantages:

1. They have more titles available.
2. Prime members can borrow certain books for free.
3. I personally find Amazon's website easier to browse than Barnes & Noble, which is important when browsing for books. There's also third party advanced searches for Amazon like eReaderIQ.com | The Easier, Faster, Smarter Way to Kindle! - I don't know of any for B&N though (could be wrong, anyone know?).
4. Some Kindle models have features that the Nook doesn't, for example the text-to-speech feature (may not interest everyone but it does for me).
5. Amazon customer service is exceptional, much better than B&N
6. They have a cover with built-in light that I now can't live without
7. If you don't like your Kindle after all, they have a 30-day return policy, no questions asked (I've heard B&N won't accept returns once it's been removed from the packaging).
7. Kindle have more models to choose from - for example, if you don't want something with a touch screen, Kindle offer two models with no touch screen but Nook doesn't offer any.

Pros to the Nook, that I know of from research (I admit, I haven't tried one out in person because it's not available in the UK).

1. If you do want a touch screen, the Nook Touch (which has no ads) is cheaper than the Kindle Touch (with no ads).
2. The Nook Touch has side buttons to turn pages so while reading, you don't have to touch the screen (I guess this is a compromise for not having a non-touch screen option like Kindle does).

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

Between Nook and Kindle, I would recommend a Kindle. Advantages:

1. They have more titles available.
2. Prime members can borrow certain books for free.
3. I personally find Amazon's website easier to browse than Barnes & Noble, which is important when browsing for books. There's also third party advanced searches for Amazon like eReaderIQ.com | The Easier, Faster, Smarter Way to Kindle! - I don't know of any for B&N though (could be wrong, anyone know?).
4. Some Kindle models have features that the Nook doesn't, for example the text-to-speech feature (may not interest everyone but it does for me).
5. Amazon customer service is exceptional, much better than B&N
6. They have a cover with built-in light that I now can't live without
7. If you don't like your Kindle after all, they have a 30-day return policy, no questions asked (I've heard B&N won't accept returns once it's been removed from the packaging).
7. Kindle have more models to choose from - for example, if you don't want something with a touch screen, Kindle offer two models with no touch screen but Nook doesn't offer any.

Pros to the Nook, that I know of from research (I admit, I haven't tried one out in person because it's not available in the UK).

1. If you do want a touch screen, the Nook Touch (which has no ads) is cheaper than the Kindle Touch (with no ads).
2. The Nook Touch has side buttons to turn pages so while reading, you don't have to touch the screen (I guess this is a compromise for not having a non-touch screen option like Kindle does).

Is the Nook also e-ink? I thought it wasn't and, for someone who looks at a computer screen all day, I like that the Kindle is e-ink instead of a glaring screen.

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by DandJ

Is the Nook also e-ink? I thought it wasn't and, for someone who looks at a computer screen all day, I like that the Kindle is e-ink instead of a glaring screen.

The Nook Touch is e-ink. They also have a Nook Color which is backlit and a Nook Tablet, another backlit. But they only have one e-ink model whereas Kindle have 3 ("Basic" Kindle, Kindle Touch, and Kindle Keyboard).

[emily_williams81]

I would also recommend the Kindle. I had bought a Nook and didn't love it and I know have a Kindle and it's great.

[mllex]

I'm throwing in my vote for the nook. I debated for a long time and used this chart to help me. Finally, I chose the nook Simple Touch and love it. Here are my reasons why I prefer it:

1) I love the touch screen. I really dislike the keyboard and buttons on the Kindle. The buttons are too small for real typing, and I feel it takes up unnecessary space. The nook allows me to bring up the keyboard on the screen if I need one, which isn't often. Not having a physical keyboard makes it feel more like a "book" to me. That said, many folks don't mind the buttons on the Kindle, so it's a matter of personal preference.

2) The nook supports the ePUB format, which is the most widely used ebook format. For the longest time, ebooks from local libraries were available only in ePUB, as well as many free books on Project Gutenberg and Google Books. Now, some libraries have started to offer books in the Kindle format, but they are limited in quantity. Note that there is free software out there (e.g. Calibre) that converts ePUB to Kindle, but I prefer not to go through an extra step. As an aside, I didn't care for the "proprietary" nature of the Kindle format and wanted some thing more accessible.

3) Personal, live customer support. If I have trouble with my nook, I can go to my local B&N and get help that way. I really like the demo classes that B&N holds to show you how to work the nook.

4) The nook claims to have a longer battery life, lasting up to 2 months in 1 charge. When I was considering e-readers 3 months ago, the nook beat everyone else in this category.

5) The nook has an expandable memory/SD card slot. It means that if you want to store even more books, spend an extra few bucks on an SD card and voila. Kindle does not have this option.

6) The nook offers more ways to "read" a book. There are 4 ways to turn pages on nook - touch, swipe, plus 2 side buttons - which makes it easier depending on how you hold it.

7) The nook has better e-ink technology. This was definitely true when I bought mine (and may still be true - not sure since I haven't looked at anything else since August). I played with both the nook and Kindle and was really taken aback by the "refreshing" that the Kindle performed on every page turn. By contrast, the nook only refreshes every 5 pages or so, which made for a smoother reading experience. This could also be because the nook has a faster processor.

8) The nook had a 14-day return policy when I bought mine. You can definitely take it out of the package and play with it, then return it if you don't like it. It is shorter than the Kindle's 30 days, which people may prefer. I only needed a week to decide, so that was not a problem for me.

9) The plastic cover portion of the nook is rubberized plastic, which gives me a better grip than the Kindle I tried, which was plain plastic and not rubberized, thus a little slippery.

With all that said, it depends on what you intend to do with your e-reader. Do you want it to function more like a tablet? Do you want to read colorful magazines on it? Do you want to surf the net, play music, and play games on your e-reader? Do you want to be able to download books anywhere you go, even without wifi? If you want a simple e-reader with no frills, basic surfing ability, and don't need to buy books wherever you go, then you may find the nook Simple Touch to be quite adequate. I'm in that camp. However, if you like more bells and whistles to your e-reader, such as color, browser, music player, games, etc., then look to the nook Color or the various Kindle models or even an iPad.

I would highly recommend you physically try out the e-readers before deciding which to purchase. No matter which you choose, though, you'll have fun playing with it and really enjoy the ability to read wherever you go.

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by mllex

I'm throwing in my vote for the nook. I debated for a long time and used this chart to help me.

That chart is now outdated. It's comparing the Nook Touch against the Kindle Keyboard - whereas now that the Kindle Touch is out (which also has a touch screen), it would be better to compare that against the Nook Touch. Plus, pricing has changed. It may have been accurate when you were buying but anyone buying now should not use this outdated chart.

4) The nook claims to have a longer battery life, lasting up to 2 months in 1 charge. When I was considering e-readers 3 months ago, the nook beat everyone else in this category.

The Nook's 2-month battery life is based on a half hour daily usage. Kindle originally based their one month battery life on an hour usage. So if you do the math, they are the same. When Nook tried to make their battery life LOOK longer (though it's not), Amazon updated their info to say:

"A single charge lasts up to two months with wireless off based upon a half-hour of daily reading time. Keep wireless always on and it lasts for up to 6 weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store, web browsing, and downloading content."

7) The nook has better e-ink technology. This was definitely true when I bought mine (and may still be true - not sure since I haven't looked at anything else since August).

This is not true, they both use eInk Pearl technology and did so in August, even before the Kindle Touch announcement.

I played with both the nook and Kindle and was really taken aback by the "refreshing" that the Kindle performed on every page turn. By contrast, the nook only refreshes every 5 pages or so, which made for a smoother reading experience. This could also be because the nook has a faster processor.

The new Kindle Touch refreshes ever 5-6 pages but many people prefer the page refresh for each page. You really do get used to it - I don't even notice it anymore... and some people say that when it doesn't happen on every page turn, you don't get used to it and therefore you actually notice it more when it does happen only every 5-6 pages. Plus, you do get some ghosting. I heard during the press conference that Kindle Touch was going to make this an option - so if you want it to refresh every few pages, you could set it to that but if not, you can set it to refresh every page. Not sure if they followed through on that though.

I don't know about the processor but given that a lot of your info is now out of date, I would not be surprised if the Kindle Touch processor is the same speed as the Nook Touch.

Also, I wanted to mention on the issue of removable storage - I have never found my Kindle's lack of it to be a problem. Most Kindle models have 4GB of space and can hold literally thousands of ebooks. In my experience, unless you plan on using your ereader for lots of audiobooks too, the lack of removable storage so you can add more space is not going to be an issue.

[sgresident]

thanks for the input! sounds like kindle is the big winner.

[mllex]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

That chart is now outdated. It's comparing the Nook Touch against the Kindle Keyboard - whereas now that the Kindle Touch is out (which also has a touch screen), it would be better to compare that against the Nook Touch.

Yes, I realize it's outdated. I wrote I used it to help me. Nonetheless, I included it on the off chance one is considering buying another version of the Kindle, and the specs for the models indicated on the chart remain true. Doesn't mean one shouldn't do further research and just rely on what I provided. The internet is grand.

The Nook's 2-month battery life is based on a half hour daily usage. Kindle originally based their one month battery life on an hour usage. So if you do the math, they are the same. When Nook tried to make their battery life LOOK longer (though it's not), Amazon updated their info to say:

"A single charge lasts up to two months with wireless off based upon a half-hour of daily reading time. Keep wireless always on and it lasts for up to 6 weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store, web browsing, and downloading content."

Not quite true. I looked it up on Amazon yesterday, and this is what the site says about its $79 Kindle, which is more comparable with the nook Simple Touch: "One Month Battery Life No battery anxiety - read for up to one month on a single charge with wireless off and a half hour of reading per day." It's still 2 months with the nook Simple Touch, so math-wise, they are not the same. For the Kindle with keyboard, it is now updated to figure the same, math-wise, but it didn't used to be. Again, please read where I said that the nook claimed to have longer battery life.

they both use eInk Pearl technology and did so in August, even before the Kindle Touch announcement.

Please also re-read what I wrote about this. I never indicated the Kindle does not use e-ink. I wrote that the nook e-ink technology was better because it did not refresh on every page. The refresh on every page may not have bothered you, or you may prefer it, or you eventually got used to it, but it did bother me as an e-reader newbie. Then I realized there were e-readers out there that didn't do this. Other people may not know that.

And since the OP was asking for an opinion on e-readers, not just the Kindle, I put mine in for the nook. I qualified it based on my own experience with the nook, and the majority of its qualities still hold true. Goodness...didn't realize it was going to cause such a tizzy.

To the OP, I hope your husband gets you the e-reader you want and that you'll enjoy your new Christmas present immensely.

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by mllex

Not quite true. I looked it up on Amazon yesterday, and this is what the site says about its $79 Kindle, which is more comparable with the nook Simple Touch:

How is the $79 Kindle more comparable to the Nook Simple Touch? It does not have a touch screen like the Nook does. Just because the pricing is closer does not mean they are similar models. I readily admitted that the closest Kindle comparison to the Nook Simple Touch is more expensive - one of the downsides to the Kindle Touch.

Again, please read where I said that the nook claimed to have longer battery life.

Yep, and I was just clarifying that their claim is not true for the Kindle Touch or Keyboard.

Please also re-read what I wrote about this. I never indicated the Kindle does not use e-ink.

I didn't say that you did.

I wrote that the nook e-ink technology was better because it did not refresh on every page.

Well, it was a terminology issue then. The page refreshing is set by the firmware, not the e-ink technology. The Nook Simple Touch and ALL the Kindle e-ink models share the same e-ink technology knows as "eInk Pearl".

And since the OP was asking for an opinion on e-readers, not just the Kindle, I put mine in for the nook. I qualified it based on my own experience with the nook, and the majority of its qualities still hold true. Goodness...didn't realize it was going to cause such a tizzy.

There's no tizzy, I just noticed a lot of your info is outdated or wrong and I thought the OP would want to know. I know I would want to know in her position.