eReader purchase advice

[Mike Cornelsen]

I received a new Barnes & Noble nook for Xmas and 3/4 of the way through my first book, the screen develops permanent vertical lines in the lower LH quadrant. Having researched eReaders before asking Santa, I read about people sending in brand new nooks for repair and receiving a "refurbished" replacement. $150 for a used nook? Fortunately Santa purchased my nook at Best Buy, not Barnes & Noble. As soon as Santa snail-mails me the receipt, I'm hoping BB will replace it with another new one, not a refurbished one.

[Matt Meiser]

Santa brought LOML and I both Kindles. I'm about 3/4 through my first book and I'm liking it more and more.

[Bryan Morgan]

Did you get the e-ink version or the color? My wife bought herself the color version. Its similar to an ipad once you hack it. I researched the heck out of these things for a few years and finally let her get this one. I haven't really heard of anyone having troubles with the e-ink displays. She really wanted a kindle but I wouldn't allow it as its way too limited and tied to Amazon (in the way Mac products are so tied to Apple.... not having any of this. My hardware is mine, I'm not leasing or renting it). So far she really likes it. I was concerned she would not like staring at the color screen for hours while reading but she really doesn't mind. I'd prefer the e-ink for reading but won't spend that much cash on such limited hardware. The color made more sense.

The only thing that is a little lame is the price of books. "hardcovers" cost more, apparently.... my wife wanted a book and the lady said it was $25 for the "hardcover" version on the nook... my wife asked if she actually got a physical book for that price and was told no. My wife laughed and pointed at the nook and asked "hardcover huh? softcover? different prices for DIGITAL NON-TANGIBLE BOOKS?!" The lady didn't know what to say. I get her books from other places (which is why the nook is superior) instead.

[Mike Cornelsen]

I went with the e-ink version since all the research said it was easier on the eyes. And I too went with the nook because it isn't locked to one company and I can change the battery myself instead of having to ship it to a service center.

[Jeff Monson]

I bought my wife a kindle for christmas also, she loves it. Its extremely easy to use and buy books. I cant imagine the amount of money amazon is making off of kindle sales and book sales.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

I got my Kindle a year ago at Christmas.

Had not read for the fun of it in 30 years.

Read about 25 books last year.

Kindle rules! http://www.unclebill.us/alts/excellent.gif

[Glenn Clabo]

My wife and I are techno geeks...and big time readers. Even though we have access to all the readers/equipment...we always do our real "reading" on the Kindles. I don't understand the "it's locked into one company...piece of equipment" thing. We use our Kindles for PDF's, sharing books, blogs, mag, and newspapers...AND other than Amazon books. If you have Kindle for...Iphone...Ipad...Desktop...you have sync'd access to everything you own...wherever you're at. On top of it all the ease of getting a book through Amazon is a huge plus.

[Gordon Eyre]

I bought a Kindle for my wife and she loves it. I must admit that I like it as well even though I own an iPad and use it for most of my book reading.

[Shawn Pixley]

I considered both the Kindle and the Nook. I ended up with the iPad. I have the kindle app as well as iBooks. There is some difference as to the selections of books between systems. I wanted the flexibility. These are great to travel with carry one small item rather than 4-5 books.

[Don Alexander]

if its like most warranties they have the option of repairing the one you have or replacing it (hopefully with a new one) you do realise i'm sure that if they choose option 1 you will in fact have a refurbished one vv:eek:

[Bryan Morgan]

My wife and I are techno geeks...and big time readers. Even though we have access to all the readers/equipment...we always do our real "reading" on the Kindles. I don't understand the "it's locked into one company...piece of equipment" thing. We use our Kindles for PDF's, sharing books, blogs, mag, and newspapers...AND other than Amazon books. If you have Kindle for...Iphone...Ipad...Desktop...you have sync'd access to everything you own...wherever you're at. On top of it all the ease of getting a book through Amazon is a huge plus.

From my reading and a friend who has a kindle, you either have to convert files first to the kindles format or use some itunes type software. Is this not true? With the nook, it works like any thumb drive (no software or anything needed). Just plug it in and drag your files into whatever directories you want. No need to convert anything, epub, pdf, txt, etc.

[Jonathan Spool]

I love my iPad, and have no issues with it being hard on the eyes at all. I get my books from iBooks and B&N. Since I purchase nature and travel books as well as novels, the quality of the color photos on the screen is important to me.

[Curt Harms]

How tied to Barnes & Noble is the Nook? B & N has been in the business news and not in a good way. Having a device that will display different file formats and having removable/replaceable batteries is a real benefit to me. it'll be interesting to see what comes out of CES (Consumer Electronics Show) as far as tablets & e-readers.

[Glenn Clabo]

Bryan...yes and no. We have never found it hard to get just about anything we want on a Kindle by drag and drop..or emailing. In fact...my first use of a Kindle was for large drawings converted to pdf's. I'm sure there are some protected files...but we have always found ways around it.
"Both Macintosh and Windows users can download and transfer Kindle content, personal documents, and MP3 and Audible files from their computers to their Kindles through the USB connection. When your Kindle is plugged into your computer, your Kindle will appear as a removable mass-storage device. Kindle's Personal Document Service (via Whispernet) allows you to e-mail files to your Kindle's e-mail address. Then, Amazon can transfer the file(s) wirelessly in a Kindle-compatible format to the device(s) for a fee. To avoid a fee, or if you're not in wireless range, you can send an e-mail to "name"@free.kindle.com and download the files via USB to the device(s).
You can purchase and wirelessly download Kindle books, newspapers, magazines and blogs from the Kindle Store as well as download and read other types of non-DRM text-based content on your Kindle. You can also play Audible audiobooks or MP3 files. When your Kindle is connected to a computer and mounted as a USB drive, you will see three default directories or folders. Here's a list of the directories and the file types recognized by Kindle:

Documents: Kindle (.AZW, .AZW1). Text (.TXT)
Unprotected Mobipocket (.MOBI, .PRC)
Audible: Audible (.AA, .AAX)
Music: MP3 (.MP3)
Personal Documents
Kindle's Personal Document Service (via Whispernet) allows you to e-mail the following approved file types to your Kindle's e-mail address:

Microsoft Word (.DOC)
Structured HTML (.HTML, .HTM)
RTF (.RTF)
JPEG (.JPEG, .JPG)
GIF (.GIF)
PNG (.PNG)
BMP (.BMP)
PDF (.PDF)
Microsoft Word (.DOCX) is supported in our experimental category.
The above file types can also be combined in a compressed ZIP (.ZIP) file. ZIP files are automatically opened up by the conversion service, converted to the Kindle format, and sent to your Kindle or computer as specified.

The experimental category represents the features we are working on to enhance the Kindle experience even further. You can e-mail your PDF or DOCX files wirelessly to your Kindle.
Built-in PDF Reader for Kindle (Free 3G) and Kindle (U.S. Wireless) devices
Your Kindle can now display PDF documents without losing the formatting of the original file. Send PDF documents directly to your Kindle (via your @Kindle address) or drag and drop PDF files from your computer to your Kindle (when connected via USB). You can also magnify PDFs by viewing them in landscape mode.

Option to Convert PDF Files to Kindle Format
If you prefer to have your personal PDF documents converted to the Kindle format so you can take advantage of Kindle functionality such as variable font size, annotation, Text-to-Speech, etc., type "Convert" in the subject of the e-mail when you submit your personal document to your @kindle.com address."

[Chris Kennedy]

I have the Kindle DX, and I have to admit, I really like it. I bought it through work because I had some funds available to me and one of the major publishers in my field has gone over to Kindle. So, I thought being able to carry around a bunch of references rather than lug books around would be nice.

I was really surprised how easy it was to read from. I find backlit screens hard to read from for long periods, but I can read from my Kindle for hours and hours. I have found myself using it for recreational reading as well, which I never expected I would.

As for the limited functionality, I kind of like having a dedicated reader. But then again, my work keeps me tied to an office for the most part, so I don't really find a need for portable computing.

Chris

[Dave Lehnert]

I like the idea of an e-reader but feel things are not up to par yet for me to pull the trigger.
One would think at this point every magazine and newspaper would be in an e-reader format by now. And based on reviews the newspapers that are available are not well thought of in ease of reading.
I think it would be great if a magazine like Popular Woodworking would offer an e-reader copy as part of the hard copy subscription.
Being able to store all your tool owners manuals on one would be fantastic.

[Bryan Morgan]

Bryan...yes and no. <snipped for brevity>"

Yeah... see that doesn't sound so convenient. That was one of my main issues with the kindle. While I don't really have an issue converting stuff or whatever, my wife would never go for that. She will drag and drop and thats about the extent of her tolerance for gadgets. :) As soon as a wizard pops up or any applications she has to run first to get files onto something she will turn it off and put in on the shelf or give it away. She has an ipod and luckily I found Sharepod to run on it rather than itunes. She can drag and drop with that and shes ok with it. She uses thumb drives for her work documents so thats what shes used to. :)

[Bryan Morgan]

I like the idea of an e-reader but feel things are not up to par yet for me to pull the trigger.
One would think at this point every magazine and newspaper would be in an e-reader format by now. And based on reviews the newspapers that are available are not well thought of in ease of reading.
I think it would be great if a magazine like Popular Woodworking would offer an e-reader copy as part of the hard copy subscription.
Being able to store all your tool owners manuals on one would be fantastic.

They do have PDFs and they look great on the nook color. Wood, Woodworkers Journal, etc...