Do you use a Nook or Kindle?

sabastious

I am thinking about getting one. Do you use either? Would you like to give a review on the product?

-Sab

I've just gotten a Kindle, the 3G version. It will take some getting used to. So far what I like: It's convenient and simple to download books from Amazon. Kindle's 3G is free, and that's nice. There are lots of free classic books available. It's easy to read and easy to increase the font size. Its size seems OK, not too big or too little, and it's fairly responsive in "turning" the pages.

What I don't especially like: there is no sense of making progress through an ebook - what I have read so far only indicates what per cent of the book you've read. It's a bit clunky to navigate around in, so it's kind of hard to jump ahead to other parts of a book - it doesn't have a touch screen, but navigation buttons. I actually find myself reading less with it than a real book. It's so easy and convenient to get new books that I find myself putting too many books on and only reading a little bit from each book in one sitting. It's not back-lit so you need an external light source to read in the dark. I think the battery runs down faster than advertised - I do keep the wireless on, so that factors into it. But it does recharge pretty fast.

sabastious

Cool, thanks for the review! It doesn't tell you what page you are on?

-Sab

poppers

So far I haven't had a book that shows pages - some do and some don't. If there aren't pages built into the ebook it will show the % of the book read.

poppers

You can make bookmarks and leave notes, and access Google and Wikipedia with the 3G version. When you return to a book it will automatically put you back where you left off. Also, you can recharge it while connected to your computer via the USB port, or you can plug it directly into a wall socket, so that's nice.

poppers

Another thing I don't really don't care for is that you don't really feel like you are reading a book, only reading text. The table of contents justs lists titles you've downloaded - whatever is at the top is what you've read most recently. Compared to something like an iPad it really looks cheesy, whereas an iPad has a touch screen and you really get the feel that you've got a book in your hands and it's incredibly easy to navigate with. It has a "bookshelf" with your books on it, so that gives it a nice feel, unlike the list of titles a Kindle shows - that's just a cosmetic thing, but it think it adds to the enjoyment of the reading experience. The problem with the iPad is their cost - starting at $499 (that's too much for me) and they aren't readable in direct sunlight, unlike the Kindle, which is very easy on the eyes no matter what light you are in. The Kindle was a gift, and it's pretty affordable.

NewYork44M

I have a Kindle and love it. I have no experience with any of the competing products.

Mad Sweeney

When they get just a little bit closer to the abilities of an iPad or its knockoffs, I may.

CoonDawg

I bought my wife a kindle. She travels for work so it's convenient for her. It is small enough to fit in her purse and she can have a whole catalog of books to read. I have an iPad. I downloaded the kindle app so that we can share books. I also read quite a few for free from iBooks via project Gutenberg. I love my iPad for all of the other things that it does, but if you are looking for just a reader, the Kindle is a pretty reasonable alternative.

Oh, the other advantage to my iPad is that I have apps from textbook publishers so this semester, I spent a fraction on books compared to previous semesters. All available on my iPad w/ highlighting and annotation features built right in.

I quit!

I have a Nook Color and really like it. I also downloaded the Nook app for my cell phone. I can purchase books from Barnes and Noble on my Nook or my cell phone or my computer and have access to them on any of them. One thing I don't like on my Nook the pages don't turn the same as on the cell phone version. On my cell phone the Nook application has the virtual page turning thing so the pages actually look like they are turning which for me make it easier to see when you have turned the page.

As for the page numbers I'm not sure how that works. The pages have numbers but I'm not sure they correspond with the page numbers on a hard copy of a book. Maybe they do as long as you don't change the font size. When look at a book on my cell phone it is obvious the pages aren't number the same as in a real book. To get it to have the same number of pages a book the print would have to be so small you couldn't read it. I've purchase some magazines on my Nook and they look just like they would on my home computer but I do find them more awkward to navigate that a real magazine. I think it will get easier as I use it more.

I have full internet access on the Nook Color so I can even come to this site from it as long as as I'm in an internet hot spot. I haven't figured out how to post yet because for some reason I can't type in the area where you would type your comment. I have the same problem with my cell phone. On both devices I can send and receive email but not post here. If I hit send it will go through and show up here but for some reason I can't type a message.

I agree with Poppers about the direct sunlight on the iPad. That is also the case with the Nook Color. The other Nooks are like the Kindle and you can read them in the sunlight just like you could a book. With mine I have to look for some shade in order to see the screen. One nice thing I noticed on the iPad is that the page also turn like a real book. Both the Nook Color and the iPad are touch screens. The battery life is surprisingly good on the Nook Color.

If you are thinking of getting one and you have a Smartphone or iPhone you may want to download the Kindle and Nook application just to get an idea of how they work. I have both on apps on my phone and like both of them. I also had the Aldiko reader on my phone. It was good but had to remove it due to lack of space. As Poppers said you can get the classic for nothing or very little cost.

Do you use a Nook or Kindle?

Share this