Kindle originally uploaded by the.approximate.photographer
Mrs. Marcos is shopping for an e-book reader. We’ve been talking a bit about e-book readers in several threads including the book club, and a post about the Kindle and how much Tearitup loves hers but because Mrs. Macro can’t make a decision herself without an endless amount of research she’s asking for more help.
I personally have no interest in a straight up e-book reader and I have advocated for the iPad/2 to several people. There are many complaints that it can cause your eyes to become tired whereas the “e-ink” used by the Nook and Kindle do not create the same problem. However, the Nook and Kindle don’t do much other (out of the box) than read books whereas the iPad/2 acts as an e-book reader and a nearly full-functioning computer.
Mrs. Marcos provided an article from CNet which compares the Nook, Kindle, and iPad and offers suggestions on what you should buy but she wants to hear from you guys. So go ahead and vote on the sidebar and then comment on below with what you’d like to see. If you don’t already own one feel free to pick what you’d like to have right now or in the future.
After you do both of those things feel free to check out our expired polls in the archive or read through the previous posts about polls here.
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February 27th, 2011 at 8:04 am
I picked “Luddite” not because I’m against e-books, but because I love being surrounded by books and holding books, etc. But I think e-books have real applications. I think someday they would be a great replacement for school textbooks, so kids wouldn’t have to lug around a ton of books. I’d like one for my husband, who always has a book nearby, but doesn’t collect them.
I have a friend out in Mitchell, South Dakota; there’s only one bookstore nearby, and that’s half-and-half a gift shop. She adores having her Nook; she especially adores not paying the Amazon shipping fees.
Another friend had a key break off on her Kindle; the company quickly replaced the entire Kindle. She’s very pleased with their service plan.
Will e-books replace real books for children? One can argue about tactile experience, but kids today perceive the world differently. I honestly don’t know if they need real books in order to develop a love of reading.
Also, authors don’t have to rely on publishing houses to publish anymore. True, that can be a good thing or a bad thing, but I like the idea that an author can still be read, regardless of how many copies of Twilight a publishing house decides to print instead.
February 27th, 2011 at 8:14 am
I have the first Kindle and honestly I am not sure where it is. The new ones solved a big issue of there not being any good way to hold it but I still would skip it. I have an iPad and me and the girlfriend took turns using it last night. She is not reading on it and i do everything else on it. I also read on it. I have found the kindle selection of books is much better then the ibooks but both work great on the iPad so you get both sets.
The biggest issue I have with any of them, is if you read a really great book, I want to pass it on. That is much harder to do with an ebook. So the ebooks are usually reserved for the esoteric stuff and anything I think might be a great read is an actual book.
February 27th, 2011 at 8:26 am
I read all the time, so I love books. That being said, I love being able to download a book when the library is closed. Therefore, I really appreciated having some kind of device that allows me to do that. Believe it or not, but my iPod Touch is what I am using right now. I don’t experience eye strain since most of my reading is done in the half-hour bus ride home to Lakeville.
Ultimately, I plan to get a Blackberry Playbook. I like the iPad, but since most of my Capella downloadable content are PDFs, I must get something that can play nicely with that format.
Thanks!
February 27th, 2011 at 8:58 am
I have a nook. I looked at both the nook and the kindle, and I liked the touchscreen navigation on the nook better than the kindle keypad, and I liked the feel of it better than the kindle, so it’s what I got. I also get oodles of free barnes and noble gift cards by using swagbucks instead of google as my search engine, so I haven’t spent tons of money putting the 150+ books I have on my nook. The lending technology for the nook is much better as well, I can check out ebooks from the Hennepin County library without even leaving my house.
I didn’t vote in the side poll because I have an ereader, but I also spend oodles of time and money buying real books as well. Having the ereader gives me a lot more flexibility, we recently took a trip to Mexico for Christmas, and I packed two paperbacks and my nook. I was able to relax and read 18 books on my vacation without taking up valuable space inside my one free checked bag.
I will never stop buying real books, but I love having the flexibility of both. People who dismiss ereaders because they are “Luddites” seem a little too hardcore to me. I am a booklover, it’s my job to teach children to love books and reading, and if you’re reading, it doesn’t matter to me if it’s on a phone, ereader, ipad or newspaper.
I will say, I would save up and get an ipad before I got a nook color, but I love my e-ink reader.
February 27th, 2011 at 9:02 am
There is something about a real book in your hands that is lost. I wonder soon if any book you buy will come with a digital copy to put on your ipad much like DVDs these days where when you buy a dvd you get a Blue Ray copy, a regular dvd copy and a digital copy for your iphone/ipad. That way if you buy a good book you can read it at home and take it with you on a trip using a ipad.
February 27th, 2011 at 9:38 am
I have both a Kindle 3 (wi-fi) and Ipad. Prefer the kindle for book reading because of the screen – lighter – better battery life. To me the biggest Kindle downside is the hassle of getting and converting books from the library as it does not support Epub.
February 27th, 2011 at 10:51 am
I believe the latest version of iBooks for the iPad/iPod supports PDF files, at least much better than the first version.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
Interesting comments. I’m kind of an iPad fan myself, but understand the appeal of a dedicated e-reader like the Kindle or Nook. I wrote an article comparing all the current e-readers here:
http://www.quepublishing.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1665787
February 27th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
There is essentially two key differentiators when it comes between the Kindle and everything else. (Note the most current Nook is all color, no e-ink). #1 is E-ink, and the other is Whispernet. If you travel a lot, there can be significant benefit to whispernet as it works on the cellular network and gives you access to all the books Amazon has without wifi. Pretty slick, but only an issue for a those that don’t have Wifi and/or broadband. I can see a big benefit for country folk with no easy access to broadband!
The next is the e-ink, and that really only is a big benefit for outdoor book readers. Say if you are camping, hanging out at various outdoor events, sitting on your sun porch or hanging outside watching the world go by. LCD screens just can’t cut it good enough for outside. Even if you can see them, the eye strain will be so much more than with e-ink.
Outside those two use cases, I think something that does more makes more sense, especially if adding the book reading and other functionality can allow you to get rid of something else. I personally feel the Ipad is not that thing. It can do a lot, but in the end it will always be limited by being a tablet only and a closed Apple system. I guess if you have bought into the Apple way of life, the IPad is a given.
I think as Android and even more intriguing HP (WebOS) come up to speed as true competition, we’ll find some better alternatives to the Ipad. But if you need to buy today, pick the Kindle because of what it can do, or look at the Nook Color if you want a touch screen and perhaps other apps.
And finally, I already have a laptop and an android powered phone. Plenty of computing power on the go. The Kindle is my choice for a ebook reader.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
I’d wait for the next gen iPad. It does so much more than a dedicated e-reader.
Personally, I prefer printed books but it’s nice to have both.
February 27th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
As I may have mentioned, I love my Kindle. For reading I think the technology can’t be beat. Easy on the eyes and great outdoors. That said, I also want an iPad. I won’t be using the iPad for reading but for many other things such as streaming Netflix content, internet access and things like that.
As for an e-reader I would stick with a dedicated reader with e-ink technology. Whether that’s a Kindle or a Nook would depend on the content that you want to access. I don’t often use the library system so that wasn’t a consideration for me when I got my Kindle.
I bought a refurbed first gen Kindle when the 2nd gen were first out. It saved me a bundle and I was able to get an e-reader at a price that made me willing to give it a try. I haven’t regretted the decision for a minute.
February 27th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
I love the beauty of books, especially old ones. Before I went back to school I read a lot, but now have no time/desire to read beyond textbooks. I collect cookbooks and I love the photography as well as the splashes and wear on them from being used in the kitchen. I will probably buy a nook or whatever after the rest of the world have used them for a while, causing makers to a) perfect the technology, and b) lower the price.
February 27th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
For right now the ipad is a bit out of my price range. I’m basically trying to decide if I should try to get a refurbished Kindle or Nook…or if I should save up some Barnes & Noble gift cards or Amazon gift cards and get a brand new one. I really am torn, I love the idea of being able to check out books from the library via the Nook…but TearItUp is clearly influencing my decision with her endorsement of the Kindle (I think she’s the bee’s knees).
February 27th, 2011 at 9:50 pm
(Oh, and P.S. I picked “Luddite” simply because I don’t have an e-reader yet)
February 28th, 2011 at 8:38 am
I have a Nook- Chose it over the Kindle because of the propritary nature of the Kindle. I already have a iPod and iTunes so I have all the fucking DRM Bullshit I need. Nook allows PDF and E-Lib formats so you can borrow e materials from the library. I have the B/W version, not the color. Batter life is excellent with WiFi turned off, (dont’ really need it most of the time) and B&N has some great deals on books.
One thing I miss is Amazon’s recommendations, their profiling software is better than B&N’s, they actually recommend things I might want to read.
February 28th, 2011 at 8:42 am
I think if you have nothing, get an iPad and load up the Kindle software for free.
If you already have a Kindle or Nook, odds are you are eventually going to adopt a tablet (iPad, Xoom or whatever) at some point and then you probably will prefer your dedicated reader to your tablet (after all, they are dedicated for reading a book) but be miffed that your “new” tablet can basically do the same thing.
Also, if you go with a tablet instead of a dedicated reader, you won’t know if you missed something a bit more user friendly as I find the iPad extremely user friendly anyway. Plus, if you get bored with your book, you can play Angry Bird, which is quite vivid on the iPad.
February 28th, 2011 at 10:01 am
Just want to say thanks for all of this. We’re actually in the same decision process, but for our 8 year-old so the iPad isn’t under consideration.
We’re looking at buying one used off of Craigslist and it looks like they’re going for about $80-100 for the Nook.
If anyone is looking to unload a Nook for around that price, let me know. We’re probably looking to make the purchase in 1-2 weeks.
February 28th, 2011 at 11:16 am
Whatever anyone decides, waiting until the Apple announcement this week is probably a good idea.
Early speculation has the iPad2 retailing for $399 and the current inventory of “iPad1″ being slashed to as low as $299 for the 16 gig model.
This will clearly put a bunch of used iPads (that are a year old at worst) on the market for cheapsies, especially since Apple has so many loyalists that will run to the new product like the lemmings they are (which is good for us who mostly are probably not).
February 28th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
I am a lemming. I was getting all edgy just reading about the new one at $399.00 but don’t hold your breath. Apple always has the new one is cheaper rumor and it is almost never true.
February 28th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
I’ve eyed a Kindle on numerous occasions, what has kept me from buying one is the many unread books I’ve been stocking up on in my personal library. I am an Amazon used books junkie, and we recently got Amazon Prime free for a year in conjunction with the Amazon Mom service. Amazon fulfills a lot of used books now, and it’s hard to beat used copies, hardcover or paperback for 3-4 bucks, shipped in 2 days. Particularly because I like paper and I’m cheap on certain things. I’m not traveling a lot right now because of a young child, and I’m sure that would make a difference.
That said, my wife and I are likely going to buy an iPad 2 and I could see that fueling some kindle or ios book purchases – and likely a Kindle will follow (prefer the screen for longer reading because the back-lit displays don’t cut it for me), especially as the travel picks up.
February 28th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
Mrs. M, I thought we were friends. I endorse the Nook, but I no longer endorse you. :P Bee’s knees indeed.
I would have totally shared books with you too.
BK, you’re not paying attention, the original Nook isn’t backlit either.
FWIW, we’re contemplating getting another reader of some kind and it will either be a Nook color (since we have an e-ink already) or an Ipad, depending on the apple announcement the new Irving Washington mentioned.
February 28th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Aw, dm, you know you’re the cat’s meow! I certainly take into consideration your Nook endorsement! I’m just in the “gathering information” phase.
P.S. Can we still share books? :D
February 28th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
not if you buy a Kindle :)
February 28th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
I have a Kindle and what sold me on it was that you can register up to 6 devices on the same Amazon account, enabling you to “share” books. I’m on the same account with my husband and 3 sisters, so all 5 of us have access to all the books that any of us purchase.
I’ve had mine since the v.3 came out last fall and I love it. I wanted a device for only reading on, since I have a desktop and laptop at home, a work laptop and a smart phone. I wanted something easy on my eyes, small and lightweight, and good for reading on the bus ride downtown every day.
February 28th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
I have a Kindle DX. I love it. The two HUGE things for me are eInk and and the additional apps for other devices that Amazon supports. BTW the DX page size is about the same as hard cover book, which is the reason I got that one.
Nothing beats eInk for readability. (I include printed books in this.) Adjustable font size (and background/font color on color devices), the complete lack of flicker, and t I don’t have to adjust brightness.
The Kindle apps for other devices make the Kindle the device for me. I can download quickly and easily to my Android phone and it syncs my location across the two. BTW the HTC EVO 4G is a pretty good device for reading for short periods of time. I think this is the major benefit of the Kindle, over the nook. Being able to carry the book on my phone and my book reader and my PCs, and being able to go back and forth without worrying about finding my place is VERY nice. (Did I really use the word “and” 5 times in one sentence?!?)
If you want to surf the net or watch Netflix along with reading books get an iPad. If you want to read books get a Kindle or an eInk nook (not the nook Color).
I could go on and on… but I think the Kindle is the best choice. It just does all the little things right.
February 28th, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Public Radio’s Marketplace had a discussion about tablets last week, with the introduction of Motorola’s Xoom, and their bottom-line advice was to wait as long as possible before making a choice , because all these inter-related technologies are getting better and better very quickly, and the prices will continue to fall.
February 28th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
I’d stay away from the Xoom due to the ridiculously priced device (it basically has cell phone hardware with a substandard screen) unless you feel the need to be on the bleeding edge. I have a boss that loves the color nook, mostly because it is easily rooted and full blow Android apps run on it. I understand the Ipad’s draw, a device that is so much more than a e-reader. And I guess that is what you are drawn to, then do it. But if you want to read a book, and you feel you would want to read outside in sunshine, stick to a e-ink display device like the original nook or Kindle. If the kindle would drop the DRM, it would be a slam dunk.
March 1st, 2011 at 8:08 am
dm, you’re not the only one who’s told me not to overlook the nook. I’ll have to take another look at it if I decide to buy one.
March 1st, 2011 at 10:17 am
I have a 2nd gen Kindle and absolutely love it. The screen is nice, it’s extremely portable, and the battery lasts me about two weeks between charges (the 3rd gen is better yet in all of these regards). If you just want to read books, get something with e-ink. I am interested in a Nook Color, but only to put Android Honeycomb on it. The LCD screen is certainly inferior for reading books, not to mention draws a lot more power. I don’t see the point of the 1st gen Nooks, as you have the power drain of an LCD without having a full color display. It’s the worst of both worlds. If you want an iPad and are alright with the drawbacks I mentioned of a LCD unit, plus the far higher cost, go for it. I’d certainly wait for gen 2 at this point, though.
March 1st, 2011 at 10:19 am
I should also mention I don’t even use the DRM-riddled Amazon system. I just transfer books via USB using a free program called Calibre.
http://calibre-ebook.com/
March 1st, 2011 at 11:24 am
dm
Did you call me the new Irving Washington? Not sure I get that. He has very little in common with me from what I can tell.
March 1st, 2011 at 10:29 pm
While I read everyday, I don’t go through enough books to justify an e-reader. I would do the new Kindle with free 3G though if I were to buy one.
March 2nd, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Been going through a Harry Bosch book one more time in honor of the upcoming movie release. No, not the Lincoln Lawyer book, but “The Reversal”. A pretty good book.
We should really figure out what if anything we as a club want to try next. March will be over before you know it.
March 2nd, 2011 at 4:35 pm
For what it is worth, the original iPad went down to $399 starting (I think) on Friday when the “2″ hits stores. This means that a used iPad can easily be found on ebay for under $300 and in some cases even less.
Spend wisely, and get one while they last. I am quite interested in the 1080 hdmi out feature that this iPad2 has. If Netflix ever goes to real HD, I might have to make that change. No Apple TV necessary with the new product.
March 2nd, 2011 at 7:19 pm
http://www.apple.com/ipad/#video
I’m not generally a huge fan of Apple, but this is so cool!
March 4th, 2011 at 11:08 am
I wasn’t interested in an ereader at first, due mainly to the size. If I’m going to have one, i want to be able to pocket it. When I got my Droid X last summer I noticed a Kindle app on there. I bought a few low-cost books to test it out and found out I love having it.
Since then I’ve also downloaded FBReader for other ebook formats, and recently downloaded the OverDrive Media Console app, which allows me to hook up to the Hennepin County Library system’s ebook collection. I really like that app!
Since finding these apps for my Android phone, I have no reason for getting a dedicated ereader.
March 6th, 2011 at 7:02 am
[...] Book or E-Book and Which E-Book Reader Poll (36) [...]
March 6th, 2011 at 10:27 am
Amazingly, I’ve been able to read books via Apple’s iBooks app on my (*Gasp*) iPhone. It sucked much less than I thought it would. Thusly, the iPad my family is planning on getting in the coming weeks will probably make everybody pretty damned pleased.
I’ve seen the Kindle and the Nook. Yep, they are ever-so-slightly superior e-readers. But with the Nook and Kindle apps, plus iBooks, the reading chops of the iOS devices are plenty good enough for me.
March 6th, 2011 at 9:21 pm
Well, here is the big announcement. After much deliberation including hours of internet research by Mr Marcos, we have purchased a Nook Color from Barnes & Noble. He has figured out how to tap into the Android system so we have access to all their free apps, that is a nice plus. He’s added a drum playing game to it and that is what he’s playing with right now (otherwise I would have made my first Nook Color post). Thank you, everyone, for your information! I’m really excited! :)
Oh, and I expect DM’s endorsement to be reinstated ASAP.
March 6th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
I hereby endorse Mrs. Marcos for all your snark needs.
March 7th, 2011 at 7:09 am
That sounds awesome Mrs. M. Happy reading. :)
March 18th, 2011 at 8:47 am
While I love my Kindle for reading novels I find myself wanting more of a utility device for some other reading. I like the idea of a color screen for reading magazines to be specific. I was thinking of adding a Nook Color but now I wonder if I should just get an iPad. I know the prices for first gen iPads has come down since the release of the newer version. I don’t need a lot of bells and whistles but a nice sized color touch screen would be great. I don’t want to give up my Kindle but instead want to expand my options. I wonder though, how long it would be until I put away the Kindle and just use the iPad.
While I’m hesitant to make the iPad my dedicated e-reader due to backlighting of the screen I like the idea of color and better internet access.
April 11th, 2011 at 11:10 am
When this poll came out, I responded but didn’t really pay attention to the comments as I had no intention of buying a dedicated e-reader (I’m content to use book reader apps on my Android phone).
But now, my *nine* year old wants to start saving up his allowance money to buy a Nook. After cringing for the last two years as he wasted his money on Pokemon, Yu-gi-o and sports cards, I’m so glad he’s finally found something he wants that has substance and that he actually has to save money for. The kid is a voracious reader and if weren’t for the library, we’d go broke keeping him in books.
My only concern is that it will take him over 6 months to save enough on his $5/week allowance to buy one, so, I’m finding extra chores for him to do to earn more money.
Anyway, I’m glad to have this topic to go back and read to find out the relative merits of the different brands out there. We’re strongly leaning towards the Nook because of it’s compatibility with library ebooks, epub format, and because it’s the model he sees at Barnes & Noble so that’s what he really wants.
April 11th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Lenny,
I’m loving my Nook Color. I mentioned this above but just in case you missed it:
Good luck to your son on saving up for a big ticket item!
April 11th, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Thanks, Mrs. Marcos, for pointing that out. Were it for me, I’d be on it. I’m the type that usually does that sort of thing. Since this is for my son, I’m not sure I want to do anything to it that would be a distraction to him…meaning I don’t want him not using it for reading, because he can do other things with it.
Then again, this is a kid who thinks it’s punishment, and will literally cry, if we tell him he can’t read before bed because it’s too late, so maybe I have nothing to worry about. Yeah…I’ll probably tap into it.
April 11th, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Do you know if that works just for the color version or will it work on the B&W version?
April 11th, 2011 at 8:04 pm
I’m technologically challenged, but I believe it is only on the Color version. (I’ll double check with the Mister when he gets home to verify)
April 11th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Per Mr Marcos, yes, the android stuff only works on the Nook Color. He also said that he thinks the readability on the B&W is actually better than the Color so if your son is only going to read with it you might as well save the money and go with the B&W.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:56 am
Would you pay $25 less for a Kindle and have it be ad-supported instead?
See here for more info
April 12th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
I saw that this morning. The ads are in place of the standard screen savers and will not pop-up when you’re reading.
April 13th, 2011 at 8:15 am
Woot has the Nook 3G + WiFi eReader on sale today for $105, including shipping. This is a refurbished model
http://www.woot.com
I don’t care about the 3G part, but it’s still $50 less than the WiFi Nook, so we’re going to buy this for my son and not let him use it until he’s saved up the money.
October 16th, 2011 at 7:33 pm
I know I’m late to the game on this post, but I just picked up an e-reader today. I ended up getting a brand new Kindle for $80 at Best Buy. The size and form factor is perfect. I had gift cards to burn, and the price was hard to pass up. I took a serious look at the Nook, the only problem is that I don’t really like B&Ns website nearly as much as Amazon’s. Also, I plan on downloading technical manuals to the device so that I can have reference manuals while I’m working without wasting a bunch of space in my cubicle.
I decided against the touch version, just because I’m not sure when I’d use the screen. If I need to buy another book to download to my device, I can use my Android phone to make the purchase and share WiFi to the Kindle to download the book after the purchase. The ads aren’t really bothersome either, as it’s only on the home page, and when the screen saver is activated. I’ll take the $30 to spend on accessories, and/or books.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:00 am
Welcome to the wonderful world of Kindle Nils.