Ditto.
I have a nook, and I love it. I’m not totally sure what differentiates it from the Kindle (my husband gave it to me as a gift, so I didn’t do any comparison shopping myself), but one of the things I like best about it is the little color touch screen. It’s much much easier for me to recognize and choose a book by looking at the covers than just seeing a list in plain text on the screen.
The reason my husband selected the nook is that it gives you access to all the free documents on Google. We’ve downloaded a bunch of stuff from that.
The battery life hasn’t been a problem for me. When I have it in airplane mode (wireless turned off), it lasts about 10 days.
Yes, I’d like to know as well.
Here’s my question – do any of you read your ereaders in the bathtub?
This may seem frivlous, but the fact is, I’ve been reading in the bathtub for over 40 years now and the idea of giving that up is probably the main thing preventing me from taking the ereader plunge…
Good question! I do not bring my e-reader in the tub. But, on the other hand, I haven’t exactly given up regular books (the library is still a lot cheaper than a $12 download!), so I do still read in the tub.
What about combining a Kindle and Nook? Then readers can enjoy the Canucks.
Sorry, sorry, bad pun, I know…
My girlfriend has a Nook and she swears by it. She likes the fact that it’s like an actual book, how she can buy new books on it directly from the stores, and how she can take it anywhere, although from what I know, Kindles do all of that too. She’s tried a Kindle, too, though…and says she prefers the Nook over it.
I have yet to try either.
Amazon’s new models, new price, and this thread have convinced me to get a Kindle (and I’m an old fuddy-duddy). But one thing perplexes me: should I get the 3G model?
At first I was definitely going with the new $139 WiFi model, as I have WiFi networks at home and at work, and I rarely travel outside my metro area. But when I read a list of, say, free books available from Amazon I see the notation “Kindle Price: $0.00 & includes wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet”. Here’s an example URL with that notation:
If I understand correctly, Whispernet is Amazon’s free 3G Kindle service (piggybacking on someone else’s network, of course). Does the “wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet” mean that the only way I can get this book is if I have a 3G model? Or does it mean that the only way I can get this book conveniently is with the 3G model? Before reading the Whispernet delivery notation, I would have assumed I could easily download ANY ebook I ordered via Amazon via WiFi, if I was in range, but this notation makes me think otherwise.
FWIW, I also plan on getting magazine/newspaper subscriptions when I get my Kindle. Will their automatic delivery require the 3G model?
I’m sure you’ll be able to download anything by wifi that you can get with the current Kindle’s Whispernet.
What** Zsofia** said. The available content is the same regardless which connection method you choose. The advantage of Whispernet over Wi-Fi is convenience. However, for me, that’s a big advantage. Being able to download a new book while I’m waiting for a flight, or while on a train from Providence to DC is invaluable to me.
YES! Definitely worth the extra investment.
I’m a fan of Nook in the tub. All the time. I don’t regularly drop paper books and I dont drop my Nook. I bring my iPhone too, btw.
I have Kindle on my PDA, which is obviously not the full e-book experience but is free and good enough for me.
Having said that, were I in the market, I might take note – it wouldn’t be a deal killer, but I’d take note – that I’m not 100% sure about BN’s long term viability as a company. Borders is probably closer to going bust, but BN has not been a darling of the investing public in recent years and if the great Nook experiment doesn’t pay off (the recent price cuts can’t help much), companies who are rooted in a bricks and mortar past may not be super viable.
Of course it would probably take awhile for a death spiral scenario to work out for BKS and most electronics investments these days are (for most people) done with a year or two year obsolescence/replacement assumption built in anyhow.
Hmm, this is an excellent point, and one I hadn’t considered. In all these years of readng in the tub I’ve dropped a book only once that I remember. In fact, because an ereader would be so light, it would probably prevent droppage – the one book I remember dropping in the tub was a hardcover of The Stand, which weighed about 12 pounds…
You can use e-readers in the tub without a problem. You can either buy a waterproof case made specifically for your device, or just do what I do and put it in a Ziploc bag.
Any idea how to figure out how to undo whatever it was that I did so I can get the update?
The problem for me is that I don’t know if there is more than one screensaver hack out there and if there is couldn’t say how to figure out which one you used.
Since you’d have saved the hack to your computer in order to manually transfer it onto your Kindle, might the file still be on there that you could confirm against?
If there are multiple hacks, this seems the most common and there are instructions on that page for uninstalling.
Absolutely. Here are all the things I’ve found that I love about the Nook over Kindle. Some of them are little details, but they all add up.
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The power button. Nook’s is easy to press, Kindle’s is a slider that is annoying to use - especially when it’s in the waterproof case that I take to the pool/beach.
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The case. Nook has a semi-soft back that feels better in the hand. Kindle’s back is hard
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Nook displays the time at the top of every screen. You have to go to the menu to see the time on Kindle
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The color screen. At first I thought it would be a novelty, but it is not only fun, but very functional. It’s super easy to navigate to different functions using the screen.
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Swipe to turn pages with the Nook touch screen.
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The page turn buttons are layed out and designed better than Kindle
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I love the “Reading Now” touch screen button to quickly switch to the last book you were reading. With Kindle, after you have closed the book, you have to search through your library unless you have it sorted to show the last read book at the top.
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The ease of using custom screen savers AND wallpaper. Kindle 2 could be hacked to add screen savers, but not a custom wallpaper.
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More font choices. Again, Kindle could be hacked to change the font, but Nook gives you the option to change fonts from the menu.
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Speed of shopping for a new book. This is due to the Nook having WiFi (which is faster than 3G). The new Kindle has WiFI in addition to 3G, so this would be a non-issue with the newer models.
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WiFi will automatically turn off on Nook after inactivity, but not so with Kindle. It will eventually run your battery down if you forget to turn it off
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Storage expansion - You have the option of adding additional storage via SD card on the Nook
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Replaceable battery. I don’t know that this would be necessary, but it’s good to have the option.
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The ability to read more formats. I’m currently reading a library book I downloaded onto Nook
I’m not trying to say that Kindle is a bad choice because they are both fabulous tree-saving inventions and I’ve always been a supporter of electronic books. What I am saying is that I think Nook is the better choice. At least for me.
For those that like to read in the bath tub, I use Trendy Digital’s waterproof case http://trendydigital.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_8&products_id=9. Highly recommended :).
This is not an attempt to talk you out of any of preferring any of these features as most of it is subjective. Just some thoughts and questions.
Absolutely. Here are all the things I’ve found that I love about the Nook over Kindle. Some of them are little details, but they all add up.
**- The power button. Nook’s is easy to press, Kindle’s is a slider that is annoying to use **
Is it every too easy to press? Any accidental button pushing. I agree that the slider on the Kindle is a bit annoying but I rarely turn it off (just letting it do that automatically) and turning it on is pretty much completely integrated into the motion of open the case anyway so I don’t think I lose any time.
- The case. Nook has a semi-soft back that feels better in the hand. Kindle’s back is hard
I find the Kindle awkward to hold without a cover. Just the Kindle alone is too thin to hold comfortably for me.
- Swipe to turn pages with the Nook touch screen. Is that the only way to change pages or are there buttons too? I’d say 90% of the time I’m reading my Kindle I’m holding it one handed and clicking next page with the thumb of the same hand. Can you do that with a Nook?
**- I love the “Reading Now” touch screen button to quickly switch to the last book you were reading. With Kindle, after you have closed the book, you have to search through your library unless you have it sorted to show the last read book at the top.
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Last read is my default sort, haven’t found any value in keeping it sorted any other way except when specifically needed.
**- More font choices. Again, Kindle could be hacked to change the font, but Nook gives you the option to change fonts from the menu.
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More fonts will be part of the Kindle 3 but it is an obvious feature they should have had from the beginning.
**- Speed of shopping for a new book. This is due to the Nook having WiFi (which is faster than 3G). The new Kindle has WiFI in addition to 3G, so this would be a non-issue with the newer models.
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Shopping for books on the Kindle sucks regardless of speed unless you know the specific book you want in which case type of connection doesn’t matter a whole lot to me. But the structure for browsing is so fubared by Amazon that it is nearly impossible. That would be an easy area for any other eBook/Library to beat Amazon on.
- Storage expansion - You have the option of adding additional storage via SD card on the Nook
This was the feature I was most annoyed at losing when going from Kindle 1 to Kindle 2 but it hasn’t actually mattered. Unless you’re downloading entire free libraries just to have them handy most people will never fill any eReader they have.
I have a nook as well, so I may be able to answer:
[QUOTE=obfusciatrist;12755371**- The power button. Nook’s is easy to press, Kindle’s is a slider that is annoying to use **
Is it every too easy to press? Any accidental button pushing. I agree that the slider on the Kindle is a bit annoying but I rarely turn it off (just letting it do that automatically) and turning it on is pretty much completely integrated into the motion of open the case anyway so I don’t think I lose any time.[/Quote]
It’s easy to press. It’s at the top of the device so you won’t accidentally turn it off.
There are buttons on the sides just like the Kindle has. You can turn the page with just one hand.
[/QUOTE]
One thing I dislike about the nook is my google goggles is automatically synced with Amazon. So I can go to Borders, take a picture of the cover of a book I want and it’ll automatically link me to Amazon within seconds. I don’t think I can get it to go to Barnes and Nobles.
Question though: am I able to download books from Amazon and read them on my nook? Also, how hard is it to get books of Project Gutenburg? Would I be able to read those books on a Kindle?
You can definitely read Project Gutenburg books on the Kindle. There are several little programs you can use to make them more visually appealing as well.