Which e-Book Reader Should You Buy? - Comments Page 1

NONE - read a real book!

I own and use both small Kindle and two Nooks. I don't notice much difference in quality of screen view but like much more the softwear on Nooks. I keep the Kindle around because lots of free/cheaper stories come from Amazon.

In a forgotten drawer lies another Nook, smaller but illuminated, and like so many of these mentioned on the Internet, it's screen cracked quickly and leaked light was a distraction. No such problems with my 7" backlighted reader.

Lenovo 10" running Kindle app and a free reader on android. Bought from Amazon running an earlier android at half price about two years ago. over 100 files (books and collections) loaded and still not 10% into the memory!

The resolution is great and it does all the tablet stuff.

I have no problem with 'eye strain' and am a migraine sufferer.

I love books BUT the reading light keeps herself awake and I don't want to wake up singing soprano!

I would hate to have a 7" screen, as even with a 10" one, many diagrams and maps are totally useless. The conversion of text to ebooks is really variable with many large publishers being the worst offenders.

The cost of ebooks on Amazon is, to say the least, questionable. Many cost as much or more than paperbacks. Without material, production or even physical delivery costs, this profiteering is indefensible.

Jon

P.S. In the UK physical books are Value Added Tax free. EBooks have 20% tax added. I have taken this into account when using the word profiteering.

I have a Nook simple touch reader and a Nook HD. I love them both and I'm totally satisfied with both of them. I can adjust the print type to fit my older eye's needs.
I also have a Samsung tablet I use with the Kindle app. I'm able to catch the deals only available on Amazon.
I enjoy reading my books on all three devices and I don't have a single complaint.

"It goes without saying that if you have a Kindle, you're limited to buying ebooks from Amazon".
It goes without saying this is nonsense. There are other vendors selling Kindle-compatible ebooks, and Amazon itself provides a free conversion service.

EDITOR'S NOTE: You're right. I should have said that Amazon and B&N both try to trap you in their proprietary ecosystems, and make it hard to buy from other vendors. For example, you don't have the option on a Kindle to decide what ebook store you'll use.

I have both a Kindle paperwhite and a Kindle HD. I prefer the paperwhite for reading esp. in bright sun. But since mine doesn't have a light I need to attach one to read in the dark but can read the Kindle HD in the dark. I like the "swipe-ability" of the HD but prefer the paperwhite's screen for reading. The paperwhite lets me organize my books into "Collections" but I have to use an app to do so on the HD. It's faster & easier to navigate the HD using the touch screen than using the 5 position controller on the paperwhite. I would love to have a merge of the best features of the two.

It just figures that now, one has to PAY FOR NO ADVERTISEMENTS. I don't care how nice the Paperwhite is or could be. Just another thing that one has to remember to charge or replace batteries in. What was wrong with a real, honest-to-goodness book? And coming from the local public library, already paid for with one's tax money!? Such a deal! While I admit to using my Nexus 7 to read an occasional e-book, nothing can beat ink on paper. Call me an old coot! I love being an old coot!

Bob, You failed to mention that Kindle owners can also use Calibre to convert EPUB files to AZW or MOBI format. You are NOT stuck with only buying books from Amazon.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Actually, I did mention (and link to) Calibre. :-)

I use my Android phone for my reading needs. I have the Galaxy note 3 and find it large enough to read comfortably. Perhaps someone could answer this question though. When I drive I like to listen to my books. I guess I'm looking for a text to speech application that works for all different formats. Is there an all around text to speach application that will work on anything yet you put on the screen? I have dozens of different formats and three different languages to contend with. Any ideas?
Thanks.

Moonreader Pro on Android phone. Great functionality, reads anything, with me all the time, pocketable - and I have control, unlike the Kindle.

I'll stick with the V2kindle I have for now. I can read my library from it in the reading room, from my iPad at the kitchen table or from my laptop in my lounger. They coordinate the farthest page read and share notes.

This statement is not true from the article.

"And similarly, with a NOOK, you'll be buying your ebooks from Barnes & Noble."

Nook readers supports open standards and you can buy /read books from other sources. I have many EPUB formated books from non-B/N sources on my HD+ nook.

From B/N FAQ: What format of books does NOOK support?

EPUB & PagePerfect™ NOOK Books are the standard format for NOOK Books in the NOOK Store. NOOK HD and HD+ supports ePub, CBZ and PDF formatted books.

I reluctantly changed from bound books to a Kindle Paperwhite about a year ago. One feature that I enjoy requires having the Kindle app on my Android phone and my iPad. So long as I end a reading session with WIFI engaged, Amazon tracks where I stopped reading. Whichever device I pick up next to read, my phone or my iPad, the Kindle app will retrieve the data from Amazon and a dialog box will ask if I want to be brought to the page I was at on the other device.
Going one expensive step further, if you purchase the book as text AND audio from Audible - an Amazon company) you can cycle back and forth from text to audio with Amazon keeping your pages sync'ed. However, the cost for an Audible book is considerably higher than the text cost, so you are buying two copies of the same book.
One other feature that I appreciate on my Kindle Fire (yes, two K's) is that I can not only highlight text, but I can use 4 different highlight colors simultaneously. I missed underlining and notating my bound books, this is an appreciated feature. But, this Kindle reader is quite expensive, so mostly I highlight in grey on my Paperwhite (which transfers from format to format.)
BTW, if you haven't switched from bound to an ereader yet, when you do I suggest you get as your first book a page turner; something you can't put down. When you are engrossed in the reading you will quickly become desensitized to the format change.

I have a Kindle Fire HD. I love it. In fact I probably read more than I did before I got the Kindle. It has taken the place of my laptop, though there are somethings a computer does better.I do feel I am reading books I never would have read before. And also have found books I wanted for a long Tim because I wore out the hard copy I had.

I had an Auroatek Pro. No WIFI; no 3G. Plug it into the computer to transfer a downloaded book. Works great. My husband prefers it because there is no electronic time stamp and books don't expire from the library. I prefer to read on my Google Nexus 7". Only drawback is that you can't read in the sun. Love electronic books, especially when we travel in our RV.

I have the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight and the Nook HD tablet. I have over 800 books, and can read all of the same books on both. It depends on which environment I'm in at the moment, and which one I have with me. I prefer reading on the Nook HD since it doubles as a computer when in range of a Wi-fi hotspot. But for plain reading, either will do fine. Of course the Simple Touch will last for days on a charge, while the HD would need a recharge after about 8 hours. As for e-books, I can buy Amazon Kindle e-books and read them easily on the Nook HD in the free Kindle app. I can also read Kindle e-books on the Simple Touch after importing them into the free Calibre PC program, formatting them if necessary, and de-DRMing them. So it's not important where I get my e-books from. With PDF's, it's really not practical to read them on the Simple Touch due to the inflexibility of their format and text size. They can be read beautifully, however, on the Nook HD.

As for reading real books, I don't bother anymore. Who wants to keep holding a paper book open (some larger tomes are bulky and heavy) and turning their pages? And how would I carry around 800 paper books and switch among them with a couple of finger-swipes? Also, you can't look up definitions of words in paper books, and you can't click on links to Internet sites and have you taken there in a few seconds (on the Nook HD) for in-depth reference? There's just no comparison!

You are not entirely limited to only Amazon to download to Kindle. I buy from Baen Books .mobi and use Book View Cafe .mobi and they load very well. However many seem to go to docs instead of books. Does not really bother me. The main problem is that Amazon can and will remove things from your kindle without you knowing until you try to find them. I download onto my pc to make sure I still have the books I bought from other places. I still buy paper books and read them, the Kindle is for portability.

I have the Kindle Paperwhite. It is my 4th kindle as I always buy the newest model when it comes out. I love the Kindles and I find they have more than enough titles, and usually the best prices. I also have an iPad Mini which I read library books on. Here in Canada the library's don't support Kindle.

I have arthritis in my fingers so an ereader, and the iPad Mini, is perfect for me.

Love my Kindle Fire HD 8.9. I'll never look back.

I agree with John Beck. Having a Kindle Fire HD has increased my reading greatly. I happen to have the larger one (due to eyesight problems). It also has the ability to check email, surf and shop the internet. The Fire has color too which I absolutely love! A grand invention.

I also have a regular Kindle used less often. My home is full of books - books that I can really no longer care for. They own me. Not so with my Kindles. Main care is keeping things charged up which I can do while I charge up (sleep).

I have 2 Kindle Fire tablets & a Kindle Basic e-reader. I prefer the Fire tablets but the basic e-reader is great to read on as well. You are not restricted to buying ebooks from Amazon only, it's just harder to get the files on the tablet or reader if you don't buy directly from Amazon. I know of a few other folks that have more ebooks from sources other than Amazon on their Kindles than they have gotten directly from Amazon. Like other technology, if you know more than the basic information, there are lots of options available for reading material on your Kindle.