...Kindle 2? My nook won't be here until mid Jan and considering all the problems Im not so sure all the bugs will be gone by then. I basically just want a device that works. I don't need the frustration. I guess Ive been spoiled by Apple. What would you do and why? Thanks.

...Kindle 2? My nook won't be here until mid Jan and considering all the problems Im not so sure all the bugs will be gone by then. I basically just want a device that works. I don't need the frustration. I guess Ive been spoiled by Apple. What would you do and why? Thanks.

The Kindle does "just work" right out of the box. The nook is going thru some pains right now but in a few months it could be a very different story (on the positive side).

If you don't want to wait get the Kindle. If you're willing to wait, see what happens with the nook software fixes then make your decision. Or wait until after CES next month when many more choices will be introduced.

Good luck with your decision. :)

Actually, the Sony PRS-900 is a good choice. I know its not available right now, but it is available for pre-order now.

kmj1, there are many good devices on the market. Here is our wiki page on them all.

http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_devices

I love my kindle, and sony owners love their devices, and so on. A lot depends on where you live, of course.

Good luck with your choice.

kmj1, there are many good devices on the market. Here is our wiki page on them all.

http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_devices

I love my kindle, and sony owners love their devices, and so on. A lot depends on where you live, of course.

Good luck with your choice.
That's what you get for quoting my post before I finished editing it. I know it was wrong to say it the way I said it. So I edited it ASAP to remove it. But you got it before it was removed.

But I do think B&N is muddying up the waters by adding yet another DRM to ePub and I don't like any company having exclusive rights to eBooks unless it's the publisher of course.

That's what you get for quoting my post before I finished editing it. I know it was wrong to say it the way I said it. So I edited it ASAP to remove it.

.

As did I.

But I do think B&N is muddying up the waters by adding yet another DRM to ePub and I don't like any company having exclusive rights to eBooks unless it's the publisher of course.

I'd be pretty angry at B&N myself except for one big thing: Within the coming months, the ADE SDK will include a method of DRM that doesn't require servers to remain functional to authorize new devices. Short-term pain for long-term gain as someone said in another thread.

If it was between the nook and the Kindle? I'd vote for the nook, personally. Reason for me is that I don't see Amazon suddenly adopting ePub or anything more open anytime soon. I'd take the nook over that any day. If that isn't a concern, the Kindle is probably in a better position right now because it is already established.

Outside of Amazon's devices, I'd agree with others that Sony has probably the most polished readers on the market right now. They could be better ergonomically, but they aren't ergonomically bad either.

...Kindle 2? My nook won't be here until mid Jan and considering all the problems Im not so sure all the bugs will be gone by then. I basically just want a device that works. I don't need the frustration. I guess Ive been spoiled by Apple. What would you do and why? Thanks.

Kindle has this absolutely horrendous fugly physical keyboard which makes no sense on a reader. The prev/next button placement is better on nook and it works over wifi and you can download your subscribed periodicals for free when you're travelling.

Despite all the negativity in the press, many people on this forum never had a problem with their nook -- I for example am quite happy with the speed, touch-screen and everything else. And then, it's Android and it's already been hacked.

So if you want an aesthetically and technically dated device, get the Kindle. If you want device with the present and future -- get the nook.

Kindle has this absolutely horrendous fugly physical keyboard which makes no sense on a reader. The prev/next button placement is better on nook and it works over wifi and you can download your subscribed periodicals for free when you're travelling.

Despite all the negativity in the press, many people on this forum never had a problem with their nook -- I for example am quite happy with the speed, touch-screen and everything else. And then, it's Android and it's already been hacked.

So if you want an aesthetically and technically dated device, get the Kindle. If you want device with the present and future -- get the nook.

I like the keyboard on my KDX. I don't like virtual keyboards like the one on the nook because there is no physical feedback. Seeing the pictures of the eink screen above the lcd screen is a real turn off to me. But as we say in the back packing community, "hike your own hike".

Thanks everyone. (remember I am not trolling here. Just wanting informed answers and help on making the best decision for me.)

Anyone know if the Sony daily edition PRS-900 will have the same screen as the PRS-600. I do not care for the blurriness of that screen. The PRS-300 is quite good though in this regard.

I tried a Nook out at a local B&N and it crashed on me each time. I actually forced an update on it the last time because the employees didn't know about the updates and hadn't installed them. I learned how on a thread here I believe. The update did speed up the device but it still had some problems. The interface seemed overly cumbersome but then again I haven't ever touched a kindle to compare. the aesthetics of the nook are very impressive but I do not want to be left with a device that I have to work around its bugs. It should serve me not the other way around. I am willing to wait until the end of January if they can eliminate most of the bugs by then, but who knows if that will happen!?! The keyboard and joystick on the kindle do not bother me. In fact I prefer this method of input over a touch screen even though I use a touch screen daily (iPhone). The DRM thing doesn't really bother me on either one. the reason I purchased the nook to begin with is I thought it would be epub compatible with other reader and future proof. From what I've read, its DRM scheme is as unique as Amazon. I do know how to remove the azx/prc scheme but not the nook epub yet. So I can dedrm the Amazon. Anyways, I bought into the iTunes DRM scheme long ago and it has hindered me yet. i prefer no DRM but as long as I can use it on a device, I am OK. I am a bit concerned about Amazons ability to shut of your account at will. I've read this several places on the web and its scarry. I read where one guy only returned a pricey dslr camera because it was giving him problems and amazon cancelled his account on this. That is scarry. I called amazon yesterday to ask a few question about the kindle and also asked about the scenario of an account for kindle being shut off based on problems with the shopping side. He said they wouldn't do this because they'd want you to continue using your kindle and continue buying books. I told him I have read all over the web of this happening. He reassued me again it wouldn't happen. He also stated that during the first year, any problems you had with you kindle requiring replacement that the replacement would be a new device and not refurb. This contrary to other posts on this board. But who's to say BN or any other doesn't do the same. All in all I am very confused. I have researched for months now and want an ereader. I want to be able to access my books wherever I am (digital bookshelf). I wouldn't mind the kindles ability to access certain web pages to get news and such. I daily check fox news and cnn (thats what I call balanced news ;-) . Newspaper and magazines seem to be more abundant on amazon but I'm sure BN will build theirs up als, but how long will it take. The following is a break down of how "I" see the two...

Nook Pros:
epub
BN a national book chain. Their primary job is to sell books.
very nice hardware
android
wifi
micro sd expansion

Nook Cons:
epub that is DRMed
BN a national book chain. Their primary job is to sell "PHYSICAL" books.
clunky interface on nook
SW has too many bugs right now
Will not have a nook until mid Jan 2010
touchscreen = fingerprints = enraged OCD
small selection of books
higher prices

Kindle Pros:
available now
polished SW
web browsing
conversion for formats not natively supported
larger selection of books and media
cheaper prices of book
physical keyboard (although some see this as a negative, I don't)
established
international access (I live in USA so not a big deal unless I travel)
PDF support
promised epub support (i read that here on a post that stated amazon would suppot this soon)


Kindle Cons:
limited support for formats without going thru conversion
Amazon proprietary format (mobi with DRM, althrough its been broken)
locked into Amazon
amazon can at will shut down your account (although they claim they won't)
poor pdf support
aesthetics not as nice as nook but not bad either.
not epub support yet

I guess the big negative on Amazons side is their format. I think if they moved to epub then they would gain alot more business. I read on a post here that someone had read that Amazon made a statement that they were looking to make the kindle compatible with epub also. I didn't take it they were converting their existing library over to epub but that they would allow the kindle to natively read it from somewhere else. I don't know how true this is but I hope it is.

Sorry to be so long winded but its 5 am here and I had to get this off my chest. I hope everyone can help me. Thaks.
:thanks:

Actually, the Sony PRS-900 is a good choice. I know its not available right now, but it is available for pre-order now.

So, if it isn't availble yet, how do you know it is a good choice? I admit my Sony 505 is excellent but that doesn't translate into the 900 being excellent, too.

My mother has a 600 which she really likes. I do not mind the 600. It was the 700 I didn't like. The 900 will have a 7.1 inch screen with full justified ePub. It will have a nice fast processor, replaceable battery, and I hope not be too heavy.

I'm basing my opinion on what we know oof the 900 already and what we know of past Sony Readers. But even if you don't agree with me, I'd say to wait and see a 900 and then decide.

Kindle Pros:
PDF support
promised epub support (i read that here on a post that stated amazon would suppot this soon) I basically agree with your conclusion. The Nook has advanced the state of the art in hardware, but has half baked software. Software can be fixed, but it can also be left half baked - time will tell.

I am not aware of any commitment from Amazon about ePub. At best they might add it to their e-mail conversion options, but Amazon's ePub to MOBI capability is far inferior to Calibre. The Nook handles PDFs better than the Kindle. The Kindle does not reflow the PDF and does not support the table of contents. The Nook does not have a landscape mode for PDFs (which the Kindle does), but it shows each page either full size (i.e. very tiny text for letter/A4 PDFs) or reflowed at various font sizes. Neither one has excellent PDF support, but the Nook's is better.

KMJ,

I say try out the Kindle.

You have a thirty day refund period which you can use as a trial run; at the end of the thirty days, you can send it back to Amazon for a full refund (they'll even send you a shipping label).

In those thirty days you can throughly test out the Kindle, download some free books and see how it reads, while waiting to see if any of the nook's issues are fixed.

If the nook's issues as you see them are improved in that time you can return the kindle and buy the nook.... and if you're perfectly satisfied with the Kindle, well, there you go!

Yes the K2 is fully functional, has the best eBook store and customer support and is available. I highly recommend it. The Sony 900 will have a blurry, glare prone screen just like it's little brother.

Even the phones are shedding their keyboards this time of year, why would you want keyboard on the device primarily used for reading is beyond me.

@ Stangri

Oh, I don't know, maybe because some people want tactile feedback while typing, don't want fingerprints on the screen, have large fingers that dont do too well with touch screens.......

@Anarel
Well, I bet there were hard-core proponents of the rotary-dial phones back in the day too. :)

@Anarel
Well, I bet there were hard-core proponents of the rotary-dial phones back in the day too. :)


@ stangri,

So having fingers too large for a touch screen isn't a legitimate reason as to why some might not prefer it? It's not nostalgia for an artifact terribly antiquated by some awesome new technology that eliminates all the issues of that which came before, it's a matter of ease of use and preference, which comes down to the individual.

I don't like touch screens in general, and when I tried out the nook's at the store, I couldn't possibly imagine using it to actually type out notes regardless of the length on the thing. Can I manage? Yes. But I definitely would rather not have to deal with it.

The buttons on my Dx (not my K2, those are a little too flat and not raised enough) suit me perfectly.

But to each his/her own.

i'm told that the Nook has slipped again for a bunch of people, and that B&N isn't letting them cancel the orders, claiming they have already shipped... yet they cannot provide tracking. then a week later, it slips, again no tracking. no cancelations.

odd?


ex

...Kindle 2? My nook won't be here until mid Jan and considering all the problems Im not so sure all the bugs will be gone by then. I basically just want a device that works. I don't need the frustration. I guess Ive been spoiled by Apple. What would you do and why? Thanks.

I canceled mine.

B&N kept delaying delivery to the point that I wouldn't receive my nook until the middle of next month (tentatively). I just got home from our local Office Depot with my new Sony PRS-600. It's charging and as soon as I finish here - I'm going ebook shopping.

i'm told that the Nook has slipped again for a bunch of people, and that B&N isn't letting them cancel the orders, claiming they have already shipped... yet they cannot provide tracking. then a week later, it slips, again no tracking. no cancelations.

odd?


ex

I was able to cancel mine even as my batch started finally shipping from the Dec 11th pre-order group. I think I wound up canceling the night before it would ship.

I wanted to be excited for the nook, but the delays had given me a chance to see the real thing, and play with the Reader Touch Edition. So now I'll just wait and see how the PRS-900s shake out, myself.

I was able to cancel mine even as my batch started finally shipping from the Dec 11th pre-order group. I think I wound up canceling the night before it would ship.

I wanted to be excited for the nook, but the delays had given me a chance to see the real thing, and play with the Reader Touch Edition. So now I'll just wait and see how the PRS-900s shake out, myself.
I had a chance to try out the 900 the other day and I rather like it.

Even the phones are shedding their keyboards this time of year, why would you want keyboard on the device primarily used for reading is beyond me.

Obviously not a note-taker.

But I do think B&N is muddying up the waters by adding yet another DRM to ePub and I don't like any company having exclusive rights to eBooks unless it's the publisher of course.

B&N isn't what I would call a company only ebook store. They use eReader, I use it on my iPhone, my Palm, my Mac, my Jetbook and oh yes on my nook. I do not consider B&N a company only book store for the Nook and its ebook reading. I can get eReader format from all sorts of ebook stores. So unlike the Kindle who would make me buy all my secure ebooks from them, unlike the Sony who would make me buy all my secure ebooks from them, The Nook is okay with me buying my secure ebooks from others.

Not only the above, but at least the Nook and eReader are Mac friendly. Seems that eReader is willing to play with Macs but Mobi isn't. At least all the readers allow downloads from the computers.

B&N isn't what I would call a company only ebook store. They use eReader, I use it on my iPhone, my Palm, my Mac, my Jetbook and oh yes on my nook. I do not consider B&N a company only book store for the Nook and its ebook reading. I can get eReader format from all sorts of ebook stores. So unlike the Kindle who would make me buy all my secure ebooks from them, unlike the Sony who would make me buy all my secure ebooks from them, The Nook is okay with me buying my secure ebooks from others.

Not only the above, but at least the Nook and eReader are Mac friendly. Seems that eReader is willing to play with Macs but Mobi isn't. At least all the readers allow downloads from the computers.

Agree. I think B&N will be the most popular source of ebooks very soon. They know what they do to win the battle with Amazon.

Agree. I think B&N will be the most popular source of ebooks very soon. They know what they do to win the battle with Amazon.

Since they came very late to the game, I don't see them winning unless they strip DRM off their ebooks and start offering *everything* in the epub or better yet, in both epub and mobi.

Obviously not a note-taker.
Clearly not on the device with a typical e-ink refresh rate I'm not.

Since they came very late to the game, I don't see them winning unless they strip DRM off their ebooks and start offering *everything* in the epub or better yet, in both epub and mobi.


I think you're spot on here. This would give them a decided edge, especially if they did so while also staying competitive on price. They may also consider setting up their web store so that Kindle owners could buy books directly from them through their Kindles.

Since they came very late to the game, I don't see them winning unless they strip DRM off their ebooks and start offering *everything* in the epub or better yet, in both epub and mobi.

I don't think that's going to be necessary. As soon as a couple more devices update to the new RMSDK, a no-brainer for device makers without their own store affiliation, B&N will have a huge marketing advantage. They'll be offering DRMed e-books (major publishers and new realeases) that will work on dedicated devices from a variety of suppliers.

While that won't really mean much to the tech-savvy crowd that already does DRM-removal and format-shifting, it will mean a lot to the waves of new users that will just be joining the ranks of customers over the next year or so.

are you handy with tinkering with electronics at all? if so get a Kindle and a Nook then morph them together into one device, call it the Krook

are you handy with tinkering with electronics at all? if so get a Kindle and a Nook then morph them together into one device, call it the Krook

Or you can call it Noodle :)

I'm in the same position. I like my PRS-505 but it's getting old to have to connect to a PC to get books on the thing. My wife loves her K2, but it's too big for me. If I could get the 3G access in a smaller form factor with a device that makes it easy to get books on it, I'll be set. Wait a minute, that's the nook! Only...I tried it and it's slow, and buggy. I think I'll just wait and read a little more on my iPhone.

Slow and buggy? Sounds to me like all Windows CE/Mobile devices I've tried, not nook.

Well, I see there's a lot of traffic on this thread. Since I'm the original poster on this one, I thought I'd give an update on my decision. I decided to wait on my nook order to arrive and try it out and decide after I've used it. I am a little worried about it with all the problems people are reporting but I hope B&N will have updates out to fix it shortly. I determined the best way to know is to get it and try it myself so this is what I'll do. Thanks.:thumbsup:

Well, I see there's a lot of traffic on this thread. Since I'm the original poster on this one, I thought I'd give an update on my decision. I decided to wait on my nook order to arrive and try it out and decide after I've used it. I am a little worried about it with all the problems people are reporting but I hope B&N will have updates out to fix it shortly. I determined the best way to know is to get it and try it myself so this is what I'll do. Thanks.:thumbsup:
They've had (technically) two firmware updates, and are now at ver. 1.1.1, which took care of the biggest issues. There are a couple of annoying ones left, one of which has a reasonable workaround. They've also suggested/implied/stated that another update, which will fix those last few issues, is coming within the next week or so. Personally, I'd rather they take an extra week or two to make sure it's solid.

Personally, mine's been pretty stable, except for the CRS Syndrome with regard to bookmarks. It appears no one realized that the same buffers that get flushed on the way to standby mode should also get flushed at the start of the shutdown process.

Removing the drm. Dream on. It is tough enough getting some authors to agree to sell their books as ebooks. Ever seen a Harry Potter for an ebook??? I haven't, even checked Amazon.

There is an ebook seller that, all their authors, not only do no drm ebooks that some of their series are free and you are encouraged to loan those to others. They also sell no regular ebook for more than 6 bucks apiece. Are they making money, apparently so. I notice no authors skipping and I notice more and more coming on board. It is Webscription.net by Baen Books.
Security on ebooks is like security on music. Apple had to jump through a bunch of hoops to begin the selling of tunes for the iPod. They actually told us what they went through to start the store, and they actually told us when they have to change things due to the companies request or agreement. You should listen in on some of the yearly meetings that are televised. They would love to drop drm, most companies, ebook readers, iPod and knockoffs, would all love to drop drm, but when the supplier demands drm, you do drm. Do the authors and music groups demand drm? Yes some, others go along with the flow and still others make sure they are drm free. Then there are a few who believe that their product will somehow be pirated from the sale of one, and everyone else will receive a copy of this one sold and they will loose millions.

Removing the drm. Dream on. It is tough enough getting some authors to agree to sell their books as ebooks. Ever seen a Harry Potter for an ebook??? I haven't, even checked Amazon.

Rowling is a good author, but a fool when it comes to the business side of things. She specifically said she'll never release the HP books as eBooks because she fears the effects of piracy. Well, she didn't supply, and so now those who want the HP eBooks have to go underground to find them. Which is a shame. I've got a full set of Hardbacks, and still would have paid good money to get the eBooks as well. That's lost money if I've ever seen it.

But publisher attitudes can and will change, the music industry proved their attitude can and will change with enough pressure placed on them.


There is an ebook seller that, all their authors, not only do no drm ebooks that some of their series are free and you are encouraged to loan those to others. They also sell no regular ebook for more than 6 bucks apiece. Are they making money, apparently so. I notice no authors skipping and I notice more and more coming on board. It is Webscription.net by Baen Books.

Baen is unique in a lot of ways. It's sad to see that he passed away awhile back, because he was an extremely astute businessman, and a realist. I wish I could find an article written by one of Baen's employees, as it really did a good job explaining why Baen Books is DRM-free, and why DRM is bad for the book industry. It basically cemented my choice to purchase any eBooks straight from them if I could.

I wish I could find an article written by one of Baen's employees, as it really did a good job explaining why Baen Books is DRM-free, and why DRM is bad for the book industry. It basically cemented my choice to purchase any eBooks straight from them if I could.

You may be thinking of Eric Flint's "Salvos Against Big Brother" (http://www.ericflint.net/index.php/2007/04/27/eric-flint-on-drm-and-copyright/) columns that he's done as editor of Jim Baen's Universe.

Yeah, I was just trying to remember which article it was. It had a pretty good history on why Baen was against DRM, rather than specifically tearing down DRM on its own. It was rather insightful into how Jim Baen thought about approaching eBook sales in general, why DRM was a bad idea, and why piracy wasn't as big an issue that was worth all the moaning about from publishers.