Went to B&N today to check out Nook...

samalex · 08-03-2010, 04:28 PM

Today during lunch I visited the local B&N and played with the Nook. The guy demoing it to me was knowledgeable about it, but I could tell his knowledge was from the B&N marketing department and not from his own experiences. He couldn't give any info on checking out books, using Calibre or ADE, or anything outside the services B&N offers.

In his demo I asked him to look up To Kill A Mockingbird, which was purely off the cuff, and it wasn't in the B&N store to be bought. I thought this odd, but looking at Amazon it's not there either. Such a classic book but not on B&N or Amazon... not good for students wanting to use an eReader since this is required reading in our local schools.

At any rate, the nook was impressive, but the keyboard was sluggish. As the rep was typing there was sometimes a 1 or more second delay between his typing and what came-up on the screen. Also the highlighting feature was very cumbersome.

One of the big selling points for me for getting a nook would be the lending, though I'm trying to see how much I'd actually use it since I rarely read a book in 14 days or less. Also ePub files are nice, but if I ran with a Kindle it's not too difficult to convert ePub to PDF or another format in Calibre from what I've read.

Oh humm.. I've been researching nook vs Kindle for over a week now and still am not sure.

Sam

AndyfromVA · 08-03-2010, 04:45 PM

Quote:

but if I ran with a Kindle it's not too difficult to convert ePub to PDF or another format in Calibre from what I've read.

I understand it won't work on DRM files such as books from the public library.

Tinks · 08-03-2010, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samalex

One of the big selling points for me for getting a nook would be the lending, though I'm trying to see how much I'd actually use it since I rarely read a book in 14 days or less.

Oh humm.. I've been researching nook vs Kindle for over a week now and still am not sure.

Sam

I've read on this forum that there are some ereaders that don't have an internal clock. Evidently this means you can check out a book at the library and keep it on your ereader for however long you want it because it never expires. I'll come back and edit my post with the ereaders they were talking about. Found it. They said the Jetbook lite and the Libre do not have an internal clock.

banjobama · 08-03-2010, 08:34 PM

You can work around the library lending issue a few ways. Even if the reader has a clock/calendar, you can manually change it.

It is true that you can't use calibre to convert books from the library to read on a Kindle because of the Digital Rights Management. Some libraries do offer mobi format books which the Kindle can read, though.

If you are down to these two choices it's probably best to go with the nook, since it reads epub format (the most common ebook format, and the closest to a "standard" format there is so far) natively and the Kindle is the only reader on the market that doesn't.

ProfCrash · 08-04-2010, 11:38 AM

How often do you lend books from the library? If your answer is on a real regular basis, get a Nook. Is it is rarely, go with the Kindle.

The Kindle will have the best screen on the market (at least for the time being), better PDF usability then other readers (annotation, dictionary, search, landscape), a huge harddrive (4 GB), and is one of the rare international ereaders out there (you can use it in many countries outside the US). And it is less expensive and it has a larger bookstore.

To Kill a Mockingbird is not approved for e-book release and since it is under copyright protection it has to be released by the author, which she has not done. The publisher who owns the paper rights would say that permission is needed from them but the courts have ruled that paper rights do not extend to e-book rights in contracts where there was no indication of e-readers. The Publishers are fighting this ruling but for now, Harper Lee would have to allow it to be made into an ebook.

Alisa · 08-04-2010, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

How often do you lend books from the library? If your answer is on a real regular basis, get a Nook. Is it is rarely, go with the Kindle.

I would advise making sure your local library has enough books that you want to read and regularly adds books before deciding. I do borrow books from my library but most of the books I want to read, I have to buy. My library's fiction collection is around 2000 titles. I live in a city of a million people in a very tech-savvy area, too. They seem to be actively adding books which is heartening, though.

ProfCrash · 08-04-2010, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alisa

I would advise making sure your local library has enough books that you want to read and regularly adds books before deciding. I do borrow books from my library but most of the books I want to read, I have to buy. My library's fiction collection is around 2000 titles. I live in a city of a million people in a very tech-savvy area, too. They seem to be actively adding books which is heartening, though.

I forgot that part. Or if there are other libraries youc an get a card for that have the selection you are looking for.

pendragginp · 08-04-2010, 07:38 PM

Quote:

In his demo I asked him to look up To Kill A Mockingbird, which was purely off the cuff, and it wasn't in the B&N store to be bought. I thought this odd, but looking at Amazon it's not there either. Such a classic book but not on B&N or Amazon... not good for students wanting to use an eReader since this is required reading in our local schools.

It is available online: http://www.wssb.org/content/classroo...bird/start.htm

Tinks · 08-05-2010, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banjobama

You can work around the library lending issue a few ways. Even if the reader has a clock/calendar, you can manually change it.

Can you please explain how this is done? I didn't think is was possible on the nook. Thanks.

banjobama · 08-05-2010, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tinks

Can you please explain how this is done? Thanks. I didn't think is was possible on the nook.

This is how it works for the Sony. It will probably be the same for the nook as long as you leave the WiFi off.

Use Adobe Digital Editions to drag and drop the library book onto your reader, or add it with calibre or whatever you want. It will expire at a certain date and time. Once the book is on your device, manually change the date under the settings menu. Sonys automatically sync the date and time when you connect them to a computer (at least the 300/600/900 Readers) so as long as you don't connect it, it will continue to keep the wrong date. You can set it back a month or two on the Sony and the book on your device will never expire, even though it returns to the library you got it from and you can't open the file on your computer any more.

You could also strip the DRM and copy the book but I have no idea how to do that.

Hope this helps.

Tinks · 08-05-2010, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banjobama

Once the book is on your device, manually change the date under the settings menu. Sonys automatically sync the date and time when you connect them to a computer (at least the 300/600/900 Readers) so as long as you don't connect it, it will continue to keep the wrong date.

Interesting. From what I've googled you can't actually changed the clock back on the nook, but it sounds like I wouldn't need to as long as I don't hook up the nook to my computer, and turn off the wifi before the expiration date. Is this correct?

banjobama · 08-05-2010, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tinks

Interesting. From what I've googled you can't actually changed the clock back on the nook, but it sounds like I wouldn't need to as long as I don't hook up the nook to my computer, and turn off the wifi before the expiration date. Is this correct?

As long as the device is keeping time, eventually the book will expire. It won't matter if the WiFi is on at that exact point in time because once the expiration time on the book and the device match, it will lock. I'm also assuming that the date and time will sync if you have the WiFi on but that might not be true.

Keeping it longer requires the calender to be set to a different day. Maybe someone else will be able to say if you can change the date on a nook or not. Seems like you should be able to but I don't know for sure.

Tinks · 08-06-2010, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banjobama

As long as the device is keeping time, eventually the book will expire. It won't matter if the WiFi is on at that exact point in time because once the expiration time on the book and the device match, it will lock. I'm also assuming that the date and time will sync if you have the WiFi on but that might not be true.

Keeping it longer requires the calender to be set to a different day. Maybe someone else will be able to say if you can change the date on a nook or not. Seems like you should be able to but I don't know for sure.

Oh, ok. I was hoping maybe the clock would stop running if I turned off wifi. Thanks for the info.

rblover · 08-06-2010, 05:01 AM

From the research I have done it seems that if you mainly want to read recent best sellers for little, to no, money you should get a Nook, and download from a local public library. If you don't care so much for recent best sellers, and prefer older classics for little to no money, get a Kindle, and download form the Kindle store.

boswd · 08-06-2010, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rblover

From the research I have done it seems that if you mainly want to read recent best sellers for little, to no, money you should get a Nook, and download from a local public library. If you don't care so much for recent best sellers, and prefer older classics for little to no money, get a Kindle, and download form the Kindle store.

say what?

08-03-2010, 04:28 PM	#1
samalex Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: none	Went to B&N today to check out Nook... Today during lunch I visited the local B&N and played with the Nook. The guy demoing it to me was knowledgeable about it, but I could tell his knowledge was from the B&N marketing department and not from his own experiences. He couldn't give any info on checking out books, using Calibre or ADE, or anything outside the services B&N offers. In his demo I asked him to look up To Kill A Mockingbird, which was purely off the cuff, and it wasn't in the B&N store to be bought. I thought this odd, but looking at Amazon it's not there either. Such a classic book but not on B&N or Amazon... not good for students wanting to use an eReader since this is required reading in our local schools. At any rate, the nook was impressive, but the keyboard was sluggish. As the rep was typing there was sometimes a 1 or more second delay between his typing and what came-up on the screen. Also the highlighting feature was very cumbersome. One of the big selling points for me for getting a nook would be the lending, though I'm trying to see how much I'd actually use it since I rarely read a book in 14 days or less. Also ePub files are nice, but if I ran with a Kindle it's not too difficult to convert ePub to PDF or another format in Calibre from what I've read. Oh humm.. I've been researching nook vs Kindle for over a week now and still am not sure. Sam

08-03-2010, 08:34 PM	#4
banjobama buttermilk biscuits! Posts: 962 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Seattle, WA Device: Sony Reader PRS-650, Nook Color	You can work around the library lending issue a few ways. Even if the reader has a clock/calendar, you can manually change it. It is true that you can't use calibre to convert books from the library to read on a Kindle because of the Digital Rights Management. Some libraries do offer mobi format books which the Kindle can read, though. If you are down to these two choices it's probably best to go with the nook, since it reads epub format (the most common ebook format, and the closest to a "standard" format there is so far) natively and the Kindle is the only reader on the market that doesn't. __________________

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08-04-2010, 11:38 AM	#5
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 6,831 Karma: 67675413 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3	How often do you lend books from the library? If your answer is on a real regular basis, get a Nook. Is it is rarely, go with the Kindle. The Kindle will have the best screen on the market (at least for the time being), better PDF usability then other readers (annotation, dictionary, search, landscape), a huge harddrive (4 GB), and is one of the rare international ereaders out there (you can use it in many countries outside the US). And it is less expensive and it has a larger bookstore. To Kill a Mockingbird is not approved for e-book release and since it is under copyright protection it has to be released by the author, which she has not done. The publisher who owns the paper rights would say that permission is needed from them but the courts have ruled that paper rights do not extend to e-book rights in contracts where there was no indication of e-readers. The Publishers are fighting this ruling but for now, Harper Lee would have to allow it to be made into an ebook.

08-06-2010, 05:01 AM	#14
rblover Connoisseur Posts: 50 Karma: 26 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: none as yet	From the research I have done it seems that if you mainly want to read recent best sellers for little, to no, money you should get a Nook, and download from a local public library. If you don't care so much for recent best sellers, and prefer older classics for little to no money, get a Kindle, and download form the Kindle store.


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