Help finding a reader with these qualities to replace my original Nook

[herekittykitty]

Hello, I am new here and have been considering getting a new ereader to replace my original Nook. I like the Nook but the separate libraries for B&N books and sideloaded books is really bugging me. I want a reader that has one unified library. I do use Calibre and have thought about just sideloading all of my B&N purchases so I would have one library, but it's such a pain.

So here is what I am looking for -

E ink reader with one unified library
Lighter and faster page turning than my current Nook (I am assuming most are)
Don't really want a lighted one
Would prefer an open format - I know I can convert with Calibre but I would just like one that is not with a large company that I have register, etc.
Want page turning buttons and the ability to turn off the touch screen if I want.
Want the ability to add more content with an SD card.

I thought the Kobo touch might be the answer, but from reading these forums it seems like there are a lot of problems with it. I feel like the mini is too small for me. I don't know much about Sony readers but have read several people comment that they are an older technology.

If anyone could point out some other readers for me to consider, I'd appreciate it! And does anyone still use the original Nook? Part of me thinks I should just keep on with it since it really has been a good reader for me. But the library thing drives me crazy.

[geertm]

Originally Posted by herekittykitty

Hello, I am new here and have been considering getting a new ereader to replace my original Nook. I like the Nook but the separate libraries for B&N books and sideloaded books is really bugging me. I want a reader that has one unified library. I do use Calibre and have thought about just sideloading all of my B&N purchases so I would have one library, but it's such a pain.

So here is what I am looking for -

E ink reader with one unified library
Lighter and faster page turning than my current Nook (I am assuming most are)
Don't really want a lighted one
Would prefer an open format - I know I can convert with Calibre but I would just like one that is not with a large company that I have register, etc.
Want page turning buttons and the ability to turn off the touch screen if I want.
Want the ability to add more content with an SD card.

I thought the Kobo touch might be the answer, but from reading these forums it seems like there are a lot of problems with it. I feel like the mini is too small for me. I don't know much about Sony readers but have read several people comment that they are an older technology.

If anyone could point out some other readers for me to consider, I'd appreciate it! And does anyone still use the original Nook? Part of me thinks I should just keep on with it since it really has been a good reader for me. But the library thing drives me crazy.

All B&N e-readers except the orginal Nook have an unified library.
So why not buy the Nook Simple Touch?

[JSWolf]

There is no eInk reader with a touch screen that the touch screen can be turned off. So take that feature request right out. The most open format is ePub. But regardless of which Reader you get, all of them will have to be registered to be able to handle DRM.

Given that you have an original nook, I have to second the nook STR.

[herekittykitty]

Thanks, I didn't know that about the Nook STR. I will give it another look.

[Chi Cygni]

I beg to differ. I have yet to see Bookeen ereaders that I have to register anywhere. Or my guess is, Pocketbook for that matter. I currently use older Opus which I never registered in ADE or with any company at all. I know nothing of nooks, perhaps the recommended one is just fine. You may as well research Bookeen Odyssey edition 2013, it is one without light.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Chi Cygni

I beg to differ. I have yet to see Bookeen ereaders that I have to register anywhere. Or my guess is, Pocketbook for that matter. I currently use older Opus which I never registered in ADE or with any company at all.

But they do have to be registered to an Adobe account in order to handle DRM'd books which is what Jon said. If you don't want to read DRM'd books then yes an Onyx Boox, Cybook or Pocketbook wouldn't need to be registered.


The Nook and AFAIK Kobo both have to be registered with the retailer in order to use them.

[Chi Cygni]

No no no. I have ADE. My Opus is not registered in it. I open book in ADE, then ADE folder, find the file, put the book directly in enhanced Calibre and that's it. No registration of the reader itself.
This is how I did it before, now I buy everything watermarked.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Chi Cygni

No no no. I have ADE. My Opus is not registered in it. I open book in ADE, then ADE folder, find the file, put the book directly in enhanced Calibre and that's it. No registration of the reader itself.
This is how I did it before, now I buy everything watermarked.

Right, so you're no putting DRM'd books on the Opus (if by enhanced Calibre you mean with the DRM removal plugins).

[Chi Cygni]

My point was only that my ereader is not registered anywhere. Anyway, as I said, I buy watermarked books for a long time now, I am very happy I don't have to bother with ADE any longer. From OP post I understood he/she doesn't want to register with big company as in Kobo or Kindle.

[herekittykitty]

I would prefer to avoid registering, but if the device is right I will. I don't like the Kindles because I don't want the cloud storage. I was just looking at the Nook STR and it appears that B&N again gives little space for non-B&N purchased books. Of course there is the SD card but that just bugs me. So how are the Kobo touch and the Sonys? In those forums I find a lot of how to and troubleshooting questions but would love to hear more overall reviews.

[geertm]

Originally Posted by herekittykitty

I would prefer to avoid registering, but if the device is right I will. I don't like the Kindles because I don't want the cloud storage. I was just looking at the Nook STR and it appears that B&N again gives little space for non-B&N purchased books. Of course there is the SD card but that just bugs me. So how are the Kobo touch and the Sonys? In those forums I find a lot of how to and troubleshooting questions but would love to hear more overall reviews.

The 250 MB for sideloaded content is enough for more than 250 books.
For $5 you can buy an 2 GB micro-sd card with room for more than 2000 books. I do not get why people are still complaining about this. Especially since built-in memory is usually a lot more expensive.

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by herekittykitty

I would prefer to avoid registering, but if the device is right I will. I don't like the Kindles because I don't want the cloud storage. I was just looking at the Nook STR and it appears that B&N again gives little space for non-B&N purchased books. Of course there is the SD card but that just bugs me. So how are the Kobo touch and the Sonys? In those forums I find a lot of how to and troubleshooting questions but would love to hear more overall reviews.

I have an older Sony model (PRS-350) but in the two years I've owned it I've never had to troubleshoot. I brought the Sony (I upgraded from the original Nook as well) in part because their readers have such a good reputation. It shouldn't be surprising the any reader forum will have a lot of troubleshooting questions. I wouldn't take that to mean the reader itself is defective. Just that the forum attracts a lot of troubleshooting posts.

I registered my Sony reader with Adobe in order to read library e-books but it's not very complicated. It took me about five minutes to do so. The reader itself is great. There's no partitioning of books based on its origins. The collections feature is great and helps me to sort my library. My reader doesn't have a micro SD slot but it had 2GB of internal memory. This is more than enough memory for my library. I haven't come close to filling most of it or even a quarter of it. I think all of the newer Sonys have a micro SD slot and page turn buttons. They all read ePub, which the most open format.

I think the Sony, Nook STR or Kobo would fulfill most of your needs. You have to remember that you won't likely find an e-reader that has everything you're looking but you can definitely find an e-reader that has most of the features you're looking for.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Chi Cygni

I beg to differ. I have yet to see Bookeen ereaders that I have to register anywhere. Or my guess is, Pocketbook for that matter. I currently use older Opus which I never registered in ADE or with any company at all. I know nothing of nooks, perhaps the recommended one is just fine. You may as well research Bookeen Odyssey edition 2013, it is one without light.

You have to register every reader in order to use eBooks with DRM.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Chi Cygni

My point was only that my ereader is not registered anywhere. Anyway, as I said, I buy watermarked books for a long time now, I am very happy I don't have to bother with ADE any longer. From OP post I understood he/she doesn't want to register with big company as in Kobo or Kindle.

Once a nook STR is registered with B&N and ADE, then ePub can be bought from anywhere.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by herekittykitty

I would prefer to avoid registering, but if the device is right I will. I don't like the Kindles because I don't want the cloud storage. I was just looking at the Nook STR and it appears that B&N again gives little space for non-B&N purchased books. Of course there is the SD card but that just bugs me. So how are the Kobo touch and the Sonys? In those forums I find a lot of how to and troubleshooting questions but would love to hear more overall reviews.

The Kobo readers are buggy. It's not the hardware, it's the software. Sony is good.