Unique Title: Which E-reader should I buy?

[sun surfer]

Hello everybody! I just found these forums today. I actually just made the decision to buy an e-reader today and my eyes are going googly from all the options! I went in thinking there were only two - Kindle and nook....well, I was wrong!

Now that I am becoming slightly more familiar with e-reader options, I think I'm starting to coalesce my thoughts around what I want in an e-reader.

I've spent the better part of the day going through reviews at another site that ranks the e-reader. That site has Kindle first, Neo second and nook third.

Then I found this site with a ton more info!

I'm not a technical person, so I don't really understand a lot of features offered. But I do read a good bit, and I've been reading more than normal these past few weeks, and after one too many nights of my arms getting tired while reading a big book I'm working on, the idea of an e-reader popped into my head and it's like, why didn't I think of this before? I'd just put e-readers out of my head until now.

I realise I'm looking to buy one during a very interesting week for e-readers and their prices, so I guess I feel lucky, if I end up going with one of those.

First off, for me, price is a factor. I'm not looking to spend any more than around $250, but the less the better.

I have pretty good eyesight and I don't think I will need anything special when it comes to fonts or sizes or even turning the view to landscape or anything.

I've pretty much settled on getting a 6" unless one in another size is just extra-good.

One feature I would LOVE since I've noticed some have it, is a touchscreen that could convert handwriting to text so I can take notes with handwriting. Even separate from e-readers, I've actually considered getting a little device that I could jot notes and things on like that before, even though I don't know if one exists. Like to-do lists and stuff, that I wouldn't have to type but I wouldn't have to worry about pages of paper, because I'm always jotting things down. So, when I randomly saw that some e-readers have this capability, I got very excited. BUT, unfortunately, I think most of those are expensive and out of my price range.

Besides that and if I can't have that, a touch screen is not so important to me. Since I know many have this function, I would like one that I can somehow type on though, whether it be touchscreen or a little keyboard like the Kindle.

I also take notes and highlight a lot when I'm reading, so I would love one where I can take notes, highlight, and save certain passages to easily pull up.

Battery life I don't care about so long as it lasts at least a few days between charges. Nor do I care about space. LOL, I'm fine with it holding just 100 or 200 books....if I ever need more than that, I could always just store some on my computer or something.

I need a good selection of books too. I don't understand all these different file formats at all that I've seen in the reviews. What I've basically gotten is that Kindle you really mostly should buy e-books from the Amazon website, nook you should buy e-books from the Barnes & Noble website and the Neo supports most any format. I don't know how important this would be to me. I read a lot of classics that I guess should be in public domain (?), so I would need a way I could easily put those on my e-reader for free and not have to buy them. I also have very varied tastes so I'd like an e-reader where my selections would be large and not limited to a specific website.

One question I have - I sometimes read graphic novels and I guess I'm just out luck on those? Because they're in colour.

I definitely want one with some type of wireless connection. I know there's Wifi, 3G and Whispernet(?). I'm not even sure the differences between them; I just want one that I can semi-easily go online and download books from.

Oh, and definitely a dictionary in the e-reader is imporant. I'm always looking up words while reading and it would be SO MUCH easier to just quickly press a button or two to get a definition than lugging up a physical dictionary.

Text to speech sounds cool but I don't think I'd use it too much, though I'd probably try it out while driving just to see. But I've never listened to an audio book and probably won't start now. Also, mp3 sounds cool but I have a nano and don't really need that on my e-book I don't think. Games and random stuff like that sound cool but also aren't necessary.

From the other site, I was kind of thinking the Neo might be my best choice, just to keep from being locked into the B&N or Amazon e-book sites and having more options, and the stylus. But then I come here and get completely confused again! Not only are there more e-readers than that site had reviewed, I find even the Neo is like a version of something called boox or something. And I'm still considering Kindle or nook, and would consider something completely different if it had what I want.

That's about it. Sorry for my lengthy post! To sum up, here's what I'm most looking for:

-under $250
-somehow able to type, take notes, highlight and save passages
-free wireless internet connectivity to download books
-good varied book selection
-dictionary inside

But also:

-if I could also happen to get one that converts handwriting to text in my price range, I think I'd be in love

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!

[Dulin's Books]

kindle 2

[wallcraft]

Another alternative that almost meets your needs is the Sony Touch Edition (PRS-600). It does not have wireless download, but "side loading" from a Mac or PC via USB is very simple and allows you to use Calibre (has its own forum here) to manage your ebooks if you want. This also means that you can buy ebooks from any site that sells Adobe ePubs, although the Sony Store has a good selection if you can live with its clunky Windows app. The same Adobe ePubs, and the same side-loading option, is available with the Neo.

The PRS-600 has a touch screen, but you add notes using an on screen keyboard.

If you want to go the "single store" route, then I think the Kindle is the best choice. Its firmware feature list is staying ahead of the Nook, and it has the most ebooks.

Note that Amazon and Sony are probably going to introduce new devices in the next few months. On the other hand, prices are the best ever and current devices are pretty good.

[katherine]

iphone 4

[neilmarr]

Good to have your company, SunSurfer. Best wishes. Neil

[sun surfer]

Thanks for the advice everyone and thanks for the welcome neilmarr.

Hm, so I've gotten recommendations for Kindle 2 or Sony PRS-600.

I'm wondering why the Kindle 2 over the nook? My first instinct before I started investigating (when I still thought there were only 2 kinds of e-reader, the Kindle and nook) was the nook to at least support a place with a brick and mortar book store too.

I think I'm slowly finding though that the Kindle seems superior to the nook. That colour screen at the bottom of the nook doesn't seem necessary to me. Now, if it were full screen, that'd be different because then I could read colour graphic novels, but it's not. And its touchscreen keyboard looks cumbersome, which I've noticed people have pointed out in reviews. Not a deal-breaker, just makes it less appealing.

On the Kindle side, its physical keyboard is better than the nooks it seems, but still reviews say it can be hard to use, so I may have to accept having a difficult typing experience either way.

So, Kindle has a dictionary inside and you can highlight, take notes, save passages and all that stuff, right?

I also won't mind if Kindle comes out with a newer one soon; I'd just sell mine on e-bay to get the new one, if the new one's price was in my range.

But, the main thing Kindle doesn't have is an easy way to read books not on Kindle's site. That worries me. I'm not sure, but I think I may prefer one with more options of different types of files, since I'm planning on getting a bunch of free older books and stuff that should be in public domain. I don't like the idea of being locked into one bookstore, although I'm not terribly opposed to it if it still gave me enough of what I wanted. Really though, from people who know, how important is it to be able to read all the different types of files on your e-reader? (keep in mind I plan on reading plenty of public domain books and stuff so I definitely need support for whatever type they use)

That's why, when I was originally considering and only looking at the nook, Kindle and neo, the neo looked appealing. It seems I can get files from about anywhere with it. And it has a stylus for typing which I think would be preferable to a small touchscreen like nook or the small physical keyboard of Kindle. What I was worried about with the neo is, what if I wanted to buy a book from B&N or Amazon, would it work on neo?

Also, what is the boox? I've read here that neo is just another version of boox, so is boox better?

As to the Sony PRS-600, I'm going to look into it, because I haven't yet. But a quick look at its wikipedia page makes me worried about its reflective screen. That could be annoying, especially if I'm getting one that doesn't have wireless internet too.


So my questions now:

-Why the Kindle 2 over nook?

-So, Kindle has a dictionary inside and you can highlight, take notes, save passages and all that stuff, right? What about nook or neo?

-Really, how important is it to be able to read all the different types of files on your e-reader? (keep in mind I plan on reading plenty of public domain books and stuff so I definitely need support for whatever type they use)

-With the neo, what if I wanted to buy a book from B&N or Amazon, would it work on neo?

-What is the boox? I've read here that neo is just another version of boox, so is boox better?

-Any other different recommendations? Because I really have no idea about all the other ones out there.


ETA - Also, which e-readers do offer handwriting to text? I forget the name, but there was one I was looking at the other day that costs way too much (like $600 or something). I thought they'd all be that much, but I was just googling for those types of e-readers and through the mess I found ASUS DR-900 and Samsung E-60, which the Samsung is apparently only priced at $300? Anyone know anything about these or any others that you can handwrite on with a stylus?

[JMA]

Public domain books are the easy part: if it's in the public domain, odds are you can find it without DRM, which means you can download it in, or convert it to, whichever format works best for you. The Kindle can read .mobi format, so long as it doesn't have DRM (digital rights management). It's a little cumbersome, but you can even browse Project Gutenberg via the Kindle's web browser, and download directly to that, if you don't want to use your computer. It's really very easy to load DRM-free books from the computer to the Kindle--takes maybe two minutes, tops, to load 40 or 50 books.

With your desire for a color screen and handwriting recognition, you might want to wait a couple of months until some of the new tablets come out, because those might meet your needs a little better.

[sun surfer]

Thanks JMA.

What are the new ones coming out soon? It's really hard to find anything online, at least the way I'm searching. Whenever I google anything, I just get old news articles without updates. Like, for the ASUS DRA and Samsung E60 I can find things saying they're here and a price for the Samsung, but no release date, and for instance the ASUS the most recent thing I could find was from the beginning of March saying it was being "unveiled"...and now nothing?

The colour screen, it's not really important to me. It'd be nice for sure, but I think any that have it would be way more expensive than I want. I only mention it because even though I read quite a few classics, I have very eclectic reading tastes and at the moment I'm reading a HUGE graphic novel, and I'm just fantasising about reading it without having to hold it.

The handwriting recognition on the other hand, I would love to have, but again it's really hard to look around and figure out which ones have it. And it has to stay in my price range - preferably under $250, but I could possibly go up to around $300 or so if it had just what I wanted. And more than that, if I buy one with it (presumably with an added expense), I hope it works well and I don't have to write like one word at a time really slowly, then wait for it to recognise it before the next word, and so on or whatever. I've never used an electronic device like that so I don't know how well it'd work.

[JMA]

A tip for Google: If you look at the left-hand sidebar, there's an option to filter for the most recent updates (click at the bottom on "more search tools" for more variations on that).

I've got an Android phone, so I browse the websites. I haven't been in the market for a tablet computer, but I've noticed that there are mentions of a variety of them that are all fairly cheap (but more in the $300 range) and likely to get cheaper.

You might also try looking at some of the tech blogs--they would have more information about which tablets are coming out soon, and all of that.

I, personally, wouldn't try to do much note-taking on an e-ink screen, because they are pretty slow for that. They're good for reading, since it's not too much trouble to wait a second or two as a page turns, but it's annoying to wait a second or two as the words you're typing appear on the screen.

[sun surfer]

Thanks for the google tip.

About the note-taking and stuff - I would love to do that on an e-reader. I do with normal books a good bit - highlighting passages, taking notes, marking words to look up in the dictionary - so it'd be great to have one that made that stuff easy.

But, when I originally decided to purchase one the other day, I didn't even know that all of that was possible and was just planning on getting a device I could read on. Seeing the options as I search has made me greedy!

If doing those things on today's e-readers are cumbersome though, I may not use those features so much, I don't know.

[Dulin's Books]

well you asked for

-under $250
-somehow able to type, take notes, highlight and save passages
-free wireless internet connectivity to download books

add those 3 together and its the kindle 2.

Boox does have wifi and a browser which allows you to get to websites to downlaod content. but I gathered from your post that you meant free 3g connection.

[vxf]

Spend something extra and get the PRS900. It's worth it.

[davidspitzer]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

Thanks for the google tip.

About the note-taking and stuff - I would love to do that on an e-reader. I do with normal books a good bit - highlighting passages, taking notes, marking words to look up in the dictionary - so it'd be great to have one that made that stuff easy.

But, when I originally decided to purchase one the other day, I didn't even know that all of that was possible and was just planning on getting a device I could read on. Seeing the options as I search has made me greedy!

If doing those things on today's e-readers are cumbersome though, I may not use those features so much, I don't know.

brand new Kindle $189.00 a really solid device with argueably the best selection and the best prices for ebooks. They are also selling Kindles in Target now although I have not checked to see if they lowered the price yet there also.

I hate to disagree with another recommendation but the Sony 900 while a solid reader for some has had more than its share of detractors for its touch layer on the screen which induces addtional glare and (depending on who you talk to) creates a lessening of contrast on the screen. I owned for a while and in my opinion is not as pleasurable to read as the Kindle

[cfrizz]

Another vote for the Sony PRS-600 Touch.

I was originally going to go with a Kindle, but when I found out that I could ONLY get books from Amazon, and because they also have the ability to go in and REMOVE books that I buy, (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/te.../18amazon.html) I looked elsewhere.

I got the Touch because of the versatility it has regarding formats, I can purchase from any store that carries any of the formats the Sony can read, it can also play music (comes in handy sitting in an airport) and has the ability to increase memory, and most importantly, I can back up my books once downloaded. So even if the store I bought them from goes belly up, I still have my books! And the glare problem is solved by a flick of the wrist.

The Sony has 99% of everything you want & you can now get it for $199, I paid $250 for mine!

[boswd]

I'll bite and throw my hat into the ring for the nook.

the nook does have all the features you are looking for minus the turning your handwriting into a display text.

It can highlight, take notes via it's virtual keyboard, look up works via a dictionary and in a pinch use it's webbrowser for wikipedia (though I find mobile sites work best) and use it more to connect to more Wi Fi hotspots.

But it does seem like a basic way to take notes as compared to some other e-readers that have more advanced note taking such the Sony PRS 900 or the Entourage, but these are also priced really high and seem to be out of your price range.
So the nook does do what you are looking for but there are more advanced note takers out there. I guess you would have to weigh in on how high of a priority note taking is in consideration to how much you want to pay.

But as far as general reading I think it's pretty difficult to beat the overall reading experience on the Nook.
First off I would like to point out that you are NOT locked into buying only through Barnes and Noble. The Nook does support e-pub so anyone who sells books with the epub format, which is basically everywhere but Amazon, including your local library you are all set and do not have to take extra steps to convert.

but as I said the reading experience on the Nook is really just a joy. The first thing I like about it is it's design. It's very sleek, and clean. just two back and forth arrows on each side. It's not busy with all sorts of buttons and knobs etc that are placed all over the device. Just a nice clean sleak look which for me allows you to just immearse yourself into your novel with much more ease without the distractions of your units navigation buttons.

Also besides manual page turning using the arrow, you can finger swipe to page turn as well. When the LCD screen goes to sleep, you can just do light flick on the screen with your finger to turn the page. IMHO allows a much more natural feel to it when reading. I almost use it exclusively. Again it just adds to the enjoyment of reading. and it just seems like you develop a more fluid flow with the finger swipe

Next is it's feature where it displays color book cover art and in your B&N Library it has the cover flow. Again seeing wha tyour book cover looks like in color lends to a more enjoyable more natural way to approach reading. Not a deal breaker but a very nice touch since lets face it we like to see the covers of our books especially in color.

Also its response. Though the Nook did stumble out of the gate when it was first realeased back in November due to a series of updates its performance is excellent. the speed it opens up and downloads books, page turning speed is fantastic now. It's speed is comparable to all the other top ereaders now.

and lastley the contrast. It is one of if not the best dispaly screens for contrast. the text is very sharp and black. the background is one of the closest I've seen out on the marke to white. That is ne of the drawbacks of the Sony's touches, they are dimmer with background a deeper shade of gray.

and throw in the fact that you can download your books wirelessy through both wi fi and 3G and with the Price reduction down to $199 makes the full feature Nook a steal IMHO and the $149 Wi Fi only almost a no brainer if looking to keep a low budget but get top features in that price range. It's the same machine, all the same features, fun features as the original must minus the 3G.

Add on to InStore experience, makes the Nook a very attractive option.

Good luck with whatever you choose