Help in choosing a reader

[tahseen]

I have checked out both the kindle & nook in BestBuy. I'm pretty bad with decisions and still pretty undecided in what I wanna buy specially with being very busy with the tour.

I loved the forward/backward in both Kindle/Nook. I had a little trouble with Nook touchscreen since I'm generally not much used to touch. Love the kindle color, the solid feel of Nook, a little concern about its weight and felt the kindle too thin and fragile.

I wonder if I got an OCD complex ... But here is the important question. How fragile is the kindle really is? Should I must buy a cover and would that protect it.

I actually liked the screen in both of them and didn't found enough difference to care. I will again check them side by side (last time didn't) and check for the page blinks (which I'm not used to). I also really need to know about their battery life. The comments about Nook seems to be very confusing and uncertain. One note I'm going to buy WiFi version of the readers and most of the time it would be turned off. What sort of battery life I can expect from either .. both standby days and reading hours.

I would read for couple of hours almost every day .. so . Also am I correct in reading that you can't charge kindle while reading?

[Care]

I read 2-6 hrs a day and get 4-10 days of reading on my Nook. The Kindle should last at least a couple weeks with heavy reading.

I haven't heard anything about the Kindle actually being that fragile, but I have heard the concern before. I would get a case or sleeve to put your reader in whichever one you decide on. I never actually use my case unless I am going out, and I have kids!, but I have the extended warranty. It is pretty durable though.

The page blinks aren't as noticeable since the 1.5 update. Or maybe it is just because the page turns so much faster I don't notice it as much. Eventually you will not even notice it. I HATED the blinking so much, but then after a couple hours I barely noticed it.

[tahseen]

Hmm. Care do you generally have the wifi on or not when reading. And is it really 4 days thats a little ouch for an eink reader. It would be then 6x4=24hrs .. almost like a jetbook. Not sure I like the sound of that just in principle

Good to know about the blinking and I'm thinking that it would be the case for myself. Thanks for the suggestions.

[ProfCrash]

I think you would want a cover for any e-reader that you bought. There are plenty of K1's around that are functioning just fine. The K3 has not had any problems with breakage beyond the normal stuff. A Nook or SOny is just as likely to break if you sit on it as a Kindle.

WiFi on the K3 is suppose to last about a week. WiFi used occassionally to download books and the K3 last a month.

[Care]

Originally Posted by tahseen

Hmm. Care do you generally have the wifi on or not when reading. And is it really 4 days thats a little ouch for an eink reader. It would be then 6x4=24hrs .. almost like a jetbook. Not sure I like the sound of that just in principle

Good to know about the blinking and I'm thinking that it would be the case for myself. Thanks for the suggestions.

Sometimes I put it in airplane mode so the wifi is off, but I haven't in a while. I don't really notice, it doesn't bother me. I haven't bothered to figure out how many hours I get. I read a lot, and I use the lcd screen quite a bit because I look for words or flip back and forth between books (I alway read more than one). Some days I might only read an hour, some days I read during nap time and all night (so 12 hrs). When a book I really loves comes out I will try and find a day to read all day (after bribing my husband to take care of the kids, lol). Because my reading is so varied I don't really notice. I keep a wall charger beside my bed, but it is usually used for my phone and hardly for my Nook. I also will sometimes just throw it on even if the battery isn't very low. All I know is that one time when I went away, I didn't have to charge it for a week and a half. But I probably didn't read as much as I would have at home, but I still read quite a bit.

If you are worried about battery life, the Kindle 3 would probably be the best option for you.

Edit to add: I will admit, I probably use more battery life because I love to look at my covers! Hahahaha. I am always looking through my collections and scrolling through the covers.

[tahseen]

And I guess with kindle I have to convert any drm free epub to mobi files right? Is there any limitation to that. I have never really used mobi files so not sure about that.

I keep adding new questions endlessly it seems. Thanks to all of you for the great help.

[tahseen]

Prof .. I understand your point about everything being breakable. But from the feel of it, it felt like if the Nook/Sony sort of lightly hit something (edge of the bed/table) its gonna survive. Kindle probably would but it just didn't feel like it.

I don't really need a month of charge. I would be pretty happy with a week or over . I would also use almost zero wifi and minimal lcd usage I think. I find the buttons more comfortable from what little I gathered using Nook. I do often have multiple books open, specially if parts of them are going slow for me. Otherwise I have the bad habit of trying to finish a book in a sitting. Which is not good for other things .. I know but

[Care]

Originally Posted by tahseen

And I guess with kindle I have to convert any drm free epub to mobi files right? Is there any limitation to that. I have never really used mobi files so not sure about that.

I keep adding new questions endlessly it seems. Thanks to all of you for the great help.

That's what the forum is for, ask away! I ask tons of questions.

As far as I know (and I convert to mobi all the time since I use it for my phone), as long as the epub is DRM free, you can convert it to mobi. If you use Calibre it is super easy and takes hardly any time.

Did you mention where you live? That might be a determining factor as well.

[tahseen]

I live in Bangladesh and on an office trip in US for the upto 21st. Thats why I have been infrequent in asking questions and also hurrying to decide what to buy.

Like my decisions weren't hard enough as it is. Just noticed the new 5" sony at $139. Its a real sturdy build, browsing is much easier with full screen touch then nook and charge is pretty good, if not as good as kindle and supports epub. Full screen page swipe is easier than Nook lcd. But I actually think the Nook/kindle buttons are much more easier. Have to go and check at BestBuy it seems. Sony's button positions are real bad. I also have brush up on their organization feature too.

Edit ..

But what do they mean by 14 days at 75 mins per day. That sound pretty low for a non wireless reader doesn't it. Know I'm being picky but I shudder at the thought of discharging it over the weekend

[Care]

Oh yeah, that is why I didn't even look hard at the Sony's. I am not comfortable with their buttons. When I lie on my side and read, I don't usually use the page swipe, I use the buttons.

That's a great deal for the Sony though. I believe they still use file folders for organization, and if I'm not mistaken you can use Calibre to do this (not sure though). And it will support pretty much any format but Kindles azw/mobi.

I am not sure if you would want to go with a Nook so far away. I am in Canada, but I am not that far away that if I had to ship it back for some reason it would cost me an arm and a leg. Overseas is a different story. There is a thread in the Nook forum here for international users though, and I guess there are a lot of us. If yo u were still interested in it, I would say go read through that thread. It might give you some tips.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by tahseen

Prof .. I understand your point about everything being breakable. But from the feel of it, it felt like if the Nook/Sony sort of lightly hit something (edge of the bed/table) its gonna survive. Kindle probably would but it just didn't feel like it.

I don't really need a month of charge. I would be pretty happy with a week or over . I would also use almost zero wifi and minimal lcd usage I think. I find the buttons more comfortable from what little I gathered using Nook. I do often have multiple books open, specially if parts of them are going slow for me. Otherwise I have the bad habit of trying to finish a book in a sitting. Which is not good for other things .. I know but

If the Nook feels more comfortable to you then by all means buy a Nook. The K3 is a perfectly durable machine but if you don't feel comfortable with it then you should not buy it.

You can avoid the LCD screen for looking at pictures but my understanding is that all of your navigation occurs on the LCD screen. So you can turn the brightness down to save battery life but it is still there. I know you have a choice between buttons and swiping for page turning.

If you live outside the US, the Kindle is the only one of the three devices that supports international users. It does not ship to Bangladesh so that might not be all that useful for you.

[polly]

Originally Posted by Care

That's a great deal for the Sony though. I believe they still use file folders for organization, and if I'm not mistaken you can use Calibre to do this (not sure though). And it will support pretty much any format but Kindles azw/mobi.

Personally, I love the buttons on the Sony and dislike their location on the Nook/Kindle. Sony has always used collections for organization and Calibre will create and manage collections on the reader, which makes it a super user friendly way to organize.

Calibre will support the azw/mobi format. It's limited in the support it will provide any DRMed book, but has no problems converting DRM free files to and from .azw. When you find the kindle files on your PC, you notice that it's impossible to figure out what book it is, but when you drag it in to Calibre, that information appears in its record.

The Sony battery lasts at least as long as the Kindle and longer than the Nook. I can read three to four books and some magazines over a few weeks before my battery indicator drops to half full. I've never tried draining it completely to see how long it lasts.

[tahseen]

Interesting comments from everyone. Glad to have them.

I am having divided thoughts between K3, Nook and Sony and would surely have trouble deciding. Which is bad in a good way I guess to have the option. I am generally not good at taking decisions so ...

There's another thing to note here. I feel that choosing a reader is often a much more significant than many other bigger purchase in that it is so much about individual's personal taste and because one wants so much to concentrate on the reading then the device, making it essential that the device don't stand in the way.

Its interesting that how Polly loves the sony buttons while me and Care seem to hate it Thanks for confirming that sony holds the charge for so long.

I will probably try to use them in store once more and try deciding. Couldn't get the Nook lcd swipe to work and the BestBuy guy was clueless to help, saying this might not work in the demo unit

Prof, I read you. Its all about taste and personal preference. I do like a lot of features of each of the devices. I would say all of them are great reader but I can only buy one. One trouble with my being from abroad is that I can't buy one then return if that doesn't work for me, making my choice a little harder.

Hopefully I will be able to choose in the next couple of days and be able to get back to my reading in comfort. Happy reading to everyone.

[Care]

The Nooks swipe feature is SUPER easy. Best Buy staff isn't always very knowledgeable unfortunately. Make sure they have the latest update on the Nook, it is software version 1.5.

I personally don't like the buttons on the Kindle either. I am picky. But yes, it is all personal taste. What is comfortable or easy for one person could be a downright pain for the next.

I don't envy your decision. Good luck!

[ProfCrash]

Play with them all and go with the one you are most comfortable with. What ever you do, buy a cover.