Which E-Reader Works For Me?

[GlassPawn]

Hi. I'm new to this forum and to the e-reader devices. I've been looking at the Kindle, Nook Color, and Sony e-reader (but not unwilling to buy another type), but am I unsure of which e-reader will fit my needs.

Right now, I'm envisioning using the e-reader to read the free books available (Sherlock Holmes, Jane Austen books, War and Peace, and other classics). I also see myself (in the future) taking advantage of my public library's e-loan program.

I'm also very interested in reading PDF documents on an e-reader. I currently have a lot of legal documents, government documents, and academic papers saved on my PC in PDF format and would like to transfer them onto an e-reader and read them from there rather than wasting paper and printer ink by printing them all out.

Also, at this point I do not see myself buying a ton of e-books. This might change in the future, but for now I might only buy an e-book when it is substantially cheaper than buying a traditional book or if a title is only available in the e-book version.

And lastly, I would like an e-reader that can provide the opportunity for me to check out the websites of online newspapers and blogs, so that I may read the articles when I'm away from my computer. Right now, I've been using my Iphone for such functions, but I would prefer to look at an e-reader for this purpose even if the 3g network is a little slow. I'm not interested in viewing videos or pictures online. I am also not interested in social networking sites or even checking email (my Iphone serves this purpose), just reading news articles and legal/academic blogs.

At this point, I'm leaning toward the Kindle 3G, although I'm open to suggestions. I should say that I cannot afford an Ipad and would prefer to not go over $250. Thanks, in advance, for your replies. I really appreciate it!

-GlassPawn

[stickybuns]

My experience is limited to the Kindle; although, I did test out the Nook and Sony when I was shopping.

Free, public domain books: any reader will do this for you. MobileRead has a wonderful collection of public domain books that have been uploaded by the members here. I have a file on my Kindle that links to the ebooks here and lets me automatically download books (instead of downloading to my computer and then transferring over to the Kindle).

Library books: currently available on epub readers such as the Nook and Sony, but "by the end of the year" they will be available on the Kindle as well.

PDFs: I've been told that the Sony is best for PDFs but couldn't confirm for myself (the reader on display at Best Buy didn't have any PDFs loaded). Before uploading PDFs to my Kindle, I crop at much of the margin as possible and then switch to "landscape" mode on the reader. If that's too squinty for you, you can also email the file to Amazon and they'll convert it to a Kindle ebook file (note: formatting can sometimes go a bit wonky when you do this).

Online newspapers and blogs: the Kindle is really wonderful for reading text heavy websites. Someone else will need to chime about the other readers--I haven't heard anything about what sort of browsing capabilities they have.

[ProfCrash]

It sounds like a Nook or Kindle would work best for you. The Sony 950 has 3G connectivity but I think browsing is limited to the Sony bookstore. I know someone will correct me if I am wrong about that.

The problem is the Sony has the best PDF functionality of the ebook readers. I think it is the only one with PDF reflow, I am not sure about the Nook Color.

The K3 is ok with PDFs. I have a few PDFs on my DXG and K3. I took a look at them on the K3 and very quickly decided I would only be reading them on the DXG. the font was to small and the zooming option would not have worked with the books I had on it. The problem is that the DXG does not allow you to annotate PDFs and the K3 does.

I have not used the web browser on the K3 so I have no idea how well it works. From what I read it works well enough that people use it for checking email and text based sites. It works in a pinch but would not replace a cell phone or regular browser.

[jocampo]

I love my Kindle 3 but the browser is awful. it's usage should be limited to forums or text mainly websites. I barely use it, my K3 is wifi not 3G so I'm at home most of the time when I use it and Prefer the iPad instead, or my laptop.

The NC stock browser is not good in my opinion and the stock PDF reader... forget it. It can't even remember last read page. You can root it (read about the process here and online) but you will live worried about next official B&N upgrade breaking your previous work. If you're on a strict budget rooting a NC would be an option for you, otherwise I will suggest save a big and get a Galaxy Tab wifi.

But if you're not willing to wait or save, you should consider the Sony. it combines a good PDF experience with good ereader capabilities. Kindle 3 is awesome for regular ebooks but the PDF capabilities are not as good as Sony.

By the way, Sony ereaders are not cheap. Kindles are way less expensive ...

[boswd]

Originally Posted by GlassPawn

Hi. I'm new to this forum and to the e-reader devices. I've been looking at the Kindle, Nook Color, and Sony e-reader (but not unwilling to buy another type), but am I unsure of which e-reader will fit my needs.

Right now, I'm envisioning using the e-reader to read the free books available (Sherlock Holmes, Jane Austen books, War and Peace, and other classics). I also see myself (in the future) taking advantage of my public library's e-loan program.

I'm also very interested in reading PDF documents on an e-reader. I currently have a lot of legal documents, government documents, and academic papers saved on my PC in PDF format and would like to transfer them onto an e-reader and read them from there rather than wasting paper and printer ink by printing them all out.

Also, at this point I do not see myself buying a ton of e-books. This might change in the future, but for now I might only buy an e-book when it is substantially cheaper than buying a traditional book or if a title is only available in the e-book version.

And lastly, I would like an e-reader that can provide the opportunity for me to check out the websites of online newspapers and blogs, so that I may read the articles when I'm away from my computer. Right now, I've been using my Iphone for such functions, but I would prefer to look at an e-reader for this purpose even if the 3g network is a little slow. I'm not interested in viewing videos or pictures online. I am also not interested in social networking sites or even checking email (my Iphone serves this purpose), just reading news articles and legal/academic blogs.

At this point, I'm leaning toward the Kindle 3G, although I'm open to suggestions. I should say that I cannot afford an Ipad and would prefer to not go over $250. Thanks, in advance, for your replies. I really appreciate it!

-GlassPawn

right now out all of your criteria the nook color fits the bill the best.
when people talk about the Nook color's browser, don't get confused, it's being compared to advanced web browser's such as Chrome, Dolphin, Fire Fox etc.

the nook color uses Googles standard web browser. It works great. depending on your wi fi connection, pages open up fast, scrolling is pretty smooth. It's light years ahead of any sort browsing you are going to get on an eink device. And the screen is absolutly FANTASTIC. If you are doing just regular web browsing the Nook color is just fine. I like. No it's not an advanced web browser like Chrome but for it's purpose it's pretty solid.

PDF's render nice on it, the biggest complaint is not holding your last page read. It is an odd ommision but the Nook Market just opend up and it does have a couple of PDF's apps that you can download and use if you find the stock PDF reader not your liking.

Also the nook color added an email application as well. I have my Gmail and my live.com synched up to it and it works great.

For free classic books, Barnes and Noble and Amazon are head and shoulders above the Sony for that in their respective bookstore hubs. Barnes and noble has the edge because they recently launched their Classic series last summer where the editions have cleaned up the errors, added footnotes, and other enhancements. They did a nice job on them.

Good luck

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

It sounds like a Nook or Kindle would work best for you. The Sony 950 has 3G connectivity but I think browsing is limited to the Sony bookstore. I know someone will correct me if I am wrong about that.

That's correct. To connect to the internet on the 950, you need a wifi connection.

I have a Nook wifi. For classics, there's a wide selection to choose from. B&N has their own classics series but not all of them are free. They're really inexpensive to buy (the ones that aren't free) but I just download them from here or other websites for free.

I don't have much experience with PDFs on my nook. I downloaded a couple of PDF e-books from my library and to be honest, I didn't like the way it was formatted. The pages didn't reformat well to the six inch screen of the nook. I'm not sure how the nook does with other types of PDFs (i.e. PDFs with graphs, pictures, etc.).

The nook is great for library borrowing. I borrow books from the library all the time. Just be aware that some of the more popular books may have a long waiting time. For instance, last night I got an e-mail for a book that I put on hold but I honestly forgot that I had even placed the hold because it took such a long time for it to be filled.

I've never tried to read blogs or news sites on the nook. I really hate the browser on the nook classic. I always get kinda dizzy navigating back and forth between the LCD screen and the e-ink screen when using the browser (it works just fine for everything else, just not the browser). I just use my iPod Touch to browse sites, including news and text heavy sites. However, text heavy sites might show up well on a nook classic.

[Latinandgreek]

The Sony Reader does a really good jobs with PDFs, considering its size. If journal articles can reflow, they are quite readable on my 5inch PRS-350. For non-reflowable stuff, I use my iPad. The PRS-950 sounds like it would be a good fit for you judging by your post, as it has an internet connection, and the screen is large enough that I imagine most non-reflowable PDFs can be read fairly easily when you change the orientation to landscape view.

[ATDrake]

One caveat for Mac compatibility, if you think you might want to also be able to read your purchased books on the Mac without stripping and/or converting.

Both Amazon's Kindle for Mac/Kindle Previewer/KindleGen and B&N's Nook for Mac/NookStudy desktop readers apps require an Intel Mac that's at least 10.5. The Nook apps require 10.6. Sony's Reader Library app, horrible though it is, will still work with a 10.4 PPC Mac as well as the latest models.

So if you have an older model of Mac which isn't upgradeable, that may be something to keep in mind.

Aside from that, I have an older K2 and it works okay for PDFs and horribly slow for web-browsing (I don't think it's so much the speed of the connection as the clunkiness of the included browser.

Just about all the e-readers you've listed should be fairly equivalent in terms of what you want, although I've heard that Sonys may have a few slightly more useful PDF handling features (reflow, etc.).

Hope this helps, and welcome to MobileRead!

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by boswd

right now out all of your criteria the nook color fits the bill the best.
when people talk about the Nook color's browser, don't get confused, it's being compared to advanced web browser's such as Chrome, Dolphin, Fire Fox etc.

the nook color uses Googles standard web browser. It works great. depending on your wi fi connection, pages open up fast, scrolling is pretty smooth. It's light years ahead of any sort browsing you are going to get on an eink device. And the screen is absolutly FANTASTIC. If you are doing just regular web browsing the Nook color is just fine. I like. No it's not an advanced web browser like Chrome but for it's purpose it's pretty solid.

PDF's render nice on it, the biggest complaint is not holding your last page read. It is an odd ommision but the Nook Market just opend up and it does have a couple of PDF's apps that you can download and use if you find the stock PDF reader not your liking.

Also the nook color added an email application as well. I have my Gmail and my live.com synched up to it and it works great.

For free classic books, Barnes and Noble and Amazon are head and shoulders above the Sony for that in their respective bookstore hubs. Barnes and noble has the edge because they recently launched their Classic series last summer where the editions have cleaned up the errors, added footnotes, and other enhancements. They did a nice job on them.

Good luck

The Nook Color stock browser is horrible, one of the worse browsing experience ever. It is also buggy and slow, even after most recent firmware upgrade. That is one of the reason why people also root the device, because the browser capabilities. And this is not being said by me, lot of NC users are also complaining about it on the B&N forum after most recent firmware upgrade.

You are probably the only one comparing Dolphin with stock NC browser. They differences are huge!

Reading PDF on the stock Nook Color is also a terrible experience. And for being sold as an ereader, not a full feature Android Tablet, it is unacceptable that users need to pay for an external application when B&N can bring that capability for free.

[stanleystarrh]

@Jocampo

Have you had a chance to compare the Kindle Fire to the Nook? I've been using my fire for a long while now and it does the trick for my basic needs.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by stanleystarrh

@Jocampo

Have you had a chance to compare the Kindle Fire to the Nook? I've been using my fire for a long while now and it does the trick for my basic needs.

wow, very old thread ...

You mean, Nook Color, Nook Tablet, Nook Simple reader? ... we have several Nook devices now.