Opinions on a reader

[otterjer]

Hi everybody....first time poster long time (well since Christmas time) reader. As somebody who's relatively new to ebooks and readers (purely paper right now), I've decided to take the plunge and buy a reader.
I've looked at the Kindle off and on since it was released and while it appealed to me I wasn't sold on being locked into the Amazon service. My main reason in wanting a reader is to get rid of the stacks of books that I keep acquiring because I'm running out of room (baby toys are taking over) in my modestly sized home.
Additionally, I do read a lot of text based pdf's for my job (mostly standards and guidance documents pertaining to medical devices). So I'd like to be able to read these without having to tote stacks of paper from home to the office and vice/versa.
Around Christmas time I bought into the hype and ordered the Nook but now am having second thoughts. I guess the main thing that appealed to me was the presence of both Wi-Fi and 3G, however I'm starting to question whether they're actually a need. I'd like to hear people's experiences with the 3G connectivity. Do you feel that it's presence it required? I'm fairly computer literate and don't necessarily mind connecting to my laptop to transfer books but still like the convenience that 3G offers if I wanted to pick something up on a trip and/or subscribe to a newspaper or magazine.
Finally, a lot of my consternation over whether or not I should keep the Nook (or cancel the order that is due to arrive Feb. 5th) goes to the fact that I've found the Onyx Boox and 800 model of the iRex interesting. Not to mention the fact that I've had the chance to play with the Nook and it feels a little sluggish to me (version 1.1.0 was on the unit at the B&N where I played).
Any thoughts or experiences would be helpful, so thanks in advance.

[rmm200]

Just from what you have said, I would say hold off until you have checked out enough alternatives to be sure you get the one you want. Nothing worse than buyer's remorse before you even get it.

All of the top tier devices are good enough that most purchasers will be very happy with their device, and that includes the Nook.

Expect the EBook stores to improve a lot in the next year. They lose too many sales using the closed model.

For now keep in mind, with the Nook, you are tying yourself to Barnes and Nobel, just like with the Kindle you are attached to Amazon.

Robert

[otterjer]

Thanks for taking time to respond to me Robert, I appreciate it. I guess my real problem with waiting (other than being impatient, which admitadly I am) is that regardless of how long I wait I don't see major retailers carrying some of the readers that I'm interested in.
Basically, I've been able to look at and play with the Nook, PRS-300 and PRS-600. Granted, at some time I can foresee being able to play with the PRS-900 and possibly the iRex DR800SG (if Best Buy ever gets it) but it seems like many of the readers I have been interested in are mail-order only which is frustrating.

With respect to the Nook; although you are tied into B&N, I was under the impression that it supported more formats than the Kindle. Am I incorrect in that assumption? Something that is particularly of interest to me is being able to use Overdrive at my local library to check out books.

On another note if there is anybody who's gotten the Boox, could you let me know what pushed you over the edge and how you like your purchase so far?

Thank you

[jabberwock_11]

I am a huge fan and supporter of the Sony devices. I own the 505 and love it, but it is not the only really good device out there. I work for a cell phone company and I can tell you that 3G and wifi are ideas that are constantly changing just as formats and technology is. What is usable today may not be tomorrow. You have to decide how much you will actually use those features and if it is worth it to be locked into one dominant format over another.

The Nook does support epub and pdf as well as the ereader format, so if you like the way the device works and looks I would say stick with your first choice. It uses AT&T for its 3G connection and even if that should go away the wifi is still available.

I do not know if the Nook is able to able to be used to check out ebooks from the library, but I do know that the Sony Readers are.

[otterjer]

Thanks for your input as well Jabbewock; One of the major selling points for me with regards to the Nook was the presence of 3G and Wi-Fi, where it seems that others offer one or the other.
To be honest I can see myself using Wi-fi much more than the 3G just because AT&T doesn't offer the greatest coverage here. But the always "on," nature of the 3G is appealing since I'll be able to grab a book when travelling (business or pleasure) but I still foresee myself doing the majority of reading at home so any type of connection (even through a computer) would probably do.
I guess I'm frustrated because there aren't any stores where I can try some of the lesser known (at least to me) devices to see what suites my need. Maybe I'll have to check out the return policies on some of them and just jump in and play for awhile.

[rmm200]

Another suggestion - go the the manufacturers web sites and download the user manuals. You can get a better feel for the device from that than advertising claims. Also check how limited the 3G and WiFi support is. It may only work to that vendor's store...

Have fun - you will love whatever you get.


Robert

[woodworthjohnca]

Originally Posted by otterjer

...Additionally, I do read a lot of text based pdf's for my job (mostly standards and guidance documents pertaining to medical devices). So I'd like to be able to read these without having to tote stacks of paper from home to the office and vice/versa....

..I'd like to hear people's experiences with the 3G connectivity. Do you feel that it's presence it required?...

I can address these two points from the perspective of a Kindle 2 owner. Also a long-time Palm user. I, too, am looking for a PDF reader but am coming to the conclusion that this application can be considered separately from an ereader for books. Reading through all the reviews and threads on this and other sites, it appears to me that only a large-screened reader is really effective for PDF's, otherwise there are panning, formatting and/or resolution headaches. I doubt that the Nook will suffice. The K2 certainly doesn't.

With respect to 3G, of course it is not required but it is very nice. Instead of making a note and then buying the book later in a separate action (in my case assuming you haven't lost the note), one just searches the store, clicks, and voila! Less than 60 seconds. Very convenient. Maybe too convenient, but I love it.

[angelad]

Originally Posted by rmm200

Another suggestion - go the the manufacturers web sites and download the user manuals. You can get a better feel for the device from that than advertising claims. Also check how limited the 3G and WiFi support is. It may only work to that vendor's store...

Have fun - you will love whatever you get.


Robert

That's a very good idea. Or I just saw a matrix of comparison here somewhere, also a great thing to check out.

[otterjer]

Thanks for all of the advice everybody. I'm finding myself very indecisive, which is a little bit uncharacteristic of me and "gadgets." I have checked out the matrix and it provides lots of useful information, however I guess nothing really beats a hands-on perspective. I haven't checked out manuals though so maybe I'll do that to get some perspective on the UI's of the devices.

Also with respect to the pdf's; I think I've been reading the same things. It doesn't seem like any of the smaller devices do a very good job displaying pdf's. I guess if it came down to it good pdf support is secondary. I do read a lot for work but my main interest is for pleasure reading at home.

At this point I think that I'm going to stick with the Nook and evaluate it when I receive it on the 5th. That is unless Apple releases some earth shattering news tomorrow.

Thanks everybody.

[lene1949]

Is your starsign 'Libra'?

[LenzGr]

Originally Posted by otterjer

Thanks for taking time to respond to me Robert, I appreciate it. I guess my real problem with waiting (other than being impatient, which admitadly I am) is that regardless of how long I wait I don't see major retailers carrying some of the readers that I'm interested in.

The problem in such a dynamic market is, that you basically will always end up with a device that's no longer state of the art by the time you buy it

On another note if there is anybody who's gotten the Boox, could you let me know what pushed you over the edge and how you like your purchase so far?

Several things, actually. I like the fact that it's an open platform, not tied to any specific publisher or vendor. When plugging in, it simply appears as an USB mass storage device, which makes it usable on Linux, too. There is an SDK in the works to develop applications (in C++ with the Qt toolkit). Python support is planned, too.

It reads a multitude of different formats and really shines when it comes to viewing PDFs (of which I have quite a lot). Granted, the firmware is not perfect yet, but updates are provided frequently. There is a forum on the vendor's web site as well as a lot of support on this Forum as well.

The built-in WLAN and web-browser is neat, too. It's based on webkit and renders most pages quite well, albeit a bit slow (due to the display technology). But for quickly searching something on Wikipedia, it's more than sufficient.

I also like the display - it uses Wacom touch technology which does not reduce the quality of the eInk-Panel by adding another layer on top of it (which reduces contrast and causes glare). In my opinion, the pen is a much better pointing device (e.g. for marking text) than a finger. However, I rarely use it when reading, as virtually any function can be reached by using the round button array below the display (it actually provides 9 different buttons, the inner ring is separate from the outer one).

Oh, and the device is quite fast, too! Bootup time is ~20 secs, suspending/resuming happens instantly. Battery life is great, if you remember to disable the wireless when you're not surfing the web (there is a switch). The Wacom panel also disables itself, when the pen is in its slot.

Given it's price (I paid 299 EUR) and features, it was the best choice available back when I made the decision about three weeks ago. I haven't regretted my decision yet. I initially wanted to wait for the txtr reader, but somehow the company is not getting their act together...

Hope that helps!

[leequick1]

Originally Posted by rmm200

Expect the EBook stores to improve a lot in the next year. They lose too many sales using the closed model.

For now keep in mind, with the Nook, you are tying yourself to Barnes and Nobel, just like with the Kindle you are attached to Amazon.

Robert

Ebook stores will improve, more readers will come out. Nook does not tie you to Barnes and Nobel. I have about 100+ secure and non secure ebooks on my nook, not one of them is from Barnes and Nobel. If you mean you are limited to only eReader format for commercial books then you have plenty of ebook stores to go to.
.
You want to use ePub or how ever it is written, you want to read in the dark, you want to go to any ebook store/library that has this format, try the new iPad, that is the format that Apple is touting right now.
.
With Kindle, Amazon tells you right up front you are limited to their store for secure ebooks, non secure ebooks in the mobipocket format are available where you find them. Barnes and Nobles makes no such restrictions like that. They just don't show up in the pretty little coloured window until you open it up.

[otterjer]

Hi everybody, sorry for the long delay in responding but I am still here and have read all of your advice, which I greatly appreciate by the way. There's just not enough of my friends with e-readers to get as many opinions as I can here.

Well here is my update so far....I cancelled my nook order once I saw the release of the iPad deciding that I would wait to get one....then I decided that while I'll still buy one upon release I think it will be for reasons other than as an ereader. Most likely it will be used as a mobile entertainment device by my wife and I. I'm a big fan of my iTouch and really just look at the iPad as a bigger version of an entertainment device, maybe not so much for reading (at least for me but we'll have to wait and see).

On the ereader front; I pulled the trigger and bought a PRS-900 yesterday from Best Buy. I'd been in there about 10 times in the last month looking at all the Sony offerings. I like their UI and the PRS-600 screen didn't bother me when looking at it in the store (unfortunately, they didn't have a 900 as a display so it was bought sight unseen). Well, since I've had it at home I'm having buyer's remorse. While I still like the UI, the 3G and overall operation the reflectiveness of the screen has been bothering me. Maybe it's because I typically read in lower light situations (in bed with a lamp) that I didn't notice it on the 600 in the store but at this point I am considering returning it before my 14 day return policy is up.

On the same note, I pulled the trigger and re-ordered a Nook as well as a Kindle DX. I only intend to keep one of the three devices (maybe none if I decide I don't like them or opt for a Kindle 2 instead) but we'll wait and see. Unfortunately, I did not order a Boox 60 (which I have been impressed with in the reviews that I've read) because I don't really want to wait until April to get a device. I've almost finished my hard copy of Under the Dome and have drawn a line in the sand with respect to more clutter in my house (no bookshelf room left).

So that is where I stand right now. Bought a 900 loved everything but the reading experience because of the screen and am now waiting for a Nook and Kindle DX to compare against and somewhat remorseful that I didn't pull the trigger and get the Boox 60 originally to try it out.

Sorry for the long post. I will let everybody know my feelings on the next two devices to let you know what my final decision is.

Thanks everybody.

[CandyNJ66]

You will love the screen on the Nook. It's nothing like the very dark contrast due to the touch screen on the Sony Daily edition. The background is almost white providing a great reading experience. Hope you like it whenever you get it.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by otterjer

Hi everybody....first time poster long time (well since Christmas time) reader. As somebody who's relatively new to ebooks and readers (purely paper right now), I've decided to take the plunge and buy a reader.
I've looked at the Kindle off and on since it was released and while it appealed to me I wasn't sold on being locked into the Amazon service. My main reason in wanting a reader is to get rid of the stacks of books that I keep acquiring because I'm running out of room (baby toys are taking over) in my modestly sized home.
Additionally, I do read a lot of text based pdf's for my job (mostly standards and guidance documents pertaining to medical devices). So I'd like to be able to read these without having to tote stacks of paper from home to the office and vice/versa.
Around Christmas time I bought into the hype and ordered the Nook but now am having second thoughts. I guess the main thing that appealed to me was the presence of both Wi-Fi and 3G, however I'm starting to question whether they're actually a need. I'd like to hear people's experiences with the 3G connectivity. Do you feel that it's presence it required? I'm fairly computer literate and don't necessarily mind connecting to my laptop to transfer books but still like the convenience that 3G offers if I wanted to pick something up on a trip and/or subscribe to a newspaper or magazine.
Finally, a lot of my consternation over whether or not I should keep the Nook (or cancel the order that is due to arrive Feb. 5th) goes to the fact that I've found the Onyx Boox and 800 model of the iRex interesting. Not to mention the fact that I've had the chance to play with the Nook and it feels a little sluggish to me (version 1.1.0 was on the unit at the B&N where I played).
Any thoughts or experiences would be helpful, so thanks in advance.

I've got quite a few readers. I've bought Kindle 2 and DX as US versions (before the international versions came out). So I've got a few units, which would be capable of G3, but can't use it on any of those in Germany.
I don't miss 3G at all.
In my house, mobile phone reception isn't too good, probably wouldn't be fun anyway. And I'm rarely in need, to buy a book when traveling. And, if I want to, I always have my UMPC with me "on the road".
So I really don't need 3G.
But I miss WiFi.
I've got nook for 5 days now. And I already deeply enjoy, downloading my books from B&N without USB.