Nook vs. Nook Color vs. Sony 650

mnfe · 12-12-2010, 03:11 AM

This is my first post, but I have been lurking for a while now.

I know, this gets asked a lot here, and I've been doing a lot of reading and research. I had planned to get an ereader back in August but had to put it off, and now I seem to be paralyzed by too many choices!

Here is what I am looking for....

1. ePub! My library has a pretty healthy serving of ebooks. In fact, in just two pages worth of books I saw at least 6 I would want to read. Some are Adobe PDF, some are Adobe ePub. I read a LOT when I can (or used to before I had kids), so this is pretty critical. I think I would save a lot of money over time. I tend to forget to return physical library books so this is a great way to check books out with no fines!

2. Wireless, at least wi-fi if not wi-fi/3G. I go back and forth on this one, I'll be honest. While in theory it's great to do books on demand, etc, if I'm primarily doing library books or books from other sites, this feature becomes less useful. BUT there have been times when I have been traveling and been super disatisfied with what I have brought with me, so this would be a definite nice to have.

3. Price IS a factor, the Sony 950 is out of my reach at $299 or I would probably be looking at that more closely. The Nook Color is a stretch but possibly doable.

I go back and forth between LCD and eInk. I read at night in the dark quite a bit on my laptop and that hasn't bothered me. And the Nook Color is appealing for reading kids books at bedtime. But I do want to be able to read outside in the sunshine as well. It seems like it would be easier to add a book light than read an LCD screen in sunshine and I DO read more at night. But I do like the way eInk looks as well.

Thoughts? I thought I had decided on the nook but the nook Color is also appealing. I would probably snap up the Sony 650 if it had Wireless, which is why I am so conflicted.

Should I just go out and get one? I'm sure I'll love whatever I have. I love having the Kindle app on my laptop with a bunch of free books downloaded, but I decided that ePub is a necessity.

sun surfer · 12-12-2010, 04:00 AM

Hello mnfe and welcome!

I wouldn't recommend the Sony 650 for you, since you want wireless.

However, the Sony 950 is going on sale starting the 12th for $250. You say that that's (barely) in your price league (since that's the price of the nook colour) and it is a very fine device.

The nook colour is also great from what I hear and only you can decide if you want colour or e-ink. Also ask yourself if battery life is important because e-ink lasts much longer.

Of your choices, the nook classic is the cheapest by $100 and has pretty much everything you want, so if price is that important, maybe you should go with it.

I would suggest you definitely get one with epub and wifi since those are your top two concerns. But as far as price and lcd vs e-ink, really only you can decide what is most important to you. I think you'll be happy with any of them.

ypocaramel · 12-12-2010, 04:03 AM

Anti-glare film + full brightness will handle outdoors for the NC... adequately. It really depends on how important the kids books are (and if there are any you actually want to buy for the kids) - if you're mostly using the ereader to burn through paperbacks I say an e-ink reader; but browsing the internet, reading magazines, pdfs (especially illustrated ones), kids books, are material, then NOOKcolor.

jocampo · 12-12-2010, 10:43 AM

Hello and welcome,

I don't like the Nook color. My opinion is that it's a cheap version of an iPAD, that can do much more and in a better way. The battery life is horrible, about 4 or 5 hrs with average usage, which makes it a "no no" if you are reading a novel. In a travel, you will have to be close or recharge frequently. The glare is a big issue too. Using a Nook color on the beach or sun light it's problematic.

Now, I used to have a Nook 1st gen. and I was able to read for hours and full sun bright. The 1.5 firmware improved battery life and now you can adjust some bright contrast and sleep options.

The Sony is an awesome ereader but for that price and no wifi, it's also a "no no" for me. If you don't mind to spend additional money and you can live without the wifi option, the most recent Sony is a good choice for you.

For a full and only ereader experience, please stay away from LCD screens.

gtriever · 12-12-2010, 10:50 AM

One question: have you actually used the Nook Color and the iPad?

Sweetpea · 12-12-2010, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jocampo

The battery life is horrible, about 4 or 5 hrs with average usage, which makes it a "no no" if you are reading a novel.

I don't get this... Unless you have so much free time that you read in stretches of 4 to 5 hours, this shouldn't be a problem. I'm always happy if I can manage 30 minutes...

jocampo · 12-12-2010, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I don't get this... Unless you have so much free time that you read in stretches of 4 to 5 hours, this shouldn't be a problem. I'm always happy if I can manage 30 minutes...

What you don't get? :-) ... the Nook Color's battery life is bad.

For a normal ereader user, 5 to 6 hours is a big inconvenient. Imagine yourself in a airplane travel from LA to Paris, without including airport wait. Or ... you are in a nice beach in Puerto Rico or Mexico, you got there after a 2 hrs trip in a car. It is certainly and inconvenient.

You can be happy with 30 min, but it is not a lot of time.

Rebo · 12-12-2010, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jocampo

Hello and welcome,

I don't like the Nook color. My opinion is that it's a cheap version of an iPAD, that can do much more and in a better way. The battery life is horrible, about 4 or 5 hrs with average usage, which makes it a "no no" if you are reading a novel. In a travel, you will have to be close or recharge frequently. The glare is a big issue too. Using a Nook color on the beach or sun light it's problematic.

Where do you get the data of 4 to 5 hrs with average usage from? I get 9 hours from my Nook Color just for reading. My co-worker gets 10 hours. There is a thread in the Nook Subforum on battery life.

The Nook Color IS cheaper than iPad, in fact by $250. However, its screen resolution is even higher than the iPad. The screen display of the Nook Color is the best in its class, only rivaled by the much more expensive $599 Samsung Galaxy tablet. The Nook Color exels as an color ereader with expanded tablet functions but unlike the iPad, it is not supposed to be a full tablet right off the box.

I think people who are interested in any device should really go to the subforums where actual owners share their experience. This will provide a far better assessment of each device so they can decide based on their own needs. This will filter out a lot of non-owners who criticise based on phantom data or fanboys who would only sing praise to their own device.

mnfe · 12-12-2010, 01:14 PM

Thanks, everyone. I didn't list battery life, but I think that I will want more than 10 hours, so that takes the nook Color out of the running. Otherwise
I can just load the reader software on my netbook and get the same thing, although slightly bulkier. It also does better at websurfing, etc.

The Sony 950 during the sale is tempting, though. So now it is between the nook and that, the main differential being if I want to pay the higher price. I guess I will go to Best Buy this week and try them out.

jocampo · 12-12-2010, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rebo

Where do you get the data of 4 to 5 hrs with average usage from? I get 9 hours from my Nook Color just for reading. My co-worker gets 10 hours. There is a thread in the Nook Subforum on battery life.

The Nook Color IS cheaper than iPad, in fact by $250. However, its screen resolution is even higher than the iPad. The screen display of the Nook Color is the best in its class, only rivaled by the much more expensive $599 Samsung Galaxy tablet. The Nook Color exels as an color ereader with expanded tablet functions but unlike the iPad, it is not supposed to be a full tablet right off the box.

I think people who are interested in any device should really go to the subforums where actual owners share their experience. This will provide a far better assessment of each device so they can decide based on their own needs. This will filter out a lot of non-owners who criticise based on phantom data or fanboys who would only sing praise to their own device.

Where? couple of friends at work, who heavily use it; real numbers from real people, not internet; actually one of them just returned it recently because the limited battery life. I had the chance to use it outdoor as well and play with it a little bit.

Because it is not, like you say, a full table right of the box, I don't think is a good choice. You can read ebooks, but it's not eink... you can do some thing that you can with a tablet, but it is not a full feature one ... it's like several things at the same time without, in my opinion, excel on any of those.

To be fair, iPAD does not support Flash and it's bigger and heavier, but it compensates a bit that you have tons of more applications and things to do with the iPAD.

I personally believe that for a true reading experience, novels and not magazines, there is nothing better than eink display.

When eink color technology appears, I think it would worth the money to get something like that. Meanwhile, I don't think Nook Color is a good choice, based on battery life and its LCD screen, not eink.

jocampo · 12-12-2010, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mnfe

The Sony 950 during the sale is tempting, though. So now it is between the nook and that, the main differential being if I want to pay the higher price. I guess I will go to Best Buy this week and try them out.

Regardless the epub supported format (I don't want to start a debate about which format is good, bad, etc) I consider Nook 1st generation a nice ereader, at a good price and with firmware 1.5 not so slow than before. I had one and it works ok for me. I miss the option of being able to read a book, for up to 1 hr, if you are in a B&N store but B&N did not fit my taste and need for computer books which now I can find with no problemas at Amazon, with my new Kindle 3. That could not be your case though, depending of the books you like and read.

Yes, a visit your closest Best Buy store it's an awesome idea!

That was exactly what I did when I changed devices; I brought my Nook there with me and compare and feel my old Nook vs Kindle 3. Being there will allow you to feel and see how the Sony compares to the Nook and take a better decision.

ProfCrash · 12-12-2010, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mnfe

Thanks, everyone. I didn't list battery life, but I think that I will want more than 10 hours, so that takes the nook Color out of the running. Otherwise
I can just load the reader software on my netbook and get the same thing, although slightly bulkier. It also does better at websurfing, etc.

The Sony 950 during the sale is tempting, though. So now it is between the nook and that, the main differential being if I want to pay the higher price. I guess I will go to Best Buy this week and try them out.

How often are you going to read to the kids using your e-reader and what books would you be reading to them?

If you think you are going to be reading to your kids frequently and you need color then go with the Nook Color. It sounds like you travel and having a device that you can use for email, videos, and the like could be helpful during travel.

If you don't see yourself reading to the kids a lot with it and you don't need a color screen for magazines and the like, go with the 950.

dordale · 12-12-2010, 02:15 PM

mnfe--

I have a nook and a Sony 650. Both are great readers! But if I were making your choice today, I'd take the 950 over the nook--even with the $100 price differential.

I know the Sony 950 interface is basically the same as the 650, but with the addition of wi-fi. Personally, I think the Sony's interface beats the nook's hands down--even with the nook's recent upgrade.

One reason I decided to upgrade to the nook from my Sony 505 was for a dictionary. But accessing it on the nook was very cumbersome--having to use the lcd screen at the bottom to navigate through the document was onerous and there is no way to look up words if you don't know the exact spelling. On the Sony, you can just double tap the word you want to look up and the definition pops up on the bottom of the screen. You then have the option to see a more detailed definition and to scroll through the dictionary.

I really like other aspects of the Sony Interface as well--IMO they've made everything very intuitive--and I really like the touch screen interface. The nook's interface isn't too bad once you get used to it, but the Sony's is much better.

Other pluses for the Sony--battery life and weight. Here I'm making an assumption that the battery life of the 950 with wireless turned off will be about the same as the battery life of the 650. Nook Battery life supposedly was improved with the recent upgrade, and I do see that to a small extent. Still I get over three weeks with my Sony (and I've never let my battery get below two bars before charging). On the nook I'm getting about a week and a half now. Was less than a week before the upgrade.

And on the weight issue--the Sony 950 is far lighter than the nook (I compared this at a Sony Style Store.) The nook and the Sony 950 are almost the same size overall, but the Sony has a larger reading screen and no LCD screen which I'm sure adds the weight to the nook.

Don't get me wrong, the nook is a great reader--but in my opinion the Sony beats it hands down (except of course for price)!

I agree with jocampo--visiting a store where you can compare the readers is a great idea. Also, if you have some books on an SD card, you can just plug that in to the floor model of the Sony's to see how your own books would look. Not so easy on the nooks as you have to remove the back of the reader to insert the micro-sd card. (And I'm not sure if the books need to be in a special folder for the nook--no such restrictions for the Sony).

Good luck with your decision! Either way, I'm sure you'll be happy with your new reader!

dordale

SCION · 12-12-2010, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rebo

...
I think people who are interested in any device should really go to the subforums where actual owners share their experience. This will provide a far better assessment of each device so they can decide based on their own needs. This will filter out a lot of non-owners who criticise based on phantom data or fanboys who would only sing praise to their own device.

Nothing worse than criticizing something you never owned and having absolutely no interest in learning from owners. Playing with something for a few minutes to purposefully seek out flaws doesn't count.

mnfe · 12-12-2010, 07:32 PM

I talked to my husband and he didn't like the idea of using an ereader to read to the kids, he likes regular books. And I'm OK with that because it means the device will really be all mine!

How is the Sony online store? I typically read sci-fi and fantasy novels, so that would be what I'm looking for mainly. I don't want to not be able to find books that I want to for a decent price. I know Amazon is the best for that, but is Sony at least close to B&N?

12-12-2010, 03:11 AM	#1
mnfe Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 2796 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: none	Nook vs. Nook Color vs. Sony 650 This is my first post, but I have been lurking for a while now. I know, this gets asked a lot here, and I've been doing a lot of reading and research. I had planned to get an ereader back in August but had to put it off, and now I seem to be paralyzed by too many choices! Here is what I am looking for.... 1. ePub! My library has a pretty healthy serving of ebooks. In fact, in just two pages worth of books I saw at least 6 I would want to read. Some are Adobe PDF, some are Adobe ePub. I read a LOT when I can (or used to before I had kids), so this is pretty critical. I think I would save a lot of money over time. I tend to forget to return physical library books so this is a great way to check books out with no fines! 2. Wireless, at least wi-fi if not wi-fi/3G. I go back and forth on this one, I'll be honest. While in theory it's great to do books on demand, etc, if I'm primarily doing library books or books from other sites, this feature becomes less useful. BUT there have been times when I have been traveling and been super disatisfied with what I have brought with me, so this would be a definite nice to have. 3. Price IS a factor, the Sony 950 is out of my reach at $299 or I would probably be looking at that more closely. The Nook Color is a stretch but possibly doable. I go back and forth between LCD and eInk. I read at night in the dark quite a bit on my laptop and that hasn't bothered me. And the Nook Color is appealing for reading kids books at bedtime. But I do want to be able to read outside in the sunshine as well. It seems like it would be easier to add a book light than read an LCD screen in sunshine and I DO read more at night. But I do like the way eInk looks as well. Thoughts? I thought I had decided on the nook but the nook Color is also appealing. I would probably snap up the Sony 650 if it had Wireless, which is why I am so conflicted. Should I just go out and get one? I'm sure I'll love whatever I have. I love having the Kindle app on my laptop with a bunch of free books downloaded, but I decided that ePub is a necessity.

12-12-2010, 10:43 AM	#4
jocampo Layback feline Posts: 3,034 Karma: 6980745 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: USA Device: Oasis 2nd gen, Sony DPTS1, iPad Pro 10.5"	Hello and welcome, I don't like the Nook color. My opinion is that it's a cheap version of an iPAD, that can do much more and in a better way. The battery life is horrible, about 4 or 5 hrs with average usage, which makes it a "no no" if you are reading a novel. In a travel, you will have to be close or recharge frequently. The glare is a big issue too. Using a Nook color on the beach or sun light it's problematic. Now, I used to have a Nook 1st gen. and I was able to read for hours and full sun bright. The 1.5 firmware improved battery life and now you can adjust some bright contrast and sleep options. The Sony is an awesome ereader but for that price and no wifi, it's also a "no no" for me. If you don't mind to spend additional money and you can live without the wifi option, the most recent Sony is a good choice for you. For a full and only ereader experience, please stay away from LCD screens. Last edited by jocampo; 12-12-2010 at 10:45 AM.

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12-12-2010, 04:00 AM	#2
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44637926 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	Hello mnfe and welcome! I wouldn't recommend the Sony 650 for you, since you want wireless. However, the Sony 950 is going on sale starting the 12th for $250. You say that that's (barely) in your price league (since that's the price of the nook colour) and it is a very fine device. The nook colour is also great from what I hear and only you can decide if you want colour or e-ink. Also ask yourself if battery life is important because e-ink lasts much longer. Of your choices, the nook classic is the cheapest by $100 and has pretty much everything you want, so if price is that important, maybe you should go with it. I would suggest you definitely get one with epub and wifi since those are your top two concerns. But as far as price and lcd vs e-ink, really only you can decide what is most important to you. I think you'll be happy with any of them.

12-12-2010, 04:03 AM	#3
ypocaramel Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Hong Kong Device: Sony Reader PRS-700, Barnes and Noble NOOKcolor)	Anti-glare film + full brightness will handle outdoors for the NC... adequately. It really depends on how important the kids books are (and if there are any you actually want to buy for the kids) - if you're mostly using the ereader to burn through paperbacks I say an e-ink reader; but browsing the internet, reading magazines, pdfs (especially illustrated ones), kids books, are material, then NOOKcolor.

12-12-2010, 10:50 AM	#5
gtriever Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 2125576 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Forma	One question: have you actually used the Nook Color and the iPad?

12-12-2010, 01:14 PM	#9
mnfe Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 2796 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: none	Thanks, everyone. I didn't list battery life, but I think that I will want more than 10 hours, so that takes the nook Color out of the running. Otherwise I can just load the reader software on my netbook and get the same thing, although slightly bulkier. It also does better at websurfing, etc. The Sony 950 during the sale is tempting, though. So now it is between the nook and that, the main differential being if I want to pay the higher price. I guess I will go to Best Buy this week and try them out.

12-12-2010, 02:15 PM	#13
dordale Wizard Posts: 1,731 Karma: 3472866 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony PRS-650 & 350; Kindle Voyage; Kobo Aura HD, Aura One, and Forma	mnfe-- I have a nook and a Sony 650. Both are great readers! But if I were making your choice today, I'd take the 950 over the nook--even with the $100 price differential. I know the Sony 950 interface is basically the same as the 650, but with the addition of wi-fi. Personally, I think the Sony's interface beats the nook's hands down--even with the nook's recent upgrade. One reason I decided to upgrade to the nook from my Sony 505 was for a dictionary. But accessing it on the nook was very cumbersome--having to use the lcd screen at the bottom to navigate through the document was onerous and there is no way to look up words if you don't know the exact spelling. On the Sony, you can just double tap the word you want to look up and the definition pops up on the bottom of the screen. You then have the option to see a more detailed definition and to scroll through the dictionary. I really like other aspects of the Sony Interface as well--IMO they've made everything very intuitive--and I really like the touch screen interface. The nook's interface isn't too bad once you get used to it, but the Sony's is much better. Other pluses for the Sony--battery life and weight. Here I'm making an assumption that the battery life of the 950 with wireless turned off will be about the same as the battery life of the 650. Nook Battery life supposedly was improved with the recent upgrade, and I do see that to a small extent. Still I get over three weeks with my Sony (and I've never let my battery get below two bars before charging). On the nook I'm getting about a week and a half now. Was less than a week before the upgrade. And on the weight issue--the Sony 950 is far lighter than the nook (I compared this at a Sony Style Store.) The nook and the Sony 950 are almost the same size overall, but the Sony has a larger reading screen and no LCD screen which I'm sure adds the weight to the nook. Don't get me wrong, the nook is a great reader--but in my opinion the Sony beats it hands down (except of course for price)! I agree with jocampo--visiting a store where you can compare the readers is a great idea. Also, if you have some books on an SD card, you can just plug that in to the floor model of the Sony's to see how your own books would look. Not so easy on the nooks as you have to remove the back of the reader to insert the micro-sd card. (And I'm not sure if the books need to be in a special folder for the nook--no such restrictions for the Sony). Good luck with your decision! Either way, I'm sure you'll be happy with your new reader! dordale

12-12-2010, 07:32 PM	#15
mnfe Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 2796 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: none	I talked to my husband and he didn't like the idea of using an ereader to read to the kids, he likes regular books. And I'm OK with that because it means the device will really be all mine! How is the Sony online store? I typically read sci-fi and fantasy novels, so that would be what I'm looking for mainly. I don't want to not be able to find books that I want to for a decent price. I know Amazon is the best for that, but is Sony at least close to B&N?