Nook vs. Nook Color vs. Sony 650

[=X=]

Originally Posted by mnfe

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!

Right now the best eInk devices for reading PDF are Sony's and Kindles. The nookColor is also suppose to be good, but I've not seen any reviews comments. I suppose since it might use the android device

Originally Posted by mnfe

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.

On Demand is a nice feature, I've used it once for my daughter who needed to read a book for a class. But that was once over a span of a year.

I think the bigger usage is having 3G for web capabilities; like web surfing, WIKI lookup and google. I read a lot of non fiction and often it I tend to 'investigate' terms or reference books. I also like to keep my Kindle disk usage small as it improves the perfomance of the device(something I learned from my SONY). I often download the next book I want to read from my web browser via Calibre, Feedbooks, mobileread, etc.. Being able to download a book without having to tether your device is a great benefit. I didn't think it was when I had my SONY, but after expereincing the difference I can say 3G is great.

I recently took a cruise where WI-FI and phone access was off the charts ($5 a min). I used my Kindle on the cruise to text message, surf the web, but mostly read. All for free.

My point is 3G access to a book store to buy books a lone is not worth the extra cash for the nook get the WI-FI model. However if you want true 3G for free look into the Kindle it is worth the difference in cost.

Originally Posted by mnfe

I go back and forth between LCD and eInk.

I don't have an opinion on LCD vs. eInk rather I feel each technology has it's own strenth and weakness.

I tend to read using both technology. During the day I read using my Kindle and at night I read using my phone 4" screen.

For daytime reading eInk all the way, there is just no comparision. I don't care what other say about anti-glare or bump the output to compensate. LCD put a strain on the eye and do not look anywhere as good as eInk.

As for night reading I prefer backlit or LCD devices. I know it's just as easy to use a lamp. But these devices have glare and unless you have an even light source it will be difficult to read. Dropping the contrast down and setting the night mode it's very easy to read w/o any glare.

I guess if you had to chose only one and daytime reading was important you might want to seriously consider an eInk device since you can read an eInk device in both environments(with a lamp of course). Where as with an LCD you will have to find a well shaded area to read in daylight.

A few other considerations.

Battery life
eInk are the king of battery life. They can last weeks w/o a charge where most LCD require a daily charge. If you only read at home not such an issue. However I do travel often and having a device that can hold a charge for days is a must, sometimes one does not have the time or opportunity to charge a device. I once took a class(travel) for a week and forgot my charger at home. Having my eInk device allowed me to continue reading for that whole week without worrying about killing the battery. I read for a total of 20hrs.

Web Surfing
I know you mentioned you have a netbook and use that for surfing. But I can tell you the nook is an android device that has a full browser with all the bells and wishes of a touch screen interface, pinch zoom and text reflow. Your experience surfing the web on the android device will be a far better experience than the netbook. (unless you visit tones of flash sites). The nook is suppose to get Android 2.2 (which supports flash). So that last point might be a moot point.

You husband also might have mentioned he want's traditional books, but wait until you child/husband experiences an eBook and their opinion might change.

Originally Posted by mnfe

...but I decided that ePub is a necessity.

This is an argument I just don't get. When will people realize content is far more important than format. There are tons of tools out there that make the conversion process trivial.

=X=

[mnfe]

EPub is a necessity because that is what the library uses. I go through a huge number of books so if I get even half of those from a library, it will save me at least the cost of the reader, assuming a book is $5, over the course of a year. I know that there are free books out there, etc. But that, to me, is huge, since my library has ebooks I want to read. The PDFs are DRM'd and can't be read on the Kindle. And yes, I can strip DRM and convert it, but the expiration, etc, adds a whole new level of complexity. Is the expiration impacted? Will it still expire? If it doesn't expire, how is that different than stealing unless I manually delete it?

3G browsing isn't as crucial to me because I have a smartphone and unlimited data already. Yes, it is a smaller screen, but between that, my laptop, and my netbook, (and working on computers all day) another device for browsing isn't high on my list. I'd rather have a longer battery life, since I can spend hours reading when allowed.

I plan to check out the eReaders tonight or tomorrow at Best Buy and possibly get the Sony Daily Reader if I like it enough. It's sold out online, but some of my local stores still have it in stock. It sucks that there aren't a lot of cases or skins for it, though. I've read the nook cases fit? Is this the case?

[jocampo]

OK...

Just bought the Nook Color this morning. I did have the chance to test it at work with NC from coworkers there; now I will invest several days playing with it myself, with the primary intention of test/return and compare to my Kindle DX and Kindle 3.

Let's see ... it is fully charged now (charged fast, in about 1.5 hrs, I guess had some initial charge maybe) and I already put 2 technical PDFs books there plus an ePUb ebook that I already had.

Will start using it tonight and give some feedback later during the week.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by mnfe

EPub is a necessity because that is what the library uses. I go through a huge number of books so if I get even half of those from a library, it will save me at least the cost of the reader, assuming a book is $5, over the course of a year. I know that there are free books out there, etc. But that, to me, is huge, since my library has ebooks I want to read. The PDFs are DRM'd and can't be read on the Kindle. And yes, I can strip DRM and convert it, but the expiration, etc, adds a whole new level of complexity. Is the expiration impacted? Will it still expire? If it doesn't expire, how is that different than stealing unless I manually delete it?

So it's really not ePUB that is your necessity, it's AdobeDRM which supports ePUB DRM and PDF DRM?


Once you remove the DRM you remove all restrictions, this includes time expiration.
Not sure how stripping DRM makes you a thief unless you do so with the intent of keeping the eBook.

I don't use the Public Library, I buy most of my books. I find the cost I spend reading the book far exceeds the cost of the book. And I have always had the habit of keeping all my books, even when I read paper books.

Originally Posted by mnfe

3G browsing isn't as crucial to me because I have a smartphone and unlimited data already. Yes, it is a smaller screen, but between that, my laptop, and my netbook, (and working on computers all day) another device for browsing isn't high on my list. I'd rather have a longer battery life, since I can spend hours reading when allowed.

Yes browsing on the phone is a better experience but that was not my point, it was having the ability to download content from the internet (not just one store). In other words 3G for the nook is not a real benefit, but 3G from the Kindle is since it is free and provides the ability to download content from any location on the internet from any location in the world for FREE.


Anyhow good luck in finding the best book reader.

=X=

[mnfe]

Originally Posted by =X=

So it's really not ePUB that is your necessity, it's AdobeDRM which supports ePUB DRM and PDF DRM?


Once you remove the DRM you remove all restrictions, this includes time expiration.
Not sure how stripping DRM makes you a thief unless you do so with the intent of keeping the eBook.

I don't use the Public Library, I buy most of my books. I find the cost I spend reading the book far exceeds the cost of the book. And I have always had the habit of keeping all my books, even when I read paper books.



Yes browsing on the phone is a better experience but that was not my point, it was having the ability to download content from the internet (not just one store). In other words 3G for the nook is not a real benefit, but 3G from the Kindle is since it is free and provides the ability to download content from any location on the internet from any location in the world for FREE.


Anyhow good luck in finding the best book reader.

=X=

Whoops, I was responding to your part about the web browsing, not the 3G downloads part. So you can download things from places other than Amazon directly to your Kindle and read them? I didn't think that was possible. The Sony 950 does have free 3G, so that might actually be a draw over the nook.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by jocampo

... I already put 2 technical PDFs books there plus an ePUb ebook ...

I'd be real interested in hearing how well the nookColor handled the PDF.

[mnfe]

Originally Posted by =X=

So it's really not ePUB that is your necessity, it's AdobeDRM which supports ePUB DRM and PDF DRM?


Once you remove the DRM you remove all restrictions, this includes time expiration.
Not sure how stripping DRM makes you a thief unless you do so with the intent of keeping the eBook.

I don't use the Public Library, I buy most of my books. I find the cost I spend reading the book far exceeds the cost of the book. And I have always had the habit of keeping all my books, even when I read paper books.

ETA: The stealing comment was if I strip the DRM so there is no expiration and then forget/decide not to delete, it's pretty much the same thing. Legalities aside, I'd rather strip DRM and convert on content I actually own rather than content I am borrowing.



Yes browsing on the phone is a better experience but that was not my point, it was having the ability to download content from the internet (not just one store). In other words 3G for the nook is not a real benefit, but 3G from the Kindle is since it is free and provides the ability to download content from any location on the internet from any location in the world for FREE.


Anyhow good luck in finding the best book reader.

=X=

Whoops, I was responding to your part about the web browsing, not the 3G downloads part. So you can download things from places other than Amazon directly to your Kindle and read them? I didn't think that was possible. The Sony 950 does have free 3G, so that might actually be a draw over the nook.

ETA: The stealing comment was if I strip DRM and it removes the expiration and then I forget/decide not to delete, it's the same thing as stealing. If I am going to strip DRM/Convert, I'd rather do it on content I am owning instead of content I am borrowing.

[stevenjotello]

I talked with my husband and did not like the idea of using eReader to read to children, who want to adjust the books. And I'm OK, because it means that the device is truly mine!

[=X=]

Originally Posted by mnfe

Whoops, I was responding to your part about the web browsing, not the 3G downloads part. So you can download things from places other than Amazon directly to your Kindle and read them? I didn't think that was possible. The Sony 950 does have free 3G, so that might actually be a draw over the nook.

All the eReaders that come with 3G offer 3G for free. However the Kindle is unrestricted where as the nook only is enabled for their store.

I don't know about the SONY 3G, but based on their web page it looks like their 3G is limited to the sore as well. (Any SONY 950 users out their want to chime in a let us know if SONY's 3G is only available to their store?)

From the SONY store

(Note: Content outside the Reader Store and Google Books content will not be available for wireless download, but can be managed through your compatible Mac or PC.)

Originally Posted by mnfe

ETA: The stealing comment was if I strip DRM and it removes the expiration and then I forget/decide not to delete, it's the same thing as stealing. If I am going to strip DRM/Convert, I'd rather do it on content I am owning instead of content I am borrowing.

Ah yes I agree.

Well here is the bad news for you then. See if you read the license agreement to all eBook stores, that use DRM, say you are not buying the book but rather are purchasing a license to 'read' the book.

You never really 'own' the book, so from your moral view it's best if you don't remove DRM altogether.

Oh also if you read a lot of SI-FI and Fantasy. There is an excellent book publisher who sells DRM free books(you own these when you buy them) in all formats.

http://www.baen.com/

They also have a huge free library of some real classic SI-FI/Fantasy books.

=X=

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by stevenjotello

I talked with my husband and did not like the idea of using eReader to read to children, who want to adjust the books. And I'm OK, because it means that the device is truly mine!

Then go with the Sony 950 when the price drops to $250. You get the WiFi (I think or is it 3G?)that really is nice to have and a great EPub ereader.

Or take a look at the Nook Classic. The money you save could be used for a cover or books.

I don't think you can go wrong with either device.

[Grimm]

Originally Posted by jocampo

No way! No matter what you say you won't be able to convince me or prove that an LCD screen is easier for eyes than e-ink. Even with anti glare and all that stuff.

Excuse me but who do you think you are? You don't know me or know what does or does not work for me.

Originally Posted by jocampo

The reason is that still, is LCD screen and a very reflective surface. Anti glare reduces that but you will get light reflection anyway which will cause the eye's muscle to relax and refocus several times and much more frequently than normal, creating fatigue and eye strain. You don't have that with e-ink.

You don't? You don't get any glare whatsoever with e-ink readers? Sorry, you're wrong. I've had both the original Nook and the Kindle 3 and while they do not have a lot of glare, there is still glare. The Sony with it's touch screen is even worse so your arguement is false.

Originally Posted by jocampo

And I am sorry, I would like to challenge your battery life numbers. I do have several coworkers who own a Nook color and they get 5 to 6 hrs average until next charge. Even at B&N website you will find 10 hrs under perfect conditions. I am assuming that you barely use it and zero wifi.

I don't particularly care what you'd like to challenge or what your coworkers get or do not get. Do not presume to tell me what I get from my Nook Color. You can assume whatever you want but I have plainly said I read VERY often. I'm sorry if you don't want to hear it but you need to accept the fact that you are not the final word on this topic, neither are the experiences of your coworkers.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by Grimm

Excuse me but who do you think you are? You don't know me or know what does or does not work for me.



You don't? You don't get any glare whatsoever with e-ink readers? Sorry, you're wrong. I've had both the original Nook and the Kindle 3 and while they do not have a lot of glare, there is still glare. The Sony with it's touch screen is even worse so your arguement is false.



I don't particularly care what you'd like to challenge or what your coworkers get or do not get. Do not presume to tell me what I get from my Nook Color. You can assume whatever you want but I have plainly said I read VERY often. I'm sorry if you don't want to hear it but you need to accept the fact that you are not the final word on this topic, neither are the experiences of your coworkers.

Take a look:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=111572

I don't assume, I don't have any interest in defending X or Y product. You are debating something that there is no way to support, not if you are pretending to compare eink vs LCD.

You don't get eye strain with eink because it is not a highly reflective surface like LCD screen.

[Grimm]

And you are presuming to tell me that I feel eye strain. You know nothing of what I feel so kindly stop making assumptions when it comes to me. You're experience with the device is NOT indicative of everyone's experience.

I read on it for hours, I do not feel the eye strain. Deal with it.

I come from an I.T. background and LCD has never bothered my eyes even after hours of staring at it.

Get it through your head already, your reaction to it will not be the same for everyone. Stop acting like you have the final word on what works for different people. Your results with the Nook Color are NOT the be all end all.

[polly]

Originally Posted by Grimm

I've had both the original Nook and the Kindle 3 and while they do not have a lot of glare, there is still glare. The Sony with it's touch screen is even worse so your arguement is false.

You don't have to like the Sony, but you could try to be accurate about it. The last generation Sony (PRS 600/900) had a touch layer on top of the eink screen. This made the glare and contrast worse for these Sony than for other readers.

The current Sony (PRS 350/650/950) has no layer on top of the eink screen. It is identical to the Kindle 3 screen. Put them side by side and you see no difference. Please do not claim that the current Sony touch has a worse screen than other readers.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by polly

...
The current Sony (PRS 350/650/950) has no layer on top of the eink screen. It is identical to the Kindle 3 screen. Put them side by side and you see no difference.

Amazing improvement from my 900!