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Old 09-29-2010, 09:12 PM   #1
nowthenmobile
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Kindle or EPUB?

I would like to buy an eReader. My first consideration is the quality of the display - I would like my children to be able to use it and not experience any eye strain. From what I have read, the Kindle 3 seems to be in the lead here. Have I got that right?

Next, Kindle will not allow you to borrow EPUB files. Does a website exist where it is possible to borrow modern popular books? All I have found so far are local libraries lending a few books - certainly not popular children's books, like Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson etc. If such a website existed, would it bring Amazon to its knees and force them to support EPUB borrowing, whatever that entails?

The possibility of lending books between Nooks for 14 days - I read somewhere that this can only be done once for any given book. Is that true?

If I buy a Kindle and later want to switch to a Nook, am I licenced to convert my Kindle ebooks to Nook ebooks (Is their standard format the EPUB?)? Is that even possible? Surely you wouldn't lose all of your books would you?

If I decide to buy a Kindle and a Nook, so that our family has two readers available, can I share my Kindle ebooks with the Nook. I believe that you can share your ebooks between 6 Kindles, but what about sharing them with a Nook. What about Nook to Kindle?

I know that is a lot of questions but I think they all hang together.

Thank you for any help.
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Old 09-29-2010, 09:18 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nowthenmobile View Post
I would like to buy an eReader. My first consideration is the quality of the display - I would like my children to be able to use it and not experience any eye strain. From what I have read, the Kindle 3 seems to be in the lead here. Have I got that right? yes...as least to me.

Next, Kindle will not allow you to borrow EPUB files. Does a website exist where it is possible to borrow modern popular books? All I have found so far are local libraries lending a few books - certainly not popular children's books, like Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson etc. If such a website existed, would it bring Amazon to its knees and force them to support EPUB borrowing, whatever that entails? Not all books are available digitally right now, regardless of the format. I doubt anything will "bring Amazon to its knees"

The possibility of lending books between Nooks for 14 days - I read somewhere that this can only be done once for any given book. Is that true?From what I've read, yes, and while its lent out, you have no access to it. Also, not all books are able to be lent out. Nook owners will correct me if I'm wrong.

If I buy a Kindle and later want to switch to a Nook, am I licenced to convert my Kindle ebooks to Nook ebooks (Is their standard format the EPUB?)? Is that even possible? Surely you wouldn't lose all of your books would you? Of course you would. Unless yo are willing to 'liberate' them. Then, you can read them on any device. An illegal action in manys eyes.

If I decide to buy a Kindle and a Nook, so that our family has two readers available, can I share my Kindle ebooks with the Nook. No. I believe that you can share your ebooks between 6 Kindles, but what about sharing them with a Nook. What about Nook to Kindle? Again, no, without liberating them.

I know that is a lot of questions but I think they all hang together.

Thank you for any help.

Enjoy the forums.
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Old 09-29-2010, 09:20 PM   #3
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No you would not be licensed to convert your epubs to kindle (.mobi) format. It can be done, and it's most likely legal (I am not a lawyer) but the publisher will hate you for it.

You could only share ebooks between the two devices if you cracked and DRM and converted them to a different format. Or if there was no DRM and you converted them.

I originally owned a nook and now I'm having to do just that, convert all my non DRM books to .mobi format.
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Old 09-29-2010, 09:26 PM   #4
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Thanks for the incredibly fast replies.
I just found this on the Barnes and Noble site:
"You can lend an eligible title once to any of your friends or family from your Library, nook or eReader. Once the loan period is up, or if they return it sooner, you can read it again."
I don't understand the use of the generic "eReader" term.
It is a bit ambiguous. It could mean that you can only ever lend a title once, or it could mean that you can lend it only once to John and lend it only once to Mary etc. That would make an online lending site viable (between end users).
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Old 09-29-2010, 09:37 PM   #5
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So, if you reckon that I cannot convert Kindle to Nook, then if Amazon were to stop providing support for Kindle and stop selling Kindle, I could end up losing my entire ebook collection?

Are modern EPUB books all DRM protected? What does the DRM do? Does it tie an EPUB to a particular brand of eReader? If I bought it for a Nook, could I then transfer it to a Sony?

Thanks
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Old 09-29-2010, 09:45 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nowthenmobile View Post
So, if you reckon that I cannot convert Kindle to Nook, then if Amazon were to stop providing support for Kindle and stop selling Kindle, I could end up losing my entire ebook collection?
If Amazon went out of business, or stopped selling ebooks, yes. THIS is why you need to liberate the books. Once the drm is cracked, they are yours forever. Useable on any device.

Are modern EPUB books all DRM protected? Some independent publisher sell books without drm. I believe all established authors thru major publishing houses sell their books with drm. The books you get from the library, unless public domain, are drm'd.

What does the DRM do? Does it tie an EPUB to a particular brand of eReader? If I bought it for a Nook, could I then transfer it to a Sony? I'll let someone more knowledgeable answer this.

Thanks

If you 'buy' an ebook....you are in reality only leasing it, and can use it only on the device you bought it for.

However, if you buy it and crack the drm, you truly own it.
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Old 09-29-2010, 10:42 PM   #7
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[QUOTE=nowthenmobile;1137611
I just found this on the Barnes and Noble site:
"You can lend an eligible title once to any of your friends or family from your Library, nook or eReader. Once the loan period is up, or if they return it sooner, you can read it again."
I don't understand the use of the generic "eReader" term.
It is a bit ambiguous. It could mean that you can only ever lend a title once, or it could mean that you can lend it only once to John and lend it only once to Mary etc. That would make an online lending site viable (between end users).[/QUOTE]

Here is the link to the nook users guide. The lending information is on page 124.

It clearly states "You can only lend an ebook one time."

under "rules", 4th bullet down.


http://images.barnesandnoble.com/pim..._NOOK_v1_4.pdf
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Old 09-29-2010, 11:09 PM   #8
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I love Amazon, have had an account for years and have the Kindle App on my iPad, Droid and PC. I actively use the Kindle software frequently. But when it came time to buy a standalone e-reader I got a Nook for the epub/PDF library access function (also have the Nook App on iPad and Droid). Having used the library a lot for both myself, wife and kids I would never get an e-reader unless it had library download capability. There are excellent epub reader choices available between the Nook, Sony and Kobo, among others. You can still have your Kindle account on a number of other devices without having to buy the Kindle and then miss out on the library opportunities.
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Old 09-29-2010, 11:23 PM   #9
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I have a Sony Prs-300 and a kindle 3

As an ereader, Sony is better.
More intuitive, sorts collections, less proprietory.
Goto page, search are easier.

I like the Kindle 3 and If I had only it I wouldn't know any better.
Wireless and text to speech are not great
Display is nice. Page turn buttons are great. Slim and seems lighter than Sony.
Keyboard is tiny and cumbersome. Location display is so bizarrely useless it would be better with nothing.
I will probably send the Kindle back and get a Sony 350 or 650

Helen
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Old 09-30-2010, 03:27 AM   #10
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Which has the better display - Sony or Kindle 3?
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Old 09-30-2010, 03:40 AM   #11
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Which has the better display - Sony or Kindle 3?
The latest Sonys use the same display as the Kindle 3. The 5" Sony has a 200dpi version of the display, so might be considered better.

But they all come from the same supplier. There's no real difference between current models. I don't think the nook has been upgraded to the new display yet, although I might be mistaken.

The new displays are a significant improvement on the older displays.
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Old 09-30-2010, 03:59 AM   #12
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Quote:
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Next, Kindle will not allow you to borrow EPUB files. Does a website exist where it is possible to borrow modern popular books? All I have found so far are local libraries lending a few books - certainly not popular children's books, like Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson etc. If such a website existed, would it bring Amazon to its knees and force them to support EPUB borrowing, whatever that entails?
In the UK the library services currently available are patchy, and limited in choice. In view of Local Authority spending cuts, I can't see this improving any time soon.

As other posters have pointed out, for the type of e-book freedom you want, learning how to remove the drm is a must (imagine it as a kind of outer lock which has to be opened before you can get at your lovely e-book purchase inside). If you master it, you then have a book you can format for whatever e-reader you choose.

The new Sonys have the same generation of screen as the Kindle 3 - however the Sonys have touchscreen, the Kindle has its wifi and keyboard. Personally, I have just switched to a K3 from Sony, but my Sonys have always been very reliable.
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Old 09-30-2010, 04:14 AM   #13
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I know this may seem an extreme concern, but would it not be morally questionable if I were to remove a DRM? I'm not saying it is but I am trying to get my head around the honesty of the situation. If I buy an ebook with a DRM, do I not buy it on the understanding that I will not remove it and that I will use it with the device for which it is intended?
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Old 09-30-2010, 04:20 AM   #14
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Quote:
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So, if you reckon that I cannot convert Kindle to Nook, then if Amazon were to stop providing support for Kindle and stop selling Kindle, I could end up losing my entire ebook collection?

Are modern EPUB books all DRM protected? What does the DRM do? Does it tie an EPUB to a particular brand of eReader? If I bought it for a Nook, could I then transfer it to a Sony?
This is the current position that publishers and suppliers are taking. Books are licensed to just you, with no provision for 'format shifting' to other devices.

DRM is a way of encrypting the contents of the ebooks so that they can only be read on authorised devices. Some DRM requires you to re-download the books when you want to read them on a new device (Kindle, ADE ePub). Some requires you to enter some personal information before you can read the book (B&N ePub).

In the USA (and some other countries), removing ('circumventing') DRM is (or may be — opinions differ) illegal. Certainly, distributing the means to remove DRM is illegal., which is why you won't find downloads for DRM removal or explicit instructions on Mobileread.

I If Amazon were to stop selling Kindle devices, or if Adobe stopped supporting ADE DRM (as they have done for some of their previous DRM schemes) you could be left with a lot of ebooks that you can no longer read.

The solution, which I consider ethical even if there are arguments about its legality, is to remove the DRM from your ebooks as soon as you can, and store the de-DRMed version away in a well-backed-up archive.

I believe that currently Sony ePub can be read on Nooks but not vice-versa. This might change in the future. Apple iBooks ePubs can only be read using Apple's iBooks app.

DRM removal tools are available for ADE ePubs, B&N ePub, Kindle Mobipocket and Kindle Topaz. There are currently no DRM removal tools for Apple's ePubs.
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Old 09-30-2010, 04:26 AM   #15
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I know this may seem an extreme concern, but would it not be morally questionable if I were to remove a DRM? I'm not saying it is but I am trying to get my head around the honesty of the situation. If I buy an ebook with a DRM, do I not buy it on the understanding that I will not remove it and that I will use it with the device for which it is intended?
My feeling is that it is ethical to do so, provided it is not with the intention of redistributing the de-drmed file.

Is it ethical for a publisher to sell you an ebook (for about the same price as a paperback) that does not have the same resale value as a paperback, and that might become unreadable in five years or less, and demand that you take no steps to ensure you'll still be able to read the ebook in the future?
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