Kindle vs Nook and notetaking

[KindleLvr]

To all of you Kindle 2 owners out there...do any of you have enough knowledge of the Barnes & Noble Nook to make you wish you had purchased a Nook? If you are glad you bought the Kindle instead, why is that?

I am on the brink of purchasing a Kindle primarily because of the Nook's slower speed.

I am also wondering how you take notes and highlight on the Kindle. (My note-taking would be brief, similar to notes I might make in the margin of a paper book.) When you want to make a note, do you just start typing, or do you have to navigate to a note-taking area? And what happens when you finish the note and want to return to reading? I am wondering if it can be a hassle to navigate back and forth between the page you are reading and the place you are entering notes. Again, my notes would be usually limited to a word or phrase rather than lengthy comments, but it still is a concern.

I have the same concern about highlighting. I tend to mark up the books I read with highlighting or underlining.

Any help you can give me would be most appreciated!

(btw...my screen name obviously indicates my leanings toward the Kindle 2, though I haven't purchased one yet)

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by KindleLvr

To all of you Kindle 2 owners out there...do any of you have enough knowledge of the Barnes & Noble Nook to make you wish you had purchased a Nook? If you are glad you bought the Kindle instead, why is that?

I went a Barnes & Noble store the day after the nook demos became available in the stores. I was able to play with it for about 20 minutes. I like the look of the nook and the LCD screen is kind of fun but on the whole I found it very slow (this was pre-update and I don't know if things have changed). I didn't feel it was different enough from the Kindle for me to lust after it. I still love my Kindle and do not regret purchasing it.

I am also wondering how you take notes and highlight on the Kindle. (My note-taking would be brief, similar to notes I might make in the margin of a paper book.) When you want to make a note, do you just start typing, or do you have to navigate to a note-taking area? And what happens when you finish the note and want to return to reading? I am wondering if it can be a hassle to navigate back and forth between the page you are reading and the place you are entering notes. Again, my notes would be usually limited to a word or phrase rather than lengthy comments, but it still is a concern.

I have the same concern about highlighting. I tend to mark up the books I read with highlighting or underlining.

Any help you can give me would be most appreciated!

If you have the time, take a look at the online User Guide as well as the videos on the buy page.

Here is the section on highlighting and note taking.

Highlighting Passages

You can highlight text in Kindle like you would use a highlighter pen on paper and view them at any time by pressing the Menu button and selecting "My Notes & Marks." The text you highlight appears with a gray underline.
To highlight one or more lines:

1. Use the 5-way to position the cursor where you want to start highlighting.
2. Press the 5-way to anchor the cursor.
3. Move the 5-way to select the desired text. Use Next Page or Prev Pages to highlight text across multiple pages.
4. Press the 5-way at the place where you want the highlight to end.

To remove a highlight:

1. Press the Menu button and select "My Notes & Marks."
2. Underline the bookmark you want to remove with the 5-way controller.
3. Press the Delete key.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to remove additional highlights.
5. Select "Close Notes & Marks" when finished.

Adding Notes

Kindle allows you to add comments, make notes, and mark up passages just as you might in a printed book.
To add a note:

1. Move the cursor to where you want to place a note using the 5-way controller.
2. Type your note.
3. Select "save note" at the bottom of the screen.

A superscripted number appears where you inserted your note. Notes are numbered in the order they appear in the content and update automatically if you add more.
To edit or delete a note:

1. Select the note's number using the 5-way controller so the note appears at the bottom of the screen.
2. Press the Return key to edit the note or the Delete key to delete the note.
3. Use the keyboard to make changes if editing.
4. Select "save note" to save any changes.

[desertgrandma]

Welcome to MobileRead, kindlelvr.

Me, I don't take notes on books I read. So I can't help you there, however, I can say that if you got one........and it wasn't what you wanted, you have 30 days to return it, no questions asked, just pay return shipping. Download to your hearts content, (freebies available here and other places) use the note taking feature, whatever.

The nook, won't be available until Feb 12, and there is a 10% restocking fee, with a 14 day return window.

While it is the "newest kid on the block" and its pretty, there are still some bugs to be worked out. Customer service seems to be lacking right now also, but I think if BN gets its act together it could be a contender in the future.

Enjoy the forums.

[Madam Broshkina]

The note feature really does not work with the nook. It lets you make a note but in most cases I have found that you cannot go back to that note in the future. So right now the feature is pretty useless. B&N is aware of the problem and promises a fix in the future. The Kindle is definitely easier then the nook to create books though. Personally I enjoy the reading experience on my nook more then on my Kindle 2.

[KindleLvr]

Wow, I'm impressed with the quick response to my questions! Three persons responded in less than twenty minutes...thanks!

daffy4u, thanks for taking the time to cut and paste the users guide info...it seems that when you type a note in the kindle that it actually inserts the note into the text of the book...is that correct? Or does it insert the note at the bottom of a page? I had heard that notes were in a "My Clippings" file rather than on the actual page of the book you are reading. Thanks for any further response

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by KindleLvr

Wow, I'm impressed with the quick response to my questions! Three persons responded in less than twenty minutes...thanks!

daffy4u, thanks for taking the time to cut and paste the users guide info...it seems that when you type a note in the kindle that it actually inserts the note into the text of the book...is that correct? Or does it insert the note at the bottom of a page? I had heard that notes were in a "My Clippings" file rather than on the actual page of the book you are reading. Thanks for any further response

You move your cursor to the area where you want to make a note and just start typing. A note window will open automatically in the bottom thrid of the screen. When you're finished you save the note. When the note window closes a little number will appear near the spot where you inserted the note. When you move the cursor to that number and press in on the joystick toggle, the note opens so that you can read it. It's only visible when you make it visible.

The notes are also saved in "My Clipping.txt" and can be transferred to your computer for storage, editing or printing. The notes will also sync with all your Kindle reading devices (Kindle for iPhone/iPod Touch and Kindle for PC).

[KindleLvr]

Thanks for the clarification. I think with your comments, and that of Madam Broshkina, I'm going ahead and purchasing the kindle 2. I have a feeling I won't have to return it btw...there are good reviews, and comparisons with the nook, on YouTube, but I could not find any that displayed the notetaking feature. Thanks for your help!

[Zorz]

For me at least I only read stuff on my kindle that I wouldn't take notes on. If its a technial text then I will likely just buy the book.

[andrys]

Originally Posted by KindleLvr

Thanks for the clarification. I think with your comments, and that of Madam Broshkina, I'm going ahead and purchasing the kindle 2. I have a feeling I won't have to return it btw...there are good reviews, and comparisons with the nook, on YouTube, but I could not find any that displayed the notetaking feature. Thanks for your help!

Also, my blog entry on highlighting and notes plus the special web feature not much known about, for the Kindle, may help.

There are screen examples also. Not only do you just ask for your notes and they're shown you with several to choose from in a results-list on the Kindle with links to actual Kindle location but there's also a personal, password protected web page for seeing your annotations all together, one after another, if you approve the feature.

http://bit.ly/webknotes1

- Andrys

[HarryT]

Have you considered the Sony PRS-600? I have both a Sony and a Kindle 2, and find that, for "margin" type notes, the "free-hand" annotation using the Sony's touch screen is much quicker and easier to use than the Kindle's "typed" notes.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Have you considered the Sony PRS-600? I have both a Sony and a Kindle 2, and find that, for "margin" type notes, the "free-hand" annotation using the Sony's touch screen is much quicker and easier to use than the Kindle's "typed" notes.

Are the notes exportable yet?

[Madam Broshkina]

Originally Posted by KindleLvr

Thanks for the clarification. I think with your comments, and that of Madam Broshkina, I'm going ahead and purchasing the kindle 2. I have a feeling I won't have to return it btw...there are good reviews, and comparisons with the nook, on YouTube, but I could not find any that displayed the notetaking feature. Thanks for your help!

If you happen not to like your Kindle and get a different reader you will not have to change your screen name. Just call yourself a "Kindle Leaver" instead of a "Kindle Lover".

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Are the notes exportable yet?

You can export typed notes to an RTF file. Hand-written ones, you can sync back to the PC and view there, but I'm not sure if you can "export" them as such. It perhaps wouldn't make much sense to do so, because they'd be meaningless outside the context of the page they're written on. Eg, if I'm proof-reading a book, and I cross out a word and write the correct word above it, that's not going to mean anything unless you can see the page.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You can export typed notes to an RTF file. Hand-written ones, you can sync back to the PC and view there, but I'm not sure if you can "export" them as such. It perhaps wouldn't make much sense to do so, because they'd be meaningless outside the context of the page they're written on. Eg, if I'm proof-reading a book, and I cross out a word and write the correct word above it, that's not going to mean anything unless you can see the page.

Can you highlight the section with the word you crossed out, so that the hand scribbles and notes sync back to the computer so they would be in context?

[HarryT]

We may be talking slightly at cross-purposes.

When you "sync" your annotation with the PC, everything gets transferred, and you can read the book on the PC (in the Sony eBook Library software) and see everything as it is on the Reader itself - handwritten notes, highlights, bookmarks, typed notes, etc etc.

If you want to use your typed notes in a separate application, however, you also have the option of saving them as an RTF file. If you do then, then ONLY the text you've typed gets exported, not the text of the book itself.