first e-reader: nook vs kindle vs sony vs kindle dx (?)

[blueblau]

Hi everyone,
This is going to be my first e-reader and I guess I'm better off taking some advice from you guys.
I need an e-reader which will not hurt my eyes so tablets, etc are out of the question. I'm moving every 4 months now around the world. I have a us billing address and credit card, so I'll be able to buy nook books/magazines when I'm here and download them when I'm abroad. (I'm thinking of magazine subscriptions and guessing it won't be a problem since I'll make my first purchase when I'm in USA- however my credit card will expire in two years and it might be a problem later on). One of the countries I'll be visiting don't sell kindle and people had to play with ip addresses to buy and download amazon books. This is one of the reasons I was more inclined towards nook.
After writing here on the general forum I received suggestions about sony ereaders and I looked them from web. I'm a student now so I'll be able to have some discount but it's out of stock on the website. I checked for 6 inch model. And to be honest, maximum I'm willing to pay is around $150 including tax.
I went to barnes n noble, played with the nook also I went to best buy and had a little time with kindle (it was overcrowded). I found the keypad on kindle unnecessary but nook has a more square look and it didn't feel like a book. Also I'm concerned about the magazine subscriptions (times, economist,etc). I don't how how it will feel like reading them through a 6 inch screen. I tried but you can't tell from the store you know- not so much time, etc. A friend suggested kindle dx especially for newspaper and magazines but I also need a new pc so I don't wanna increase my spending on e-readers a lot. and I think I'll still be buying hardcover books every once in a while- so I'm keeping the budget constraint still. Also to be honest I don't read newspaper at all, I read magazines though.
And I'll do a lot of side reading- in different formats.
So given this info, what will you suggest I should go with?
Thanks in advance for your opinions!

[susan_cassidy]

I would be reluctant to get a Kindle DX, because it has older firmware, without the features of the current 3.1 firmware on the Kindle 3.

Also, it is way more than $150.00.

There are rumors that a K4 will be out in October.

I don't think Barnes & Noble sells ebooks out of the US, so you'd have to buy books from other sellers if you cannot buy from them. Not sure what the availability is in other countries. Amazon does sell to other countries, it is just that many books are geo-restricted, but that is going to be the case for ePub books, as well.

[Ditchleyportrait]

i have a kindle dx. i would recommend the dx. less page turns.

i also recommend amazon over everything else because of their convenient conversion services through email. if you get a wifi kindle you can have files emailed directly to your device. i've heard you can even send mp3s, but i'm not sure. the dx has 3g; no wifi.

also, it's easy to get ebooks onto the device directly from the kindle web browser through gutenberg or archive.org.

going the kindle route ensures you get the best of what ereading has to offer.

and yes, if international use is a concern, going nook is a bad idea. they only offer their business to the us.

[polly]

If you plan to spend much of your time outside the US, I would recommend almost anything except the Nook. Barnes and Noble go out of their way to not support it overseas. They won't provide warranty service, will block firmware updates, and check your IP address when you enter their store. The only way to purchase from B&N oversees is to use a VPN service that will give you a US IP address and to turn it on before you enter their site.

I really like the design and firmware on my Sony; the touch screen makes it much easier to follow links in tables of content. If English is not your first language, it comes with language dictionaries for French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch.

I'd also recommend some of the less well know readers. The PocketBooks, for instance, have a loyal following. Have you looked at the Wiki that compares readers? You can find it here: https://www.mobileread.com/eink/.

A 6" reader big enough to read novels comfortably and small enough to be portable. None of the e-paper readers have color screens, so if it's important to you that the magazine look just like the paper copy, you might be disappointed. You don't say what you're studying, but the 9" readers might work better for PDFs from class. PDFs with lots of images and tables tend not to display well on a 6" screen.

[blueblau]

Hi guys,
thanks a lot for your opinions. I study business and I might end up spending most of my time out of USA later in life. I don't do a lot of pdf reads for classes actually, so pdf compatibility is not a big concern for me now.
I want to buy the ereader device now- probably within this week and I'm not willing to wait for kindle 4 since I'll be in UK in october and it's gonna be a lot more expensive and I want a device with me know so I can use it during this summer. DO you think I should go with kindle wi-fi then? (the 6 inch one of course. I don't mind reading magazines black and white and price difference matters for me now given the current exchange rates). In my local stores back at home I know that I can buy ebup books which are compatible with nook- not kindle. This was another reason I was considering nook since I'll not have to convert them.

[polly]

If you want to read ePub books, you would have to convert them to use them on the Kindle. That's only possible if the books don't have DRM, so you would need to either strip the DRM yourself or purchase books without DRM. I used to read on a device without a touchscreen. Navigating to the correct link in a table of contents was much more difficult than touching the screen. The magazines that I read on my reader have lots of hyperlinks that allow me to choose an article or move on to the next article. Personally, I wouldn't choose a reader without a touchscreen, but you'll find other people here who are militantly against them. It all depends on what you like and how you want to use it.

[jbcohen]

Have you ever thought about about a pocketbook lite? The great thing about it is that it can read just about anything you come accross. How about a Bookeeen? The bookeen specializes in reading foreign languege, non-english books. I have been a bit down on Sony these days, seems like to me on these forums Sony owners seem to spend a lot of time talking about not being able to do smething or other. The Nook Simple Touch has a fabulous user interface. The Kindle is best if you like to read low cost books, around $3 per book or if you like to read non-standard books, books that do not appear on the New York Times bestsellers lists.

[ProfCrash]

I love my DXG but I don't take it with my when I travel any more. I found that the larger size was uncofmortable for me on planes. I use my K3 when traveling.

If you are going to be traveling a lot, the 3G functionality of the Kindle will probably benefit you. It is easier to buy books across the globe with the 3G because WiFi hot spots can be hard to find and you might have to pay them.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by polly

If you plan to spend much of your time outside the US, I would recommend almost anything except the Nook. Barnes and Noble go out of their way to not support it overseas. They won't provide warranty service, will block firmware updates, and check your IP address when you enter their store. The only way to purchase from B&N oversees is to use a VPN service that will give you a US IP address and to turn it on before you enter their site.

I really like the design and firmware on my Sony; the touch screen makes it much easier to follow links in tables of content. If English is not your first language, it comes with language dictionaries for French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch.

I'd also recommend some of the less well know readers. The PocketBooks, for instance, have a loyal following. Have you looked at the Wiki that compares readers? You can find it here: https://www.mobileread.com/eink/.

A 6" reader big enough to read novels comfortably and small enough to be portable. None of the e-paper readers have color screens, so if it's important to you that the magazine look just like the paper copy, you might be disappointed. You don't say what you're studying, but the 9" readers might work better for PDFs from class. PDFs with lots of images and tables tend not to display well on a 6" screen.

*sigh* Barnes and Noble goes out of their way to limit potential sales from foreign countries. Yes you are right and that just makes a ton of sense.

You can't just sell your products willy nilly in any country you want, there are restrictiosn and standards and trade agreements and such to deal with.

but yes you are right BN would just assume not make additional sales from other countries.

[ProfCrash]

I have bought books using Whispernet outside of the US with Amazon, no problems. As a US resident there is nothing wrong with that. BN has made it difficult for US residents overseas to buy books from BN.

It seems to me that the BN system is a bit dranconian but it is the systems that BN apparently feels it needs.

There are ways around it but if you are someone who is looking to travel or live overseas the Nook is less attractive because BN has their system on a complete lock down.

Someone who owns a Nook can shop at other stores and move books using the USB cable easily enough. But if their Nook breaks while they are overseas they are going to have problems. If my Kindle breaks while I am overseas, I can call Amazon and they will send me a replacement to my hotel.

I would say that is a large enough difference to make the Nook less attractive to a business person who travels overseas.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I have bought books using Whispernet outside of the US with Amazon, no problems. As a US resident there is nothing wrong with that. BN has made it difficult for US residents overseas to buy books from BN.

It seems to me that the BN system is a bit dranconian but it is the systems that BN apparently feels it needs.

There are ways around it but if you are someone who is looking to travel or live overseas the Nook is less attractive because BN has their system on a complete lock down.

Someone who owns a Nook can shop at other stores and move books using the USB cable easily enough. But if their Nook breaks while they are overseas they are going to have problems. If my Kindle breaks while I am overseas, I can call Amazon and they will send me a replacement to my hotel.

I would say that is a large enough difference to make the Nook less attractive to a business person who travels overseas.

Again it's not that Barnes and Noble is going out of their way to make it difficult for you to buy books outside the US or for foreign resisdent's . They don't have the international agreements in place.

[ProfCrash]

This has nothing to do with international licences. Amazon US cannot sell books to a UK subject living in the UK for legal reasons but they can legally sell a book to a US resident who is in the UK. BN should be able to do the same thing but for some reason does not.

Amazon does have international stores (UK and Germany) that a US resident cannot buy books from even when visiting the UK and Germany due to legal reasons but a UK resident can buy books from the UK store while visiting the US.

The point, BN should be able to sell books to Nook owners who are US residents when they are outside of the US but does not.

Or Amazon has been breaking the law since the Kindle was released. At least, I was able to buy books for my K1 when I was in Australia before the international Kindle was available.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

This has nothing to do with international licences. Amazon US cannot sell books to a UK subject living in the UK for legal reasons but they can legally sell a book to a US resident who is in the UK. BN should be able to do the same thing but for some reason does not.

Amazon does have international stores (UK and Germany) that a US resident cannot buy books from even when visiting the UK and Germany due to legal reasons but a UK resident can buy books from the UK store while visiting the US.

The point, BN should be able to sell books to Nook owners who are US residents when they are outside of the US but does not.

Or Amazon has been breaking the law since the Kindle was released. At least, I was able to buy books for my K1 when I was in Australia before the international Kindle was available.

I'm not disagreeing that they shouldn't, I think it would be nice to download a book if overseas without having to connect to the computer.
My point is they aren't doing it because they are getting a kick out of it. You still have to have international licenses agreements in place etc.

Just take a look at Spotify (music streaming service) and how it took quite some time to be able to enter the US market.

[ProfCrash]

No you don't. Amazon did not need international licences for me to buy a book in New Zealand and load it onto my K1 using a USB cord. Amazon needed to know that I was a US resident and therefore able to buy books from the Amazon US site even when I was in New Zealand.

The international license comes into play when a US resident wants to buy a book from Amazon UK. The US resident may not be able to do so because of license issues. A UK resident may not be able to buy a book from Amazon US because of license issues. But a UK resident traveling in the US can buy a book from Amazon UK while in the US.

If Amazon US can sell books to US residents traveling in Europe from Amazon US then BN can sell books to US residents traveling in Europe from BN. For some reason, BN has decided not to allow this.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

No you don't. Amazon did not need international licences for me to buy a book in New Zealand and load it onto my K1 using a USB cord. Amazon needed to know that I was a US resident and therefore able to buy books from the Amazon US site even when I was in New Zealand.

The international license comes into play when a US resident wants to buy a book from Amazon UK. The US resident may not be able to do so because of license issues. A UK resident may not be able to buy a book from Amazon US because of license issues. But a UK resident traveling in the US can buy a book from Amazon UK while in the US.

If Amazon US can sell books to US residents traveling in Europe from Amazon US then BN can sell books to US residents traveling in Europe from BN. For some reason, BN has decided not to allow this.

You also have to remember Amazon already has international licensing agreements already in place in Eurpope and elsewhere. which I'm sure was written into the language of the agreements as to being able to be allowed to sell it's US contents as well and vice versa.

Barnes and noble does not.