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Originally Posted by JeremyZ
I have had a Kindle now for a while, and just bought an iPod Touch a few weeks ago.
When I got the Kindle, I found paper books to be inconvenient. (heavy and unwieldy) When I got the Touch, the Kindle became heavy and unwieldy, at least for reading on the go.
So my recommendation is to get a Kindle DX for mostly sedentary reading and an iPod Touch for reading on the go. If you can't afford a Kindle DX, "settle" for the Kindle 2 or 3.
I recommend the Kindle because of Amazon support and also because the quality of the devices is very good. Their selection is good, but you're not even limited to buying from Amazon; you can buy books any place that offers them in MOBI or PDF format. But the neat thing about buying them from Amazon is that they store them for you. You don't have to use the memory on your device to store your books after they're read.
The 4th generation iPod Touch (and iPhone) both have a VERY high resolution screen, such that reading on them is no longer a strain. It is probably 90% as easy on the eyes as e-ink. Page turns are much faster, so the fact that you have to turn pages a bit more often is not an issue. The only real issue could be battery life. If you cannot charge it up every day or two, you may want to stick with a Kindle.
I have no experience with Sony and other readers, however it is my understanding that downloading books is not as convenient and the same is true of storing them later.
I think your post summs up exactly what Barnes and Noble and Sony are losing out on. Top to bottom visability. Their devices store, download (at least Sony's higher end models) in the same manner as the Kindle, via wi fi and/or 3G. In fact you have more options when shopping with a nook or sony than you do with the Kindle due to the wider accepted use of epub that the Kindle does not support. (keeping in mind that we are shopping legally and no stripping or converting)
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Amazon is winning in marketing and because of the bookstore. The Kindle tends to be the choice of the reviewers out there for form, function, and book selection. Amazon does do a great job marketing the Kindle. Cool commercials that remind people of beer, come on we have all seen the Corona/Kindle comparisons, and the Kindle is front and center on Amazon's web page.
Amazon has also done a great job developing the largest e-book store making it so that people don't have to go looking to a number of different stores to buy the books that they want. The same folks who want ease of use, no stripping DRM or converting, want to go to one store to buy their books. You are more likely to find the books you are looking for at Amazon.
I have read plenty of posts from Nook owners discussing their desire to get a K3 mainly because they can find the books that they want on Amazon and nowhere else. So the multitude of book stores that sell EPub books are not helping those folks. It appears that the library is not helping those folks. And lets be real, what percentage of the average customer knows the difference between EPub and Mobi? We see posts on the Amazon forum and at Kindle Boards saying they bought a book at Amazon, why can't they put it on their Nook/Sony/Kobo or that they bought a book at B&N why can't they put it on their Kindle. Clueless. So I doubt that the EPub argument is going to contribute too much to the success of any e-reader.
After all, if it did matter, then Sony should have been able to trounce Amazon when the Kindle was announced.
Great device, easy to use, easy to connect, great customer service, and the best one stop shopping bookstore. I can see why people would choose the Kindle over other e-readers.