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teadonkey · 01-14-2011, 06:52 PM

A lot of people have hit some really great points already, but I thought this might help, depending on the type of person you are. I spent pretty much all of 2010 wondering about the type of eReader I wanted to get. Most especially the brand. I won't go into major details, but these were the things that it really boiled down to.

- Books available for the eReader. I searched the Sony, B&N and Amazon stores for a list of books that I had on my Amazon wish list in paperback. (I live in the sticks and used Amazon to buy 4 or 5 paperbacks at a time before I got an eReader.) The store that had a majority of the books I wanted in an "e" format gave that company a clear advantage for me personally. If they have more of the types of books I'm looking to buy, I will get more use out of them.

- Size, weight, feel. I looked at eReaders in stores, most especially when the local Staples got a Kindle, to FEEL how they were in hand.

- Touch screens. I am a touch screen hater. Some people are touch screen lovers. This can really help the decision making process if it matters to you.

- Price. I do care about quality, but I want quality for the lowest cost possible.

- Customer Service from the company. I've worked in customer service for a while, and even though I no longer do, I still work directly with people. For me, customer service is so critically important to making my day smooth. There are few things that get me boiling mad faster than a jerk sales clerk or a poorly trained CS department. I want easy and fast access to help, returns, sales, anything. And I want to be treated with respect.

Those things were what got me to a Kindle. They could get anyone to any of the eReaders, depending on how they answer those questions and depending on the importance of each category. (For me, library access wasn't a problem - I have zero issue with renting a paperback from the library, even if I own an eReader. Plus... I live in the sticks. My library doesn't have eBooks. If that's something that's got you riled up, though, it should most definitely be a deciding factor.)

Format of book doesn't matter as much if you're unhappy with the product you're using to READ the book.

01-14-2011, 06:52 PM	#63
teadonkey Zealot Posts: 132 Karma: 2179008 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	A lot of people have hit some really great points already, but I thought this might help, depending on the type of person you are. I spent pretty much all of 2010 wondering about the type of eReader I wanted to get. Most especially the brand. I won't go into major details, but these were the things that it really boiled down to. - Books available for the eReader. I searched the Sony, B&N and Amazon stores for a list of books that I had on my Amazon wish list in paperback. (I live in the sticks and used Amazon to buy 4 or 5 paperbacks at a time before I got an eReader.) The store that had a majority of the books I wanted in an "e" format gave that company a clear advantage for me personally. If they have more of the types of books I'm looking to buy, I will get more use out of them. - Size, weight, feel. I looked at eReaders in stores, most especially when the local Staples got a Kindle, to FEEL how they were in hand. - Touch screens. I am a touch screen hater. Some people are touch screen lovers. This can really help the decision making process if it matters to you. - Price. I do care about quality, but I want quality for the lowest cost possible. - Customer Service from the company. I've worked in customer service for a while, and even though I no longer do, I still work directly with people. For me, customer service is so critically important to making my day smooth. There are few things that get me boiling mad faster than a jerk sales clerk or a poorly trained CS department. I want easy and fast access to help, returns, sales, anything. And I want to be treated with respect. Those things were what got me to a Kindle. They could get anyone to any of the eReaders, depending on how they answer those questions and depending on the importance of each category. (For me, library access wasn't a problem - I have zero issue with renting a paperback from the library, even if I own an eReader. Plus... I live in the sticks. My library doesn't have eBooks. If that's something that's got you riled up, though, it should most definitely be a deciding factor.) Format of book doesn't matter as much if you're unhappy with the product you're using to READ the book.