Yet another "Which eReader?" thread.

[bhdavis]

Hi,

I'm considering buying my first eBook reader and I'm looking for input. I am contemplating the Kobo Touch, the Nook Simple Touch, and the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight. The only eBook reader I have more than a few moments of experience with is the original Kobo (non-touch) and there are a few things about it that I don't like such as the lack of fonts (both variety and sizes), the inability to control line spacing and margin sizes. But mostly, I find it awkward to hold causing my hand to cramp up relatively quickly. I believe this is because of the relatively small bezel, the placement of the page turning pad at the bottom, and it's thinness. Additionally, the 'Fit and Finish' of the Kobo seems very cheap to me relative to my even more limited experience with my brother's Kindle.

I'm Canadian and I live in Canada, so at some level that would seem to make the Kobo the most obvious choice given that I cannot buy the Nook in Canada (I'd have to have it shipped to a friend who would mail it on to me) and that I cannot buy books from Barnes and Noble's eBook store in Canada. On the other hand, I really don't like the Kobo's form. I know that the Kobo Touch has updated firmware increasing number of fonts, and font size, as well as adding control for margins, and line spacing. I also know (from demoing it in a store) that it does page turns much faster too. However, I still really dislike it's form factors. It seems like it would be a bit more comfortable to use than the original Kobo, cause I won't be forced to hold it in the lower right corner, but the Bezel is still narrow and it lacks physical page turn buttons. It's hard to tell how comfortable it would be in my hands for prolonged periods of time, but I suspect it will still make my hands sore.

I don't plan on buying a lot of books, I expect that I'll primarily borrow books from the library and get free ebooks from the Gutenberg project. That said, I would like the ability to buy some eBooks if I want to. Are ebooks sold by Chapters and Indigo in Canada compatible with the Nook Simple Touch? I assume that they are, but I want to be sure before I make any purchases.

So I suppose my questions are: Did anyone else have hand cramping issues with the original Kobo that were relieved with the Kobo touch? Are any Canadians living in Canada using the Nook Simple Touch in Canada, and are they having any difficulty buying ebooks in Canada for use with it? Are there other issues I should be concerned with? (e.g. Getting the Nook Simple Touch repaired/replaced under warranty is probably more complicated for someone living in Canada than getting a Kobo repaired or replaced, but perhaps this doesn't happen enough to be concerned with?)

Thanks.
Brad

[polly]

Books shouldn't be a problem; Nooks will read any ePub except for Apple's, so Amazon and Apple are the only two bookstores with incompatible formats. There are a bunch of independent bookstores, such as BooksOnBoard. www.inkmesh.com is a good website for finding books and shopping for prices.

I'd recommend looking for your free books here. Some of the folks here take Project Gutenberg books and format them, restore figures and drawings, correct OCR artifacts, etc. By the time they post them on the e-books section of the website, they look a lot better than the ones at PG.

Have you looked at the Sonys? They have a polished user interface and page-turn buttons. I mostly turn the page with the touch screen, but it is really nice to have buttons. I would definitely miss them if I had a reader that was only a touch screen.

[afv011]

I have not had issues buying books from B&N. All I had to do is use a valid US address when entering my credit card information (though my CC is Canadian), and the purchases went through.

I don't know about the Kobo, but the nook touch is a fine reader, light, nice ergonomics and fantastic battery life.

[bhdavis]

Originally Posted by polly

Books shouldn't be a problem; Nooks will read any ePub except for Apple's, so Amazon and Apple are the only two bookstores with incompatible formats. There are a bunch of independent bookstores, such as BooksOnBoard. www.inkmesh.com is a good website for finding books and shopping for prices.

Thanks for the info, that's what I thought and consistent with what I read, but I wanted to be certain. I took a look at inkmesh last night, and that seems like a really good resource, thanks for the suggestion. Our local library has a pretty meagre selection of ebooks compared to anywhere else I've lived, so I'll have to buy some, but inkmesh will make it a lot easier to get a good price and find free ebooks.

Have you looked at the Sonys? They have a polished user interface and page-turn buttons. I mostly turn the page with the touch screen, but it is really nice to have buttons. I would definitely miss them if I had a reader that was only a touch screen.

I picked one up in a local BestBuy. I liked how light it was, but I didn't like the location of the page turning buttons, a little bit surprised to be honest. There are so few left handed people that I'm surprised they put the turn page buttons on the left side of the device. I think the old Kindle's and the NSTs page turn buttons are ideally located, and if the Sony had it's page turn buttons on the bottom of the screen on the right side (since I'm right handed), I could probably deal with it, but it doesn't seem ergonomic for me.

Originally Posted by afv011

I have not had issues buying books from B&N. All I had to do is use a valid US address when entering my credit card information (though my CC is Canadian), and the purchases went through.

I don't know about the Kobo, but the nook touch is a fine reader, light, nice ergonomics and fantastic battery life.

Ahh, okay- that's great! I could even use my old US address.

That's very helpful, thank you both.

[ProfCrash]

The glow light model seems to be getting mixed reviews. I would do some research on it before picking it up. You could very well fall into the camp that loves it but you might not. Being in Canada will make returning it more difficult. You might be better off with the Simple Touch.

[bhdavis]

I am leaning heavily towards the Nook Simple Touch without the GlowLight. I'm concerned about the reduced contrast, especially when there aren't very many occasions in which I expect to need the GlowLight. Some reviews have said/suggested that the reduced contrast is because of the built in screen protector, and that most eBook reader users will place a screen protector on their eBook reader anyway, making the comparison between a stock NST and NST w/ GlowLight unfair. Do most people use a screen protector on their eBook readers? Do they typically cause a big reduction in the contrast? If I could get a Nook Simple Touch delivered to me in Canada, I'd buy one today- but it's going to be a bit more k0mpl1c4t3d to get it. On the other hand, the fact that I haven't bought a Kobo yet speaks to my dislike of it's form factor.

[ProfCrash]

I have never used a screen saver on my Kindles. I think most people avoid them. There is no real need to have one.

[Zetmolm]

A screen saver is a waste of money. Spend it on a good cover if you want to protect your reader.

[Pomtroll]

I got a look at the Glow Litght at B&N on Friday. There is a difference in the font boldness between the STR & the Glow. If you have ever seen the screen on the Sony Prs 350 & 650 it is like that kind of boldness. If you have not had any other reader it doesn't make a difference I guess. But once you get used to darker print it does make a difference. Though if I wanted the Glow I would get it & get used to it. I have an STR & Sony 350 & Sony T1...oh & a K3 & Kindle Touch.

[bhdavis]

I expect I'll do most of my reading when I have a light handy, in fact, the only occasions when I can think of wanting something like the GlowLight would be when we go camping or on the rare occasion that I wake up in the middle of the night and cannot sleep (that used to happen a lot, until I moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota- now I sleep like a baby). I suppose it might be convenient on an airplane if I felt that I couldn't use the overhead night light- but for me, it seems like a solution in search of a problem.

So why am I considering it at all? Because I hate it when I don't buy enough for my needs and then I have to upgrade or live with the inconvenience. But in this case, I just don't think it's needed. But I dunno. Worst case scenario, I start to use it differently in a few years and we buy something different to supplement it. The only real argument I can see for it is that a clip on light probably costs as much as the light- and it requires keeping track of it and it's own batteries separately.

By the way, I freaking love Minnesota. I want to move back!

[Pomtroll]

Originally Posted by bhdavis

I expect I'll do most of my reading when I have a light handy, in fact, the only occasions when I can think of wanting something like the GlowLight would be when we go camping or on the rare occasion that I wake up in the middle of the night and cannot sleep (that used to happen a lot, until I moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota- now I sleep like a baby). I suppose it might be convenient on an airplane if I felt that I couldn't use the overhead night light- but for me, it seems like a solution in search of a problem.

So why am I considering it at all? Because I hate it when I don't buy enough for my needs and then I have to upgrade or live with the inconvenience. But in this case, I just don't think it's needed. But I dunno. Worst case scenario, I start to use it differently in a few years and we buy something different to supplement it. The only real argument I can see for it is that a clip on light probably costs as much as the light- and it requires keeping track of it and it's own batteries separately.

By the way, I freaking love Minnesota. I want to move back!

The STR is nice but if you feel you could ever use the Glow then go with it....No I am not an enabler...

So you don't live in St Paul anymore? I live in Mankato.

[ProfCrash]

Personally I use a head lamp. They work great in case of power outages, when car camping, when backpacking, when fixing stuff under sinks, when grilling, and when reading. Nice light and no hands needed.

[bhdavis]

Originally Posted by Pomtroll

The STR is nice but if you feel you could ever use the Glow then go with it....No I am not an enabler...

So you don't live in St Paul anymore? I live in Mankato.

I've been to Mankato, but I haven't spent much time there. No, I don't live in St. Paul any more, or anywhere else in Minnesota for that matter. I worked at the U for 3 years as a postdoctoral researcher, but the lab I was working in started running out of money, my boss started becoming erratic and difficult to work with, so I found another job, but it is British Columbia, Canada, so my wife and I moved back to Canada (we're Canadian). I really love Minnesota, the Twin Cities, and St. Paul in particular. We have a lot of really great friends there. We plan on returning at least once every 2-3 years for family vacations because it's so important to us. We left 15 months ago, but I still day dream about living there. I'd move back in a heart beat!

Our daughter was almost born in United Hospital in downtown St. Paul, but the new job I got needed me to start very quickly and they couldn't wait for the baby to be born in the US and then wait for all the paperwork to be completed for her to get a passport so we could take her with us back to Canada. So my wife (who was 8 months pregnant at the time), myself, our dog and cat packed up into a U-Haul and we drove back to Canada.

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Personally I use a head lamp. They work great in case of power outages, when car camping, when backpacking, when fixing stuff under sinks, when grilling, and when reading. Nice light and no hands needed.

A headlamp is a good idea, but the nice thing about the GlowLight (insofar as I imagine it), is that it probably doesn't give off a lot of ambient light, so I can read and it's not going to keep my wife up (she's a very light sleeper), nor is it going to attract bugs if we're camping (again, I'm guessing?). That said, the head lamp is probably a lot more practical.

[ProfCrash]

I have never had my head lamp attract bugs when camping. I love having it for cooking and late night walks to the bathroom. The good ones today have multiple settings, mine has four, and use LCDs so the light is powerful but can be nicely focused. My Hubby and I have them and take them on all trips with us. You never know when you could use a good flashlight (emergencies at hotels or homes or reading on the airplane) They are practicle and make more sense, to me, then a clip on book light or a flash light or some thing similar.

Great for biking at night too.

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by bhdavis

Are any Canadians living in Canada using the Nook Simple Touch in Canada, and are they having any difficulty buying ebooks in Canada for use with it?

I was visiting the US a few weeks ago and picked up the Nook STR for $99. I registered at B&N with a US address and have had no issues buying from them. I'm enjoying the slightly lower US ebook price vs. Canadian prices. I also buy books from Kobo and read them as well as library books on the Nook.