Kindle or Sony or Nook

[jurat]

I'm looking to jump into the e-reading world. I've looked at the Kindle, Nook and any small sony e-reader.

Mainly I'll be using it for pdf ebooks(screenplays etc) and some normal ebooks. What I want out of it is ease of use and good battery life and portability-something small and light. The sony ereaders have sony software something of which I was never really a fan.

Can you connect them to a mac and use them just as USB drives? How do I transfer pdf to Kindle or Nook? Do I have to pay extra to use the wireless technology on either one?

I'll also be in Europe mostly so something intl. compatible would be great although I've read you can use a VPN?

If I'm in say Germany and I buy a book with the Kindle do I pay in US Dollars or in Euros? Does the price change depending on where I am?

[banjobama]

The Sony readers, except the PRS-300, accept SD or ProDUO cards, so you can load your books onto the card then into the reader without using the Sony software at all. You can buy books from the Sony store if you say you're in the US and you have a US billing address for your card. Your IP won't matter.

I don't think the Kindle reads PDFs natively at all. You have to email them to Amazon for conversion. I don't know about the Nook.

[jurat]

Originally Posted by banjobama

The Sony readers, except the PRS-300, accept SD or ProDUO cards, so you can load your books onto the card then into the reader without using the Sony software at all. You can buy books from the Sony store if you say you're in the US and you have a US billing address for your card. Your IP won't matter.

I don't think the Kindle reads PDFs natively at all. You have to email them to Amazon for conversion. I don't know about the Nook.

Well bye bye kindle then. Would be great to hear about the nook.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by banjobama

I don't think the Kindle reads PDFs natively at all. You have to email them to Amazon for conversion. I don't know about the Nook.

This is wrong, it does read PDF's and the 2.5 update that's coming this month adds more functionality to what it will do with PDF's.

[banjobama]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

This is wrong, it does read PDF's and the 2.5 update that's coming this month adds more functionality to what it will do with PDF's.

Oh, that's good. Is it new for it to support PDFs? Seems like when I joined MR there was a big brouhaha over it not being able to read them.

[pboss]

K2 has native pdf support since November or December (2.3 update). The KDX has born with it.

[jurat]

great. now i need convincing. Sony PRS 300 or Kindle 2? help

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by jurat

great. now i need convincing. Sony PRS 300 or Kindle 2? help

Depending on your requirements, Kindle's PDF support is not as good as PRS 300:
- no reflow option
- no DRM support
- no SD / Memory Stick Duo storage
- no support for PDF links
- no annotation (not sure if Sony does, either, but I think it does - though these are 'overlays' rather than actual PDF annotations stored in the PDF)

And for only $30 more than PRS 300 and $60 less than Kindle 2 at the moment, you might consider the PRS 600.

The Nook has a good screen but that's about it. The software stinks, for example, there is no way to organize books into folders so if you have many books you have to scroll through a flat list page by page to find them.

Also, there is no go to while reading - can't get to a specific page number.

Finally, the page turning is a PITA - the buttons are hard to click and the plastic is reported to crack after use.

I'm very sorry that I bought Nook and predict that unless B&N provides better software very soon the Nook will fail in the marketplace.

[Roy Hinkley]

I've returned my Kindle 2. It does have PDF support. But, the thing is unwieldy it's so large. And, the screen is very fragile. I broke 2 of them in 3 weeks. Personally, stay away from the Kindle. It's sad, because it does have the best features and a great font.

[JerseyBiker]

Originally Posted by jurat

I'm looking to jump into the e-reading world. I've looked at the Kindle, Nook and any small sony e-reader.

As you can see from the 2 previous replies you will find people having problems with every reader out there. My wife has a Kindle 2 and I have a nook. Neither of us experienced any problems and we are satisfied with the performance and features. Many of the concerns some owners have could eventually be resolved with firmware updates. All of the readers that you are considering have separate topics on the forum. Check those topics for the pro and cons of each.

~eddie

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by emt

The Nook has a good screen but that's about it. The software stinks...

As someone who owns one and also has buyer's regret, I'll second everything that emt said about the Nook.

Originally Posted by jurat

...The sony ereaders have sony software something of which I was never really a fan...

I have a PRS-600 and really like it. The Sony PC/Reader interface software does leave quite a bit to be desired, and seems to have its share of bugs, but the Reader itself is fantastic. I can't offer an opinion on the 300, as I've never used one, but the 600 is a real pleasure to use. The physical design is nice also; it doesn't waste space and has a solid "real steel" feel to it.

Originally Posted by Roy Hinkley

I've returned my Kindle 2. It does have PDF support. But, the thing is unwieldy it's so large. And, the screen is very fragile. I broke 2 of them in 3 weeks. Personally, stay away from the Kindle. It's sad, because it does have the best features and a great font.

I broke one K2 (but not the screen), but only after putting it through some major crap that no reader should have to endure, including dropping it onto a concrete floor (it came through with flying colors; or should I say, flying greyscale), and accidentally skimming it across a parking lot about 20 feet (it sustained scratches, but no internal damage). What finally killed it was when it fell off my desk one day onto a linoleum floor. I guess that was the proverbial last straw on the camel's back. I immediately ordered a replacement and bought the additional protection that includes one free replacement if I should do it again.

The Kindle is great. I love the physical keyboard, and it's been nothing but a joy from day one. Plus it's got the wireless thing going for it.

My advice: you will be happy with either a Sony or a Kindle. Both have their strengths, and choosing between them is not easy. Stay away from the Nook.

[NNolan]

I'm with emt and WT Sharpe.

[cfrizz]

I love my Sony 600. the only problem I had with the software was using the synch feature, so I simply don't use that feature. Loading books on to my reader & adding them to the reader library is easy to do.

I can get multiformat LRFs, epubs, pdfs, and even convert my MS Word docs to rtfs to upload to my library & reader.

Sony doesn't lock you into just purchasing from their store, you are free to go to any store that has epubs & pdfs that utilize Adobe Digital Editions.

For me the Sony gave me the greatest number of choices & flexibility, that's why I got one.

[JerseyBiker]

Originally Posted by jurat

I'm looking to jump into the e-reading world. I've looked at the Kindle, Nook and any small sony e-reader.

Again, don't be swayed by a handful of nook owners who are having problems. There are many Sony and Kindle ereader owners with problems also. Some people seem to assume because they received a defective nook all others are defective and they will use every opportunity to put it down. I have purchased new $30,000 cars that had problems shortly after I bought them. So you are going to have some defective $300.00 ereaders. I'm not saying the nook is for you. Maybe you don't like the way it operates or the lack of certain features but do more research and don't rely of a couple of people that had a bad experience with them. Also I don't know if you are aware but you can softroot the nook (flash the firmware) to give it many more features.

~eddie