My opinion on which reader you should buy

[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.

[boswd]

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)

But Amazon has done a fantastic job of marketing it's product. Great commericials, an in your face on the amazon website, where everyone and their mother go shopping for something, so it's visibility is second to none.

Barnes and Noble do a great job of in store promotions, and a pretty good job via the internet and youtube. but not everyone goes into a Barnes and Noble.


sony has nothing basically.


I do truely think the Kindle is the least desirable out of the top three. But the way they have marketed their product. You have to give it up to them. They did a fantastic job. If the other two could and would have done even just half of the advertising, it just may have been a different story.

[desertgrandma]

Jeremy........the DX is considerably heavier than the K3......it isn't nearly as comfortable to read with.

I don't feel I "settled" for the k3. I used both, (my sil has the DX) and found the K3 far superior, for me.

Thats the trouble with personal recommendations.

We don't all have the same needs/wants.

[ProfCrash]

I love my DXG. It is heavier then the K3.

I tend to give the following advice. If you like reading hardback books, then you will probably prefer the DX. If you like paperbacks then you will probably prefer the K3.

I have always prefered the hardback book. I like having more words on the page and the weight never really bothered me. So the DXG has been perfect for me.

I know plenty of people who prefer reading paperbacks. They are lighter so it is easier to hold them and carry them. The K3 is perfect for them.

[ProfCrash]

Quote:
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)

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.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

...Thats the trouble with personal recommendations.

We don't all have the same needs/wants.

You got that right!

[doreenjoy]

I don't think it's possible to say there's one device that every "you" should buy.

Kindle doesn't support Overdrive library books, and some people prefer not to have to pay for new books all the time (and yes I know there are lots of free books available for Kindle, but the library is a better option for some).

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I don't have the K3 and really have no desire for one. Even though a bit tempermental at times (I generally have to reset it a time or two during the course of reading a book), my Jetbook Lite meets my needs far better. It fits comfortably in my rather crowded purse, something the K3 can't do with that, for me, superfluous keyboard. I don't have to remember to keep a battery charged with the JBL; if the batteries run down on me when away from the house, I pop in a fresh set that I keep on my purse then put the depleted battteries in my pocket (or an outside pocket in my purse that will obviously bulge if I'm wearing a skirt or dress without pockets; the lumpy appearance will get my attention) where I will be forced to remember to recharge them. Having ADD, remembering to do things is a huge problem for me. Also, if the batteries do wear out (I've had some of the Eneloops I use exclusively now for almost two years now without a failure yet), I can replace them myself. I also don't have to have a proprietary charger for my JBL; I can just use whatever charger I want to charge the AAs my JBL uses. The JBL reads epubs without conversion to mobi and handles PDFs adequately for me.

[derbin]

Originally Posted by JeremyZ

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.

It doesn't matter how high the resolution, for those of us with imperfect eyesight reading on a 3.5" screen is a strain. And as for "as easy on the eyes as e-ink", well, if you read in bright natural light that is clearly not true.

[EowynCarter]

Thats the trouble with personal recommendations.

We don't all have the same needs/wants.

Ditto.
Kindle dx is to big for my use. Even the k3 is a bit to large
Kindles are bad for us non US users, because of the no ePub support. And we lose the one big kindle adventage, the selection.

sony has nothing basically.

They didn't get most of the french market share with "nothing"
They had sence enough to do what amazon didn't, they ditched thier proprietary format. That's why I went for the gen3, was still sony format back then, rather than prs-505. Kindle at that time, not even sold in france.
And I can't say I would call selling though amazon.com selling in france.

[doreenjoy]

Originally Posted by derbin

It doesn't matter how high the resolution, for those of us with imperfect eyesight reading on a 3.5" screen is a strain. And as for "as easy on the eyes as e-ink", well, if you read in bright natural light that is clearly not true.

Not only that, for those of us who are migraneurs, looking at a backlit screen while reading is like driving steel spikes through our skulls.

[terraskye]

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

Not only that, for those of us who are migraneurs, looking at a backlit screen while reading is like driving steel spikes through our skulls.

As a migraineur myself reading on my itouch was hell and i can imagine a ipad would have a similar effect too.

I personally find the resolution on my PRS 650 just right for me ( i read for three hours straight with no eye strain/headache) and i found the page turn flash was not a problem either.

Whereas I found the kobo flash on the page turn was awful on my eyes.

[doreenjoy]

Originally Posted by terraskye

As a migraineur myself reading on my itouch was hell and i can imagine a ipad would have a similar effect too.

I had a very hard time with the iPad. It was like looking into the sun. Brighter than the average computer monitor by far.

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by derbin

It doesn't matter how high the resolution, for those of us with imperfect eyesight reading on a 3.5" screen is a strain. And as for "as easy on the eyes as e-ink", well, if you read in bright natural light that is clearly not true.

Indeed.

Not to mention, the price difference. The K3 is appealing to a lot of people (like me) because it's $139. Whereas I think the cheapest iPod Touch will run you $230.

[MrPLD]

I have to agree as well - when I saw the K3 for $139 it was a winner for me. Reading the K3 in nice daylight and the 6" screen is an absolute winner in terms of price, ergonomics and facilities to me (and my wife).