Nook/kindle : seriously this is the best?

[kazuma6666]

Hey there,

I've been reading a lot of reviews lately and I'm sick of them all saying : but it's not as good as the nook/kindle. The kindle only supports the amazon format, and I don't like that. The nook supports epub and pdf. and that's it. Not enough!

Ok they are quite inexpensive. But the fact that they are closed is a dealbreaker for me.

I've read tons of reviews and I really don't like their point of view. Lot's of reviewers says that the tablet is as good. Heresy! I'm a programmer I stay on my screen all day, when I read I want an eink screen. Why did we ever bother to invent this technology.

Well this is not only a rant, but I needed one because of all those reviews. My point is this : Usually when I read a review of a product, The author will always refer to the winner in that category for them. But in the case of ereaders, their judgement is completely flawed. What's important for me :
reading a book easily (screen quality, button to turn pages), a good dictionary, large format support.

I have ebooks in doc, txt, epub, mobi, lit formats.
As of now, my two choices are cybook odyssey and sony PRS-T2. They are a bit on the expensive side but it is not (too much of) a problem for me. I've also been a cybook opus user for 3+ years now so I'm comfortable with bookeen.

Now is there any other device I should consider? I heard about pocketbook not so long ago, but they seem a bit pricier. Looking forward to your input

I wouldn't write a post like this usually, but I'm sick of reviews saying I should buy the nook or kindle.

[HarryT]

Using a program such as "Calibre", it's trivial to convert pretty much anything to either Mobi or ePub format. The need to have native support for multiple formats really doesn't exist.

[JD Gumby]

All that's left, that you haven't mentioned, is Kobo (your choice of 5" Mini for $80, 6" Touch for $100, or front-lit 6" Glo for $130). Well, and Chinese rebrands, of course...

[kazuma6666]

Depends on how much books you have I guess. But it's true what you say, maybe I should look a bit farther and consider converting books. It's just that I have a large collection of epub books.

And the buttons to change page are really important for me.

Actually I just looked again, nook, kindle and kobo are the same, if they have a touchscreen, they have no buttons to change pages. I guess it's just sony, pocketbook and bookeen that are leaving those buttons on. And bookeen are the only one who put it in a good place. I guess the pocketbook one are not so bad, at least it's easy to access the next page button with the right hand.

On my opus I can read using only one hand and be comfortable, with almost no movement from my hand. I just rest my thumb on the next page button and press it when I'm ready. I think this is just perfect. Too bad there is no dictionary on it

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kazuma6666

Depends on how much books you have I guess. But it's true what you say, maybe I should look a bit farther and consider converting books. It's just that I have a large collectio nof epub books.

But you don't need to convert them all at once. If you store your books in Calibre, then Calibre will automatically convert to the format that a particular device requires at the time that you send the book to the device. Calibre is a superb eBook library manager. Well worth using if you aren't already.

For the Kindle, by the way, the new "KF8" format is much to be preferred over the old "Mobi" format. It's a much "richer" format, and will convert seamlessly to and from ePub.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by kazuma6666

Actually I just looked again, nook, kindle and kobo are the same, if they have a touchscreen, they have no buttons to change pages.

True for Kindle and Kobo, but the Nook Simple Touch and Nook Glow both have page turn buttons.

[kazuma6666]

Originally Posted by HarryT

But you don't need to convert them all at once. If you store your books in Calibre, then Calibre will automatically convert to the format that a particular device requires at the time that you send the book to the device. Calibre is a superb eBook library manager. Well worth using if you aren't already.

For the Kindle, by the way, the new "KF8" format is much to be preferred over the old "Mobi" format. It's a much "richer" format, and will convert seamlessly to and from ePub.

I'm already using calibre. Thanks anyway for the info.

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

True for Kindle and Kobo, but the Nook Simple Touch and Nook Glow both have page turn buttons.

Thanks for the info, I'll look a bit closer to the nook glow and the nook simple touch.

[dixieknits]

I chose a Kobo Glo. It had much a much cleaner and clearer screen, faster page turns and uses an sd card and epub format. The Glo also has the same 6" screen but is smaller and thinner in size and weight. The Nook Glow and the Simple touch have page turn buttons that are really hard to press . I don't think many use them. . Also no access to dropbox to ldownoad a preowned book. I"ve not had any reader in the 5 years I"ve had readers that I liked as much as the Kobo Glo.

[kazuma6666]

Originally Posted by Bookripper

My first impressions of the Kobo screen were mixed emotions. It looked very soft and clean but the letters looked more grey than black. And the background looked too yellowish without the Glo activated. Compared to this, the Bookeen looks really sharp, just perfect.

To each their own I guess. I got that from the bookeen forum so it might be a bit partial ^^.

I'm a bit stumped now... I really like everything about the odyssey, but it seems the dictionaries are crap.

Originally Posted by Bookripper

-Very Crappy dictionary but it's ok I guess, I got one working that finds almost every word. Kobo was a lot better.

I'm buying a new ereader to get a dictionary. Seems a bit paradoxical to get the worst one in that regard.

From what I read in bookripper post, I don't really want to get a kobo. Then there is the nook, I thought it was gonna be a good alternative, low price, good dictionary, next page button. Then I read this :

Originally Posted by dixieknits

The Nook Glow and the Simple touch have page turn buttons that are really hard to press . I don't think many use them. .

Well... I really don't know anymore. Maybe I should look into the possibility to add dictionaries to the odyssey. If I can import a good one it should do the trick in fact.

[HarryT]

The Kindle has the best dictionaries by a long shot. Sony is a reasonably close second; Kobo and the nook a distant third. The Kindle has by far the best supply of 3rd party commercial dictionaries (search the Kindle Store for "Dictionary" and you'll find hundreds of them). You can't add extra dictionaries at all (to the best of my knowledge) to the Sony, nook, or Kobo. Bookeen, Pocketbook, etc, do let you add dictionaries, but they're limited to the public domain "word-list" type dictionaries rather than proper commercial ones (AFAIK - I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong).

[kazuma6666]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The Kindle has the best dictionaries by a long shot. Sony is a reasonably close second; Kobo and the nook a distant third. The Kindle has by far the best supply of 3rd party commercial dictionaries (search the Kindle Store for "Dictionary" and you'll find hundreds of them). You can't add extra dictionaries at all (to the best of my knowledge) to the Sony, nook, or Kobo. Bookeen, Pocketbook, etc, do let you add dictionaries, but they're limited to the public domain "word-list" type dictionaries rather than proper commercial ones (AFAIK - I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong).

For the first time, I'm actually thinking of buying a kindle...
The fact that they have the best dictionaries AND that I can get new commercial ones changes a lot.

So, now I'm looking into the whole touching the screen to turn page thing. I don't really like the idea of having smudges on my screen, but anyway I would have had some with the word searches in the dictionaries.

Seems I can use the kindle touch with one hand AND even turn pages. That's what I was afraid of actually with no buttons to turn page anymore.

The screen of the Kindle sits about an eighth of an inch deeper than plastic bezel surrounding it. I have found it very easy to simply roll my thumb over the edge and onto the touch screen, and this is all that’s needed to activate a page turn.

from a review website.

I'll have to use calibre to create azw files from my epubs but it seems worth it.

Must read reviews now.

[petrucci]

There a lots of other e-readers than the kindle/nook/kobo. Just look at the e-reader section on this site. One reason that people hesitate to recommend other e-readers is that the software/customer support for other devices is not what is usually expected by US consumers. Specifically you may have to rely on third parties to get software support. If you are OK with that, then there are some outstanding readers, like those by Onxy, that are worth looking into.

One major reader that I did not see mentioned is the Sony PRST2. (I must be blind as it is mentioned all over this thread) It did not receive great reviews, which criticized it for its price, lack of built in light, and standard resolution screen. However, it seems to be a very good reader.

Lastly, you mentioned page turn buttons. The Kindle 4B still has page turn buttons. It also happens to be the least expensive Kindle.

[kazuma6666]

Originally Posted by petrucci

Lastly, you mentioned page turn buttons. The Kindle 4B still has page turn buttons. It also happens to be the least expensive Kindle.

Yep looks all right except that it doesn't have a dictionary, and that's the only reason I'm getting a new device

[elemenoP]

The non-touch Kindle includes a dictionary.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051QVESA/ref=sa_menu_kdptq3

Look towards the bottom, "Built-in Dictionary with Instant Lookup."

Some people on these boards say that this model has the best screen of any e-ink reader today.

eP

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kazuma6666

Yep looks all right except that it doesn't have a dictionary, and that's the only reason I'm getting a new device

The non-Touch Kindle has exactly the same dictionaries as the touch model. But dictionary lookup is one thing that's much easier on the touch screen (just tap and hold the word to see the definition).

The matte screen of the Touch/PW doesn't show fingerprints.