Consumer Reports: Nook Beats The Kindle

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[HarryT]

Originally Posted by stickybuns

Seriously? You would pick a car based on the stereo or navigation system?

The Kindle bookstore is certainly (for me, anyway, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that) a significant factor in the choice of a Kindle as a reader. Amazon aren't just selling you a reader - they're selling you the whole "book buying experience". Of course, you can choose to opt out of that, and load your own content, but for many, the fact that Amazon have such a good store is important.

[stickybuns]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The Kindle bookstore is certainly (for me, anyway, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that) a significant factor in the choice of a Kindle as a reader. Amazon aren't just selling you a reader - they're selling you the whole "book buying experience". Of course, you can choose to opt out of that, and load your own content, but for many, the fact that Amazon have such a good store is important.

Oh, I do not deny that it can be an important factor. Amazon's reputation for customer service for the Kindle was on my list of pros along with "well, I buy everything from them already, so what's one more?"

That being said... a nice ebookstore just wouldn't be a big enough lure for me to buy an ereader that I genuinely disliked in every other way. The ereader itself will always be the deal breaker for me. (Same for the car... if I didn't like driving it with the stereo turned off, why would I like it with the stereo turned on? It might make a difference in an "all things being equal" situation but not for something truly significant to me).

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by stickybuns

That being said... a nice ebookstore just wouldn't be a big enough lure for me to buy an ereader that I genuinely disliked in every other way. The ereader itself will always be the deal breaker for me. (Same for the car... if I didn't like driving it with the stereo turned off, why would I like it with the stereo turned on? It might make a difference in an "all things being equal" situation but not for something truly significant to me).

Certainly. I agree entirely.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by stickybuns

I don't care to purchase expensive electronics without first testing them out.

I do. I don't feel that the in-store experience is a good enough indication of what the device feels like for prolonged use. The best things about eink compared to LCD are the screen and the battery life. I don't think that what the screen looks like in a brightly lit store gives a good idea of what it looks like when you read at night with only a lamp on, and you can't tell anything about the battery life just from playing with it for 15 minutes, unless the battery is really bad.

Originally Posted by ApK

Wow. You test drove every car in the world before getting one? You visited every home and apartment in every country before choosing a place to live?

I don't own a car, and choosing the place to live was geographically limited by the place where I work. In the same way, I chose the reader based on what I needed: large screen (well, the largest that I could find) and the ability to open as many formats as possible.

But my initial comment was to a post that was a comment you one of yours:

Originally Posted by ApK

The people who are warning people away from Amazon because of "lock in/out" APPEAR to me to be basing it in on imagined worst-case scenarios and anamardoll's mom.

Definition of Ignore: To refuse to take notice of; to shut the eyes to; not to recognize; to disregard willfully and causelessly
I don't really see why you have a problem with my use of the word. And BTW, you can also ignore me.

[bhartman36]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

Not for me.

Whether e-readers come with bookstores isn't up to your personal tastes. It's a binary function: Either they have them, or not. I can't think of any that don't, which is why I made the comment. If you buy an ereader with a bookstore on it, it's part of what you're paying for.

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

This is where we see things completely differently. You pay less for devices that are locked in. You don't really see that with ereaders because they aren't completely locked in, so you don't pay allot less, plus you don't have an unlocked version of the same device to compare prices with, but you see it in mobile phones: those that are locked to a network are cheaper (at least this is the way it is in Europe).

Locked in means something very different with a mobile phone. If I switch from the Kindle to the Nook after owning the Kindle for 2 months, I won't pay a financial penalty to Amazon. The only sense in which ereaders lock you in is if you buy DRM'd e-books, and even that can be worked around. Anyone who's serious about their readers and their book collection should do the research to be aware of what the implications are of switching. Ereaders are like smartphones, in the sense that one wouldn't switch casually without doing research on the financial and practical implications.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

Locked in means something very different with a mobile phone. If I switch from the Kindle to the Nook after owning the Kindle for 2 months, I won't pay a financial penalty to Amazon. The only sense in which ereaders lock you in is if you buy DRM'd e-books, and even that can be worked around. Anyone who's serious about their readers and their book collection should do the research to be aware of what the implications are of switching. Ereaders are like smartphones, in the sense that one wouldn't switch casually without doing research on the financial and practical implications.

I don't think that we are talking about the same thing. I can buy a mobile phone without a contract. If I get one that isn't locked, I can use any SIM card, from any company. If I get one that is locked, I can only use a SIM card from the company that it is locked into, but I pay less for the phone.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by stickybuns

Seriously? You would pick a car based on the stereo or navigation system?

Actually, when I purchased my Saturn Vue, it was between the Vue and a Hyundai Tucson. I went with the Saturn since it had an audio jack in the stereo, and the Hyundai didn't.

[stickybuns]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Actually, when I purchased my Saturn Vue, it was between the Vue and a Hyundai Tucson. I went with the Saturn since it had an audio jack in the stereo, and the Hyundai didn't.

See post #273... I clarify my thoughts on this topic a bit more. We're probably not in disagreement.

[stickybuns]

Definition of Ignore: To refuse to take notice of; to shut the eyes to; not to recognize; to disregard willfully and causelessly
I don't really see why you have a problem with my use of the word.

Wonderful! According to you, neither I nor, in all likelihood, the majority of posters on MR, has been "ignoring" alternative ereaders.

Since I've never refused to take notice of the numerous spec sheets on the various ereaders on the market, there's never been a need for me to shut my eyes to the fact that I know which features interest me and which ones do not. I am certainly relieved to have recognized that the tactile experience of a device--its weight, balance, positioning of buttons, etc--is important to me and not something I should disregard willingly. It is especially gratifying to know that I didn't causelessly dismiss the Kindle: an item that has both the features and physicality that I prefer.

[TedJ]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

...I don't feel that the in-store experience is a good enough indication of what the device feels like for prolonged use.

So you're NOT a reviewer for a gadget blog, then. :P

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

She can't buy from Amazon and she can't buy from B&N because of the DRM/format incompatibility with Sony. So that leaves, of the "main" stores, Kobo. AFAIK, anyway.

And even Kobo is confusing for her, because it's not as simple as "hit a download button and save the epub to your reader drive, Mom". You've got to use ADE or try to coax the Sony Reader software to load everything up and ARGH. Calibre is easier, but the Kobo downloads are ACSM files, and Calibre doesn't open those, AFAIK.

The Wiki here at MR has a list of ebook stores both DRM and DRM-free. Perhaps, one of them may be easier for your mother.

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_stores

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by boswd

not to the degree of glass capactive screens, sure you'll eventually have to wipe it down, but to think these screens pick up and show smudges on the level of a glass screen simply is not true.

Or stop reading while eating greasy foods. j/k

Yeah! we need Pizza proof eReaders! You have no idea what molten mozzarella cheese does to a screen! And what a drippy 5Guys burger does is a Crime!