My opinion on which reader you should buy

[boswd]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

(sigh)

For the 9,000 time, a touchscreen does not make an e-reader more advanced. It is one feature that some people like and some people hate. I hate touchscreens and don't want one on my e-reader. Just because you think it is cool does not make the Kindle the least advanced of the readers. The joystick on the DXG works fine for me.

As for more advanced, the Kindle has a functional browser, text to speech, and collections all of which are missing from the Nook.

Personally, a battery draining, LCD screen that shows thumbnail size color book covers is not something that excites me.

also another *sigh* right back at ya the Kindle does not cure cancer nor create world peace, nor is it the the end all be all that Kindle fans make it out to be.

does having a LCD color screen make the Nook the most technologically advanced ereader, no but certainly more so than the kindle's navigational options which is whether you want to believe it or not or refuse to accept it or not an antiquited way to go around your device in this day and age.

Yes you don't prefer a touchscreen, fine, well my father doesn't like touchscreens either and is very happy with his $25 Go Phone.
And he also has no desire for an HDTV.

Personal preferences to stay with a certain technology doesn't keep that technology on par for the game. Do you see what a I mean?
You could love your rotary phone better than your cell phone but doesn't make your rotary phone on the same playing field as an iPhone or a Droid.

If you choose a Kindle over the Nook or Sony or vice vesa, it's based on reason of your needs. I get that. I really do. I'm just pointing out that the Kindle is not the most technically advanced of the Three leading e-readers. It's just a simple fact. It's not.

Great marketing department doesn't always equal the best product.

The Nook's lack of a collections feature as compared with the Kindle's is not a tech. advancement on kindle's part. For one it's can be remedied by a software upgrade and two it's nothing that the Kindle is capable of having and the Nook isnt.
For example my new Droid X phone syncs up to my hotmail account. The iPhone does not. Well not as easy without some manueverin, but that doesn't make the Droid X more tech. advanced than the iPhone. If Apple wanted it coupld push out a firmware upgrade and make it happen. Do you see where I'm coming from?

Ohh and as far as the Kindle's text to speech. Are you kidding me? Have you heard that voice? If that doesn't scream 1980's "WAR Games" voice. " Do you want to play a game? How about a game of Chess". The movie with Matthew Broderick.
That is THE most antiquted voice system on any device out on the market and only further's my point.
I mean seriously, even you got to admit the electronic voice used for text to speech is horrible to the point it's an embarrasement.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by mirto

I'm in the process of buying an ereader (I can't decide which one to get yet) and I find it interesting the ipod touch is mentioned here. How is the reading quality compared to say, the Sony PRS350? The small screen would not bother me, but I never conisdered the ipod untill now. I didn't even now reading ebooks on it was possible.

short term on the go, these are nice apps to have. I have the Nook app on my Droid X. But for long term, sit down with a book type of reading? I wouldn't make the iPod touch your center piece. Screen size and eyestrain with LCD screen is too much

[ProfCrash]

I have no problem when you say that the Kindle is your third choice of an e-reader. I do have a problem when you say it is less technologically advanced then the Nook because it does not have a touchscreen. The Touchscreen is one feature, just like TTS and collections. Amazon could add a touchscreen if they wanted to, Amazon chooses not to.

If you look at the original Patton request by Amazon, the one that was approved, you will see that it had an LCD touchscreen at the bottom. Amazon did not go forward with it. I have never heard Amazon explain why they dropped it but probably due to battery drain and that it does not add much to the reader.

Text to Speech will not replace an audio book. If you have serious problems with your vision it is a nice way to still be able to listen to books that are not available as audio books. There are folks who use TTS on their drives to and from work because they cannot get the books they want in audio book form.

I don't use it but that does not mean it is not valuable for many people. It is also a feature not available on any other e-reader.

Collections is a piece of coding. One that took Amazon 2 years to implement and that the nook still doesn't have. If I am comparing e-readers I would note that one has a tag system and the other does not. I prefer being able to organize my books.

The readers have different features that people should explore when making a decision. One is not more technologically advanced then the other.

[mirto]

Ah got it thanks. I am looking for a dedicated reading device, an ipod would've been nice for it's gadget aspect. I actually never read a book or something similar on a small LCD display. Is it the brightness that strains the eyes? Can that not simply be lowered?

I'll continue my search for an ereader then.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by boswd

Battery life does not equal cutting edge technology.

Sure it does when achieved through newer processors and displays that use less power.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Sure it does when achieved through newer processors and displays that use less power.

so since the K3 can get anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks batttery life it is more techn.advanced then todays smartphones, laptops etc?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by boswd

so since the K3 can get anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks batttery life it is more techn.advanced then todays smartphones, laptops etc?

[boswd]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I have no problem when you say that the Kindle is your third choice of an e-reader. I do have a problem when you say it is less technologically advanced then the Nook because it does not have a touchscreen. The Touchscreen is one feature, just like TTS and collections. Amazon could add a touchscreen if they wanted to, Amazon chooses not to.

If you look at the original Patton request by Amazon, the one that was approved, you will see that it had an LCD touchscreen at the bottom. Amazon did not go forward with it. I have never heard Amazon explain why they dropped it but probably due to battery drain and that it does not add much to the reader.

Text to Speech will not replace an audio book. If you have serious problems with your vision it is a nice way to still be able to listen to books that are not available as audio books. There are folks who use TTS on their drives to and from work because they cannot get the books they want in audio book form.

I don't use it but that does not mean it is not valuable for many people. It is also a feature not available on any other e-reader.

Collections is a piece of coding. One that took Amazon 2 years to implement and that the nook still doesn't have. If I am comparing e-readers I would note that one has a tag system and the other does not. I prefer being able to organize my books.

The readers have different features that people should explore when making a decision. One is not more technologically advanced then the other.

I think we're talking past each other. I'm not referring to features, would could go tit for tat all day on that. And each one has features that are advantegous to their respective devices.

What I'm referring to is. The Nook actually fuses together an LCD touchscreen captactive screen with the eink technology to have them work in harmony using the icons and sub catorgory options for navigation and features and synchs up the color book cover with books you are scrolling. This is a more advanced set of technology than using a directional arrow or a a joystick.

I'm talking the actually technical aspects of the hardware and putting it together. The Nook is technically ahead of the Kindle.

You are right the Kindle chose to stay with this technology and not something more advanced. But its not the same as having a better folder/sorting features.
The nook could have this very simply with a firmware upgrade and by all accounts, i think most people would be shocked if v1.5 does not have it.


But if the Kindle wanted a touchscreen, it would have to build a totally brand new device. See what I mean?

Now, If your vision is to the point that it is bad, I still think you would be better served with audiobooks. If you have the basic sense of computing skills which I think most people who are looking for ereaders do. You can simply convert your audio books from disk to MP3 format and sideload them to your device.
If this was going to be my main source of "reading" ( i know that sounds oxymoronish) you do sort of owe it to yourself to seek out the best method. and Having an actually soothing voice for reading your audio books is a much more viable alternative the "robot" voice the kindle offers.


but what I do love about our debates Prof. is that we are debating ereaders and the iPad never did come in kill of eink and ereaders as the so called "experts" predicted.

you are fun to debate with

[boswd]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

seriously tubemonkey the most advanced electronic hardware that uses battery's have very very short battery lives.

battery life is not the measure here.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by mirto

Ah got it thanks. I am looking for a dedicated reading device, an ipod would've been nice for it's gadget aspect. I actually never read a book or something similar on a small LCD display. Is it the brightness that strains the eyes? Can that not simply be lowered?

I'll continue my search for an ereader then.

you can lower the brightness and that helps And every person is different, it may not affect you as harshly as most. But also just from a pure size standpoint it wouldn't make it my centerpiece. You are talking 3.5 compared to a 6 inch.

eink is soo incredible for reading. It's amazing

[ProfCrash]

Now, If your vision is to the point that it is bad, I still think you would be better served with audiobooks. If you have the basic sense of computing skills which I think most people who are looking for ereaders do. You can simply convert your audio books from disk to MP3 format and sideload them to your device.
If this was going to be my main source of "reading" ( i know that sounds oxymoronish) you do sort of owe it to yourself to seek out the best method. and Having an actually soothing voice for reading your audio books is a much more viable alternative the "robot" voice the kindle offers.

The beauty of test to speech is that you can listen to books when there is no audio book available. Since a large percentage of books are not turned into audio books, this is a great feature.

TTS is great for a visually impaired student because it means that they do not have to worry about waiting for someone to read the book for them to listen to on tape if the book is available on Kindle. TTS is great for someone who is in the hospital and cannot focus long enough to read themselves but wants to continue to "read" a book.

I have not seen the new K3 long enough to know if this is the case but I believe that I read that you can now use TTS for all of the menu screens as well so that someone with a visual impairment can make their way into their audio books as well as regular books that they might need TTS to read.

It is a very understated feature, one that makes it a winner for people whose kids have learning disabilities or for anyone with a serious eye problem.

As for touchscreen technology, I have a feeling that Amazon could add it if it really wanted to. It was in their original design and they moved away from it. I don't think that it is all that difficult to engineer given that it is available on so many devices. Amazon has not added it because there is not a large enough demand for it that not having it has hurt sales. So I have difficulty buying that one is technologically more advanced then the other.

[FF2]

Maybe rather than debate the technological aspects of the devices, ergonomics might be the issue at hand. The ease of use factor when actually reading.

I pointed out in a separate thread that I handed my new K3 to my secretary who mentioned she loves swiping (touch screen) to turn pages. After three pages of reading she said she liked the buttons better - she did not have to move her hand/fingers and her hand/fingers no longer crossed her reading path.

Reading around and through finger smudges is another issue - having to tilt or turn to avoid them on the screen.

So, yes, my new k3 seems to have what _I_ want in a reader although it is easy to get swept away by touch screen technology.

[JimKal]

Originally Posted by 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.

You nailed this response. Yes, we all have different needs and wants. While I think e-ink is fine and I like the battery life on the Kindle, I really don't have any problem reading on my iPad. It doesn't give me a headache. I find I'm reading more often. The biggest downside is the other distracting things you can do with the iPad. BTW I find myself reading in bed far more often than direct sunlight. The iPad excels at reading in dim light situations.

Pick an e-reader you like. Enjoy it and don't worry about the one you didn't pick. Especially, don't worry about the ones who want to tell you why their device is so much better (as long as you find the one you have works well for you).

[Thunder]

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.

Completely agree!

Since getting an iPhone 4 I have stopped using my Sony PRS600. I used to use the Sony everyday and thought it was great, but the iPhone with its portability, clear crisp screen and multiple functions is the clear winner for me.

For my reading app I use GoodReader. It's especially good with large PDFs that have been OCRed (contains real text, not just an image of the text). I found the Sony kind of useless with PDFs what with its sluggish screen, non permanent zoom, etc.

[monkeyluis]

I have the K3 & love it. I had a K2 but jumped to the iPad & now back to the K3. I still like reading on the iPad though. I have Nook, Kindle & iBooks on the iPad. Nice thing about the iPad is all the store choices. & I have no problems reading on it. I live in Fl & I'm not about to go read in the sun. But if I needed too I can just turn up the brightness & read just fine. Back to the K3 though. I'm loving it. I had already invested in a couple of hundred kindle books so thats why I stuck with it I also have a library of books sitting on my PC that I can easily convert with Calibre. This Xmas I want to get my father a nook though. The reason why is so that he can rent from the library. He won't buy as many books as I do & have so I think this will be a better option for him. Also the wifi & 3G leave him unteathered & I don't have to go over for tech support. Keep it as simple as possible for him.