Kindle owners - So what do you think abot Nook Color?

[mcooke66]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I would not buy an ITouch or IPad or netbook or other such electronic device for a young child. They are too likely to break it. Probably when a child gets to the 10-12 age range I would consider it but would want to supervise the child using it. Maybe my nieces and nephews are advanced but by that age most of the books are chapter books and have very few pictures so color is less important.

My wife and I read books to our kids every night until they became independent readers. I would not "give" this device to a young child, I would use this device to read to my young children and along the way teach them to read and use todays technoclogy. We did this with books and the kids were not running around the house with the books, I see no difference using this or any other electronic reader to read to your children and help them learn to read with out needing a child proof device.

Having said that I would expect a childrens version of an ereader in the near future that is more tablet like then current childrens electron devices, which they read on today e.g. vtech leappad etc..

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by mcooke66

My wife and I read books to our kids every night until they became independent readers. I would not "give" this device to a young child, I would use this device to read to my young children and along the way teach them to read and use todays technoclogy. We did this with books and the kids were not running around the house with the books, I see no difference using this or any other electronic reader to read to your children and help them learn to read with out needing a child proof device.

Having said that I would expect a childrens version of an ereader in the near future that is more tablet like then current childrens electron devices, which they read on today e.g. vtech leappad etc..

It does come down to each families personal preference and style. As I said, I would not use an e-reader with a child unless it was near kid proof. The VTech ones you mention are the type of thing I would get if I could buy books from a regular store and not their silly over priced cartridges.

I would want to have something that I could trust my four year old who loves to read or look at the pictures in a picture book to use without me. A paper book can be damaged but replacing it is less expensive then replacing a NOOK Color or a less expensive Nook WiFi. And I know that Junior can pick the book up and read without having me there with them.

I can see where people would make a different choice. I just have a feeling that most people are not going to spend $250 on a device to read books to their child a few times a day. If it was kidproof, easy to use, hard to break, so that the child could use it on their own I would be more likely to think that families would buy them.

[desertgrandma]

Do I love my Kindle? You'll have to pry it out of my cold dead hands.

But the little ones?

I guess I'm just too much of a dinosaur.

Young children, IMHO, need not only the color, but the tactile experience of paper books......With my own, and with my granddaughters, 15 years apart our houses were always filled with books of different sizes, some 'fuzzy', even some with 'scratch and sniff'.

Going to Barnes and Noble, its the physical experience of that separated room filled with so many choices, that encouraged reading.

Picking out a book to read involved more than looking thru a color screen....they knew their favorites by the spines, shapes, and size, by using their hands and fingers to follow the story, and then reading it out loud, when they were able. Just last night my youngest GD, 7, saw a book she was currently reading on the coffee table, and her eyes lit up when I asked her if she wanted to continue........I doubt an ebook reader will have the same effect.

Even the way the print is arranged on the book is important...not to mention the fact that very few books will be available to start.

Has anyone thought of this? Who chooses which titles will be able to be bought? There are thousands and thousands of great books out there than won't be read because they won't be 'clickable'. An entire generation could grow up before that happens.

It saddens me to thing parents will jump on this bandwagon and miss out on so much....

[Dandy55]

The more - the merrier!
Nice attempt from Barns & Noble to bring in something really different and new as a reading device. Different people have different preferences, requirements, priorities - so it is all for the good that there is a new device, answering the need for color reading. Quite reasonable price - half the price of iPad, same as first incarnations of Kindle and Nook eInk readers.

[ProfCrash]

I don't know. If e-books are good for me, why wouldn't they be for my children? I think what matters is the story. Then again, I have find memories of trips to the library, searching for the perfect book to read.

[luvmy4brats]

It's a "poor man's" iPad. Seriously unimpressed.

Yes, I'm a Kindle owner, and a nook & iPad owner... And I have kids and I just can't see buying it for any of them. They look at computer/LCD screens enough as it is.

Then again, I'm buying my 9-year old a K3 for christmas... That's only because she's run off with my nook and claimed it as hers and I would like it back for my library books.

[tammycravit]

What DiapDealer said. Maybe if you read a lot of manga or something, a color screen would be worth it. But otherwise, I personally don't see the point. If I want a general-purpose tablet, I'd buy an iPad or something. For me, the fact that my Kindle's set of available non-reading distractions is so limited is a profoundly good thing. I wouldn't trade my K3 for a Nook Color on a bet. But that's just me.

I suspect B&N is targeting the people who wouldn't buy a Kindle in the first place, and it remains to be seen how well the device will play to that market.

[JeremyR]

Well, I think it's a pretty nice idea. Speaking as someone who hasn't completely paid off his K3 yet, I think a lot of people underestimate just how expensive these devices are (and how bad the economy has been since 2006). Not everyone can afford an iPad (or iPhone, iWhatever). So yes, it is a "poor man's iPad", without the scorn.

Personally though, I have no interest. But I see all these threads in this forum about people who seem to want a mini-iPad out of their K3, I'm sure there is a big audience for it, just for comic book readers alone...

[bfollowell]

I really just don't get the benefit of color. What gives?!

OK, I can see the benefit if you're reading magazines with lots of photos.

Assuming you're just reading mostly novels, biographies, etc. though, who cares? When was the last time you picked up a book and found it full of red, green and purple text and, those colors actually made a difference in what you were reading? The only benefit I see is that you get to see the cover images in color.

I have hundreds of Star Trek and Star Wars novels on my K3 and I love the awesome, full color covers but, how long can you spend looking at a cover?! I'm sure games would look better in color but I bought an e-reader, not a Game Boy. When it comes time to get down to the real business of reading, who cares?

Don't get me wrong. When the K6 or K8 comes out with a color eink display standard, and that's pretty much all you can buy, I'll be fine with it and will love my color covers. I just don't see enough benefit for anyone to say color e-readers are a game changer. To me, they're nothing more than a niche product; a novelty.

That's my two cents anyway. Someone change my mind.

- Byron

[daffy4u]

There is an ebook reader to fit just about everyone's needs. The nook color will be just the ticket for another segment. It's all good!

[cuteseal]

I think they missed the point completely - the e-ink screen makes ereader devices completely unique.

Also, I don't see how a closed software, LCD tablet is justified when you can pick up a open android one with the same features for 1/2 the price. Also, with the open android devices, you can install software for the kindle, nook, kobo etc. stores, which doesn't limit you to B&N.

And the 9 hour battery life? Pffft...

[mcooke66]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

Well, I think it's a pretty nice idea. Speaking as someone who hasn't completely paid off his K3 yet, I think a lot of people underestimate just how expensive these devices are (and how bad the economy has been since 2006). Not everyone can afford an iPad (or iPhone, iWhatever). So yes, it is a "poor man's iPad", without the scorn.

Personally though, I have no interest. But I see all these threads in this forum about people who seem to want a mini-iPad out of their K3, I'm sure there is a big audience for it, just for comic book readers alone...

I am not so sure they are underestimating the willingness of the public to spend a lot of money on electronics.

During the recession these are the iPad numbers.
•April 3rd – 300,000 WiFi iPads sold on launch day
•April 8th – 450,000 iPads Sold total 5 days after launch, 3.5 Million iPad Apps and 600,000 iBooks downloaded
•April 10th – 500,000 iPad Units sold in its first week
•May 3rd – 1,000,000 iPad Users in 28 days since launch
•May 31st – 2,000,000 iPad Owners after its International Launch
•June 21 – 3,000,000 iPads in 80 days

I am sure B&N would be happy with 1/4 of that success.

[ProfCrash]

I will be surprised if BN sees even 1/4 of that success.

[cvkemp]

comparing the ipad to the kindle is comparing apples to oranges. The ipad is good at most things but not great at anything. The kindle is a great ebook reader.

[mcooke66]

Originally Posted by bfollowell

I really just don't get the benefit of color. What gives?!

OK, I can see the benefit if you're reading magazines with lots of photos.

Assuming you're just reading mostly novels, biographies, etc. though, who cares? When was the last time you picked up a book and found it full of red, green and purple text and, those colors actually made a difference in what you were reading? The only benefit I see is that you get to see the cover images in color.

I have hundreds of Star Trek and Star Wars novels on my K3 and I love the awesome, full color covers but, how long can you spend looking at a cover?! I'm sure games would look better in color but I bought an e-reader, not a Game Boy. When it comes time to get down to the real business of reading, who cares?

Don't get me wrong. When the K6 or K8 comes out with a color eink display standard, and that's pretty much all you can buy, I'll be fine with it and will love my color covers. I just don't see enough benefit for anyone to say color e-readers are a game changer. To me, they're nothing more than a niche product; a novelty.

That's my two cents anyway. Someone change my mind.

- Byron

Kids’ books, magazines, newspapers, textbooks, graphic novels, comic books, cookbooks, Almost all how to books. Seems to me there are many more genres of printed material that use color then do not.

Novels are black and white, that is the only one I can think of.

In my travels it is the lack of color that is holding people back from going to ebooks maybe more than any other single issue.

The funny thing is I think it is exactly opposite, the niche is b&w, color is the vast majority of the market. The adoption of ebooks is held back by b&w. Its kinda like saying movies with sound or color were just a niche when they first appeared, really?