Which is the best eReader for library books?

[Carolshusband]

New to this forum I posted most of this in the introductory forum where upon further investigation it appears this forum is more appropriate so...

I joined this discussion group as my wife is an avid reader. EVERY night she reads in bed for about 2 hours (more on the weekend). I need a reader that is EASY (can't emphasize that enough as my wife is easily frustrated with electronics), AND can read Adobe Digital and PDF (she gets a majority of her books from the library). She loves to read but doesn't like to spend money either.

Never having bought or used one (and not an avid reader myself), I seek your recommendations and any information you choose to share. As it gets closer and closer to Christmas I am running shorter on time and have found SO MUCH (almost too much) information on what to buy and what not to buy. Thanx so much.

Carol's Husband (aka The ORANGEMan)

[Care]

I would suggest either a Sony (350 or 650) or a Nook. They are both easy to use with online library catalogues and pretty easy to use. Maybe go into a Best Buy and have a look at them. If you are interested in the Nook at all I would also suggest going into a Barnes & Noble to look at them. Their staff should be better equipped to answer your questions.

I am not sure if you can make folders directly on the Sonys without hooking them up to your computer. I know that you can with organize great with Calibre (a free software for converting and organizing ebooks), and I am not sure if your wife would want to be using the computer to organize her books. Maybe somebody else can tell you more on the Sony.

On the Nook she can make shelves right in her menu or add to them. Organization isn't a huge deal if she isn't buying a lot of books, but if she is going to be buying some she would probably want to be able to organize them.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Care

I would suggest either a Sony (350 or 650) or a Nook. They are both easy to use with online library catalogues and pretty easy to use. Maybe go into a Best Buy and have a look at them. If you are interested in the Nook at all I would also suggest going into a Barnes & Noble to look at them. Their staff should be better equipped to answer your questions.

I am not sure if you can make folders directly on the Sonys without hooking them up to your computer. I know that you can with organize great with Calibre (a free software for converting and organizing ebooks), and I am not sure if your wife would want to be using the computer to organize her books. Maybe somebody else can tell you more on the Sony.

I would agree with the recommendation for the Sony, but just a small note: the Sony does not support folders. It supports "collections", but these are "tags", not folders. It's a very different thing. A tag simply adds a "label" to a book; it doesn't move it into a folder.

[Care]

Right, yes sorry. They are basically like a rooted Nook. You make the tags in Calibre on your computer and they show up as collections. Almost the same as the Nooks shelves, except a stock Nook you would create the shelves on the Nook itself and the Sony (I think) you do via Calibre's tags. Is that correct?

[HarryT]

Yes, that's absolutely right.

[ProfCrash]

I would recommend the Nook. It is easy to use, inexpensive, and it can read books from B&N, Sony, and Kobo books so if she wants to buy a book she is more likely to find it.

[PatNY]

Sounds like you should buy something that supports both Adobe Digital Editions for library Overdrive books, as well as silent page turns. The only reader I can think of that does both are the newest Sonys.

The new Sony touch technology is great. If she is reading in bed for up to two hours, you won't hear a thing.

I believe Kobo books can also be downloaded to ADE, so with the Sonys, you have access to both the Sony and Kobo online bookstores, as well as your public library's ebooks.

The PRS-650 would be perfect, unless she would also like something that is highly portable, in which case I would choose the PRS-350. Both should be available now with discounts.

If someone were clicking away next to me in bed for any length of time it would drive me crazy. You won't have to worry about that with a Sony. It is great for a marriage!

Edit: Oops, sorry ... the classic Nook also has silent page turns, but it is limited to the small touch strip on the bottom. You have the benefits of a full touch screen with the Sonys.

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by Care

Almost the same as the Nooks shelves, except a stock Nook you would create the shelves on the Nook itself and the Sony (I think) you do via Calibre's tags. Is that correct?

Yes, you can create and manage collections via tagging in Calibre, but with the newest Sonys at least, you can also do it right on the reader itself. I do it mostly through Calibre.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by PatNY

Sounds like you should buy something that supports both Adobe Digital Editions for library Overdrive books, as well as silent page turns. The only reader I can think of that does both are the newest Sonys.

The new Sony touch technology is great. If she is reading in bed for up to two hours, you won't hear a thing.

I believe Kobo books can also be downloaded to ADE, so with the Sonys, you have access to both the Sony and Kobo online bookstores, as well as your public library's ebooks.

The PRS-650 would be perfect, unless she would also like something that is highly portable, in which case I would choose the PRS-350. Both should be available now with discounts.

If someone were clicking away next to me in bed for any length of time it would drive me crazy. You won't have to worry about that with a Sony. It is great for a marriage!

Edit: Oops, sorry ... the classic Nook also has silent page turns, but it is limited to the small touch strip on the bottom. You have the benefits of a full touch screen with the Sonys.

tough price on the sony 650 though, $229 and no wireless? Really? deal killer right there. Sweet hardware, so so bookstore platform and the price make it tough to recommend.

nook wi fi is almost a hundred dollars cheaper, heck the nook wiffi and 3G is still $30 cheaper.

What's up with the Sony North America Division, get it together man. You allowed Apple to waltz in and take over the portable music industry(mp3 players), you allowed Samsung and heck even Vizio take over the HDTV AND you let Amazon and Barnes and Noble come in to take over the ereader business

All of which you were pioneers of. They got to lower their prices.

[PatNY]

Why does one need wireless with an eReader?


As for price, Sony and its retailers have been continually running promotions for its new readers that effectively cut the price by $25-50.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by PatNY

Why does one need wireless with an eReader?


As for price, Sony and its retailers have been continually running promotions for its new readers that effectively cut the price by $25-50.

I would say not to have wireless on your ereader is the equilavant of your HDTV not having an HDMI port.

It the standard now adays not to mention the pure convience and ease. When ereaders across the board offer this feature that are rated just as good if not better, it makes no business sense to leave these features off.

Think of it like this if you bought a Droid or an iPhone, you would expect to surf the web. Selling a smartphone that does not surf the web at a higher price makes 0 business sense.

[ProfCrash]

If all you are doing is checking books out of the library you probably don't need wireless.

If you are someone who is buying books the WiFi or 3G option is wonderfully liberating. You don't have to own a computer to own and use a Kindle to its fullest. I am assuming the same is true for the Nook.

When I travel, I can download books on the fly. I don't have to worry about carrying a USB cord with me and finding a computer to download a book. I don't travel with a laptop or a netbook so having a computer is not a guarentee. Or if I do have it with me and I am in an airport I want to be able to download the book I want without having to pull out my laptop.

Sony's are the most expensive 6 inch e-readers and are the only one of the big four (Sony, Amazon, B&N, and Kobo) to not have a wireless option. I find that reasonably silly on Sony's part.

I know that some people place touchscreen before wireless but I would guess that most of the folks buying e-readers prefer wireless over touch screen. It is easy enough to change a page using a button. It might be more convienent (sp) to use a swipe but I would find it much more inconvienent to have to find a computer to download a book on the fly.

And yes, I have ordered many a book, normally a sequel, from an airport and even on the metro.

[Care]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

And yes, I have ordered many a book, normally a sequel, from an airport and even on the metro.

I have bought many books while laying in bed at 1 am, lol.

I am one of those that didn't think I would ever use the wifi. I like to shop around and use coupons, borrow from library, etc... I didn't think I would care if I had it, now I don't know what I would do without it.

About the Nooks swipe, it works great! I hardly use my buttons at all, but I do use them sometimes when laying on my side and I have my reader tilted a weird way. That's usually after I have been reading for hrs.

Either way I think she would be happy with either a Nook or a Sony. You know your wife best so I am sure whatever you pick will suit her.

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by boswd

I would say not to have wireless on your ereader is the equilavant of your HDTV not having an HDMI port.

Except that for the HDTV, the HDMI port would be the sole method of getting high quality digital to the TV from an external source. That is not the case for Wi-Fi on an eReader. There is nothing the wi-fi does in terms of loading up books that a USB cable couldn't do just as well.

It the standard now adays not to much the pure convience and ease. When ereaders across the board offer this feature that are rated just as good if not better, it makes no business sense to leave these features off.

But if you don't care about wi-fi on an e-ink reader, then it is unnecessary. It all depends what you are looking for. If there were wi-fi on my 350, I don't think I'd ever use it. On the other hand, if there were no full-screen touch on it, I wouldn't have bought it.

Think of it like this if you bought a Droid or an iPhone, you would expect to surf the web. Selling a smartphone that does not surf the web at a higher price makes 0 business sense.

But a smart phone is supposed to be able to surf the web. Its integral to the device. There is nothing about wi-fi that makes it integral to an e-ink reader.

[elemenoP]

No ereader can get library books via wireless, so I wouldn't let that factor too heavily into the decision. The touch screen is great not just for swiping page turns, but touching a word to look it up in the dictionary, easy navigation, etc. It IS quite a bit more expensive, but you can look for some deals right now.

I would go to Best Buy where you should be able to see both the Nook and the Sony Readers in the same store, if not side-by-side. Just make sure the Sonys are the 350 and 650, not the 300 and 600 which have worse screens.

eP