Sorry to ask again...but need help deciding which ereader to buy!

[lillumultipass]

Hi to all!

I am new here, my name is Fred and I am 32. I am an avid reader, and I had a Kindle 2 for the past 2 years. I say had because last week, it fell and 1/4th of the screen is stuck with the same image and won't refresh

Hence, I am now looking for a replacement. Bear in mind that I also have an iPad 2 that I use for Pdfs and short periods of reading.

I am hesitating between the Kindle 3 and the Nook simple touch. I have read countless reviews, but I can't decide.

After thinking about my needs, I would say that my priorities are the following:

1. Ease of dictionary look-up: I am French but read mostly in English and from time to time, I need to lookup for some words I don't understand. Intuitively, I would think that the touch interface of the Nook would be easier to use. Am I right?

2. Ease of browsing within the book : when I read non-fiction books (like, say, economic textbooks) I would like to be able to browse rapidly and efficiently through the book, something that I found a bit lacking with my Kindle 2.

These are my main needs.

Also, I must add that I have always had a liking for touchscreens, and that at times, I used to forget that the Kindle 2 didn't have one and tried to click on the screen ;-)
Finally, the Kindle 3 has the advantage of being easily available in France, whereas it is harder to get a Nook Touch. The Nok touch, on the other hand, can be rooted and since I am kind of a geek, this is something that appeals to me...
Well, as you can see, I am a bit lost...
Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[jbcohen]

Well the way that I look at it is there is a confort level associated with a kindle, sort of its the reader you know and the Kindle 3 will have that comfort level that is assocated with your older Kindle 2. Second you no doubt have a library of books that you have bought with your older kindle, if you decide to buy the Simple Touch you will need to make use of Calibre to translate them for the Simple Touch. However the Simple Touch as a better user interface then the kindles do so its a matter of deciding between the reader that you know and the reader with the real nice interface.

[lillumultipass]

Thanks for your reply.

However:

1. my kindle library is actually quite small and mainly consists in free books that I was able to get.

2. the fact that I don't know the Nook would actually be more of a selling point for me given that I love to discover new stuff

[jbcohen]

Another one to try is the Cybook Bookeen which specializes in non-english and, as I am told, speaks french very well so it will be better at showing you those english books since it will know the french translations, although its not touch screen either. The kindle can be rooted as well and there are a lot of people here that do just that. The Nooks have integrated dictionaries, however I do not think that is as good as the cybook bookeen that will be able to substitute the french for the word. Sony PRSs are also touch screen and have the integrated dictionaries but the one big problem with them is they are expensive. The Kobo Touch is obviously also touch screen however does not have the integrated dictionaries nor does it have the muti-lingual support that the cybook bookeen will have.

[lillumultipass]

Well, actually, a pure English dictionary is usually sufficient for my needs...unless, of course, it is something very specific, like a particular bird, or something like that...
Of course, a French-English dictionary might be useful, but I'd rather have a good English dictionary than a sub-par English-French one.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by lillumultipass

Hi to all!

1. Ease of dictionary look-up: I am French but read mostly in English and from time to time, I need to lookup for some words I don't understand. Intuitively, I would think that the touch interface of the Nook would be easier to use. Am I right?

To look up a word on the Nook STR you simply press down on the word. An interface pops up, and you press "Look Up" and it will give you the Miriam-Webster Dictionary definition of the word. You can then immediately return to your text.

2. Ease of browsing within the book : when I read non-fiction books (like, say, economic textbooks) I would like to be able to browse rapidly and efficiently through the book, something that I found a bit lacking with my Kindle 2.

I'm not sure what you're looking for here. The STR has a tabular interface that allows you to pop over to the table of contents if you want to shift around. There is not a "Find" function yet or a "Go to Page" function yet. But the buttons can be held down for very fast page flipping or you can use the slider on the bottom of the screen to slide forwards and backwards in the book.

However, I recommend going and playing with both a Kindle and an STR before you buy anything. Clearly, B&N has demo models of the STR and various places, Staples for one, has demo Kindles. In the end, just go with what feels best for you

[lillumultipass]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

To look up a word on the Nook STR you simply press down on the word. An interface pops up, and you press "Look Up" and it will give you the Miriam-Webster Dictionary definition of the word. You can then immediately return to your text.



I'm not sure what you're looking for here. The STR has a tabular interface that allows you to pop over to the table of contents if you want to shift around. There is not a "Find" function yet or a "Go to Page" function yet. But the buttons can be held down for very fast page flipping or you can use the slider on the bottom of the screen to slide forwards and backwards in the book.

However, I recommend going and playing with both a Kindle and an STR before you buy anything. Clearly, B&N has demo models of the STR and various places, Staples for one, has demo Kindles. In the end, just go with what feels best for you

Thanks! Well, I guess the fact that there is no "find" or "go to" function is a deal breaker for me. I am a bit surprised though, I thought there was a "go to" for the Nook as well...
Is the slider convenient to use?

Since I live in France, I can't physically check on the Nook

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by lillumultipass

Thanks! Well, I guess the fact that there is no "find" or "go to" function is a deal breaker for me. I am a bit surprised though, I thought there was a "go to" for the Nook as well...
Is the slider convenient to use?

Since I live in France, I can't physically check on the Nook

The slider serves as a "go to page" feature. However, everytime you put a bookmark on a page (by tapping the corner of the screen) it adds an entry in that tabular view. you go to the page with the table of contents, there is a tab for bookmarks and highlights, and you can jump pages back and forth that way. It really is ALOT easier to navigate on the STR than it ever was on the NookClassic. There has never been a find feature on any Nook model, that i know of, though i cant speak to the color as i've not used one.

I highly reccomend the STR, but I know I am biased. I hope you get some input from Kindle users to balance me out.

[JSWolf]

The problem yo may encounter is that your library won't move with you to a nook or any reader other then a new Kindle.

[lillumultipass]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

The slider serves as a "go to page" feature. However, everytime you put a bookmark on a page (by tapping the corner of the screen) it adds an entry in that tabular view. you go to the page with the table of contents, there is a tab for bookmarks and highlights, and you can jump pages back and forth that way. It really is ALOT easier to navigate on the STR than it ever was on the NookClassic. There has never been a find feature on any Nook model, that i know of, though i cant speak to the color as i've not used one.

I highly reccomend the STR, but I know I am biased. I hope you get some input from Kindle users to balance me out.

Ok, thanks, the slider indeed looks nice. Is it quick?
Against all odds, I might actually fall for the Nook !

[afv011]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

There is not a "Find" function yet or a "Go to Page" function yet.

The Nook STR has both, you just press anywhere near the middle of the page when the book is open and the context menu offers both a "Find" and a "Go to" option.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by afv011

The Nook STR has both, you just press anywhere near the middle of the page when the book is open and the context menu offers both a "Find" and a "Go to" option.

:O I had no idea! I read primarily fiction, so I dont have much use for it, and I use the bookmarks alot, so I'd never gone looking for it. K for you for teaching me something new about my own beloved toy!

[Leep]

I too am a touch gadget type of person and although I have two Kindles, could not resist trying the new Nook ST. That being said, I ended up returning the Nook for the following reasons:

The 'home' screen is 1/3 a B&N advertisement for new books (if you rooted it, this could be eliminated.

While the device is lighter and very comfortable to hold because of the 'rubberized feeling' back, it has a fairly wide, slightly raised bezel. For me, this was not comfortable to hold and touch the screen to turn pages. I found myself actually using the page turn buttons instead.

The wifi is locked to the B&N store (again rooting it would solve this problem, although I'm not sure how happy people are with the responsiveness of the browser - there are other posts that discuss this)

The 3G definitely has advantages when you travel and don't have access to wifi.

Accordingly, with the above nits about the Nook, I decided to wait and see how Amazon would respond to the 'touch' market.

Hope these impressions help.

cheers

[sun surfer]

From what you say, it seems you are curious about the nook simple touch and may prefer getting that one. It has a good user interface that you may like better as well it sounds like. However, I cannot speak to your two particular priorities so I'll leave that to others.

Keep in mind though, Kindle may be coming out with a new touch model in some months; I don't know if you'd want to decide now and go ahead and get one or wait to see what the new models are like.

[lillumultipass]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

From what you say, it seems you are curious about the nook simple touch and may prefer getting that one. It has a good user interface that you may like better as well it sounds like. However, I cannot speak to your two particular priorities so I'll leave that to others.

Keep in mind though, Kindle may be coming out with a new touch model in some months; I don't know if you'd want to decide now and go ahead and get one or wait to see what the new models are like.

I know, I know...that's a problem...but since I am going on holidaysat the end of the month, I would prefer to have an ereader before that...
However, I do have quite a few "physical" books to read, so it might actually make more sense to wait a little bit more...

Anyhow, thanks for all your answers!