Which wi-fi ereader gives access to the most free ebooks?

[mickeyfinn]

Which wi-fi ereader gives access to the most free ebooks?

[Zarich]

Great question. One I have been following closely. Here is the answer. All of them are pretty equal differently.

First the kindle. Amazon is constantly putting out free books. Almost every single day. Plus there are tons of sites that also have stuff in mobi format free. Even more sites that have epubs that can be converted free.

Nook has free books every friday. They also periodically discount books, though not as frequently. Many of the free books you have to find on the kindle are already on b&ns website. You then have any epub free book from a multitude of sources. Also the library gives you tons to read.

Sony is the same as nook minus barnes and noble.

So each gives you massive options. I like amazon a tad more because they seem to constantly drop the prices of books to free for a day or two. I think I have loaded about 15 in my queue and I don't even own one yet.

B&N would be my next runner up due to library books. This is huge for a lot of peeps and would make the nook a much better device for them.

[jabberwock_11]

The problem with the Nook is that it does not allow you to download books directly onto the device from sites other than B&N. You can download the books onto your computer and sideload, but you can only download via wifi or 3G from B&N.

Most of the other devices will allow you to visit and download books from pretty much any site, which gives you access to www.manybooks.net (the mobile version of which is http://mnybks.net/), www.gutenberg.org (the mobile version of which is m.gutenberg.org), etc.

[carpetmojo]

What is the matter with people ?

I hold around 100 books on my 650 at any given time, a few are old favourites, others I buy or d/load as and when I see them available, and have time/facilities to get them.

I have never yet
a] run out of books I wanted to read, anywhen,
b] ever seen a book I would like to read at any time that I had to get it, at that very moment, or I'd either miss out, or the quality of my life would deteriorate,
c] been desperate to have the most feature-laden piece of equipment on the market at any time, because the manufacturer, and a lot of people, tell me I need it,
d] thought, at a bus stop, let's see what book I can buy/download before the bus arrives 'cos the process is such a fascinating experience,
e] ever handled a reader made of plastic that made me feel it was a better, more pleasing object, than my 650.

Can't think of any more offhand, but really. P'raps at some stage in my life, one of these will change, but none seems to be capable of holding sufficient importance in the scheme of things to make it worth worrying about.

[jabberwock_11]

Many folks do not like having all of those books taking up space on their hard drives or may have caps on their downloading placed by their internet providers. Other people just find it easier to download content directly onto their device. Some people travel so much that having wifi access to books on their device is really the only good way for them to buy/browse books.

There are several legit reasons for a person to use and desire wifi on an ebook reader that you might not have even thought of. That is why the option is even available at all, because many people have found those reasons compelling enough to list it as a factor in their buying decisions. The same could be said of a touch screen (which I have zero use or desire for) or a memory expansion slot.

Just because YOU see no good reason for a feature does not mean that there isn't a good reason.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

What is the matter with people ?

I hold around 100 books on my 650 at any given time, a few are old favourites, others I buy or d/load as and when I see them available, and have time/facilities to get them.

I have never yet
a] run out of books I wanted to read, anywhen,
b] ever seen a book I would like to read at any time that I had to get it, at that very moment, or I'd either miss out, or the quality of my life would deteriorate,
c] been desperate to have the most feature-laden piece of equipment on the market at any time, because the manufacturer, and a lot of people, tell me I need it,
d] thought, at a bus stop, let's see what book I can buy/download before the bus arrives 'cos the process is such a fascinating experience,
e] ever handled a reader made of plastic that made me feel it was a better, more pleasing object, than my 650.

Can't think of any more offhand, but really. P'raps at some stage in my life, one of these will change, but none seems to be capable of holding sufficient importance in the scheme of things to make it worth worrying about.

Why is it hard for you to accept that people want different things in an e-reader?

I like being able to download a book when I want to. It is no different then walking past a bookstore, going in to browse, and buying a book when I know I have plenty to read at home. Or going to the library and borrowing a book when I have others to read at home.

I love being able to download the next book in a series when I am finish the one I am reading. I love being able to download travel books on the fly when my husband forgot to pack them.

I have handled Sonys, Nooks, and Kindles. I don't find any of them that much better then the other. I love the light weight feel of the K3 but prefer the larger screen of the DXG so I have a DXG.

I prefer the features on a Kindle to a Sony. I don't want a touch screen, so Sony's major selling point is useless to me. I don't think the Sony feels better then a Kindle. I think that the Sony is way over priced for what it is. I like my 3G, joystick, and keyboard. It works for me.

I am glad that you enjoy your Sony and that it is a good fit for you. The Kindle is a good fit for me.

[carpetmojo]

Ummmm...............

I thought it was clear that "I" was the main protagonist, as it were, no one else - and surely you meant to say that because I couldn't see a good reason for a feature, does not mean that others can't see a good reason...? [ There being no absolute good reason implied by my comments.]

Again, I don't keep many books on my hard drive - one of the bonus points of the reader is that, by and large, I don't have the [problem of bookshelves/hard drives/etc. filling up with books so there's no room for any more - but, 2,500 even I would think was fine to go travelling with.

And of course it's easier to d/load directly onto your device after using said device to find a book, than not - I just have sufficient minutes spare at some point in some day not to be bothered with about it - especially as I have such a reader than pleases me aesthetically, quite apart from it's function. [ which I found was enhanced by not having to faff around with a tiny keyboard, quite a plus for anyone with a damaged digit . The expanded memory facility came as a nice bonus, making me happier when I realised just how useful it would be for the way I like to read.]

I had obviously managed to think of those 3 reasons for wifi and dismiss them.

Nothing's perfect for everyone, is it ....................

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

What is the matter with people ?

Perhaps it was starting with "What is the matter with people" and then listing all the reasons why Wifi is silly for you.

The "What is the matter with people" sure gives the feeling of "I am right and you are all wrong".

It is a matter of interpretation.

Kind of like "Kids these days. When I was a child we walked to school up hill, both ways, and were expected to wear our pants up around our waste". Which implies that kids today are lazy and slovenly when they were hard working and dressed properly.

[carpetmojo]

" Why is it hard for you to accept that people want different things in an e-reader? "
(Sorry, I missed this reply)

It isn't at all hard for me to accept this - I don't think I ever said it was.
I find it hard to understand why some find wifi so necessary, when I don't, which I hope I explained in my post adaquately.
And, again, I didn't get the Sony for it's touch screen - that was a bonus.

And I'm absolutely thrilled you find your Kindle such a perfect fit.

I never seem able to find anything my size.....................

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

P
The "What is the matter with people" sure gives the feeling of "I am right and you are all wrong".
It is a matter of interpretation.

Yes, there was me thinking a question mark was sort of indicative of my intent - oh, I see you missed it.
Never mind, grammar is always open to interpretation................

[netseeker]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

Yes, there was me thinking a question mark was sort of indicative of my intent - oh, I see you missed it.
Never mind, grammar is always open to interpretation................

That's why the guidelines contain a passage regarding how to avoid misunderstandings. (1. Discuss things politely)

Anyway, i think the "misunderstanding" was cleared up. Let's get back to topic now please.

[aceflor]

Yes, why don't we try to help OP, which is what mobileread is for, and just answer his question? (thanks netseeker btw)

My wifi readers are an ipad and a K3. I get my free books at amazon but also plenty here at mobileread (the guys here are really doing a fantastic job at formatting old but good books indeed), manybooks, feedbooks, and the canadian site ebooks gratuits. I either download them directly to either the ipad or the K3, or download them to my PC, drag and drop them in calibre, which with the content server allows me to access my library pretty much anywhere. The nook I had was not very flexible for downloading books outside B&N (it works with trook, but that means hacking the nook), and I never managed to download anything with the PB302 (which was a major disappointment and another reason to hate that reader).

[dwig]

Originally Posted by mickeyfinn

Which wi-fi ereader gives access to the most free ebooks?

There is no clear winner.

There is a massive number of ebooks available from Project Gutenberg that are all available in formats for any current device. This number is so large that the total number of all other free ebooks out there that aren't duplicates of PG offerings isn't significantly large. Even if all non-PG free ebooks, not counting duplicates of PG titles, were available for only one reader it wouldn't make a significant difference in the totals.

The only possible way for there to be a significant difference would be if you narrow the range of books considered. If you limit the comparison to "recent fiction", say, so that public domain books are not counted there might be some difference. Even with this restriction, there will be little difference.