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Post by Gary on Apr 9, 2012 6:56:52 GMT -5
I've been thinking of getting an e-reader.
Should I buy a Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Fire or some non-Amazon e-reader?
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HonorH957
Senior Member
The Lieutenant
Posts: 797 
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Post by HonorH957 on Apr 9, 2012 7:02:05 GMT -5
If you are just wanting to read on it, I'd try to find one of the 3G/WiFi Kindles. That way you can pretty much download books anywhere you are. I have a friend who has the Kindle Fire and she's dependent on being where WiFi is available to do anything that requires the internet.
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Post by Justin Thyme on Apr 9, 2012 8:31:58 GMT -5
I have a B&N Nook Simple Touch. Stychen has the B&N Nook Classic. Both of these are Wi-Fi only. I chose the Nook because it supports EPUB format books along with PDF and a couple of other formats. The Gutenberg Project publishes in EPUB format along with a number of independent publishing houses. I'm not stuck with getting e-books only from one supplier. The Nook also has a longer battery life than the Kindle which allows me to read for several weeks without recharging by leaving the Wi-Fi off. The Simple Touch's interface is extremely easy to use, the e-ink display is sharp and fast, the memory capacity is phenominal and the Barnes and Noble "Lend Me" feature allows me to lend my e-books to others with a Nook.
The down side to the Simple Touch is that it is only an e-reader. I actually find that a plus but if you are looking for a device to also browse the web with and check email; to display photos and play music, you really need a tablet and not an e-reader. The Nook Color and the Nook Tablet are more suited for those tasks but you won't be reading on those in the sunlight.
Of course with the prices dropping on e-readers like they are you could buy both a Nook and a Kindle and not break the bank. The cheapest Kindle is $79.99 while the Nook Simple Touch is $99.99. You can pick up used one's on E-Bay for a song.
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Post by Gary on Apr 9, 2012 9:34:32 GMT -5
I am not interested in a tablet. But the important thing for me is something I can 1) read easily, and 2) has a touchscreen. I tried out the basic Kindle this morning and really disliked the button controls.
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Post by Justin Thyme on Apr 9, 2012 10:31:52 GMT -5
The Nook Simple Touch is a touch screen. Stop by B&N and take a look at one.
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Post by LimitedRecourse on Apr 9, 2012 16:38:23 GMT -5
My wife really like the Kindle Fire because she can not only read books (and there are hundreds of websites that provide free ones----there really are few limitations no matter which brand name you go with) but she also likes that she can download movies, TV shows and audio books. She uses it everywhere.
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Post by pictureman on Apr 9, 2012 19:17:04 GMT -5
Got the Kindle Fire for wife and son for Christmas. They think it is well worth the investment, especially compared to alternatives. Not perfect, but not $400, either.
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Post by compspeed on Apr 9, 2012 21:45:19 GMT -5
Kindle Fire does a lot and does most of it very, very well for $199. Been using one since Christmas and really just cared about the reader, which is as good as or better than most, but have found the other features to be a big plus. Granted, you need wi-fi for internet content (no 3G or 4G option) but you can download books and music and store them with no problem when you do have internet access. Also, if you buy on-line from Amazon I think you can still get a free 30 day membership to Amazon Prime which gives you access to tons of media and access to their cloud features as well. You are are not limited to Amazon for Kindle content as there are other sources out there. Really, a lot of bang for the buck for $199...
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Bob
Global Moderator
Bird Geek
Posts: 7,029
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Post by Bob on Apr 10, 2012 7:49:13 GMT -5
using calibre (a freeware, ebook library and converter) I can transfer any of my ebooks most are in epub format but some in other.
the kindle touch has a restricted (by amazon) android OS. It can be "rooted" but I honestly haven't found a need.
its probably not as easy to see in bright sun as one of the older lcd screens but being backlit it doesn't require light to see it. (big for me)
if you buy a USB A->Micro cable you can copy books from your PC without going to the cloud. (its the same cable that works with my android phone)
the fire has 5 gig of internal storage which is a gazillion books but only one or two movies.
if your intent is to watch movies NOT streaming from wifi look at one of the bigger (and more expensive) android tablets.
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Post by Gary on Apr 11, 2012 6:56:12 GMT -5
My intent is to read books.
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Bob
Global Moderator
Bird Geek
Posts: 7,029
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Post by Bob on Apr 11, 2012 21:50:21 GMT -5
My intent is to read books. then I recommend the fire. |
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Post by Justin Thyme on Apr 12, 2012 8:16:58 GMT -5
My intent is to read books. then I recommend the fire. If you are just reading books and don't care about magazines go with the Kindle Touch or the Nook Simple Touch. I prefer the Nook. The e-Ink display will be much easier on your eyes, the battery life will be longer and the size of them make them easier to carry. You also save yourself $100. |
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Post by Gary on Apr 13, 2012 6:01:32 GMT -5
The biggest problem for me is that I already have so many books, of which I re-read on a fairly regular basis, it would just annoy me to buy them all over again. I still have more vinyl records than I have CD's, pretty much for the same reason.  |
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dabone
Regular
Broken links suck.
Posts: 73
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Post by dabone on Apr 13, 2012 7:04:21 GMT -5
I would go for the kindle touch, using calibre software you can convert 99% of the ebooks to kindle format and email to your kindle straight from the pc. I have 2 different android tablets and the problems I have on them for reading are the following.
Viewing - The tablet devices use lcd screen that have to have a backlight, and are very hard to read in direct sunlight.
Battery life - see above, because the tablets use an lcd screen (like a laptop), the screen is always on and active including the backlight, this makes it so you only have a few hours of reading time before you need to charge on a tablet, ereaders use a technology called e-ink, which means when you change the contents of the screen, it's erases the current screen, draws the new one and then powers down the screen. What ever is on that screen will now stay there regardless of if the machine has power. This allows ereaders to have a battery life of weeks instead of hours.
I love my tablets, but I much prefer an ereader for straight reading.
Later,
dabone
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