? about Nook eReader if anyone out there has one.

[3boymthr]

As I've posted before I am in the process of buying an e-reader.

I've eliminated the Kindle - absolutely positively not buying it.

Why you ask - because of the many reports in multiple places of Amazon deleting content from people's Kindle's remotely because when you buy an e-book from Amazon you don't buy the e-book you only license the right to read the book and they can take it back at any time. (Yeah, one guy even reported that he was in the middle of reading 1984 when Amazon repossesed it - how ironic is that). They do refund the money but the whole point of "buying" a book is so that I can read it whenever I want over and over again if I want, not until they decide to get into a disagreement with the publisher and stop selling and thus licensing their e-books.

I did like the Nook

But... it has the same 3G wireless technology as the Kindle which is how Amazon robs people of books.

Sony does sell you the book and they can't be repossessed, but I didn't like it as well and it was more expensive.

Does anyone know if Barnes and Noble is doing the same thing as Amazon and merely licensing the books or are you getting an actual "purchased" copy of the book.

I will buy the Sony if B&N has the right to reposesses my books but would at this point prefer the Nook. So any help would be appreciated.


I've searched via google and searched other forums where I've been lurking and have not found an answer. And many of the e-reader forums the people seem both too techie for me (I don't know what DRM is and nor do I care) and also very confrontational so I'm almost afraid to sign up and ask for fear of what type of answer I'm going to get.

 

[JCJRSmith]

There have been no reports of B&N deleting content from the nook as the nook is just too new. The device has only been on the streets about a month. That being said - depending on who you get your ebooks from will determine the level of ownership you have to the content.

The Kindle is a great device and you don't HAVE to get all your Kindle books form Amazon - there are plenty of other sources out there. The thing that kept me from buying the Kindle is that the format for its books is proprietary to Amazon. The nook supports a more open format for the books you can put on it. Additionally, I like that the nook has WiFi along with the 3G networking capability and it runs Google's Android operating system so I believe we will see more options developed for the nook than for the Kindle. Also, nook has a memory card expansion slot that the Kindle lacks, and if the battery dies on the nook I can replace it myself, unlike the Kindle

I got some hands on with a Kindle that a friend owns and it is a fine device, well made, fast and easy to use. I also got some hands on with the nook in my local B&N store. My nook ships on 15 January.

DRM is Digital Rights Management - technology that governs what you can do with the electronic content you license. Some ebooks come with DRM attached which will limit your ability to copy that content from one device to another. When you purchase a physical book, there IS a license to use that book implied in the purchase. You can read it or give the book to someone else to read or even sell the book when you are done with it, but you do not have the license to photocopy the book and give the photocopy to someone while you keep the original (unless you receive such permission to do so from the copyright holder). DRM is used to prevent end users from making copies of works they have received without permission.

DRM is a double-edged sword however and some of it is pretty heavy-handed. For example: if I download music with DRM from a service like iTunes, I have the license to listen to that music thru my computer or thru my MP3 player. But what happens if iTunes closes its doors? Now my computer has no way to validate the DRM license and I won't be able to listen to that music anymore, nor will I be able to put the music on a new MP3 player if my original player dies.

Back to the nook: here is a pretty good blog/forum for nook - http://www.nookboards.com/forum/

I am really looking forward to mine

 

[legalsea]

In defense of Amazon: that only happened to ONE book, 1984, and it was due to it being a 'pirated' copy that someone was selling on Amazon.

Nevertheless, the fuss that people made about it caused Amazon to revamp its policy (which, I believe, is now "We can still remove an illegal ebook from your Kindle, but we will tell you about it beforehand".)

I will be interested in your thoughts on whatever e-reader you end up with.

 

[DVCLiz]

In defense of Amazon: that only happened to ONE book, 1984, and it was due to it being a 'pirated' copy that someone was selling on Amazon.

Nevertheless, the fuss that people made about it caused Amazon to revamp its policy (which, I believe, is now "We can still remove an illegal ebook from your Kindle, but we will tell you about it beforehand".)

I will be interested in your thoughts on whatever e-reader you end up with.

Me, too.

Legalsea, is it even possible for any one ereader to have a different system set up? In other words, aren't ALL ereaders simply selling the right to download and read a digital file? What's with this "purchased copy of the book?"

OP, the Kindle might not be the ereader for you but your reasoning doesn't make any sense. ANY other company and ereader could do what Amazon did with 1984. I suggest you do a lot more research before you make a purchase - because you dont have all of your facts straight and what you want doesn't exist.

 

[JCJRSmith]

The Sony is a fine device as well, but keep in mind that the networking capabilities of the nook and the Kindle bring a level of convenience the Sony's don't have - the ability to connect wirelessly to the online store, browse, buy and deliver the content without using your computer. Sony devices require your books be "sideloaded" - downloaded to your computer and then transferred to your reader.

Also, I have been reading reports from users who own nooks and bring them into B&N - they find special offers available to them. Nook owners have been getting a lot of free cookies in the B&N cafes. Free cookies are the best kind

 

[3boymthr]

I totally understand the pirated copy thing, but the reports listed more than one book so I don't think it's just pirated books they are reposessing.

 

[RitaE]

I've never heard of it happening with any book other than 1984.

There have been cases where a customer has requested a refund for a book and then griped when Amazon issued the refund and then checked to make sure the book was deleted from the Kindle. If the book isn't deleted then Amazon will delete it.

All eBook sellers sell a license to the content that doesn't change from vendor to vendor.

 

[DVCLiz]

I totally understand the pirated copy thing, but the reports listed more than one book so I don't think it's just pirated books they are reposessing.

I really do think you are wrong about that, OP. I hope I don't sound mean because I don't mean to be!!! But I haven't seen any evidence that Amazon has done that to any other book, for any other reason than something was pirated and illegal. If you can find some examples I would be glad to see them - I've been reading the Amazon Kindle forums for 18 months now so I saw all the fuss about 1984 but to my knowledge there has not been anything else. Certainly not the "OMG they can just yank your books back anytime they feel like it" vibe of your original post, which I found to be alarmist and not factually correct.

I think the REAL differences between the ereaders - once everyone has some time to work the bugs out of their first generation device - will be customer service, cost and availability of titles in the library, and as yet to be determined cool new features. The battery life, replaceable battery vs send it back to the company, storage issues SEEM like big selling points but they aren't, really.

It's going to come down to who has more of the stuff you want to read and sells it for less? Those are the issues anyone should be using to make their decision.

 

[my3sonsagn]

I had no idea this had happened! I googled it, and I have to admit that I'm pretty pleased by Jeff Bezos' apology - not many companies that would openly admit they had been so very wrong. Not only that - they also offered to replace any of the "snatched" books with a legal copy AND include any notes that had been made; anyone who didn't want their copy back could opt for a $30 check.

For me, it's all about customer service and how they handle mistakes; IMO, amazon redeemed itself on this one.

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/04/amazon-returns-deleted-kindle-books/

 

[Ember]

OP, your main concern with any reader sounds like it's a DRM (digital rights management) issue. This is the "license" you buy rather than the "book." You'll face this issue on any reader, so it may be good to get to know a little about it.

The whole DRM thing is going to take a while to sort out, just like digital music did. (iTunes is now DRM free.) The publishers want to limit the use of their materials and the uses want to expand their use. Here's a quick summary of a few of the issues uses and publishers are fighting over:

User: I bought a book, it's now mine. I should be able to put it on any device, give it to my friends, or even sell it. Just like a book.

Publisher: No, you bought a licence to the book. You can have it on one device, under one account, for as long as we say so. That's DRM! But don't worry, we'll keep your digital files and you can take them on or off your device as long as we feel like letting you.

User: Wait, I can't back up my own files? What if I get a new reader?

Publisher: No, no backing up files, because then you might get uppity with them. You'll think you own them because you paid for them. We feel better the whole way around if we control them. But you can put books on and off your reader so long as you keep the same account and we think it's okay.

User: So if I de-register my account and re-register it under a new name, I am no longer able to re-download books I already paid for??

Publisher: Right! If you removed the books from your device after de-registering it, you'll have to re-buy them! We like money! This is why we don't want you backing things up on your own. We also aren't on board with sharing books. If you think your friend should read the same book you enjoyed, they should have to pay for it! As I said, we like money!

User: Oh yeah! Well, I'm going to use that new hack that broke your DRM and do what I want with my books! Once I have my books safely backed up and am doing what I like with them you'll find me over there sticking my tongue out at you!

Publisher: *evil laugh* Oh, little mortal! You think you have won! But we're going to release an update to counter your DRM break! Then what will you do?!

User: Then I'll use the new break. And quit with the laugh. It's weird.

And this will go back and forth for a bit until things get sorted out, just like they did with music. Eventually, the publishers will realize that if you make it easier for users to do things legally, they'll stop trying to do them illegally. In short, there are many user concerns over DRM and you will encounter them over and over regardless of your reader of choice. Unless you intend to stick only to public domain books.