Best e-reader for $299 or under?

[3boymthr]

DH got me the Sony e-reader for Christmas, but it only holds 350 books. I read a book a day so it would be full in nothing flat. I want to get one that holds either more books or has expandable memory. He paid $199 for it and my DM gave me $100 cash to get what I want so I'm going to upgrade to something that can hold more. My one caveat is it must be able to read pdf fromat books from independent book sellers so I can port my current e-books to it. Any reviews out there on other readers. Sony touch, Kindle or Nook. I'm not in a rush for it; I've been reading independent bookseller's e-books on my desktop computer for years so I can wait if people feel the Nook is a better option.

 

[msmayor]

Only 350 books? And its too small because it will be 'filled' in about a year?

Why can't you just remove the books you've read and replace them with new ones?

 

[house of the mouse]

I also got a Sony touch from my DH. I am so exicited . I have just started to really look at it. Now have to decide what to load into it. Any good reccomendations for some good Diseny books?

 

[my3sonsagn]

I got a Kindle for Christmas, and so far I love it! It holds 1500 books, but amazon offers an archiving service, so if you fill up the kindle just move stuff to amazon and let them store it for you ;-) I haven't tried PDFs on it yet, but there are a few options for reading PDfs on the kindle - putting it on there directly keeps it in PDF format, but I think you "lose" some of the options kindle offers (don't know what, though), you can email it to your kindle email account with "convert" in subject line in order to have it converted to kindle's format, and.... I think that there are a couple of other methods, but those are the 2 I know about.

I really don't know anything about Sony ereaders, and I've heard that the Nook is getting some not-so-great reviews, but it's new, so I'm sure there are bugs to be worked out.

As for why you wouldn't want to just get rid of old books to make room for new ones - that would be like paying for a book only to throw it in the garbage as soon as you've read it... total waste of money! Also, a lot of people (myself included) like to re-read books over time.

Good luck with your choice, 3boymthr (3 boys here, too, btw... we're an elite group lol)

 

[IDoDis]

If you want to read books in PDF format, then you should go with The Nook. As long as the image in the PDF is 600 x 730 or 1200 x 1460, and the font size is set to small, it will look close to perfect on The Nook.

You can also read in PDF on the Sony ereader:
http://mikecane2008.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/reference-optimize-pdfs-for-sony-reader/

From what I've read, reading PDF format on a Kindle is very cumbersome and not very good.

With that being said, The Nook has some bugs to work out, but with time and fixes, I think it will be better than the Kindle. The technology changes so fast that if you wait a while you'll get an e-reader with many more capabilities than the early generations that are out now. That could be a year or so away, so it just depends on how soon you want one.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

DH and I both have a Kindle, we LOVE them!!! I got a cute pink leather cover for it and a pink book light, can you tell I am excited???

 

[msmayor]

I got a Kindle for Christmas, and so far I love it! It holds 1500 books, but amazon offers an archiving service, so if you fill up the kindle just move stuff to amazon and let them store it for you ;-) I haven't tried PDFs on it yet, but there are a few options for reading PDfs on the kindle - putting it on there directly keeps it in PDF format, but I think you "lose" some of the options kindle offers (don't know what, though), you can email it to your kindle email account with "convert" in subject line in order to have it converted to kindle's format, and.... I think that there are a couple of other methods, but those are the 2 I know about.

I really don't know anything about Sony ereaders, and I've heard that the Nook is getting some not-so-great reviews, but it's new, so I'm sure there are bugs to be worked out.

As for why you wouldn't want to just get rid of old books to make room for new ones - that would be like paying for a book only to throw it in the garbage as soon as you've read it... total waste of money! Also, a lot of people (myself included) like to re-read books over time.

Good luck with your choice, 3boymthr (3 boys here, too, btw... we're an elite group lol)

The point I was trying to make was not to just "throw them away" by deleting them, but moving them to alternate storage (like an external hard drive) for safekeeping until you want to read them again.

 

[Minnie]

The Kindle2 can now read pdf files

I was going through this same decision process not too long ago and I went for the K2. One of the main reasons.... book prices.

On every book so far that I've check Amazon's prices are better than any others. The Nook may be the newest one but B&N prices are higher and the pages turned slower on the Nook than on the Kindle.

For storage capacity - my K2 holds 1500 books

Check out kindleboards.com for lost of useful info and helpful peeps!

 

[3boymthr]

Thank you for your responses.

I went last night and returned the reader DH purchased. I tried out both the Sony Touch and the Nook (Sooo convenient the store he bought the Sony from was literally right next door to Barnes and Noble ). I liked the Nook much better. Color book covers instead of title and author. Better background for the book text. Faster refresh. And someone had done some drawing to the Touch that showed up on all the sample books. Which indicates that the touch screen could be easily wrecked by careless handling.

So now I'm debating the Kindle vs. the Nook. I don't really want to wait and the Nook definitely has some software problems - the sample froze twice (but so did the touch) and I'd have to wait until at least February - on the other hand I can get it for only $225 after my discovercard discount. But...the Kindle I can get now and the books are cheaper but if as noted the PDF conversion is difficult then I think the Nook may be it. Hmmmm decisions, decisions.

Any more comments on Nook vs. Kindle?

 

[poohs4me]

I can only comment on the kindle - but I LOVE it!! My mom got it for me for Christmas last year and I loved it so much. We got her one this year and one for MIL.

 

[battricia]

do the new sony readers not have a slot for memory cards?? i have the prs505 and it will take a memory stick pro duo or an SD card.

 

[my3sonsagn]

So now I'm debating the Kindle vs. the Nook. I don't really want to wait and the Nook definitely has some software problems - the sample froze twice (but so did the touch) and I'd have to wait until at least February - on the other hand I can get it for only $225 after my discovercard discount. But...the Kindle I can get now and the books are cheaper but if as noted the PDF conversion is difficult then I think the Nook may be it. Hmmmm decisions, decisions.

Any more comments on Nook vs. Kindle?

Amazon has kindle apps for both iphone and pc, and I'm almost positive they're free, so maybe you could download the kindle app to a pc to see how you like it? I know one huge complaint from SBTB (smart*itchestrashybooks.com) when they checked out the Nook is that the Nook's wireless ONLY works inside a B&N store wheras the kindle2 has global 3G access; I bought and downloaded a book to my kindle while my DH was driving us home from my Mom's lol. While I haven't actually tried to put a PDF on my kindle, yet, the instructions for doing so don't look difficult, and I haven't heard of anyone having problems with it. I'm also an "old school" fan, and I prefer a physical keyboard over touchscreen, but that's just my preference.


Feature comparison here: http://ireaderreview.com/2009/10/20/kindle-nook-comparison/

It appears that kindle added PDF support on 11/24/09 - since I didn't get mine until a month after that I guess that's why I haven't heard of PDF issues. ;-)

I also wanted to add that amazon offers a 30 day risk free trial of the kindle; you could try it, and, if you don't like it, send it back in time to get the Nook when more ship. There isn't even a restocking fee on the kindle.

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

You do know that Apple is about to release a 10'' version of the Touch/iphone in a Tablet form right?

This could also be an option since Kindle has a free reader for the iPhone and the Apple Touch.

Just thought I would throw another log on the fire

will be much pricer though at around $800

 

[RitaE]

My main thought is that any electronic device that locks up twice while you are attempting to demo it should be thought about long and hard before purchasing.

For me, when I sit down to read I want to READ. I want to relax. I want the thing to work.

 

[disneybelle1]

I got a nook for Christmas and I LOVE it. It will hold 1000 books - i think, and has space for an SD card for expandable storage to 17000 books. The page turning speed is not bad when you get used to it. I have heard a lot of people complain about it, but with the software upgrade, i don't think it's slow at all.

Another positive on the Nook vs. Kindle - when you go to a BN store, there are discounts/free items available. Yesterday, I went to BN and I was able to download 9 books for free and I got a free cookie with a coupon on the Nook. Good luck on your decision, but I vote for the Nook!

Also, mine has not locked up at all. Keep in mind, people play with the ones in the store - A LOT, so that may make a difference.

 

[allyphoe]

Another positive on the Nook vs. Kindle - when you go to a BN store, there are discounts/free items available. Yesterday, I went to BN and I was able to download 9 books for free and I got a free cookie with a coupon on the Nook.

I got 9 full-length recently published books (8 novels, one cookbook, none romances, or I could have gotten 3 times as many!) free from Amazon in Kindle format yesterday, without leaving my house.

No cookie, though!

One thing I'm really liking about the Kindle (which I've got as Kindle for PC, not yet being convinced that buying an expensive trinket is the right choice for me) is that I can get a sample chapter of anything I want. That, and the ability to use it as a free GPS. And to check email from anywhere. (I have a plain-vanilla cell phone, so really covet the internet-on-the-go, but am unwilling to pay for a data plan, so the free high-speed internet is a big selling point for me.)

 

[Minnie]

You do know that Apple is about to release a 10'' version of the Touch/iphone in a Tablet form right?

This could also be an option since Kindle has a free reader for the iPhone and the Apple Touch.

I thought about waiting for this as I love my I-touch... Why I didn't is that I wanted the device to have the eink screen not the backlit computer screen that is hard on the eyes after awhile.

 

[Minnie]

I got 9 full-length recently published books (8 novels, one cookbook, none romances, or I could have gotten 3 times as many!) free from Amazon in Kindle format yesterday, without leaving my house.

No cookie, though!

ITA!!!!!!!!! Check out kindleboards.com for links to many free or cheap ebooks for the Kindle through Amazon

 

[3boymthr]

Okay, now I'm just more confused. LOL

Keep the comments coming please. While I want to buy it soon I have no real deadline for purchase so all comments criticisms appreciated (okay when my cash expires ).

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

I got 9 full-length recently published books (8 novels, one cookbook, none romances, or I could have gotten 3 times as many!) free from Amazon in Kindle format yesterday, without leaving my house.

No cookie, though!

One thing I'm really liking about the Kindle (which I've got as Kindle for PC, not yet being convinced that buying an expensive trinket is the right choice for me) is that I can get a sample chapter of anything I want. That, and the ability to use it as a free GPS. And to check email from anywhere. (I have a plain-vanilla cell phone, so really covet the internet-on-the-go, but am unwilling to pay for a data plan, so the free high-speed internet is a big selling point for me.)

can you share the titles especially the cookbook?