Have an ebook? What's the best part??

[phred52]

Help! My daughter is wanting an ebook. I'm wondering if this would be a good investment for a college kid?

Do you have an ebook? Which one? What's your favorite feature?
Where did you purchase??.....I'm assuming budget board people found good prices....

Thanks for sharing your experiences!!

 

[3boymthr]

Do you mean an e-book reader?

I have one and I LOVE it. I just got it and so far almost everything is great.

I got the Nook from Barnes & Noble.

There are lots of things to consider when buying an e-book reader:

Price - what is your budget - there are a lot of variables here.
Functionality - which drives price in part.
Size - which drives price even more.
Storage capability
Do you need color or not.
Do you need to read books that are not availble thru typical outlets such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

I chose the Nook because I wanted the ability to expand my storage and because I read a lot of books that are only available thru small independent publishers. The Nook and Sony have the ability to read pdf documents without sending them for conversion. I read a lot so I went for one that expandable storage - which was not available with the most recent versions of the Kindle. I didn't care about color capability because i only read fiction - not magazines or text books.

My only issue so far has been battery life - it only seems to last a day or so before it dies - nowhere near what was advertised.

Budget wise, to get a "discount" on my Nook, I purchased with my discovercard thru the link on the discovercard website which got me 10% or $25 in discover cash back. You could get 4% in cashback thru e-bates - these are about the only types of discounts availble on these items.

 

[mamaLori05]

or are you talking about a netbook ( a mini laptop). If that is the case. I advise against it and go with a normal laptop. A college student would be better off with a laptop.

 

[phred52]

Yes, it would be an ebook reader that she's talking about. Thanks for the info, 3boymthr. I'm finding it hard to get past the part about everyone buying their own books for the ebook. We use the library a LOT. We also share books between us, rereading favorites especially when we travel. (I raised children who LOVE to read)

I just don't know about spending so much.
I will not be a happy camper if we need to buy the same book several times to each read the thing!

As for her laptop, this semester she actually purchased one text book that was downloaded into her laptop, and includes stuff on their website...but everything disappears 2 weeks after the class ends. It was half the price of the physical text book.

I'm feeling old right now.........

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

Help! My daughter is wanting an ebook. I'm wondering if this would be a good investment for a college kid?

Do you have an ebook? Which one? What's your favorite feature?
Where did you purchase??.....I'm assuming budget board people found good prices....

Thanks for sharing your experiences!!

No, I do not own an ebook reader but I do have several ebook reader apps installed on my iphone and for the money I would not invest in an ebook reader. I would opp for one of the new tablets that are available on the market as they do more than just allow the user to read books and for the money I think are a better deal. Even with a netbook you can install Kindle and use it as a reader.

I just personally can not see putting $250+ into something that all it does is store books for reading, just my op.

As for her laptop, this semester she actually purchased one text book that was downloaded into her laptop, and includes stuff on their website...but everything disappears 2 weeks after the class ends. It was half the price of the physical text book.

I'm feeling old right now.........

She already has a laptop have her install Kindle on it and use it as an ebook reader.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.ht..._t=301&pf_rd_p=99231022&pf_rd_i=kindle for pc

 

[Thumper_Man's Wife]

I got the Sony Ereader for christmas this year and I love it! The one I have doesn't come with all the bells and whistles. It's very basic. But it gets the job done. I take the train to work and so I read constantly and it's so nice to have a handful or more books at my disposal without the weight and clutter. I would have loved to have had something like this when I was in college, because those books did a number to my back! I know that Amazon has text books that are available for ereaders so it would be a great buy for a college student IMO.

As to which one you should get, it really depends on your budget, and what you need...There are plenty of them out there to choose from and the Sony Ereader has a few varieties as well that are not too badly priced. Just go to the Sony website and you can check them out there for yourself. http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs..._compare:ss&ref=http://www.sony.com/index.php

 

[hmacmahony]

I have a kindle, have for almost 2 years.
I love it, and would never buy anything else.
It has wifi, I can sample a book before I purchase it (two or so chapters), plus we have 5 kindles on one account. So, we share all our books, we do not share blogs, magazines or newspapers.
The kindle has a DX, made specifically for text books. It is about the size of a magazine.
If you had one, and she had one you could share everything (but the blogs, newspapers or magazines).
Amazon always has free books, I have probably 75 free books that are on my kindle
Amazon also stores anything you buy, so you do not have to store it on the device if you do not want to.
We travel a lot, and the wifi was a huge thing for me, and I know this summer we traveled from coast to coast, and never encountered a problem with the wifi and downloading books.

 

[ginnymack]

I downloaded the Kindle app (for free) on my ipod touch - now I have email, books, music, games all at my finger tips! I could not love it more - unless it was an iphone (with no monthly fee)!

 

[magik]

Help! My daughter is wanting an ebook. I'm wondering if this would be a good investment for a college kid?

Do you have an ebook? Which one? What's your favorite feature?
Where did you purchase??.....I'm assuming budget board people found good prices....

Thanks for sharing your experiences!!

I don't have one - yet. I'm looking into one though, especially for using with my grad school classes. I don't think my textbooks are available as e-books, but in my classes we read a LOT of research articles, generally 30+ pages long each in PDF format. I can't handle reading them on my computer screen, because they are just too long for that, so I end up printing them out and wasting paper. So, one big requirement for me, in terms of an e-reader to use for school is that it support PDF format. I know the Nook and Sony e-readers do, so those are what I am researching.

For something that will be used for extensive reading, I think one with e-Ink (or eInk or however they spell it) and no glare is very important (basically makes it like reading paper, not a computer screen), which is why the tablet computers and just my normal laptop are out for me.

 

[tinkabella627]

I didnt read all the replies to I apologize if I repeat anything... the Nook does allow you to borrow books from the library IF the library has overdrive. Also, you can have multiple devices associated to one account (with the nook and kindle for sure, idk anything about amazon). This means that if I have a nook and my mom has one on my account any book I DL she has access to and vice vs.

go to nookboards and kindleboards and look around and see what other info you can get. If it is for an avid reader, I think it is worth it. I am hoping to get one soon (as soon as I read the books I have on my shelf) because then I won;t have boxes and shelves full of books.

There are people suggesting a tablet/ipad to use for this. It is true that you can get the kindle or b&n reader software free on iphones and computers, but the problem is that reading on a backlit screen for any length of time will eventually end in a headache. The ereaders are not backlit and appear like the pages of a book. So if your daughter reads a lot and often, those are not the best for full time use. An ereader uses e-ink display and is much better on the eyes.

Also, the kindle and nook are (currently) the same price. Therefor you would have to look at the features each has that you might want as well as the books that are available. I looked for books I know I want to read and compared the availability and pricing. B&N has met most of amazon's prices in the books I want so that isn't too much of an issue for me. The Sony book prices were higher when I looked. Also, if you order a kindle and do no like it, they have a 30 day return policy with no restock fee. If you go into a local B&N you can test out a nook. This is an easy way to get a feel for both of them. If you like the nook, you could order the kindle, see if you like it and then decide. If you decide on the nook, you can send it back.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Yes, it would be an ebook reader that she's talking about. Thanks for the info, 3boymthr. I'm finding it hard to get past the part about everyone buying their own books for the ebook. We use the library a LOT. [snip]

Actually ebooks may be at -- or coming soon to -- a library near you. Trying googling overdrive digital library and you can search by zip code for local public libraries that make e-books available. My local library currently only has audiobooks, but another library nearby also has ebooks you can check out online. -- Suzanne

 

[Pamlur]

We have four Kindles and one ipod included in one account; we basically all read the same books (except for my 16-year-old granddaughter, that's her ipod on there). The absolute best part about it for me, other than being able to share, is the weight factor. We travel a lot, and I LOVE not having to worry about the weight of books in the luggage anymore.

 

[evildiva]

I also have the Kindle and LOVE it. Another good thing about the Kindle is that there are a ton of books that are FREE. Classics and contemporary books as well.

 

[DisneyMum4]

I did a lot of research prior to asking for a ereader for Christmas. I was torn between the Nook and the Sony touch. What sold me on the Sony was the fact that you can borrow books from the library and other sites. I did not want to feel like that I was owned by Amazon or B&N. I still would like to have a nook once they are out for awhile. I have the Sony Touch and love it. Have not had not any problems with it. Each ereader has pros that another may not have. I think with either, you will be happy.

 

[umaangel00]

We went with the Sony Pocket edition. It stores up to 300-350 books and the Sony software will store them for you so you don't have to store them on the device. You can also rent books from the library which sold us on it. I didn't care about the WIFI as it just drains your battery life. I get 2-3 weeks out of my battery life on my Sony. We have had it for 5 weeks now and just love it! It's really like just reading a book.

To the person who only gets a week at the most our of their nook. trying turning the wifi off when you are not using it. This should help with the battery life.

 

[magik]

I did a lot of research prior to asking for a ereader for Christmas. I was torn between the Nook and the Sony touch. What sold me on the Sony was the fact that you can borrow books from the library and other sites. I did not want to feel like that I was owned by Amazon or B&N. I still would like to have a nook once they are out for awhile. I have the Sony Touch and love it. Have not had not any problems with it. Each ereader has pros that another may not have. I think with either, you will be happy.

You can borrow books from the library with the Nook as well (at least from OverDrive), and are not tied to only ebooks from B&N either - it supports EPUB, PDB, and PDF formats from other sites so long as they don't have DRM on them that is specific to another device.

 

[3boymthr]

As a person who has used a desktop computer and a laptop to read e-books I can absolutely say that for a reading experience, the e-reader is far and away much much much better than a computer screen or laptop. Yes, it is single function, and for a single function electronics device it is expensive, but I feel like I'm actually reading a book and - this is a biggie, it's very very very easy to turn pages. I cannot tell you how many times when using the laptop I accidentally scrolled forward to the end of the book because I clicked in the wrong place. Also, unlike a netbook or laptop I can throw it in my purse and it's about the same size as a paperback for weight and space consumption.

 

[phred52]

You guys are the best! We spent hours and hours tonight discussing and researching more and more as different features were pointed out.
There is so much to consider!

Thanks for your imput!

I'm going to bed, probably to dream about ebooks.......

 

[3boymthr]

Not sure if this will help or not but it puts all the different features of all the different e-readers in one place so you can easily compare and don't have to create the chart yourself.

To make it easier for myself when comparing I copied and pasted the chart into an excel spreadsheet and deleted the readers I knew I wasn't interested in then focused on the features I knew were more important to me like what types of documents it could read natively.

http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix

 

[Evi]

for me free books from public library lol and honestly not having a stack of books on the night table, also being able to go on vacation with 300 books in my purse. For the man the built in night light so I don't keep him up with lights on lol.