Kindle, iPad or Nook ?

[DVCLiz]

Nook is open source, which means you can put and read documents other than proprietary ones on it (e.g., any pdf's for work/school, also library e-books which are free instead of books that you buy from Amazon). This makes it way better than the Kindle. If you already have an iPhone and a netbook, you don't need an iPad it would just be redundant. Its mostly about branding anyways. I'd get a touchscreen computer before buying an iPad.

Well, there are several opinions masquerading as fact here, so I'll add my two cents.

First, you can send PDFs to your Kindle and they can be read on your Kindle. Neither the Nook nor the smaller Kindle is really very good at PDFs - the larger Kindle DFX is the workhorse there. It is true you can't download library books onto a Kindle - most libraries aren't using the format that Kindle supports. If library books are important to you, either get a Nook or download an app on your iPad and read them that way. I can't remember the name of it now, because I don't want to check out ebooks form the library, but there is an app you can download that allows you to check out books from the library.

Neither of these functions make the Nook "way better" than the Kindle.

Also, proprietary is in the eye of the beholder - B&N books are just as proprietary to the Nook as Amazon ones are to the Kindle. You can't read B&N books on a Kindle, either.

I have an iPhone and a netbook and I don't find my iPad to be redundant at all. In fact, it's the netbook that is redundant now. The iPad does everything I wanted the netbook to do, and it's smaller, more portable, and offers more features. It's a fantastic magazine reader, too!

 

[DVCLiz]

I got an iPad for Christmas...love it! I have also read books on it and I really thought I would hate an E-reader. I even
have tried to turn the page like a regular book, forgetting it's not a real book!

I did want to add that there is an app for subscribing to magazines on the iPad. Zinio. I wish more magazines are on it...but I have a few, like Cosmo, Redbook and Good Housekeeping subscriptions....pretty cool.

I also have the bluetooth keyboard case from brookstone. It acts like a case and you can fold it so the iPad stands up...makes foe easier reading.

Good luck!

Some magazines that you can't find on Zinio have their own iPad apps. The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and People are three that come to mind. You can sometimes get the digital edition free if you are a print subscriber (People) or you can pay for a subscription digitally or buy single issues, depending on whether the cost is agreeable to you. I have print subscriptions to Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. I'm willing to pay the monthy fee for Vanity Fair because it's a heavy magazine and I like storing the back issues without having the paper clutter lying around. The New Yorker, though, is outrageously expensive per weekly issue considering I'm also a print subscriber - until they lower the price per issue or give me the digital one free I won't get it in electronic form -which is a shame because I much prefer that form now.

There are also a couple I have on Zinio - Martha Stewert and Oprah - that have put out an "optimized" issue for the iPad. The MS one has a flower on the front that "blooms" when you open it. Pretty cool...

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Overdrive Console is the APP I use on my iPad to download library books directly to it. It's great for periodicals and travel books and children's books from the library. The Kindle is still hands-down the best reading device of all. The screen is far superior to any other e-reader out there. I find the combination of the Kindle and the iPAd to cover everything I need for leisure computing/reading.

Well, there are several opinions masquerading as fact here, so I'll add my two cents.

First, you can send PDFs to your Kindle and they can be read on your Kindle. Neither the Nook nor the smaller Kindle is really very good at PDFs - the larger Kindle DFX is the workhorse there. It is true you can't download library books onto a Kindle - most libraries aren't using the format that Kindle supports. If library books are important to you, either get a Nook or download an app on your iPad and read them that way. I can't remember the name of it now, because I don't want to check out ebooks form the library, but there is an app you can download that allows you to check out books from the library.

Neither of these functions make the Nook "way better" than the Kindle.

Also, proprietary is in the eye of the beholder - B&N books are just as proprietary to the Nook as Amazon ones are to the Kindle. You can't read B&N books on a Kindle, either.

I have an iPhone and a netbook and I don't find my iPad to be redundant at all. In fact, it's the netbook that is redundant now. The iPad does everything I wanted the netbook to do, and it's smaller, more portable, and offers more features. It's a fantastic magazine reader, too!

 

[RitaE]

Just to re-visit this topic. I do 95% of my reading on my 6" Kindle 3. Sometimes I'll stick the 5" Sony Pocket in my bag and sometimes I'll pull out the iPhone, but I mostly use the Kindle 3.

After initially trying it out I have hardly read on the iPAD, although I can spend way more time than I should playing Angry Birds and watching movies with the thing. I do struggle with computer eye fatigue.

Yesterday I was sent a PDF file for read and review and try as hard as I could I just couldn't get the thing reformatted nicely for the Kindle 3 because PDF files on 6" just don't look good. So I pulled out the iPAD and put it on there. It displayed nicely but after 40 minutes of reading my eyes were watering. After about 90 minutes I had a massive headache. Some people don't experience those problems but for me, I am not able to use a backlit screen for as a digital reader on a regular basis.

And no, the nook is no more open source than the Kindle. The nook has an android based OS and the Kindle has Linux. The Android kernel is derived from Linux so in effect, they aren't all that different. The "nookbook" drm is every bit as proprietary as the Kindle DRM. The main difference is the nook can display "vanilla" Adobe Digital Edition DRM ePub, while the Kindle obviously doesn't. So if Adobe ePub is your goal as with the Overdrive Check-out system, then obviously the Kindle is not the best choice. Honestly I personally don't think the nook is either in that case. There are a couple of other ADE ePub readers which I like better than the nook.

The other APP for the iPAD/iPhone/iTouch that will display Overdrive books and other ADE ePubs is Bluefire. It is getting really good reviews.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Nook is open source, which means you can put and read documents other than proprietary ones on it (e.g., any pdf's for work/school, also library e-books which are free instead of books that you buy from Amazon). This makes it way better than the Kindle.

Actually the Kindle has more formats it is compatible with than the Nook does, it is just not compatible with epub, which is what overdrive chooses to use.

Kindle formats:
*Kindle (.AZW, .AZW1)
*Text (.TXT)
*Unprotected Mobipocket (.MOBI, .PRC)
*PDF
*Audible (.AA, .AAX)
*MP3 (.MP3)
These can be put on after converting with the free conversion Amazon offers
* Microsoft Word (.DOC)
* Structured HTML (.HTML, .HTM)
* RTF (.RTF)
* JPEG (.JPEG, .JPG)
* GIF (.GIF)
* PNG (.PNG)
* BMP (.BMP)
* PDF (.PDF): Look below for details.
* Microsoft Word (.DOCX) is supported in our experimental category.

Nook Formats
* EPUB (including Non or Adobe DRM)
* PDB
* PDF
* Graphics: JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP
* Audio: MP3