Which Kindle? *Update, I got it!!

[DVCLiz]

Are you sure you know what a Nook is, it IS an EREADER? Nook has an app for PC's and Phones as well. They also have an Etext book feature and the download on them is less then half the textbook cost and you can highlight, make notes, etc. right on your computer. The access to the free textbooks is in the bookstore-you do have to read in the bookstore. In my son's school bookstore there is a cafe attached and they can go in there and access NOOK books for free-a lot of kids do this for research and seldom used textbooks that are "required" but not really used all that much.

BN has the same download capabilities-better actually-than Amazon. They have thousands of free books available for instant download just like Kindle. You set up an account and you can browse for books from your PC then add them to your account and download them either to your PC, Phone or Nook. I am not really sure you are totally familiar with a NOOK.

Thank you, golfgal, but I am familiar with a Nook and I know it is an ereader. I just don't agree that your examples are features that would cause me to choose it over the Kindle. I think the Kindle is a much, much better product and I think Amazon's customer service is far superior to Barnes & Noble.

I also think that most college students don't have access to a B&N cafe and that the restriciton of having to be in a specific location is not a plus, even if the cost is reduced. I suppose we are talking about two different kinds of textbooks - I am referring to books that students need and use consistently throughout the semester and you seem to be describing research material and textbooks that the teacher assigns for extra reading, etc. As far as that goes, why not just go to the college library and read for free in those cases?

I just think there are a lot of IFs with the Nook - IF you have a B&N nearby and IF you don't mind going to that location and staying there until you have finished your work and IF you have free time to go and sit in a B&N store to read a free book...just not features that make me think it is superior.

However, to each her own and if those features suit you and your college student, then it's great they are available.

 

[KCK]

Thank you, golfgal, but I am familiar with a Nook and I know it is an ereader. I just don't agree that your examples are features that would cause me to choose it over the Kindle. I think the Kindle is a much, much better product and I think Amazon's customer service is far superior to Barnes & Noble.

I also think that most college students don't have access to a B&N cafe and that the restriciton of having to be in a specific location is not a plus, even if the cost is reduced. I suppose we are talking about two different kinds of textbooks - I am referring to books that students need and use consistently throughout the semester and you seem to be describing research material and textbooks that the teacher assigns for extra reading, etc. As far as that goes, why not just go to the college library and read for free in those cases?

I just think there are a lot of IFs with the Nook - IF you have a B&N nearby and IF you don't mind going to that location and staying there until you have finished your work and IF you have free time to go and sit in a B&N store to read a free book...just not features that make me think it is superior.

However, to each her own and if those features suit you and your college student, then it's great they are available.

Well said. Also, Kindle software (and maybe that other devices such as Nook) can be downloaded onto a PC (not sure that has been mentioned, although iPhone etc has). I tried it out this way first.

It is also of note that reading on backlit devices (iPhone, PC, iPad, other smart phones) is known to cause eyestrain after extended use. The Kindle and other readers not being backlit enables LOONG reading sessions, suitable for the hardcore reader. Also, to my sensitive eyes, I cannot read an iPhone for more than say 15 minutes straight, but have read the K2 for over 2 hours with no trouble. The K3 is even better -- sharper, more contrast and more ergonomic. Using K2 lying on my back in bed, a little bit of weight and ensuing arm tiredness. K3 is a feather.

 

[txSleepingBeauty]

here are the biggest differences to me between nook and the Kindle:

1. nook has an expandable memory, Kindle does not
2. Kindle has text to speak, nook does not
3. If you don't understand something about your nook, come in to or call your closest B&N, the booksellers can help. Kindle--gotta call somebody
4. nook 3G and Wifi are available today at your local store, no waiting list!

there you go, anything else is incidental, these seem to be the points that make most people decided one way or the other

 

[KCK]

here are the biggest differences to me between nook and the Kindle:

1. nook has an expandable memory, Kindle does not
2. Kindle has text to speak, nook does not
3. If you don't understand something about your nook, come in to or call your closest B&N, the booksellers can help. Kindle--gotta call somebody
4. nook 3G and Wifi are available today at your local store, no waiting list!

there you go, anything else is incidental, these seem to be the points that make most people decided one way or the other

Beg to differ. With the possible exception of item 1, the other 3 are inconsequential or minor. Amazon phone support is great. I spoke with a Nook rep in person and I seemed to know more about the product than he did.

Don't want to come across as an Amazon fanboy, and in fact I like B&N a lot and am a frequent customer of theirs also. I just think the K3 has the Nook beat in every area where it counts.

 

[DVCLiz]

here are the biggest differences to me between nook and the Kindle:

1. nook has an expandable memory, Kindle does not
2. Kindle has text to speak, nook does not
3. If you don't understand something about your nook, come in to or call your closest B&N, the booksellers can help. Kindle--gotta call somebody
4. nook 3G and Wifi are available today at your local store, no waiting list!

there you go, anything else is incidental, these seem to be the points that make most people decided one way or the other

Beg to differ. With the possible exception of item 1, the other 3 are inconsequential or minor. Amazon phone support is great. I spoke with a Nook rep in person and I seemed to know more about the product than he did.

Don't want to come across as an Amazon fanboy, and in fact I like B&N a lot and am a frequent customer of theirs also. I just think the K3 has the Nook beat in every area where it counts.

It's also worth noting that the expandable memory was a feature included in the original Kindle, and later redesigns eliminated it due to weight issues, among others. Te newest Kindles can hold 3500 books. Unless you are using your ereader for substantial PDFs or audiobooks or music, the capacity of the Kindle is greater than you could read in a lifetime for regular size books.

 

[DVCLiz]

Beg to differ. With the possible exception of item 1, the other 3 are inconsequential or minor. Amazon phone support is great. I spoke with a Nook rep in person and I seemed to know more about the product than he did.

Don't want to come across as an Amazon fanboy, and in fact I like B&N a lot and am a frequent customer of theirs also. I just think the K3 has the Nook beat in every area where it counts.

I think text to speech is significant, as is the Nook's library feature. They are both cases of "great if you happen to use them but minor selling points if you don't".

 

[txSleepingBeauty]

Beg to differ. With the possible exception of item 1, the other 3 are inconsequential or minor. Amazon phone support is great. I spoke with a Nook rep in person and I seemed to know more about the product than he did.

Don't want to come across as an Amazon fanboy, and in fact I like B&N a lot and am a frequent customer of theirs also. I just think the K3 has the Nook beat in every area where it counts.

I'm just passing along what seems to matter to the people I sell nooks to everyday at work.

 

[DVCLiz]

I'm just passing along what seems to matter to the people I sell nooks to everyday at work.

It's interesting that your customers don't seem to count the library feature as a big selling point, then. That's the only reason I could see getting a Nook over a Kindle.

As far as answering questions, I am sure you are well trained at the basic level for in-store FAQs but I wouldn't put a B&N employee up against Amazon's Kindle customer service and expect it to be a fair fight. For one thing, Amazon employees can react to a defective product with a new product if it's within the warranty, and there is a 30 day return policy with no fees. Returning a Nook comes with a substantial restocking fee, doesn't it?

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I'd go with the Kindle 3 with 3G version. The DX is just too darn big and heavy. I think the 3G is worth the extra $50, but that's a judgment call based on how much the money means to you and how often you are away from wi-fi.

Here is a review of current e-book readers.

I haven't tried the Nook, so I can't comment on it. I am almost never in a B&N, so it's not that attractive to me. I've ordered over 300 books from Amazon and am on their site almost daily. It's very convenient for me to send samples from their to my Kindle. Also, my family has standardize on Kindles (me, wife, parents, kids) and we all share one account. It's great to be able to share books that way.

 

[webprinter]

Can you surf the internet from the 3G Kindle? Also can you create Word documents or only download them? Thanks.

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

That's my new dilemma! Should I get one too!!?? I have an iPad and I use the Kindle app on that. I also have the Barnes and Noble and Borders app along with iBooks. I love the variety and I love my iPad and it doesn't bother me to read on it. I read on it all the time. The only thing I hate is that I can't use it on a sunny day! We were at Disney lounging by the pool and I wanted to read but couldn't because of the sun! Maybe I will just tell DH to get it for me for Xmas.

She better think I am the best sister ever!!!. I tease our older sister all the time telling her that I am our little sisters favorite! I do spoil her and we are so alike, we really are best friends.

I cannot believe you don't have a Kindle for as much as you read!! It is so much easier to read on the kindle's e-ink format then on any type of computer, iphone, or ipad application. I LOVE my kindle. Best money I've spent. There are also a ton of free books online and that can be converted to kindle compatible files. The Kindle is easier on my eyes than regular books, believe it or not, and I can get through my kindle books faster because of this!

You are a great sister! Such and awesome gift!!

 

[txSleepingBeauty]

It's interesting that your customers don't seem to count the library feature as a big selling point, then. That's the only reason I could see getting a Nook over a Kindle.

As far as answering questions, I am sure you are well trained at the basic level for in-store FAQs but I wouldn't put a B&N employee up against Amazon's Kindle customer service and expect it to be a fair fight. For one thing, Amazon employees can react to a defective product with a new product if it's within the warranty, and there is a 30 day return policy with no fees. Returning a Nook comes with a substantial restocking fee, doesn't it?

nope, they yanked the restocking fee about 6 months ago

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

After messing around with both a Kindle and a Nook I had to go with the Kindle. The Kindle is so much easier to use (making notes, looking things up, using the dictionary, etc) that the ability to check out library books wasn't much of an incentive anymore.

Besides Amazon has offered so many free books (I have downloaded around 200 of them since January) I feel like I have my own personal library.

Also, with the sale of B&N, I would be worried about the future of the Nook and it's bookstore.

 

[Desnik]

I got her the new 3G Kindle! The best part is I was able to pick it up at Target today!! So, no waiting for it to be shipped! I will be visiting my sister this weekend to bring it to her. I am so excited! Also wanted to add that if anyone wants to get a Kindle not only does Target sell them, but Best Buy will be selling them too! Both stores will have the new Kindle this week!

 

[pioneer89]

I just picked up a nook. They both seemed like good readers, but a couple of things swayed me to the nook:

I can get my ebooks from any source (including Amazon) and convert them to one of the non-proprietary formats that nook uses (ePub). This means I don't ever have to worry about a publisher making an exclusive agreement with Amazon or B&N... I'll still be able to get the book and read it.

Expandable memory is important to me, because I can download a lot of graphics from converted .pdf files on tech documents and manuals. A diagram heavy tech document can fill up memory quick. Also, /snarky_on how many times have people said "this device will never need more memory", and how many thimes have they been eventually wrong? /snarky_off

nook is an Andriod device, and already has a lot of people doing 3rd party apps for the nook, if you want to 'root' it. (I doubt I will, the only other thing I might use my nook for would be listening to music while I read, and the nook does that without rooting.)

The only thing I don't like about my nook is how it displayes my documents. I downloaded quite a few free ebooks from various publishers and public domain, and they all go into a flat menu in the nook, the nook doesn't use a directory structure when displaying books. I don't know how Kindle does this, but I would hope it's better.

I can also address some of the concerns about B&N. Even if they went belly-up today, I'd still be able to use my nook to read ebooks from Kindle, or any other source. Calibre is a great conversion tool.

Kindle does have a few things I liked better:
The Kindle keyboard slightly easier to use, it's offset somewht by the extra utility of the nooks touch screen, but if you are a VERY heavy note-taker, the nook might bother you a bit. nook's touchscreen is great for me, but n

The Kindle had a longer battery life.

The Kindle has a few other spec-related advantages but the importance of those vary from person to person.

 

[jrmasm]

I just picked up a nook. They both seemed like good readers, but a couple of things swayed me to the nook:

I can get my ebooks from any source (including Amazon) and convert them to one of the non-proprietary formats that nook uses (ePub). This means I don't ever have to worry about a publisher making an exclusive agreement with Amazon or B&N... I'll still be able to get the book and read it.

Expandable memory is important to me, because I can download a lot of graphics from converted .pdf files on tech documents and manuals. A diagram heavy tech document can fill up memory quick. Also, /snarky_on how many times have people said "this device will never need more memory", and how many thimes have they been eventually wrong? /snarky_off

nook is an Andriod device, and already has a lot of people doing 3rd party apps for the nook, if you want to 'root' it. (I doubt I will, the only other thing I might use my nook for would be listening to music while I read, and the nook does that without rooting.)

The only thing I don't like about my nook is how it displayes my documents. I downloaded quite a few free ebooks from various publishers and public domain, and they all go into a flat menu in the nook, the nook doesn't use a directory structure when displaying books. I don't know how Kindle does this, but I would hope it's better.

I can also address some of the concerns about B&N. Even if they went belly-up today, I'd still be able to use my nook to read ebooks from Kindle, or any other source. Calibre is a great conversion tool.

Kindle does have a few things I liked better:
The Kindle keyboard slightly easier to use, it's offset somewht by the extra utility of the nooks touch screen, but if you are a VERY heavy note-taker, the nook might bother you a bit. nook's touchscreen is great for me, but n

The Kindle had a longer battery life.

The Kindle has a few other spec-related advantages but the importance of those vary from person to person.

For Ipods, I agree with you about memory, you really can't have enough. But in the case of an ereader, I still think it's a non issue. At least for me. When I'm done reading a book, I remove it. If I want it back, I put it back on. I simply do not need to store more than 3500 books. Heck I don't need to store more than 10 at a time.

Now for you, I can see why it would matter. But I wonder if the average ereader owner is more like me than you?

Should we take a vote?

 

[RitaE]

I can get my ebooks from any source (including Amazon) and convert them to one of the non-proprietary formats that nook uses (ePub). This means I don't ever have to worry about a publisher making an exclusive agreement with Amazon or B&N... I'll still be able to get the book and read it.

I think you have gotten confused here.

99% of the books Amazon sells are DRM locked, just as the books from Barnes and Noble, The Sony eReader Store, and every place else are DRM locked. You can't buy them and convert them to ePub without removing that DRM. Thus, if a Publisher makes an agreement with Amazon, you will not be able to legally put those books onto a nook device and you won't be able to do it unless you want to learn how to run the Python drm stripping scripts.

However ... it works the other way around also. If you are going to get into stripping DRM and putting it on another device, it is just as easy to strip a Barnes and Noble or ADE ePub document and convert to Kindle format as it is to do it the other way.

If you are going to get into DRM stripping that pretty much means your purchases for any device can be made from any store.

 

[Maddle]

Question - when you purchase a book on Kindle, how do you pay for it? Is there a credit card on file with Amazon?

Maddle

 

[jrmasm]

Question - when you purchase a book on Kindle, how do you pay for it? Is there a credit card on file with Amazon?

Maddle

That's what I do. Or use gift cards.

I don't think you have to keep a card on file.