well yes but apparently the kindle is fastER than the nook...

12/29/2009 4:11:06 PM

I'm getting ready to order a Kindle. I was really interested in the Nook because of Android but I've not been impressed with them so far. The nice thing is that it caused me to do more research on all of them. I got my parents a Kindle for Christmas & my sister got one from my bro-in-law so getting the chance to play with them really won me over. Right now, the nook just has more negatives than positives imo. Battery life is lower, color screen coming on is reportedly distracting for some people (I can see this being a big issue with me since a blinking icon on my laptop will drive me crazy), and the processor is apparently just way too slow to deal with Android. I do like that it can be rooted & you can surf the web on it but if I want to surf the web on a little 3" screen, I'll use my Eris.

Hopefully Amazon will keep an eye on it and continue to improve the Kindle (like they did with the battery life & stuff when the nook was announced). I'd love to see a "loan" program implemented similar to the Nook's but without the 2 week/1 time only restrictions. If I paid for a book, it's mine to loan for as long as I want. I'd like to be able to do the same with any e-books that I buy since my family and I share an interest in a few different authors and will often pass the books around.

12/29/2009 8:46:00 PM

^The nook supports PDF. That by itself is reason to not buy the Kindle.

And the color screen isn't annoying at all actually. I thought it would bother me too, but after 20 seconds of using it, I never gave it a second thought.

Honestly, having used both hands on, I would buy the nook every time. The battery life is retardedly long for both devices, and they are both painfully slow. It really comes down to the nook supporting open file formats, and being extensible. But I'm not buying any of them. 2g devices are less than a year away, which means COLOR.

12/29/2009 9:14:03 PM

Nov 24th Kindle update added PDF support

12/29/2009 9:49:33 PM

suhweet

12/29/2009 10:30:32 PM

^^ Kindle has pdf also. That's one of the updates that I was talking about.

-The screen issue is coming from reviews where it apparently pops up at random times while reading. Being on all the time isn't what I'm worried about but if it flashes on every 30 minutes, that's going to bug me.

-Nook is noticeably slower than Kindle in every side by side that I've seen. I'm sure if can be improved but it's using a processor that's roughly equal to the Kindle and it's handling more so I see this as an area where the Nook loses. Just because something is slow doesn't mean that even slower is okay.

- you think color e-ink is less than a year away? So far, I've heard of ONE display that was very much prototype. I don't see it being widely available in less than a year. If I've missed some color news or I'm just plain wrong, I'll sell whatever I'm using if the new device is that much better.


I'm also going to be waiting until tomorrow to order. Apparently I left an Amazon card in my office and haven't entered it yet so I'm going to wait. In the meantime, I'm going to look at the nook again since I haven't checked anything since shortly after it's release. I admit that I did forget all about the WiFi & the open file formats, both of which are attractive features to me. If B&N would honor their damn membership discount on e-books then I'd be ready to go but with prices the same as amazon, there's no benefit there.

12/29/2009 10:45:13 PM

for those unsure of the kindle....i suggest you go ahead and buy one and give it a shot. Amazon will let you return it for any reason within 30 days and you only have to pay about $5 to ship it back.

12/30/2009 5:04:04 PM

or wait until either kindle/nook uses this technology.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/07/mirasol-shows-prototype-reader-like-device-playing-back-color-vi/

[Edited on January 7, 2010 at 11:18 AM. Reason : k]

1/7/2010 11:09:39 AM

I just want to thank those of you who are early adopters, and pay a premium for products that are really glorified betas at best.

Then I can wait a couple of years and buy a better, more polished product for half the price.

Again, I salute you!


(that all sounds sarcastic, but it really isn't.)

1/7/2010 11:12:31 AM

maybe it's the lighting but those colors look terrible.

i'm glad that's all they're doing to change it, that way i won't feel like i want a new one next fall. i bought a book reader to read books. i don't need nor do i want it to play video. i don't want to browse the intarwebs on it either. i have an iphone, which does anything else i'd ever want to do while not at a desktop computer. i'm still happy

just sayin'

1/7/2010 12:07:13 PM

http://gizmodo.com/5443895/e+ink-is-dead-pixel-qis-amazing-transflective-lcd-just-killed-it

Quote :

"Pixel Qi's magic transforming displays seemed too good to be true: One screen that's both a bright, full color LCD and a reflective, E-Ink quality display for reading in light. It is pretty damn incredible... ...In a battle against e-ink, which has so many obvious limitations, this really is the projected winner. We still need to see this thing in a device that's capable of running for "days" without a recharge, but we are hoping for that soon. I'd say it's two generations away from being perfect enough—a wiiiider viewing angle, much higher resolution—for a truly finicky company to put these screens in their tablet or notebook, but it's clear, I think, that a screen like this one is the key to a future where everything is about the screen."

1/8/2010 5:10:26 PM

some sites i found useful

http://www.kobobooks.com/ (20% off with code Save20 through Jan 31)

http://nookboards.com/

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/eBooks-Help-Board/bd-p/eBooks_Help

right now im trying to get some books from the library on my nook. i downloaded the adobe digital editions program and i was able to download the books i borrowed and can view them in the ADE program but can't get it to make the jump to my nook. my nook has been authorized by the ADE program but when i try to drag & drop it messes with the bookmarks in other ebooks ive purchased (really annoying)

has anyone successfully done it? or am i on my own here?

edit: i turned my nook off and turned it back on and when i did the my documents option was available in my library and my library books are there! too cool

[Edited on January 18, 2010 at 4:46 PM. Reason : hooray]

1/18/2010 4:40:24 PM

what library are you checking ebooks out of?

1/18/2010 11:54:13 PM

As long as they don't move away from the e-ink type display. The whole point of these devices is you're able to read on them without all the eye strain of an LCD. They don't refresh like LCDs. I'm a big reader and I tried the whole reading on my iPhone deal and the size wasn't the issue it was my eyes started to hurt after a while. You just can't beat a real book/e-ink. I guess that's what most of these devices are trying to accomplish with the dual screens. One LCD and one e-ink display.

1/19/2010 12:21:06 AM

My wife's nook failed the day after christmas and I've been dealing with their horribly shitty "digital support" team since. They just repeatedly lie to me to get me off the phone. I have been incredibly civil given my background in phone support, but today is 8 business days from the last time they swore that it was in the mail. If that shit is not in my mailbox or on the porch when I get home today I am going to wait on hold for 2 hours then yell at people, then conclude my business dealings with Barnes and Noble for good.

If it wasn't my wife's I would have given up long ago. It's obvious that B&N hastily pushed this product out with no planning for support or replacements.

1/19/2010 10:24:14 AM

the houston library system lends out ebooks

not all libraries do, but most large libraries do it. i was able to figure it out online myself but you could always call and just ask someone

1/19/2010 7:33:25 PM

yeah, wake county libraries do not. They're planning to start sometime next year. I had called them just a few days before you said you were checking books out, and I wasn't sure if you were in Raleigh or not so I was just curious if maybe I got some bad information.


^^ have you gotten a replacement yet? Any more problems with it?

[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 11:41 AM. Reason : ^]

1/28/2010 11:36:57 AM

Replacement came Tuesday. So far it works. I will toss the thing out the window if it locks up again. I don't think that the Nooks are poorly made, just 1st generation electronics have some kinks to work out and B&N never had to deal with electronics before service wise.

The best part is that my wife is reading an actual book instead of using it at the moment. I begged her to just download the digital copy and use the damned thing.

[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 1:28 PM. Reason : .]

1/28/2010 1:27:30 PM

Quote :

"It's obvious that B&N hastily pushed this product out with no planning for support or replacements."

i work for B&N and that is pretty much what i and most of my co-workers have said...

1/30/2010 3:27:59 PM

I read a blog post about a guy who ordered a Nook in November. It was delayed about six times. They told him if he didn't get it by Christmas Eve they'd give him a $100 gift certificate. A few days later they canceled his order for no reason. After a dozen phone calls they said they'd waive the shipping and reinstate his order. He got it in late January. They charged him full price for the shipping and refused to give him the gift certificate.

1/30/2010 3:58:47 PM

Dad just got a Kindle 2. Got to play with it for a while. Screen quality is noticeably worse compared to the Sony Pocket or Daily, but it's neat otherwise. Still need to get my hands on a nook.

2/9/2010 10:16:42 PM

every barnes & noble has an actual working model on display so you could check one out there if you dont know someone that has one

2/9/2010 10:45:20 PM

new update is out with web! thoughts?

i havent had a chance to play with it too much. seems like it only works on wifi. i do like that flexibility though, even though i cant check my work email on it oh well, thats what my netbook is for

[Edited on May 6, 2010 at 9:36 PM. Reason : ksjdkjfd]

5/6/2010 9:35:11 PM

Thinking about one of these for a graduation present.... but I mostly read the paper and magazines.

Does it have WIRED and stuff like that? Or a web portal to check?

5/6/2010 10:50:13 PM

i mostly read library books and cheap books i buy on it right now

my understanding is that you can subscribe to magazine-like content. there is a tab in the menu for 'the daily' so you can get news type stuff

as for the web, it acts basically like using the web on an ipod touch. you use the touch color screen at the bottom to move around the page and tap to enter passwords and stuff but you see the website in the e-ink on the bigger screen so you can see more of it

the update also includes chess & sodoku which is cool. also you get free access to ebooks in any B&N store for 1 hour per day. i haven't tried this out but i understand this to mean you can read a selection of ebooks in store for free for 1 hour a day. i still want to explore this.

ive had mine since dec, i love it and use it all the time. so nice to have on trips and for the gym so i can read on the go!

go to a B&N and look at one already! i think you can even buy them in the store now.

5/6/2010 11:50:25 PM

So, I got to play with this because my Dad was lent a model to test for his talk show.

The thing is, I was just playing with an iPad earlier that day, so I think I was a bit soured because of it. All in All, the Nook was pretty cool. My only real problems were with navigating the interface, which I don't think was very intuitive. The color screen is... not as colorful as the pictures I saw made me think it was going to be. Also, the "select" button is on the touch screen, and for some reason it has a really tough time registering hits (at least it was when I was playing with it). The web browser is hasty and annoying, and I probably wouldn't want to use it. My Dad seemed to like it, he's been doing reviews of all the e-readers that Best Buy will send him, and he's not really a techno oldie or anything, but he's gotten more insightful than I would have suspected.

One of the awesome things was the Nook screensaver... the e-ink is so cool, and the images of famous authors as the screensaver made me giggle. Kurt Vonnegut is on there, so kudos for that. The problem is, after a week of playing with it, it froze up mid-screensaver, and we couldn't manage to turn it off or restart it or anything. I left home before my Dad could find a fix, so I don't know what he did, if anything.

5/7/2010 12:19:47 AM

i had an issue with my nook not turning on after i charged it. i called in and a tech rep walked me through it, problem solved.

i love that i can upload my own wallpaper. i think thats kind of expected in technology today but the kindle doesn't have it. also they release some cool screensavers. there is an alice in wonderland one out but i just use the skyline one

the touch screen is confusing the first time you use it. but imo its like getting a new cell phone. you're annoyed bc you don't know how to work everything right away but you fool around with it and figure it out, and its not an issue once you've had some time on it

overall i will stick with e-ink. i could never read on an ipad or computer screen the way i read on my nook.

5/7/2010 12:32:49 AM

Quote :

"overall i will stick with e-ink. i could never read on an ipad or computer screen the way i read on my nook."

YES. I'm half blind from working all day on computers. I want my eyes to relax a little.

So you can add your own screensaver, eh? That's a major selling point... Honestly, I want my business logo on everything I own - and on everything of mine/ours that our employees are carrying around. Free advertising

5/7/2010 5:27:26 AM

soo does anyone with a nook have any lendable books? i only have one but would be interested in sharing books with people!

5/20/2010 10:13:21 PM

Only have 1 = limits on which books you can share? I thought you could lend out any book?

5/20/2010 10:22:27 PM

i was under the impression that the "lend me" icon next to the title were the only titles you could lend out

but i do know you're only allowed to lend it out to one person at a time for 2 weeks and during those 2 weeks you cannot access it and you cannot relend it back to the same person

5/20/2010 10:35:51 PM

Just got one of these on Tuesday from the boyfriend for my birthday. Haven't been able to put it down! I love how much free stuff they give you. It works great because I hadn't really had anything on my "to-read" list, so all these free books in my face gives me a good start to get back into reading.

5/29/2010 10:19:04 AM

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Unbound-NOOK-and-BN-eReader-Blog/bg-p/Unbound

free books on fridays!!

also if you go in the store & bring your nook, you can get a free book (different from online i think) every week in june

and i've been doing the free in-store reading. it works great & i love it

6/5/2010 12:30:24 PM

price dropped to $199. and there's now a non 3g (wireless only) version for $149.

6/21/2010 4:18:15 PM

I might have to get one.

6/21/2010 11:08:09 PM

Kindle dropped to $189 in response as well. I never did pick one up (picked up a couple of iPads that I ended up selling off for a profit). This price drop is coming at a great time but sure isn't helping me decide which to get.

Does the Nook have any kind of basic spreadsheet support? I'm leaning toward it just because it's Android and there's always the possibility of someone like Dropbox making a document sync app for it.

6/21/2010 11:25:13 PM

^ Spreadsheet? Are you sure you know what this device is for?

6/22/2010 12:08:52 AM

Yes I know what the device is for. Do you realize that it runs on Android? Do you know what Android is? Ignoring the fact that it was hacked within a month of it's release, I was under the impression that B&N had released the SDK and apps were being accepted. I'm not talking about any editing capability. People are running Pandora, Facebook, etc. on it. A spreadsheet viewer is a lot more in line with it's original intended use.

6/22/2010 6:24:29 AM

^ OK. A viewer makes a lot more sense. Trying to edit a spreadsheet on an eInk display sounds like an exercise in masochism due to the slow refresh.

6/22/2010 1:01:45 PM

Yeah, I guess I should have said that to begin with. Sorry for the confusion. I'd definitely shoot myself before editing a spreadsheet on a device where you can time page turns with a $5 wrist watch.

6/22/2010 2:43:06 PM

If you need to view on nook or kindle just save as PDF using open office and send to device.

6/22/2010 10:18:24 PM

Yeah, I know I can do that but I was wondering about straight support due to size. Can you zoom PDF's on either device?

6/23/2010 8:21:31 AM

if i'm just looking for a basic e-book reader, is there any reason to buy a nook or kindle over an aluratek libre pro for ~$80?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16858653001

i realize it's not $80 right now, but checking slickdeals history, it looks like they go on sale often enough that i might be able to nab one within the next couple of months...just trying to decide what features the more expensive readers offer that i might actually use and want to pay twice the price for

6/23/2010 2:38:18 PM

I'm getting a nook/kindle for the periodicals. Paper and light magazine reading straight to the device is what I'm lookin' for

6/23/2010 2:42:50 PM

^^ not eInk

6/23/2010 4:53:18 PM

From reading the reviews it seems to have pretty random battery life. Some people reporting as low as 10 hours. I don't know how e-paper differs from e-ink either but since it's tft-lcd I'd imagine that it's not quite as comfortable for longer reading. There also seemed to be a lot of "can't beat it for the price" type comments as well. Finally, it appears that it's potentially a pita for pdf files.

Personally, I'd just grab the wifi nook for $150. I realize that it's close to twice what you think you can get the other one for but it does have enough benefits to outweigh the cost imo.

6/23/2010 7:32:06 PM

glad i found this thread my gf wants one of these things.

6/23/2010 8:25:41 PM

^^^ what's the difference between "epaper" and "eink"?

my fiancée has the samsung alias 2 with eink keys...it IS cool

6/25/2010 10:42:27 AM

Thanks to the reduced price, I just bought my wife a new Kindle for her birthday. She loves her original Kindle and uses it all the time but she has been frustrated with many issues that were fixed in the new one.

Shhhh, but nobody tell her, it's a surprise!

6/25/2010 11:43:32 AM

bump

9/26/2012 4:03:56 PM