i was under the impression that the ads were only present as a screensaver and at the bottom of the screen while scrolling through your library, not while you're actually reading...but i have no first-hand experience

if the former, still the best option at $114...if the latter, then yeah, i'd pay $139 for no ads

i had forgotten that there's a brand new nook out (the simple or classic or something)...it claims better battery life (and it might, though i'm doubtful with a touchscreen of any kind) and i'm skeptical of any touchscreen because my (admittedly limited) experience is that the touchscreen won't be better than amazon's pearl

it advertises that it only holds 1,000 books (amazon claims 3,500)...about an ounce lighter, not sure about thickness

also, you have to pay tax on that $139, you don't "have" to pay tax on the kindle (so the new nook is about $10 more)...not really a big deal

definitely worth a look...i might stop by B&N and check it out sometime soon...give my wife my kindle if the nook is better

[Edited on September 2, 2011 at 2:14 PM. Reason : i'd love to see the kindle drop the keyboard, though...it's unnecessary for my uses]

9/2/2011 2:13:20 PM

Cross-posting a bit, but this is relevant:

http://gizmodo.com/5855971/amazon-launches-free-lending-library-for-kindle-owning-prime-subscribers

11/3/2011 10:02:58 AM

Pretty limited, but I like the direction they're heading

11/3/2011 10:37:02 AM

Barnes and Noble making an announment next week.

They just released a new standard Nook so this must be about a new Nook Color.

I want an 8.5 inch tablet at $250

11/3/2011 10:55:23 AM

^^^^. I thought they did with the smaller kindle and now the kindle touch.

11/4/2011 11:26:18 PM

Quote :

"Now that I'm going back to sea, I want my books, in compact form (not as if I will have time to read them). And it helps that it gets rid of the clutter."

Probably never going to sea again.

And I haven't gotten rid of the the books I've purchased on my Kindle.

Double x2

11/5/2011 9:41:56 PM

rumor has it that the kindle 3G with special offers will be $90 at best buy starting sunday

11/16/2011 2:40:40 PM

Just got the kindle fire..... have to say its pretty awesome

11/21/2011 12:19:07 AM

bump

3/28/2012 10:12:41 PM

i haven't kept up with the current offerings - what would be the best value (cheapest, but of quality) e-reader available now? my wife has decided she wants one, but doesn't want (or need) anything but basic e-reading

for the sake of argument, let's say that the ability to buy books from amazon or B&N is irrelevant (in that we don't care who we're "tied" to)

the $100 nook is ad-free and supports epub, which is a plus in my book...not sure how i feel about touch controls as i've never used them

the $80 kindle has ads and i'm not sure if you can turn off wifi (i assumed that's how it got ads, by connecting periodically - without express permission - and downloading new ones...correct me if i'm wrong)...$100 only gets you touch controls, but still those annoying ads

if it were just between kindle and nook, it'd really just be the $80 kindle with ads (how obnoxious are they?) and the $100 nook simple touch...and i'd be leaning toward the nook

but i've also heard good things about the kobo ereader (http://www.kobobooks.com/wifi), which is only $70 and has no ads...for the money, it seems like a good deal but i don't know anything about the quality of the hardware and e-ink display

thoughts?

3/29/2012 1:48:14 PM

I buy all of my ebooks from Amazon so I'm Kindle-biased typically but the Nook Simple Touch has been rated as the better e-reader in several comparisons that I've seen. Since you can also root the NST into an Android Tablet and load the Kindle app, that would be my choice just to have both options. As a note, running a ROM and using it as a Tablet looks particularly painful so I wouldn't expect it to be good for anything more than reading (web browsing looks horrible in the vids I've seen for example). As for the Kindle ads, they're not really intrusive at all. They just replace the "sleep" screen with an ad and then put 1 or 2 in the menus. When you're reading, you have just the book with no ads.

3/29/2012 8:38:19 PM

I like my nook touch, with it and Calibre it's easy to keep track of your books and convert to different formats if you need to. The touch screen is nice for selecting the books and I tend to just tap the edge of the screen to turn the page rather than use the buttons. It's not a big deal, but the touch allows you to hold it practically any way and still change pages easily.

My only complaint is the free samples that the nook auto downloads, you may be able to stop them by turning off wifi but regardless I don't opening up the library on it and finding random stuff.

3/29/2012 9:49:43 PM

speaking of the Nook ST, B&N has refurbs on ebay today for $65: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Barnes-Noble-Nook-Simple-Touch-2GB-Wi-Fi-6in-Black-/300688948315?afepn=5335869999&campid=5335869999&PID=1225267&_trksid=p1468660.m200036#ht_4152wt_936

3/30/2012 3:22:41 PM

^ thanks for the heads up! i might just nab one of those...just about every refurb item i've ever owned has been practically new

i didn't see anything about a warranty and i'm not sure if it can be returned to a store if it has problems

3/30/2012 3:29:26 PM

^Hmm, yeah I didn't catch that. Only thing I see on warranty is "Available from $10.99" which is apparently Squaretrade.

3/30/2012 7:38:19 PM

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31747_7-57407090-243/why-im-returning-my-new-ipad-and-buying-a-kindle-fire/

Quote :

"As fate would have it, a Kindle Fire arrived shortly after the new iPad. (It's a loaner, due back to Amazon in about a week.) As you're no doubt aware, it's a hair less expensive: $199. Yes, it has a smaller screen, less storage, no cameras, no 3G/4G, no Bluetooth, and so on. But you know what? I love the little guy, because it better suits my needs. For one thing, it's way more comfortable for reading. I consume a lot of e-books, but I find the iPad too big and cumbersome -- especially for reading in bed. The Fire is small enough and light enough that I can lie on my side and grip it one-handed. (Shut up.) "

i loled

3/31/2012 1:46:48 PM

I actually kind of like the kindle ads. It's nice to have something different on the screen when its off.

3/31/2012 4:07:13 PM

^ i hacked mine (took a whopping 30 seconds) and put in my own custom "screensavers"...it rotates through about 50 pictures (some are personal and some are scenery, etc)

i don't mind the idea of some as screensavers, but the in-menu ones sound annoying...i haven't spent too much time on the mobileread forums, but i think one might be able to hack the "special offer" kindles to remove the ads

that said, no reason to buy one when the same money will get you a nook or kobo WITHOUT ads in the first place

3/31/2012 5:58:28 PM

^The screen saver ads were much more annoying to me. It seemed like mine was always on something like "Oil of Olay" or something else completely irrelevant to me. Here's what they look like for both screensaver & the menu ads:

3/31/2012 7:19:49 PM

ah, yeah, that's not quite as invasive as it had envisioned...don't get me wrong, if i could go back, i'd get the wifi-only kindle keyboard (as opposed to the 3G) and had an ad option been available at the time, i'd opt for that

the new 6" nook is rumored to be out in...a month? 2 months? i assume that's why all the refurb NSTs are available and the NST accessories on sale...after tax, it's about $70 for the refurb NST

while that's hands-down the best option right now, i'm wondering how nice the newest generation of nook will be and if it'll use the new(ish) "high resolution" screen from LG (currently found in the iriver story HD, which is only $50 at target)...LG is making them flexible this time: http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2012/03/29/lg-display-to-launch-new-flexible-hi-res-e-ink-screen/

i can see how that would make them more durable (as it's actually the backing that makes the screens so rigid and they're just replacing them with something flexible that wouldn't break as easily)...but aside from that, i wonder what they could add to a new NST that would make it worth the $30 premium

3/31/2012 7:55:36 PM

I saw the new flexible screen and, while it seems to be a big step toward future devices I'm afraid that I don't see what advantage it will have now. Is it just going to be durability? Obviously it's too early to have displays that we can fold up or roll up. I admit to not completely understanding e-ink but I assume that it's like lcd so it's possible to damage the actual panel without damaging the rest of the unit. The flexibility will obviously help minimize the damage but as soon as it's stuck in a rigid frame, it seems like that advantage is going to disappear. I guess they could use a flexible frame as well but that idea seems like it could introduce a number of other issues (least of which is that electronics that aren't rigid are usually seen as cheap & poorly made). Am I just thinking too much about it?

4/1/2012 3:19:48 PM

I'm picking up a kindle touch for my gf's graduation.

4/1/2012 4:29:02 PM

i did actually pick up the refurb NST for my wife...should be here this week and think she's going to be stoked

i love my "original" amazon leather cover/light for my kindle...the LED slides into the corner and it gets the power from the kindle itself...anyone have a suggestion for something like this for the NST? i will, of course, google to find something, just thought i'd ask, first

^ well, i don't think e-ink is very much like LCDs at all...and i'm fairly certain they CAN be rolled up (though not folded)...i THINK they are currently backed on glass and while you can certainly damage the e-ink screen, too, the glass breaking is a bigger concern

is it a very realistic concern? i don't think so...and why did they use glass first, instead of some flexible plastic? i don't know...there might be a difference between e-ink (the actual product) and LG's version that allows the LG product to be flexible while e-ink cannot

it's certainly not a "feature" i'd pay extra money for, nor do i particularly care about the higher resolution (i keep my text on the smallest or second smallest already, and that's small enough)

4/1/2012 6:16:54 PM

Thought I would chime in. I did the B&N refurbished Nook Color & Nook Simple Touch for $149 combo deal they had last week. Got a Color for myself and a Simple Touch for my wife.

After playing with it for a few days I really enjoy it. I have been finding a lot of books I already had and am adding them to the collection. Very nice and will probably up my reading a bit. Just gotta get a case for it now.

4/2/2012 12:40:40 PM

my wife's NST came in today and i've been playing with it for a while

i really like it...possibly more than than my k3 keyboard

this $10 case from amazon is actually pretty nice, IMO: http://www.amazon.com/iPearl-mCover%C2%AE-Leather-ALL-NEW-Barnes/dp/B005HI7YEK

i was surprised to discover that B&N didn't design the nook simple touch the way that amazon did the kindle, where a case can have an integrated light that taps the power of the ereader...i guarantee my wife will be annoyed by that, because we both love the fact that my amazon cover, though absurdly priced at $60 (on sale for $50 now, i think), is awesome with the integrated LED

[Edited on April 4, 2012 at 1:56 PM. Reason : .]

4/4/2012 1:54:16 PM

a friend of my wife's posted this comic on facebook: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/03/30/books/review/snider01.html



i wanted to comment to point out how stupid that comic is, but she said i couldn't

[Edited on April 4, 2012 at 7:34 PM. Reason : image]

4/4/2012 7:34:09 PM

Poll

1. Do you find yourself reading more or less now that you aren't carrying paper around?

2. if you weren't a heavy ready before has a Kindle or Nook made you read more often?

4/9/2012 3:51:30 PM

I was a heavy reader before and now I read even more.

4/9/2012 3:56:10 PM

I assume the kindle fire sacrifices the e-ink display for color/apps/video?

4/9/2012 4:16:21 PM

Yes.

4/9/2012 4:31:39 PM

i was a heavy reader before and i read just as much now...not much changed, honestly, but i'm much happier bringing just the kindle along when i travel, instead of multiple 1000-page paperbacks

4/9/2012 4:33:42 PM

4/9/2012 4:40:01 PM

i love my amazon kindle w/ keyboard.

the e-ink display is completely different from a traditional computer/phone/tablet screen and makes reading very comfortable and enjoyable

the ads don't bother me at all. sometimes they're irrelevant (like for a spa), but you don't see any ads while reading.

its very convenient being able to grab it and go. it weighs less than a book and carries lots of books. i don't have to think about what book i want to take, or worry about battery life like you would with a tablet.

4/9/2012 5:57:29 PM

How does the kindle text to speech option sound?

do kindle books have their own audio integrated or is buying an audio version different?

4/9/2012 7:11:06 PM

It's not bad. Unless you're blind or driving read the book. Kindle is an MP3 player as well so I imagine you could throw a book on tape on it. Kind of defeating the purpose of a Kindle though...

4/9/2012 7:18:44 PM

I mean it sounds like your GPS is reading you a book.

It can read anything, whether you bought it from amazon or not.

If you're asking if kindle books come with the real recorded version of the audiobook, then no. Those are expensive as hell.

4/10/2012 4:32:28 PM

bought a kindle but can anyone recommend any of Free Books that are must reads?

i already picked up some short collections (Sherlock Holmes, Poe, etc.)

4/10/2012 7:28:44 PM

Quote :

"How does the kindle text to speech option sound? do kindle books have their own audio integrated or is buying an audio version different? "

i dont know, never tried it. that's not what a traditional kindle is supposed to do. like i said, its awesome because of the e-ink display and how long the battery lasts when using it for that. i'd be concerned about short battery life if you're using it for audio.

kindle books do not have audio integrated, it would sound like some dumass robot voice, i guess.

4/11/2012 12:21:44 AM

Quote :

"bought a kindle but can anyone recommend any of Free Books that are must reads? "

no, i was kind of disappointed that there aren't many good free books for kindle. although, you can send any pdf via email to your kindle which is cool.

if you are in amazon prime you can borrow 1 book a month for free on kindle which is nice.

4/11/2012 12:24:05 AM

^i guess it depends what you are looking for in free books then. Almost all of the literary classics are available for free. But yeah, the selection of free modern lit does lack.

4/11/2012 8:47:36 AM

I might sell my 1st gen Nook (e-ink version), anyone interested just out of curiosity?

4/11/2012 10:04:00 AM

I too got in on the $149 deal for the NST and Nook Color. I love the NST way better than the Nook Color. I bagged a $9 16gb sandisk microSD for the NST and a $23 32gb sandisk microSD for the Nook Color. Both work pretty good, specially I rooted them and put android on them.

Something nice about playing some games, reading the news and checking your mail on a b&w screen that lasts quite a bit on battery power and weighs like 6 oz. The Nook Color on the other hand is quiet heavy for such a small package, weights a bit more than my Playbook. I might sell the nook color since its not as good and both HC and ICM aren't ready for it.


And yes, since I got the tablets, I'm reading a lot more.

4/12/2012 6:57:19 AM

and THIS is why the nook simple touchs have been on sale recently...introducing the NST with "glowlight" for $139, available may 1: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook-simple-touch-with-glowlight-barnes-noble/1108046469?ean=9781400501717

do want...i like my wife's NST better than my kindle keyboard and this just makes it better...now i just need to sell mine



[Edited on April 14, 2012 at 9:21 AM. Reason : .]

4/14/2012 9:14:04 AM

damn... I was hoping for the first e-ink color displays. Still cool though. I just love my NST.

4/14/2012 12:53:27 PM

i just ordered two, one for each of us...my wife's NST is still within the return period and i shouldn't have any trouble selling my kindle for enough to make the new NST a zero-cost purchase

color e-ink would have been neat, but i don't think i'd jump on it (especially since it would likely be stupid expensive)...since i already don't have an NST, this is like a super-upgrade

[Edited on April 14, 2012 at 4:26 PM. Reason : also had a $100 B&N GC that makes the price a bit more tolerable]

4/14/2012 4:17:58 PM

man i'm in love with my Kindle Touch. I can't put it down. I only bought one, thinking my girlfriend wouldn't read too often, but we actually fought over it this weekend.

4/16/2012 9:26:46 AM

Sony tried the whole backlit thing and it really screwed up the quality of the e-ink display. Hoping the Nook handles it better.

4/16/2012 9:29:38 AM

^ engadget's hands-on review didn't mention anything: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/12/nook-simple-touch-with-glowlight-hands-on/

as i figured, it's just a light source included around the perimeter (or perhaps just the top, from the review) of the screen...shouldn't be anything to mess up as it's equivalent to reading with an LED shining on the screen (which is fine on my kindle)

the $50 ($40 plus tax) increase gave me pause, but when you factor in the only awesome kindle case (amazon's $50 leather cover) that utilizes the kindle's battery to power the LED (i hate the idea of needing extra batteries), a $10 cover for the NST (got this, in black, and it's great: http://www.amazon.com/iPearl-mCover®-Leather-ALL-NEW-Barnes/dp/B005IBV4LK/) makes this a better purchase ($160 total), IMO

i have no doubt that amazon will have a competitor out in short order...but they'd need to drop the "special offers" and allow EPUB support at the same pricepoint of the NST with glowlight for me to consider it and i'm not sure they'll do that

i also like the idea of hacking the NST since it's running android, but that wouldn't be a dealbreaker in an amazon equivalent

[Edited on April 16, 2012 at 10:00 AM. Reason : correct link]

4/16/2012 9:58:46 AM

refurb NST now only $60 with free shipping (though add $4 for tax): http://www.ebay.com/itm/110868717136

for $64, it's almost silly NOT to have one

4/26/2012 2:15:41 PM

new Kindle Touch software coming soon that will allow portrait and landscape reading modes to help view maps/pictures/etc. along with a number of other fixes and updates

4/26/2012 3:44:32 PM