E-readers, tablets and ipod touch

greg

Is there anyone out there with experience of e-readers? My wife wants an e-reader for her birthday. We always take lots of books on holiday and with weight restrictions on cheaper European flights they can easily add up to 5 KG of our 20 KG per person allowance! The Kindle is an obvious starting point but we had a demostration yesterday and it did not feel very intuitive in its operation. She already has an iphone and was trying to use it as she would that. Another option could be to buy a cheaper tablet - she doesn't want anything as expensive as an ipad. I'd also wondered about getting my self an ipod touch - has anyone used that for reading books, or is the screen just too small for that?

elwoodicious

I tried reading on my iphone and gave up because the screen is too small to comfortably read for long periods of time. I have an iPad but the problem there is both the weight (1.5lbs/.68kg) becomes an anchor after awhile and the LCD can feel like a laser on your retina. So now I use the iPad for Instapaper and Reeder (RSS) for articles and longer form web content and am back to paper.

My sister has a Nook that she travels quite extensively with and she really likes it. I've played with it and it was easy to navigate and appeared to be a sturdy build--hers, which she got at launch, has put on miles and still looks good.

amclark2

I love reading on my iphone, and there's an astounding amount of good free stuff to read. I wear glasses for distance vision, and I find that if I take them off, I can comfortably read on the phone. I watch movies on it too - same thing, no glasses. My wife thinks that's crazy, but that way I can watch a movie loudly without waking the whole house. An ipad would probably be better, but I thought about the heaviness of it too...

My brother in law has a kindle which he likes.

Muggsy

I have a Nook that I'm very happy with. I compared it to the Kindle and read a bunch of reviews before taking the plunge last summer, and felt like it was the best option for me. I wear reading glasses for small print but don't need them with the Nook after adjusting the font size. I also have an iPod touch with the iBooks app, but I agree with Elwoodicious that the screen is too small for e-books.

mommio

I bought the Nook Color. I love it, but it is definitely a weightier option. Someone I Know has the Nook and her husband has the Kindle. He tends to use hers because he finds it more intuitive to use. I chose the Nook so I could get library ebooks. There are reported workarounds with the Kindle, but I just didn't want to go to that much trouble.

Germanprof

I think it really depends what you want to use it for. I recently went with a Kindle after some research, for the following reasons:

1. It handles PDFs and you can also email any document to it in DOC or RTF and it converts it to a Kindle book and downloads it to the device. This for me is a good way to handle journal article reading; before a trip I download a bunch of articles I need to read and email them to my Kindle. I also edit two journals - nice to be able to forward submissions to my Kindle and have them all there to read when I have a little time. So for me document handling was actually more important than handling of novels; I basically don't buy books on it or read novels on it - I'm using it mostly for professional reading.

2. It has a different kind of screen to most of the others. It is not a backlit LCD-type screen - it emits no light, and has to be read in the same lighting conditions as paper (this also means it does not have glare in strong light). This means less eye strain - I did not want to add another device with a glowing screen to add to my collection; I spend too much time staring at them already. This also removed the temptation to read in bed after dark (though also removes that ability if you want it). This is a significant difference to the Nook, whichever way your preference goes.

3. Battery lasts a month (because the screen is not backlit). I like being able to go on a 10 day trip with long flights and not worry about running low, taking chargers or finding outlets. It's also VERY light and slim.

Navigation can be a little clunky but I'm used to it now. And some features that I at first found awkward I have come to realize are well-designed. For instance, there are two buttons on each edge of the screen; on both edges the top one is page back and the bottom one is page forward. For the first few weeks I would keep clicking on the left side of the screen for page back and the right side for page forward, which was more intuitive for me - but that was not how it worked. Then I was sitting one day with a drink in my hand on a plane and realized that the reason for the button arrangement is effortless one-handed operation. Now that I'm used to it it's great.

No real complaints so far - but I did have a very specific set of criteria. I am quite prepared to believe that the Nook is simpler for books; personally I didn't want the extra weight and glare or the lower battery life, & simplicity was not my optimal criterion.

BigD-Bluez

I have the old Nook which was a gift which I like well enough, although I really prefer to read an actual book. The amount it can store is mind-boggling (as any of them) - I got the complete Charles Dickens for like $2.99 or something, and I like that I can beat the device at chess if I'm careful. Jealous of the Color Nook I admit - I would not DL a magazine or cookbook on my old one. It would be great on a trip.

greg

Thanks all - that's really useful. I hadn't heard of the Nook, so I'll check that out. I hadn't realised that you could receive emails on the Kindle. That would be really useful for me, especially the ability to receive doc and pdf documents, as I also read a fair amount of both

greg

After a lot of Google searching I've discovered that you cannot easily buy the Nook yet in the UK. One or two companies import it, but Barnes and Noble don't support it here, and you cannot buy e-books from their store in the States anyway. Apparently it has beeen coming here 'soon' for the last two years. So it looks like for e-readers it is between the Kindle and Sony

Germanprof

Greg, the Kindle does not receive emails. What happens is that it has a dedicated email address that you email your document to, and when it arrives at that address Amazon convert the document to Kindle format (if it is a doc or rtf or I think txt) or leaves it as-is (if it is a PDF) and then adds it to the download queue for your device, so next time you turn it on it downloads. In theory you can use the Kindle to check emails online as it has a basic web browser (black and white only) but I would not recommend using it much as an internet device.

greg

Thanks Germanprof, yes I have been reading up about it further this morning, so I now realise that it doesn't have a full web browser. Also Amazon UK will charge for use of the 3G service for non-Kindle related use, which seemed fairly expensive. I suspect my wife will end up with a KIndle as she already has an iphone, but I'll get an Android tablet which we can link to any KIndle downloads via an app. Currently I am thinking about a Samsung tablet. I'd love an ipad, but it is probably too big for holiday reading and is far more costly anyway.

Germanprof

I bought the non-3G Kindle - I'm organized enough that I can stock it up at home over wireless and feel little need to pay extra to be able to buy books on whim on the road. One nice thing re the iPhone is that if she has the Kindle app there too, if she has the same book open on both, the Kindle will sync the last page read to between the two devices. I went through the same loop in iPad - attractive but larger and more expensive (and too many tempting time wasters on it :-)).

Dr. Mutex

A gentleman of my acquaintance has a new ebook out, How to Suceed in Evil For only $.99 you can read the adventures of Edwin Windsor, Evil Efficiency Consultant. His tries to help supervillains with their evil plans. Naturally, since they're all egomaniacs, they don't follow his advice, and entertaining bumbling ensues. Highly recommended.
You don't have to own a Kindle, you can download a software reader. I got a Kindle app for my Crackberry so I can read it on the train.

amclark2

Got it - sounds cool, thanks.

cafreema

That sounds awesome Dr. Mutex. Is it available in a way I can read it on an iPad? It's my understanding that they don't play nice with Kindle stuff. Could be wrong on that though.

Craig

amclark2

There's a kindle app for iPhone - not sure about iPad.

choiceweb0pen0

For the most part the Apple apps split down between ipod touch/ iPhone and Ipad.

I have an ipod Touch and have used Apple's iBook to read free short stories and books in public domain. While it is a small screen, it's been useful to have some reading material on it for random down times. Reading hometown writer Zane Gray's “Riders of the Purple Sage” so I can say I've read at least one book by him. Not bad so far, though it has an odd anti-Mormon thing going on.

Dr. Mutex

There's a Kindle app for iPad in the iPad store. I don't have an iPad so I can't attest to it's quality or lack thereof.

mommio

Reading hometown writer Zane Gray's “Riders of the Purple Sage” so I can say I've read at least one book by him.

My father was an avid fan, and he had many of the Western books.I have them now. Couldn't bear to part with them, because most were gifts from my mother, and she wrote little love notes inside the covers. Yes, I have read most of them, but it was years ago, when I was growing up. Need to pull out the box and start reading again.

Doofy

Craig, Kindle app for iPad works just fine.

choiceweb0pen0

@Mommio. My grandfather loved Zane Gray. I was born and grew up in Zanesville, Ohio, where he was born too. I think I have my Grandfather's copy of “Riders of the Purple Sage” somewhere.

cafreema

Thanks for the Kindle info all. Looks like a go!

Craig

greg

An update - we bought a Kindle not long before going on holiday. It is really my wife's as it was her birthday present from me. But I'm currently using it, reading a book we both wanted to read. I didn't think I'd take to it, but it is great! I actually find it quicker to read than a paperback.

greg

I bought an ipad on Saturday - it's great. However, I have one query that someone might be able to help me with. I've just tried loading a music DVD (that I own - not rented) onto itunes on my computer so that I can watch it on a train journey on the ipad. But itunes does not recognise it. I'm using Windows 7 64 bit if that makes any difference. My suspicion is that I am not going to be able to manage to do this....

elwoodicious

Music DVD as in video or as in music? If it's video, give Handbrake a whirl but remember to encode it as an MP4 (for ease of use you can just select an Apple format).

greg

I've got a number of films of concerts for example on DVD that I've bought over he years that I rarely watch, so I thought I might have a go at putting them on the ipad to watch them when I'm travelling. I'll look at Handbrake. Thanks, Elwood

elwoodicious

Handbrake was a godsend for when we went on vacation this past spring, with 18+ hours in the car we ripped a good portion of my daughter's DVDs and loaded them onto the iPad so she'd have something to occupy her on those countless miles streaming by.

mommio

Turned my Nook Color into a sweet Android tablet. Although you can do it on your own, my limited skills and patience made buying the N2A card totally worth it! I happened on information about the card through Nook discussion forums -- bought mine on Amazon.

amclark2

Kindle Fire - $199

Doofy

I am interested in that Kindle Fire. Sounds perfect for my wife, who uses the iPad just for reading news and light web browsing.

mommio

I would be interested if I didn't already have the Nook Color, now with dual-boot. The Fire will be cheaper than my setup, and it will be faster, but so far, I don't see anything it can do that I can't do with my Nook. Of note is that I can use storage cards with the Nook, but I don't see that option for the Fire. I imagine this thing will sell like hotcakes, so if you are interested, consider pre-ordering. Amazon says first come, first served.