Best e-book reader?

I use a Sony eReader Touch. No way in hell would I use anything Amazon sold. (Although I'd be happy to take their money if my books ever ended up on that site, because I'm a money-grabbing hypocrite).

It doesn't have wireless capability, which suits me just fine. I don't want anyone having access to my ebook library except me.

Room for SD cards, the internal memory holds around 3-400 ebooks alone, it plays music too, holds photos, you name it.

Thus far I've used it to read RTF, epubs, Adobe and AdobeSony files.

Jamie Stone said:

Can you buy something on Amazon and have it sent to your B&N Nook

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No. The Amazon Kindle uses a proprietary ebook format.

Jamie Stone said:

or buy something at B&N and read it on your Kindle?

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No. B&N sells ebooks in a proprietary format (PDB), and now in an open format (EPUB). Neither are readable on the Kindle.

Both devices support PDF reading, but as far as I know, neither bookseller sells ebooks in PDF format, so you'd have to buy them somewhere else.

No one can answer that for you; go look at them yourself. The screens, even those using eInk *are different*.

Just wanted to throw out there that I love my Kindle. I find the screen very comfortable to read, much more so than reading on a backlit screen ever was, and although it says you get your books in a minute or less, I generally have them delivered in about ten seconds. I don't know how many books it holds, but I have over 100 on it right now with TONS of extra space.

I have a nook and I like it a lot. I've bought a few books from their site, downloaded free samples and other free ebooks from BN, and loaded epub format books from another site. Books download to it in a few seconds. So far it's great. I tried it out in the store before deciding on it. You probably want to do the same, and some stores also display the Sony readers.

I have no opinion on any readers. I intend to wait for things to settle down, to see what shakes out. You may want to read this article about the death of Kindle

When I was looking into ebook readers I compared the features of several online. Eventually I decided on the Nook, which I love and use daily. Some of the reasons why I chose the nook over say, the Kindle: when the rechargeable battery dies you can just buy a replacement and install it yourself; the LendMe feature; the Nook's use of a standard ebook format instead of its own proprietary format; I will not buy anything from Amazon after their ebook pricing tantrum not long ago.

If possible, try checking as many of them out in stores as you can. No matter what features or how fast the downloads, it's all meaningless if the device isn't comfortable for you to use.

Apple's reporting they sold over 300,000 thousand Ipads on Saturday the 4th, the first day it was made available. Amazon has never publicly discussed numbers for their Kindle so its hard to say if the Ipad will out sell, but given Apples history, I would say the Kindle is in for a fight.

I have also read where Disney, ABC and other TV groups are making some of their shows available for the Ipad. The Ipad is a platform for more than just reading books...

I would say be cautious of just jumping out there and buying the brightest gizmo on the market. Think on what you want your reading device to do and how you will use it best to get your moneys worth. Not sure how you could test drive a Kindle, but with the others, I would check them out very carefully and get the one that best fits YOUR needs and expectations.

I have the Kindle for PC on my desktop and laptop so I'm not sure I need a dedicated reading device since I do so much with my laptop.

You can test-drive the Kindle for PC software. I did, with an ABNA sample. It sucks potato bugs. Not reader-friendly. Not for this reader, anyway. If the widget is the same (only probably worse, IMO) -- well. PeeU. Besides, we should boycott Amaslut.

What exactly are you looking for? For a simple and functional reader, i very much recommend the sony prs 300. It does what it's supposed to do and very well, without any feature creep you are expected to pay for. Supports epub, pdf, txt and even word formats. If you are looking for an ebook reader you want to use to read, and do nothing else with, this is the one to buy imo.
If you want a full multimedia device to surf the net with, watch videos, play music, etc. i'd recommend HP, or just go with a Netbook. (i like the Asus Netbooks) Even cheap ebook readers are still in the price range of a (likewise cheap) Netbook at the moment.

There are many reasons not to buy a Kindle. Most Prominent it being an Amazon product, and it using highly restrictive DRM.

I've used both a Kindle and a Nook and I ultimately bought the Nook. I love it. I'm not terribly gadgety, but this is, by far, my favorite personal possession. Both Nook and Kindle are easy to use, but both use proprietary formats, so I have to buy my books from Barnes & Noble or any ePub format or Adobe. It's also store MP3, but I don't listen to music while I read, so it's a bit redundant. Nook allows you to upload pictures for custom screensavers and wallpaper. The Kindle doesn't, but that a minor thing.

I just found the Nook more intuitive. I really don't like the little joystick control on the Kindle. Plus, the color screen lets you see the book cover in color, albeit small.

I did a three part review of Nook and eReading in general for AuthorScoop, if you want to read on...

http://authorscoop.com/2010/02/13/my-barnes-noble-nook-adventure-part-iii/

My husband gave me a Kindle for last Mother's Day. I hadn't asked for it, but I guess he was tired of seeing my travel suitcases packed half full of books before I put any clothes in. (Hey, you gotta take care of the important stuff.) I didn't think I'd like it, but I was wrong, wrong, wrong. I love it. It's easier to hold with my arthritis than a 'regular' book. I can 'buy' books ANYWHERE (even on a cruise ship at sea.) I can get the types of books I like to read -- not just public domain. The prices of the books are right. My family can now give me gift certificates to Kindle so I get books "free." Mine is the older Kindle. So, FWIW. However, I still buy tons of paperbacks a month, and have a long list at the library for hardbacks I want to read. The Kindle is currently mostly for traveling or when I feel I'd be somewhere longer than one paperback would last. (about two hours). I've learned that a book 'costing' $0.00 is worth what I paid, and that the $.99 are about the same. The search function on the Kindle itself is not what it should be. Some of the books are oddly tagged -- a search for mystery -- women sleuths turned up Shakespeare and Bertie Wooster. I normally search through the PC, make a list, and then buy as I go. I just put my own collection of short stories up on Kindle -- no cost at all to me -- and it was available in two days. FWIW.

Perks said:

I've used both a Kindle and a Nook and I ultimately bought the Nook. I love it. I'm not terribly gadgety, but this is, by far, my favorite personal possession. Both Nook and Kindle are easy to use, but both use proprietary formats, so I have to buy my books from Barnes & Noble or any ePub format or Adobe. It's also store MP3, but I don't listen to music while I read, so it's a bit redundant. Nook allows you to upload pictures for custom screensavers and wallpaper. The Kindle doesn't, but that a minor thing.

I just found the Nook more intuitive. I really don't like the little joystick control on the Kindle. Plus, the color screen lets you see the book cover in color, albeit small.

I did a three part review of Nook and eReading in general for AuthorScoop, if you want to read on...

http://authorscoop.com/2010/02/13/my-barnes-noble-nook-adventure-part-iii/

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thanks for the review - looking towards a B-day present of a Nook, so this is helping make up my mind.

along with spiffy toys like this:

http://www.oberondesign.com/nook.php

scarletpeaches said:

It doesn't have wireless capability, which suits me just fine. I don't want anyone having access to my ebook library except me.

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Er - what? Surely the wireless facility is for downloading stuff to your reader, not uploading stuff from it?

Sheryl said:

along with spiffy toys like this:

http://www.oberondesign.com/nook.php

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Oooh, fancy!

JimmyB27 said:

Er - what? Surely the wireless facility is for downloading stuff to your reader, not uploading stuff from it?

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Well, on the Kindle for example, it's also there for Amazon to delete your ebooks remotely if they think it was a mistake to sell them to you.

Lhun said:

Well, on the Kindle for example, it's also there for Amazon to delete your ebooks remotely if they think it was a mistake to sell them to you.

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Yes, much has been made of the fact that Amazon released several books, including two (I believe it was only two) George Orwell novels, that had not got through their rights rigors. So, Amazon should not have sold that eversion and accessed those Kindles that had downloaded the books to remove them until the paperwork was sorted out.

Full refunds and apologies were issued, and I doubt anything like that will happen again. But I've never seen the big deal there, though. Apparently, the affront is largely symbolic.

I have done alot of research and I think the nook is th ebest one right now. However, I haven't bought one, with the ipad and so much going on with ereaders right now I think it makes more sense (at least for me) to wait until the dust settles a little to see which one will reign supreme.

I'm all about portability and consolidation so if you own an iPhone or iPod Touch I recommend downloading the "Stanza" app. It has a simple interface and everything that a dedicated e-book reader device has. What's more, it's FREE! It may not be as comfortable to read as a Kindle, but with customizable backgrounds, text and colors and simple brightness controls you can make it tolerable. The book selection is pretty impressive as well, lots of free stuff that has fallen out of copyright. There are some vendors that have more modern books you have to pay for, but I'm too cheap to have any idea how good their library is.

:sigh: I did a lot of research on this. A LOT. And even then, when I decided on the nook, I hadn't researched enough. It does not work over seas - they sell books to only those who are physically in the US. When my husband bought my nook while he was in the states, he ASKED the guy if it would work in Japan. He said, "Sure, as long as you're using a US IP address." - meaning I would have to go on base to download books directly purchased from my nook. That DID NOT WORK. Thankfully I figured out a way to get my books to my nook, problem solved, I am happy.

I love my nook. It works well doing what it does, letting me read the books I want to read when I want to, and it takes less than 5 seconds to download a book. I don't care for Apple products. I have 2 laptops I can use to get online. I get distracted by the internet easy enough that I don't need to access it while reading a book.

If you can, I would try to get your hands on each e-reader and see what you like best. I didn't go for the Kindle because I didn't like all the buttons - something my kids would be more inclined to putz with. I checked out the Sony one, but it wasn't for me either. They had a pocket sized one, but I wanted something with substantial size. What it all boiled down to in the end: I have a very persuasive friend who also has the nook and she shares her books with me.

The Scip said:

I have done alot of research and I think the nook is th ebest one right now. However, I haven't bought one, with the ipad and so much going on with ereaders right now I think it makes more sense (at least for me) to wait until the dust settles a little to see which one will reign supreme.

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I don't think it's going to work like that; I think that a better model is the way in which even now, we have multiple kinds / formats of printed books.

I suspect that ePub just got a heavy boost from Apple's adoption of the standard.

I'm really really interested to see how the "share" a DRM ePub/iBooks book works--you can share Apple's FairPlay DRM books with up to five other users, much the way the iTunes older DRM for iTunes (music now sold via iTunes is DRMless) allowed you to share with up to five users via the login/share feature.

I think it may actually help prove to publishers that DRM doesn't work, and isn't going to drive more sales. It just frustrates honest users.