B&N Nook

Repost so everoyne else can see my responses too:

StSapphire said:
Heh, no worries. I've actually got a better perspective now, because my Kindle broke in a car crash and I'm now borrowing my grandma's nook, so I've used both now.

I've been looking at one and don't know what's the best or latest e-reader today. I saw the E-Ink idea and I can imagine myself reading and looking at it for a long time unlike on a Computer screen where I must take breaks. Is the Kindle brand the only e-readers that can offer this? How bad is Nook's screen display? The color looks cool, but I want a device solely for reading and note-taking along with built-in dictionary (which is included in the Kindle), so...
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1) E-ink is what all the black and white readers use, it's sort of a generic term for "non-backlit screen". Nook, Kindle, etc all use that. Nook color is the only ereader out that doesn't.

2) Having used both, the dictionary is much easier to use on the Kindle than the nook. (Note - nook is releasing an all-touchscreen e-ink model next month; I've not used that and I imagine a lot of flaws with the nook I've seen may be corrected with that, if they do it right. This is one of them.)

How good is the note-taking? I have paperback books over here with many pages of notes written in my notebook. Pen and paper note-taking method seems to suck, but it feels I am learning, which is what I'm here for. Does the high-lighting feature copy all the words highlighted into another page or what? Do I need to download anything to make an e-reader better?
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3) Note-taking? You won't be doing that at all on a nook (resistive, rather than capacitive touch pad for input, and it's not extremely accurate), and I can only imagine that would be quite a pain on the Kindle, too. Maybe a note like "review this, 5/13" or something small, but not something I'd want to do regularly whatsoever, on any ereader.

4) Highlighting might work better, but I primarily read novels so I've not had much use with that. Either way, input will be slightly easier on the Kindle than the nook, but these devices are simply primarily built for reading, not note-taking.

I love the idea of going anywhere with over 10 books and have a "pen and paper" idea already in it. If anything, I need a shortcut to speed reading and learning faster from reading books.
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I like the Kindle Wireless version since I would just go to the wifi spot and download a lot of books in a day and just go back to a wifi spot if I ever need more (would be a while since books take a while to read through). I like the Nook color too and the kindle DX (agh), so please... what you think?!?

I'm looking at them more as we speak. :)
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Personally, I have (had :( ) the 3G Kindle, and it was certainly nice to me to be able to just turn on wireless and look at books no matter where I was. If you plan on doing wireless or buying books on your Kindle/nook/etc, I'd go 3G. If you're gonna download them or only buy them at home, then the wifi is prolly fine.

And I've not exactly 0 experience with the DX, so I can't really say with that one. I'd imagine things like textbooks would work better on the larger screen, or possibly PDFs (which work like crap on my Kindle).

However, if you're not in a rush to get one, I'd wait a week or two, and see 1) how the new nook looks (from what I've read, it looks quite slick), and 2) see if Amazon responds and releases a new Kindle. There are color e-ink (ie non-backlit) screens made by the same company that makes the nook and Kindle screens, so I wouldn't be terribly surprised if they released a color e-ink Kindle in response to the new touch nook.
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Beach girl said:
How would the large Kindle compare to an iPad, for book-reading purposes?
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The DX has the same screen size as an ipad. (9.7" diagonal). An ipad is a tablet first, and an e-reader distant second, though. LCD screens are unusable for extended use in direct sunlight, and most people find e-ink screens far easier to read on for extended periods of time.

Mudkipz said:
There's Nook simple touch coming next week on the 10th of June (at least for their 2nd shipment): All-New NOOK - Easiest, Ultra-Light eReader with Longest Battery Life - Barnes*&*Noble

Looks good. Gotta read more on them though... :D
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I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on one of these. They look really nice.
 
Sometimes, I wonder what's the point of getting a Nook is when most smartphones and touchscreen devices allow you to read ebooks anyways. :dunno:

Perhaps, I'm wrong? I don't read books and don't pay much attention to these things. :dunno:
 
VamPyroX said:
Sometimes, I wonder what's the point of getting a Nook is when most smartphones and touchscreen devices allow you to read ebooks anyways. :dunno:

Perhaps, I'm wrong? I don't read books and don't pay much attention to these things. :dunno:
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The eReader devices (Kobo, Kindle, Sony, Nook, and few more) has everything you want to have along with you when reading a book. Like a built-in dictionary, highlighter, actual print ink (eInk) reading (unlike backlit screen display which could get you tried and hard to see in sunlight), 6" screen display and few more features.


I got questions
"ePub format so I can read library books" What's ePub? And what's PDF? How we get them?
 
Secretblend said:
Sounds like Kindle is best one to go with after reading this thread.?
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Updating my statement on this: Yes. I dislike the current nook, after having used both it and a Kindle. I reserve the right to reverse this statement after I've gotten my hands on a nook touch, which looks likely to fix a number of issues I've had with the original nook.

jillio said:
I could be wrong, but to my understanding, there is not a Nook app for all of the other devices.
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Dunno if this was already addressed or not, but there are nook apps for every platform that there are Kindle apps for.

VamPyroX said:
Sometimes, I wonder what's the point of getting a Nook is when most smartphones and touchscreen devices allow you to read ebooks anyways. :dunno:

Perhaps, I'm wrong? I don't read books and don't pay much attention to these things. :dunno:
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It's the screens. Backlit vs e-Ink. Most people I've talked to find the e-Ink screens much easier to read for extended periods of time, and enjoy being able to easily read in the sunlight.

The screens on an e-reader also tend to be larger than on a mobile phone - they're currently (for the most part) in between a smartphone and a tablet, which gives roughly the same reading size as a paperback book.

Mudkipz said:
I got questions "ePub format so I can read library books" What's ePub? And what's PDF? How we get them?
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Epub is a file format. You know how you can have pictures on your computer as .jpg or .png or .gif, or you can have a word file that's .doc or an excel sheet that's .xls? Ebooks are digital files as well, and .epub is one (extremely popular) format that is currently available. Almost every e-reader except the Kindle (for now) can read .epub files, and until the next update comes out, 95% of the public libraries in the US have their collections available only as .epub files. However, this will not be the case by fall of this year (at the latest) since Kindle will either be releasing support for .epub files, or the libraries will have their collections available in Kindle-compatible format as well (Amazon has already announced that they've come to some sort of agreement with Overdrive ensuring this.)
 
I tried out both the small Kindle and the large one at a Staples over the weekend. The small one would drive me nuts. I'm a very fast reader, so I'd be turning pages rapidly (even using one of the smaller font sizes), and the blinking, the fade in - fade out effect, would be really annoying.

If I buy one at all, it will for sure be the large size.

So, St. Saphhire, would you recommend that for someone who prefers the large size, would it still be a good idea to wait and see what they come out with in color? Will that version be coming out in both sizes?
 
Beach girl said:
I tried out both the small Kindle and the large one at a Staples over the weekend. The small one would drive me nuts. I'm a very fast reader, so I'd be turning pages rapidly (even using one of the smaller font sizes), and the blinking, the fade in - fade out effect, would be really annoying.

If I buy one at all, it will for sure be the large size.

So, St. Saphhire, would you recommend that for someone who prefers the large size, would it still be a good idea to wait and see what they come out with in color? Will that version be coming out in both sizes?
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Hard to say, really. I'm a fast reader and I've not noticed issues with needing to turn the pages too fast, and the screen flicker is simply how the e-Ink technology works, and after a bit you get used to it. (For what it's worth, the new nook touch supposedly will have a lot less of that flicker, but I'll only believe that when I see it, lol.)

If you're set on the larger screen size, then I'd prolly go ahead and buy it now - I don't realistically expect them to come out with a newer version of the DX, because that's been far less popular than the smaller model.
 
Well then - maybe when we go back to the beach again, I'll get myself a delayed birthday present. ;-)

I am not an "early adopter" when it comes to a lot of tech stuff; I'd rather wait until the bugs are straightened out, somebody else comes out with a cheaper version, or a better version, etc., etc. But if the DX Kindle is now about as good as it's realistically going to get, this might be the time...

For my needs, a larger size wouldn't be a problem; I'd be more likely to put it in my beach bag than in my purse, for instance. It just seems more like a "reading" experience to me, going by my 5-minute-try out in the store.
 
Beach girl said:
Well then - maybe when we go back to the beach again, I'll get myself a delayed birthday present. ;-)

I am not an "early adopter" when it comes to a lot of tech stuff; I'd rather wait until the bugs are straightened out, somebody else comes out with a cheaper version, or a better version, etc., etc. But if the DX Kindle is now about as good as it's realistically going to get, this might be the time...

For my needs, a larger size wouldn't be a problem; I'd be more likely to put it in my beach bag than in my purse, for instance. It just seems more like a "reading" experience to me, going by my 5-minute-try out in the store.
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By now, if you get any e-reader, you're no longer an early adopter, they're all pretty mainstream by now. :P

You're not likely to find many "bugs" or anything, but as with any technology, if you wait 6 months, there will probably be a newer version that's both cheaper and better all around. It's how tech works, lol. So I'm sure if you wait 6 months to a year, there'll be another version of the DX that's got better features and costs less. But that'll be true no matter when you get them, lol.

Size-wise, the other thing to keep in mind that the more popular version is more likely to get faster updates. So, for example, if Amazon releases support for Overdrive epub format books, I wouldn't be surprised if it look an extra month or so for that to make its way to the DX.

For the reading experience, if you read retail paperbacks, then you could probably expect a similar "reading experience" to that if you get the font size right on the smaller version. The screen on the DX is closer to the size of a hardcover book.

Good luck with whichever one you end up getting, though!
 
I tried the new Nook touch at B&N store. Wow! first time I have seen an eReader. It was shaped like a simple square compared to the Nook color (was right next to the new touch one). I immediately knew it would be easy to read the books with it and its e-Ink tech for a long time. I tried looking away from it at an angle and still no reflection or hard to see. Pretty nice device, indeed. I'm wondering if this new Nook touch I saw is the best screen display with a white background? I think the Kindle ones have a gray background in the screen and that might be dull since I'm used to seeing backlit white screen and Nook Touch's screen looks like it...

All the features in the new Nook looks great and I would use all of them. Too bad you can't listen to the Nook as it reads the book out for you or put music background. Imagine Jazz or smooth music while reading!! Kindle could do that today, so...

Anyways, I have now seen the eReader (and probably seen them all). I had to go back and forth to see if the Nook had the books I was reading at B&N and yep, it did have them all. Had a preview as a option to see if you want to buy it, which was awesome.

Does any stores have Kindle to sell besides Amazon.com? I wanna get my hands on one and make a decision... ;)

And fast readers? How many words per minute you guys read at? How do I "speed" up my reading? Speed-reading course? Eh, if so, is there a good book for to learn Speed reading?
 
What the... This one guy, Howard Berg, can read about 90 pages in a minute and can have perfect comprehension of whatever he read.

...

Is he NOT reading? What is this...: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=620BII22Jfk&feature=related[/ame]
 
Mudkipz said:
I tried the new Nook touch at B&N store. Wow! first time I have seen a eReader. It was shaped like simple square compared to the Nook color (Was right next to the new touch one) I immediately knew it would be easy to read the books with it and its e-Ink tech for a long time. I tried looking away from it at an angle and still no reflection or hard to see. Pretty nice device, indeed. I'm wondering if this new Nook touch I saw is the best screen display with a white background? I think the Kindle ones have a gray background in the screen and that might be dull since I'm used to seeing backlit white screen and Nook Touch's screen looks like it...
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The new nook touch does have a newer type of e-Ink screen than the current generation of Kindles. I'll try and get out to a B&N sometime tonight or tomorrow and get my hands on it so I can do a comparison.

Mudkipz said:
All the features in the new Nook looks great and I would use all of them. Too bad you can't listen to the Nook as it reads the book out for you or put music background. Imagine Jazz or smooth music while reading!! Kindle could do that today, so...
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That's a bit surprising, but from what I've seen appears to be correct.

Mudkipz said:
Anyways, I have now seen the eReader (and probably seen them all). I had to go back and forth to see if the Nook had the books I was reading at B&N and yep, it did have them all. Had a preview as a option to see if you want to buy it, which was awesome.

Does any stores have Kindle to sell besides Amazon.com? I wanna get my hands on one and make a decision... ;)

And fast readers? How many words per minute you guys read at? How do I "speed" up my reading? Speed-reading course? Eh, if so, is there a good book for to learn Speed reading?
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You can buy Kindles at Best Buy and Staples at a minimum, if you want to get your hands on one and take a look. Probably a few other stores, too, but those are the two where I've actually seen them personally.

I only learned to read fast by reading a lot, lol. Trust me, when you read 5-10 books a month, it just starts to come naturally to you, and if you get an e-reader, you'll probably find yourself doing just that, lol.
 
StSapphire said:
By now, if you get any e-reader, you're no longer an early adopter, they're all pretty mainstream by now. :P

I know, that's my point! I rely on other people spending their money and writing the reviews before I depart with my hard-earned cash! :lol:

You're not likely to find many "bugs" or anything, but as with any technology, if you wait 6 months, there will probably be a newer version that's both cheaper and better all around. It's how tech works, lol. So I'm sure if you wait 6 months to a year, there'll be another version of the DX that's got better features and costs less. But that'll be true no matter when you get them, lol.


Also very true! My husband is the main tech guy in our family' invariably two weeks after he buys something, he'll say "Look at this!! NOW they've come out with .... (whatever new thing it is)." As a nice understanding wife, I just say "Yes, dear, what a pity." :giggle:

Size-wise, the other thing to keep in mind that the more popular version is more likely to get faster updates. So, for example, if Amazon releases support for Overdrive epub format books, I wouldn't be surprised if it look an extra month or so for that to make its way to the DX.

Since I don't have to be first kid on the block with newest and greatest, I doubt that would bother me much. How I use it every day is what matters most.

For the reading experience, if you read retail paperbacks, then you could probably expect a similar "reading experience" to that if you get the font size right on the smaller version. The screen on the DX is closer to the size of a hardcover book.

Good point, and I do prefer hard-covers, so maybe that's why the natural preference to the larger size.

Good luck with whichever one you end up getting, though!
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Mudkipz said:
I tried the new Nook touch at B&N store. Wow! first time I have seen an eReader. It was shaped like a simple square compared to the Nook color (was right next to the new touch one). I immediately knew it would be easy to read the books with it and its e-Ink tech for a long time. I tried looking away from it at an angle and still no reflection or hard to see. Pretty nice device, indeed. I'm wondering if this new Nook touch I saw is the best screen display with a white background? I think the Kindle ones have a gray background in the screen and that might be dull since I'm used to seeing backlit white screen and Nook Touch's screen looks like it...

All the features in the new Nook looks great and I would use all of them. Too bad you can't listen to the Nook as it reads the book out for you or put music background. Imagine Jazz or smooth music while reading!! Kindle could do that today, so...

Anyways, I have now seen the eReader (and probably seen them all). I had to go back and forth to see if the Nook had the books I was reading at B&N and yep, it did have them all. Had a preview as a option to see if you want to buy it, which was awesome.

Does any stores have Kindle to sell besides Amazon.com? I wanna get my hands on one and make a decision... ;)

You could try down-loading the free Kindle app on your PC. Go to Amazon and look for it. I'm going to do that, actually, before I buy whatever I buy.
And fast readers? How many words per minute you guys read at? How do I "speed" up my reading? Speed-reading course? Eh, if so, is there a good book for to learn Speed reading?
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I don't know exactly, but quite fast. I took an Evelyn Wood speed-reading class back in college. I was a naturally fast reader even before that, and still found the class to be worth-while for zooming through college textbooks. If I'm reading something for style I slow down a bit, but generally I do go through a book pretty quickly.

The small Kindle I just found really annoying for that reason. For someone who wanted to take the thing around with you all the time, to read while commuting or waiting for doctor's appointments or spare minutes or whatever, I guess you could get used to it. But if you plan to sit and read, to me the larger size looked more compatible to that sort of use. Plus probably better for magazines and newspapers.
 
Speed-reading?

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Any more "fun" in reading a book is great. I'll check out and see if there's a Evelyn Wood speed-reading course related as of today and probably, Breakthrough Rapid Reading, book. Do you guys really read a lot of books really fast and UNDERSTAND what it was about? To me, that sounds really hard. You could miss some words and drift off while reading often. What about when you trying to pronounce the words in your head while reading? I need a quick guideline to speed reading... :P
 
Beach girl said:
I know, that's my point! I rely on other people spending their money and writing the reviews before I depart with my hard-earned cash!
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Well, I like my toys, so I'm more than happy to play with them first so I can show off all the cool things they can do to you. :P

Beach girl said:
Good point, and I do prefer hard-covers, so maybe that's why the natural preference to the larger size.
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That'd make sense. The ability to hold it comfortably in one hand is far more important to me than screen size, but that's just a personal preference.

Beach girl said:
You could try down-loading the free Kindle app on your PC. Go to Amazon and look for it. I'm going to do that, actually, before I buy whatever I buy.
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I think he wanted to look at the e-reader itself, not just their selection, lol.

Beach girl said:
The small Kindle I just found really annoying for that reason. For someone who wanted to take the thing around with you all the time, to read while commuting or waiting for doctor's appointments or spare minutes or whatever, I guess you could get used to it. But if you plan to sit and read, to me the larger size looked more compatible to that sort of use. Plus probably better for magazines and newspapers.
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I go out to a park, on the porch, or in bed and read for hours at a time on my readers. I find the comfort of holding it in one hand far more amenable to longer sessions of reading than the fewer page turns. I tried reading a magazine or newspaper on it once, though. That was not a pleasant experience, and I would imagine the larger screen might help with that.
 
Mudkipz said:
Speed-reading?

Any more "fun" in reading a book is great. I'll check out and see if there's a Evelyn Wood speed-reading course related as of today and probably, Breakthrough Rapid Reading, book. Do you guys really read a lot of books really fast and UNDERSTAND what it was about? To me, that sounds really hard. You could miss some words and drift off while reading often. What about when you trying to pronounce the words in your head while reading? I need a quick guideline to speed reading... :P
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I don't think I formally "speed read", I just read quickly for fun. Dunno.

I certainly understand what I'm reading, but I've not done the "pronounce words in your head" thing since early grade school. :P Gets in the way of my reading, after all.
 
Ditto. The only time I "pronounce words in my head" is if I'm reading in a foreign language. I definitely don't read as fast in Spanish or Portuguese as I do in English.

I suspect the Evelyn Wood company went out of business a long time ago. It was a fun thing to do, but a bit pricey even at the time. You could probably get the same info from a good book.
 
I had looked a few months back for the free kindle for PC and was unable to find it. Luckily, today I located it and am in the process of downloading it. I already have the PCNook and the Adobe Digital Editions for my library.
 
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