anyone use any eReaders?

[joelkat]

Whats good and what do you recommend?

[Grenage]

I have only experience of the kindle, and a few Sony models. They were all good, but I preferred the kindle.

My main gripes are excessive e-book prices (some are 3 times that of a real book), and poor quality of content (clear OCR work, with no proof-reading). Neither of those gripes are endemic to a piece of hardware, but they are things to watch out for.

[joelkat]

you sound like you know what your talkin about how does this sound http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pandigital+-+Novel+Digital+Book+-+Black/1409299.p?id=1218255942091&skuId=1409299#BVRRWidgetID

[Paqman]

I've really only used Kindles. The new one is really good, wafer thin, really light, the screen has even better contrast than the previous version, and the browser actually renders pages properly now.

Whatever you get, Calibre will get any sort of ebooks or pdfs onto it with no hassle.

[fuduntu]

Whats good and what do you recommend?

I have a Pandigital Novel which is a Barnes and Noble compatible reader. It is not e-ink, so the battery life is pretty bad (~6 hours) but it is CHEAP and Pandigital offers an open platform which has been modded by the community at SlateDroid.

Once it's modded, it offers a decent Android experience. A little sluggish at times, but the software I use on it is: Android Market, Aldiko Reader, Google Reader, Dolphin Browser, a few drawing apps, Dropbox, Kindle reader, K9Mail, Nook reader, Photoshop Express, SSH, and some others.

I would say that if you want an e-ink reader that only allows one book store, go nook or kindle. If you want an e-reader that has great book support with custom firmware but doesn't offer e-ink check out the Novel.

[joelkat]

fuduntu I have had my eye on the pandigital is it bad? Like I would like this one but Is it bad?

[fuduntu]

fuduntu I have had my eye on the pandigital is it bad? Like I would like this one but Is it bad?

My only complaint is that it doesn't sleep properly so sometimes the battery drains and I don't know that it's draining.

I feel like it was money well spent, and use it non-stop but I paid barely over $100 for it.

Read up on the device before you make a decision, if you do get one I only recommend the white version as the Pandigital black custom firmware is not yet ready for prime time.

http://www.slatedroid.com/index.php?board=43.0

[joelkat]

Oh well I put on my x-mas list Kindle OR Pandigital e-reader as they are the same price and I hope to get one

[Paqman]

Oh well I put on my x-mas list Kindle OR Pandigital e-reader as they are the same price and I hope to get one

They're pretty different animals. Are you sure you understand the difference between e-ink and an LCD screen?

[mendhak]

I've got 2 Kindles and 2 Sony Readers (don't ask). I prefer the Kindle due to the Amazon Kindle store's large selection. Not all books are overpriced, but you will find some that are the same price as dead tree versions.

I also recommend Calibre software for converting epub format books (even HTML, PDF, RTF, etc) into mobi so that you can copy it onto the Kindle and read it there.

[joelkat]

No I dont explain to me?

[fuduntu]

No I dont explain to me?

e-ink is a black and white screen which looks much like the page of a book. e-ink is exceptionally good in sunlight. It also has extremely low power requirements, and what allows the kindle and nook to have excellent battery life (they last weeks on a charge).

The Novel has an LED backlit LCD screen which means that it is color, but the battery only lasts a few hours. It is a reflective screen meaning that it is terrible in direct light.

[joelkat]

Ooooooooooooh Thank you both I think I want the kindle

[Grenage]

Absolutely positively get a device with an e-ink screen if you plan on doing a lot of reading, or are buying the device just for reading.

[Rasa1111]

After lots and lots of research into e-readers,
and lots of questions...
I decided that the NOOK was the best there is, for the money it costs.

I feel it allows you the most freedoms,
compared the 'the other' "big" e-readers.

You do not need to use content from B&N on the nook.
You can use content from anywhere,
ebook/epub/pdf, MP3's, audiobooks, etc.

I bought the wifi version, for $150.

i really love how they function.
and the speed, looks, android, features..
its really an amazing machine. :)

and the new nook color, is also pretty amazing!

Kindle..
definitely not for me..
to restricting.. lol :o
dont need chains with my ereader.

So,
nook has my vote! lol <3

[Paqman]

Kindle..
definitely not for me..
to restricting.. lol :o


Like I said: install Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/), all those restrictions go away. It's in the repos. Great app.

[Grenage]

nook has my vote! lol <3

I would have considered a nook, if it was available outside America.

[CbrPad]

Yes, I have a Sony PRS650 which I love. I purposefully chose it over a Kindle because of the touchscreen and wider format support and specifically because it doesn't tie, or try, to tie me into a specific format or walled garden such as Amazon do.
Also, I'm very worried about Amazons habit of censoring and dropping books quietly and removing them from readers devices without providing refunds as has happened recently.

On the other hand, you could buy a Kindle and use software such as Calibre to handle your library thus benefiting from the cheaper price.

Note that e-ink is not particularly good at reading comics and technical pdfs if that's what you're more interested in. Most can do it, but a tablet or something would be a far better bet for this if that's the majority of your useage. Don't expect any web browsers to be any good either.

However, for reading novels and the like e-ink is superlative. The screen is not backlit thus it's easier on the eyes for reading large quantities of text, plus it generally only uses power for page turns so battery life is measured in tens of thousands of page turns or weeks. That is what it excels at and is it's raison d'aitre.

A great resource for all things reading on electronic devices is mobileread.com

[Rasa1111]

Like I said: install Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/), all those restrictions go away. It's in the repos. Great app.

Yeah Calibre is definitely nice.

Ive used it for about a year now,
used it before I ever got an ereader..
but it makes having an ereader so much nicer i think. lol
Makes managing books very nice to.

I still much prefer the nook though.
I did a lot of comparing and pondering..
and the nook just feels like "the device" for the task at hand. lol <3

thanks. <3

[Rasa1111]

I would have considered a nook, if it was available outside America.

aww man,
that stinks. :(

sorry to hear that.

I have a friend in the UK with the same problem.
He requested I get an extra nook and send it to him. lol

If i had the extra cash I think I would have.

I have another friend from the UK, a female,
and her friend visited her 6 or 7 months back.
The friend had a nook with him and left it with her because she liked it soo much.

Got any friends from the US coming to visit?
They could pick one up for the trip. lol

[Grenage]

Got any friends from the US coming to visit?
They could pick one up for the trip. lol

I can buy an export here for about £140-150, but these are just 'unauthorised' resellers. Geographic restrictions can and surely do exist, so I'd consider it if B&N were officially selling them here.

[Tristam Green]

I have a Kindle 3, 3G variant. I love it.


Couple hints: you can eke out LOADS of battery life (I went nearly 60 days between recharges) by minimizing use of the wireless radio. It's a reader, not a tablet, and though it has a browser, it's only good for like...Wikipedia. Keep the wireless OFF.

And, don't get the DX. waste of space.

[Rasa1111]

plz delete.
wrong infos.
doh.

[ussndmac]

I have a Nook.

Works as good as any.

Battery life is fine.

I use Nook and Kindle app on my Android phone as well.

[Jazzy_Jeff]

I personally have a Kindle 3 for reading only and an Android Tablet for everything else. The best of both worlds.

[pizza-is-good]

I have a kindle 3. I must say that I really like the thing.

Caibre is OK. I have tried to use it to convert from HTML into mobi and epub, but I get horrible results. (I'm an author. I write in HTML, which converts really well into the kindle, but horribly to the nook). I have not tried to use calibre to store my ebook collection.

My kindle's battery lasts a very long time. Can't say about the nook, as I have not used it, but it has been pointed out that the fact that the nook has a touch LCD at the bottom to navigate the menus does reduce battery life. Also, with the LCD box, you get less of a reading screen.
I do like that the nook is android. Partly anyway. Both google and amazon are about control, so android is not real FLOSS. Amazon can do stuff remotely to your kindle. This has happened to me. They are supposed to ask for your permission (such as an update) or you have to ask them to fix something for you and then they go in. What is interesting is that one day I had the wireless off, and had turned the kindle off, and about 10 minutes into its 'sleep', it woke up and started doing an optional beta update. A little weird for sure, but the update fixed a problem I was having, so I don't think much of it.

But I do recommend the Kindle. The store by far is the biggest. And I publish there, so you might make me some money if you find some of my books :lolflag:

[Rasa1111]

Both google and amazon are about control, so android is not real FLOSS. Amazon can do stuff remotely to your kindle. This has happened to me. They are supposed to ask for your permission (such as an update) or you have to ask them to fix something for you and then they go in. What is interesting is that one day I had the wireless off, and had turned the kindle off, and about 10 minutes into its 'sleep', it woke up and started doing an optional beta update. A little weird for sure

Yeah,
I am not a fan of that, in the least.

Any one/company who thinks they have the right to remotely access my stuff without my permission..

is out of their freakin minds.

Re: Calibre~

Did you know that you can choose which device you want to format it for?

You can convert anything into Epub~
but there is also the option to specifically choose which device you want to format the file for.

So,
you could just take any PDF file,
and convert it into a "plain old" Epub~

Or you can tell it which device to make the ePub for.

So rather than just "converting it to an epub"
(which might work well on one device, but not another)

You can choose to 'convert it to epub' "for nook",
or for kindle, or for cybook, or sony reader, etc etc.

Not sure if that will help,
but thought Id throw it out there just in case someone is not aware of it.

[Rodney9]

I love my Sony 650 (http://www.sony.com.au/product/prs-650)

Nice review here - http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/review-of-the-sony-prs-650-touch-edition-e-reader/