E-readers

[LadyCrimson]

I have increasing difficulty holding a paperback open for long periods, especially if using only one hand (arthritic issues), so I'm grudgingly considering whether an e-reader would be better. I like to read in bed a lot, so being able to hold it/use controls while lying down on one's side is important. Upper price range $200, more or less. I do not care about email, net browser, movies, games, etc, just the reader part, altho I'm not adverse to an inexpensive smaller "tablet" if the reader aspect is just as good or better.

 

Reading reviews of what's currently available, but thought I'd also ask here:

 

--any personal preferences?

--I don't like how Amazon charges more to get a version without the on-screen "ads/suggestions". If you're paying for the e-books, I don't understand advertising.

--If I understand right, Nook is less proprietary in file format? Would this be an advantage to someone like me? I'm guessing not much of one...

[Lord of Lost Socks]

Well, I own a kindle keyboard for two years now. Best money I ever spent. The readability is great and it's easy to use and light. Battery life is amazing and all that aswell.

I live in Finland so the ad version deal is not available for me, but I guess the idea is that the advertizers pay for a part of the kindle for you in hopes that you might buy something from them.

[Humanoid]

No personal experience, but obviously sounds like you want the e-ink versions instead of the hybrid reader/tablet versions like the Kindle Fire or Nook HD which use regular LCD screens. The former being easier on the eye, being made for purpose (that is, extended viewing of text only), while forsaking other types of media. While various e-book vendors have differing file formats, you can use the free Calibre software to convert them, making it a non-issue. (But yes, Amazon does the mobi/azw format as opposed to the open epub format, though they provide a conversion tool)

Edited December 18, 2012 by Humanoid

[Deadly_Nightshade]

I bought my Nexus 7 to read PDF documents, mostly gaming books, as well as some epub and mobi files, and it has done much better than I expected.

 

 

EDIT:

My girlfriend has one of the e-paper versions of this reader and she likes it.

Edited December 21, 2012 by Deadly_Nightshade

[Frisk]

I got the Sony e-reader over two years ago for three reasons: I wanted something that would fit in a shirt pocket, I wanted something with really long battery life and I wanted something I could read in bright sunlight outdoors - at that time, the Sony was the best of the s-ink readers. If I was getting a reader today, I might also consider the Nook, or the smaller kindle - but all the small e-ink readers are pretty much equivalent.

 

I loaded the reader up with Sci-Fi and fantasy books (bought pretty much everything Baen offered, but still waiting for Tor's store to open).

 

I also have a Google Nexus 7, but I don't use it for reading e-books - too short battery life.

[casa]

A friend of mine highly recommends the Sony Reader too, even though she has an iPad already. It seems to be very very good to read, much better than a tablet, and it doesn't come with the main problem of Amazon's Kindle: That you don't own your books and Amazon can erase the books you bought on your hard disk.

[WDeranged]

I had a Sony Reader about four years ago and hated it, it was like reading the ghost of a book...luckily eink screens have come a long way, I got a Kindle and over the space of a year I've read more books that I have in the last ten years, those 1000 page monsters are surprisingly easy to devour when you're not struggling with a block of wood.

[LadyCrimson]

Stupid question...if a unit has Wi-Fi, can you still use your PC to buy/download books and then transfer them to the reader? Despite all the reviews, I still feel idiotically unclear on that.

 

those 1000 page monsters are surprisingly easy to devour when you're not struggling with a block of wood.

I like those blocks of wood. Reading on a screen is just not the same for me. For one thing, I still think no e-book has the size of a paperback book page right. Feels like I'm reading/looking at half a page, and I can't read one side (one page) then the other side (a 2nd page) without having to scroll/hit a button. eg, there's so much less text available at once. Annoying when you read novels really fast.

[Lord of Lost Socks]

Stupid question...if a unit has Wi-Fi, can you still use your PC to buy/download books and then transfer them to the reader? Despite all the reviews, I still feel idiotically unclear on that.

You can with a kindle. Don't see a reason why it wouldn't work with others.

[LadyCrimson]

K, thanks. I figured you could/can't imagine why you wouldn't, but I don't keep up with the gadgets these days. Never know what abilities they may decide aren't "necessary" anymore....reviews typically seem to assume one knows already. Heh.

[WDeranged]

Stupid question...if a unit has Wi-Fi, can you still use your PC to buy/download books and then transfer them to the reader? Despite all the reviews, I still feel idiotically unclear on that.

 

those 1000 page monsters are surprisingly easy to devour when you're not struggling with a block of wood.

I like those blocks of wood. Reading on a screen is just not the same for me. For one thing, I still think no e-book has the size of a paperback book page right. Feels like I'm reading/looking at half a page, and I can't read one side (one page) then the other side (a 2nd page) without having to scroll/hit a button. eg, there's so much less text available at once. Annoying when you read novels really fast.

 

I have to agree, ebook technology still has a way to go but at this point it seems pretty clear it'll get there, I think I'm just dazzled by the fact that I'm reading again, the last actual book I read was in 2003 I think

[Raithe]

Well my mother has athrisis issues in her hands as well as a bunch of other things, which was giving her problems reading the books she enjoys (such as her regular re-read of LoTR), so a couple of christmasses ago I got her Amazon's Kindle when it first came out.

 

And she's been delighted with it ever since. In fact, I'm getting her the Kindle Paperwhite for this xmas since her old Kindle is getting a bit worn and battered now.

 

I've snaked it a few times when I've been away for a few days and it's certainly works nicely. I still prefer having a proper dead tree copy, but the kindle is nice to slip into a pocket and carry around, especially if you're the type to read a couple of books whilst travelling on the train...

[oldhomehaibane]

--I don't like how Amazon charges more to get a version without the on-screen "ads/suggestions". If you're paying for the e-books, I don't understand advertising.

 

I have a Kindle Touch and I've found the advertising to be entirely unobtrusive. The only times you'll see advertising are when your device has gone idle or when you are on the home page. In the latter case, the ad takes up a small strip of space at the bottom and is easily ignored. The ads are tasteful if not generally relevant to my interests.

 

I recall reading that Kindle users have access to a larger variety of e-books than Nook users. I don't know what the extent of this advantage is, but it's probably something worth keeping in mind. As others have said, if you are primarily going to use the device for reading you are going to want something that utilizes e-ink technology.

 

I've actually found reading on the Kindle to be on the whole a more pleasant experience than reading a paper copy. A large part of that has to do with the ability on the Kindle to instantly look up any word via dictionary or wikipedia. Before the Kindle, I was faced with the choice of either doing my reading within close proximity of my computer so that I could easily look up anything I didn't understand, or simply ignoring such things and plowing ahead. This was so frustrating for me that as the years went on I found myself reading less and less. Since getting a Kindle I've noticed that I read a lot more than I used to, and I attribute this in large part to the convenience and lack of interruption which the Kindle affords.

 

I also find the Kindle to be more comfortable to use than a paper copy, especially if the book is large and unwieldy. It seems trivial to anyone who has spent their entire life reading paper books, but I find turning pages on the Kindle to be easier and less distracting on the Kindle. The ability to read the Kindle with one hand only or even to lay it down and read it with no hands holding it is much appreciated, as well. If, like me, you are someone who does a lot of highlighting, then you will also enjoy the ease with which you can highlight passages on the Kindle and later look up all of the highlights that you've made in any given book.

 

The only area where the Kindle fails for me is in rendering illustrations. Looking at illustrations on the Kindle is never a pleasant experience, and if the illustration has text (a map in a fantasy or history book, for example) you might as well forget about reading it because it's not going to show up very well.

[Lord of Lost Socks]

The ads pay for a chunk of the device itself, not for the books.

[LadyCrimson]

Yeah, I know the ads aren't plastered over the book text itself or anything. But I'm still against the idea that there are ads on something I paid for. And if it's to pay for a chunk of the device, it should go away after a period of time, rather than be 'forever.' If it's to pay for the service of being able to download books, why not have a $2 a month subscription option to be ad free.

 

There was a complaint that even if you paid more for the "ad free" version, there were still "recommendation" ads (the complainers were mighty angry about that, heh). They might have changed that by now tho, via a user-option to opt out or something.

[Lexx]

Got a Kindle Paperwhite now, big fan. Great display and easy to use, would recommend that one. I chose the G3 version, so I can have (limited) internet access from everywhere, but if you don't need this and got W-Lan, the normal version would be a good choice as well.

 

Wouldn't recommend stuff like the Kindle Fire if you only want to read books. Sure it's in fancy colors and such, but if I remember correct, you can use it only for around 8 hours before you have to recharge. For me personally, that would mean recharge, recharge, recharge, recharge... nah, that's not cool.

 

Btw. the Kindle in germany is ad-free. My device came with activated book suggestions / recommendations, but I was able to disable this in the options and that's it.

Edited December 25, 2012 by Lexx

[Bokishi]

Just got a Nexus 7, it's nice cheap and overclockable