Kindle vs. Nook vs. iPad – Thoughts?

[Mike_TX]

Kindle vs. Nook vs. iPad – Thoughts?
updated: 8-3-10

CNET – “Kindle vs. Nook vs. iPad: Which e-book reader should you buy” (7/6/10) - link


Amazon Kindle Links
Amazon Kindle Store
Kindle (Wi-Fi, 6") - $139
Kindle (Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6") - $189
-- Due to strong customer demand, Kindle is temporarily sold out. Order now to reserve your place in line. Orders are prioritized on a first come, first served basis. Orders placed today are expected to ship on or before September 4th.

Kindle DX (Free 3G, 9.7") - $379

?? – Extended (2yr) warranty, leather cover (+/- light)


3rd Gen
(as above)

2nd Gen


1st Gen


Kindle Alternatives
Apple iPad w/Kindle app
PRO: more like a netbook, laptop, apps
CON: expensive, heavy
Barnes & Noble
- nook Wi-Fi - $149
- nook 3G +Wi-Fi - $199
Aluratek Libre
Kobe eReader
Sony Reader
Entourage Edge
Alex eReader
Pandigital Novel


Format converter
Calibre


(I'll update with links as I find them, but wanted to get discussion started...)

[madpoet]

Soooo.... I own all 3 ;) 2nd gen Kindle, a Nook, and an iPad. At the end of the day I do 90% of my reading on the iPad but that is because it's such a handy device in so many other ways. I can pop out and check my email, look up a map, play a game, whatever. It is heavier than the other two but you get used to it. If you have bad wrists though you will have problems. My mother can use a Kindle all day but an iPad with case kills her. I would heartily recommend the Wireless Kindle if that's the route you want to go. For the few extra bucks the free wireless connection is very nice. The Nook is ok but nothing special. The color cover browser is a nice touch but not something I care about.

FYI, I rip all my books to my PC (or... liberate them from somewhere else) and use Calibre to convert to ePub. Drag/drop into iTunes and sync it up. Alternatively you can use the Calibre app. At the end of the day that is why the iPad rocks though. I can peruse every ebookstore and find the best price. Trust me, there have been plenty of times where I saved a buck using the Kindle app on the iPad over the iBook store. Or where one store had it in eBook and the other didn't. Yes, it's a pain to have 4 different libraries at times but it isn't that bad.

[Mike_TX]

Thanks.
I'm leaning twoard the 3rd gen Kindle.
What do you think about the...
- Extended (2yr) warranty
- Kindle leather cover (+/- light)

Thanks,

Mike

[madpoet]

The light can be essential. The backlighting on the iPad is one of the reasons it is so much more convenient for me. I have the leather cover, it's fine. Warranty is a tricky question. I had a friend who busted his Kindle 5 days out of warranty. He called in and they actually said "Well, you've been such a good customer we can overnight you a replacement free of charge." He'd bought like $600 worth of ebooks over the last year.

[Mike_TX]

Roger roger.
I have 2 small kids, so I thought the warranty might be worth it!

Mike

[Cujobob]

Best Buy has a few options to look at and get a feel for, personally, I'd go with an IPad though it's the most expensive. I love the touchscreen, the lighting is a big plus for me, and it's obviously useful as more than just an Ereader.

[DaneJa]

I'm probably going to get the new Kindle when it comes out. I have an Evo 4g for internet if I need to look something up. I want a Kindle because it's as comfortable as reading a book and I don't have to keep a huge collection of heavy and space consuming books. For someone like me who has to move often, a book collection is a real pain. They pile up fast and I tend to go through them pretty quickly.

The only thing I'm worried about on it is how the Kindle handles PDFs. I don't want the DX because it's just too big for what I want, but at the same time I want to be able to read any PDF booklets I have. I don't think ePUBs work on the Kindle, so I can't just covert them. If it weren't for this dilemma, I may have bought a Kindle last generation. I know that PDFs work, but it presents them more or less as an image, so on the small Kindle screen that could be a problem.

EDIT: Sorry for raising an old thread, I just noticed when the last post was.

[dvenardos]

I missed this thread. An ereader is at the top of my list. I went into Best Buy the other day and demoed the Nook. I don't think I could get used to the page delay on the eInk screens. You might want to demo one before buying. I don't like reading on LCDs so eInk is a big want item for me.

[madpoet]

Page delay honestly isn't bad once you're reading the book. How it handles PDFs though sucks. I had to convert all of my pdfs to a native format. The problem with PDFs is that the scaling engine doesn't work right, so it can't just adjust the page like it does for ebooks. You can zoom in on the pdf itself but it makes reading hard. The DX screen size helps, but it still isn't great. Luckily they are easy to convert in most cases.

Honestly as much as I hated the idea of it (and I REALLY hated it) the iPad has been the single most useful computing device I have ever purchased. My problem is my wife keeps stealing it, which means she steals my ebook reader, email checker, and web browser all at the same time ;)

[dvenardos]

Honestly as much as I hated the idea of it (and I REALLY hated it) the iPad has been the single most useful computing device I have ever purchased. My problem is my wife keeps stealing it, which means she steals my ebook reader, email checker, and web browser all at the same time ;)

You mean this thread. :whistle:
http://www.tweakcityaudio.com/forum/...ead.php?t=2436

[madpoet]

No... that was some other Madpoet guy. What a loser he was, huh? ;)

But seriously...the iPad is cool. I hope other, cooler tablets come soon!

[dvenardos]

It definitely has a lot of appeal. When we went into the Apple Store to play around with it I liked the apps, my son liked the games, and my daughter liked the full color books (she is the artist in the family). If they add the GPS to the wifi version I could see it making a really good GPS (easy to go back and forth from street view to overview map and actually be able to read the map).

[DaneJa]

Page delay honestly isn't bad once you're reading the book. How it handles PDFs though sucks. I had to convert all of my pdfs to a native format. The problem with PDFs is that the scaling engine doesn't work right, so it can't just adjust the page like it does for ebooks. You can zoom in on the pdf itself but it makes reading hard. The DX screen size helps, but it still isn't great. Luckily they are easy to convert in most cases.

Honestly as much as I hated the idea of it (and I REALLY hated it) the iPad has been the single most useful computing device I have ever purchased. My problem is my wife keeps stealing it, which means she steals my ebook reader, email checker, and web browser all at the same time ;)

How and what do you convert the PDFs to? Does it read like an ebook then?

[engtaz]

I vote iPad. more versital.

[madpoet]

How and what do you convert the PDFs to? Does it read like an ebook then?

Native format for the Kindle (or whatever). Yes but the formatting gets weird sometimes depending on what you use and how the source is. I used Mobi Pocket Convertor to do it.