Kindle or Nook - which one?

[Ritvik]

Very new to such devices and looking for advice. Never been a tablet fan but very keen on an e-reader of late.

In short here's what I'm looking at

• Cheap (compared to the feature filled ones)
• Good under all kinds of light
• Will only be using it as a reader (not sure if the fancy ones do more, but I don't need any other features)

Small and light would be great, my audio set up is a 3 tier portable rig and I don't to carry around anything else that's too large!

Also, if anyone has the time could you tell me what my book buying or free options are. Am I limited to Amazon or Barnes and Noble content with the respective readers.

Is it safe to assume that the stores will have a electronic version of most the actual books they carry?

As of now the paper white looks the most interesting to me........let me know if I should be consider anything else.

Edit: Now here's something I want .....it says price not available or cant be shown, it seems to be the kindle version. So how do I know what it works out to?

http://www.amazon.com/Thunder-At-Twilight-Vienna-ebook/dp/B001PR12Y0

Edit 2: What about the Kobo ones, do the formats vary from one reader to the next and do they convert easy without loss of quality/alignment?

Looks cheap at 105 SGD - http://ebookreadersingapore.com/goods.php?id=95

 

[bitsandpieces]

nook/kobo supports epub format and kindle supports mobipocket format.

If you dont want to be bothered by how drm works etc then its better stick to Amazon as they seem to have the best store and the best integration (drm removal for personal purpose is something of grep area).

Most ebook stores like Sony Store/Feedbooks/Fictionwise will sell epub protected by Adobe DRM. They can be loaded into Nook/Kobo using Adobe Digital Editions on your PC.
Smashwords/Baen dont have drm on there books.

Now for the Nook store books, it uses its own drm scheme and hence you cant load a nook book into kobo without removing the drm. But reverse is not true as Kobo uses Adobe DRM. The thing is, if you buy from the vendor of you device in case of Nook/Kindle, the loading is simple, else you will need a PC to load via ADE

mobi is tougher, either you get the free gutenberg books or else amazon.

The third option is to buy book from anywhere, remove drm using Apprentice Alf's tool available at his blog and convert it to any damm format you like and load in any device you want. This is what I end up doing most of the time.

You wont have problems with the format though. You can safely convert one format to another preserving most formatting. But yes, there are some features of epub like Drop caps, embedded fonts was not supported by the Kindle orignal format (awz). Newer kindle 8 format almost supports all the features of epub, so conversion should be hopefully better.

 

[bitsandpieces]

btw, the book appears to be showing a price for me. Amazon has a region wise thing with the Kindle Store. So while a book might be available in US, it might not be for sale in India or Singapore or vice versa.

There are a few books which are not available in ebook format. Specially happens with Indian authors. Vikram Seth's books I have never seen in ebook format on amazon or anywhere else even though they carry the hardback and the paperback.Amazon UK though has listed his Suitable Boy for preorder, even though US store has no idea.

 

[m-jeri]

Kindle please. Just got a paperwhite.

 

[bitsandpieces]

In the ereaders, I would buy the Kindle PaperWhite. But then thats just me. If you want to load up comics or many files, 1.3 gb will be too low for you. In that case, Kobo's storage card is a great thing. Plus kobo will do epubs and Kindle wont.

Amazons UI is more polished and if you jailbreak you can load you own fonts. Kobo UI is a bit clumsy, but still works great. Kobo Glo has reportedly more even lighting then the KPW, but the light is slightly bluish in initial version and yellow in latter one.

And while you are looking at it, Kobo Aura HD is also on sale now. Its tempting for me, but then I am very much of the target market. YMMV

I for myself own a Kindle Touch/Paper White. If you really dont need the inbuilt light, then Nook Simple Touch @ $60 would be the best option. This is what I would recommend for a someone new to ebooks. Has physical Touch buttons which is a nice touch for many.

If you want the light, then Kobo Glo/Paper White. Booked i62HD FireFly is another expensive options which is very open, and great built. Not much reviews though.

And ofcourse you want to splurge, then Kobo Aura HD. Nothing can beat that resolution and the lighting.

 

[Ritvik]

Thanks for all the information! I've been most fascinated by the paperwhite as well. Does everything I need and it is quite simplistic. Won't be reading content with images or colour so none of the others are particularly attractive.

 

[Tek4life]

In terms of price, I think the price ranges for the kindle are great and very true to what you get when you buy one, it is worth what you spend. The kindle (not color) is made to be read in the sun, or inside, which is great for someone who likes to read outside occasionally. If you are only using it for the reader then just get the basic model, I have it and it is cost efficient and works great, and I am a big Amazon fan, so I enjoy their service as well, just another highlight.

Very new to such devices and looking for advice. Never been a tablet fan but very keen on an e-reader of late.

In short here's what I'm looking at

• Cheap (compared to the feature filled ones)
• Good under all kinds of light
• Will only be using it as a reader (not sure if the fancy ones do more, but I don't need any other features)

Small and light would be great, my audio set up is a 3 tier portable rig and I don't to carry around anything else that's too large!


Also, if anyone has the time could you tell me what my book buying or free options are. Am I limited to Amazon or Barnes and Noble content with the respective readers.

Is it safe to assume that the stores will have a electronic version of most the actual books they carry?

As of now the paper white looks the most interesting to me........let me know if I should be consider anything else.

Edit: Now here's something I want .....it says price not available or cant be shown, it seems to be the kindle version. So how do I know what it works out to?

http://www.amazon.com/Thunder-At-Twilight-Vienna-ebook/dp/B001PR12Y0

Edit 2: What about the Kobo ones, do the formats vary from one reader to the next and do they convert easy without loss of quality/alignment?

Looks cheap at 105 SGD - http://ebookreadersingapore.com/goods.php?id=95

 

[blr_p]

Does everything I need and it is quite simplistic. Won't be reading content with images or colour so none of the others are particularly attractive.

Very new to such devices and looking for advice. Never been a tablet fan but very keen on an e-reader of late.

The most important thing to decide is what size will the content you read be. This determines what size screen you should go for.

I was in the same shoes a while back and then realised most of my content is A4 size, well a kindle or nook is pretty much out of the question in that case. Only a 9.7 or 10.1 will work.

Also, if anyone has the time could you tell me what my book buying or free options are. Am I limited to Amazon or Barnes and Noble content with the respective readers.

what format is the content you want to read.

pdf's are problematic plus they need to be smaller than A4. These devices tend to be even lower powered then tabs so YMMV or not.

Is it safe to assume that the stores will have a electronic version of most the actual books they carry?

Which stores and where ?

It is not safe to assume anything unless you can buy your books with a credit card tied to an US address.

Amazon india has some books but it isn't a 1:1 with the us site.

B&N does not sell books outside the US.

People buy nooks because they are easier to hack and have better hardware than kindles. But if you're going to be doing that then you ain't reading content from either of those two stores to begin with.

As of now the paper white looks the most interesting to me........let me know if I should be consider anything else.

A tablet is more multi-purpose and a lot more fun

 

[bitsandpieces]

The most important thing to decide is what size will the content you read be. This determines what size screen you should go for.

I was in the same shoes a while back and then realised most of my content is A4 size, well a kindle or nook is pretty much out of the question in that case. Only a 9.7 or 10.1 will work.

what format is the content you want to read.

pdf's are problematic plus they need to be smaller than A4. These devices tend to be even lower powered then tabs so YMMV or not.

Among ebook formats only PDF have fixed layout. So a PaperWhite is simply not suitable for anyone reading pdfs/cbz.
Epub/mobi and other html markup are inherently reflowable and hence size shouldnt matter based on content. Ofcoure you size preference might be there and thus we have a nice enough market for Kobo Mini.

Which stores and where ?

It is not safe to assume anything unless you can buy your books with a credit card tied to an US address.

Amazon india has some books but it isn't a 1:1 with the us site.

B&N does not sell books outside the US.

For amazon, you can simply update the country to US and keep a Indian cc linked. Works fine.

People buy nooks because they are easier to hack and have better hardware than kindles. But if you're going to be doing that then you ain't reading content from either of those two stores to begin with.

A tablet is more multi-purpose and a lot more fun

Nooks have andriod based os and that makes them more hackable than anything else. Hardware wise, it has physical buttons which is a advantage. But if you are looking at the front lit market for einks, nook glo is almost a horror.

Tablets are multi-purpose for sure, but which tablet will give you a week's battery life with around 4 hours reading daily ? And weigh 200gms ?
Though for most people who read less than 1 hour a day, a tablet is what I would say is better.

 

[blr_p]

Among ebook formats only PDF have fixed layout. So a PaperWhite is simply not suitable for anyone reading pdfs/cbz.
Epub/mobi and other html markup are inherently reflowable and hence size shouldnt matter based on content. Ofcoure you size preference might be there and thus we have a nice enough market for Kobo Mini.

I've tried epubs with the 10.1, the reflow works to some extent. I've not done too much here got a few books from free sites, the reflow is hit & miss.

For amazon, you can simply update the country to US and keep a Indian cc linked. Works fine.

Wonder if it will work with a debit card linked to visa ?

Limit on the card is 25k/day the book costs less than half that.

Will be fantastic if it does

Nooks have andriod based os and that makes them more hackable than anything else. Hardware wise, it has physical buttons which is a advantage. But if you are looking at the front lit market for einks, nook glo is almost a horror.

Agree that amazon has a temporary edge here.

But what is paperlight & glo good for anyway ? reading in the dark

Why you want to read in the dark ? I'd rather listen in the dark and read in a lit if noisy environment.

So the utility of paperlight is questionable at least for me who as a kid could never get away with reading in bed without threats to his person (!)

Tablets are multi-purpose for sure, but which tablet will give you a week's battery life with around 4 hours reading daily ? And weigh 200gms ?
Though for most people who read less than 1 hour a day, a tablet is what I would say is better.

I get 8 hrs/day out of my tab.

weight is certainly a concern, so its positioned on my lap. Can read for hours that way.

Recharge isn't an issue.

I was very interested in the onyx 92/icarus as a e-reader, as it was 10.1 but at Rs.21k all the way from Germany for just a e-reader it was steep.

 

[chiron]

The advantage of running android on nook is huge compared to the default experience. I don't know about the other e-readers but if something similar doesn't exist for them then that would be the biggest disadvantage.

 

[bitsandpieces]

I've tried epubs with the 10.1, the reflow works to some extent. I've not done too much here got a few books from free sites, the reflow is hit & miss.

epubs reflow a issue ? Unless you really have some fancy formatted epubs, it should reflow fine. After all it is just the html stream you are loading.

Wonder if it will work with a debit card linked to visa ?

Limit on the card is 25k/day the book costs less than half that.

Will be fantastic if it does

I will check that today and report back

Agree that amazon has a temporary edge here.

But what is paperlight & glo good for anyway ? reading in the dark

Why you want to read in the dark ? I'd rather listen in the dark and read in a lit if noisy environment.

So the utility of paperlight is questionable at least for me who as a kid could never get away with reading in bed without threats to his person (!)

I get 8 hrs/day out of my tab.

weight is certainly a concern, so its positioned on my lap. Can read for hours that way.

Recharge isn't an issue.

Well, you make sense on the front lit part, but hell, my bedtime reading in on the paper white. Dont need to keep wifey awake in the light and that helps.
Though now am sold more on the Kobo Aura HD.
From what I see, eink hold there own for me due to 2 reasons
1. Portablity
2. Battery Life.
Remaining less strain on eyes and those stuff hardly matters to me.

I was very interested in the onyx 92/icarus as a e-reader, as it was 10.1 but at Rs.21k all the way from Germany for just a e-reader it was steep.

[/quote]

Love the build of the Bookeen device, but I dont use my ereader more than a ereader and spending a fortune on it doesnt make sense.[DOUBLEPOST=1366727283][/DOUBLEPOST]

The advantage of running android on nook is huge compared to the default experience. I don't know about the other e-readers but if something similar doesn't exist for them then that would be the biggest disadvantage.

''

well, with Nook Color, I agree the andriod is a huge help. But with Nook Simple Touch, well I guess does it even matter to me. I dont end up doing much beyond reading on my ereader.

 

[blr_p]

epubs reflow a issue ? Unless you really have some fancy formatted epubs, it should reflow fine. After all it is just the html stream you are loading.

I mean whenever there are any illustrations involved. These aren't overly complex but the layout tends to get messed up with reflow. These books are over a hundred years old, so i hunted down the scanned pdf copies to see what i was missing. 10-20MB pdf jobbies that take time to render even on top-end tabs. GPUs on tabs aren't quite where the laptops are for now.

Granted these are free books or out of copyright, so a little more fiddling is required. With paid books all these issues are taken care of and you just read and it all just works on whatever ereader of your choice.

My philosophy when consuming any work is to try and keep the format & layout as original or as the artist intended it. Clearly at some point compromises have to be made, are you going to actually read what was written or stubbornly insist on orginal layout or format. Or just pay up and be done.

I'm not schooled enough on the ins & out of reflow & epub in cases like this or whether there are better apps out there, its still a learning experience right now.

Otherwise epub works very well and is very light in terms of resources.

I will check that today and report back

Thx

Well, you make sense on the front lit part, but hell, my bedtime reading in on the paper white. Dont need to keep wifey awake in the light and that helps.
Though now am sold more on the Kobo Aura HD.
From what I see, eink hold there own for me due to 2 reasons
1. Portablity
2. Battery Life.
Remaining less strain on eyes and those stuff hardly matters to me.

That's the most common reason i've heard for opting for a back lit device.

You should check out podcasts on bbc radio 4 or Australia's Radio national, tens of gigs there for the taking and all very good. Makes me wonder why nothing like this exists on Indian public radio. If just lok sabha tv did it it would already be a big improvement.

Love the build of the Bookeen device, but I dont use my ereader more than a ereader and spending a fortune on it doesnt make sense.

Provided your reading material does not come in A4 size pdf. The bulk of mine happens to be in that format and unfortunatley a lighter more portable device would not be workable.

Just pick up a kindle or nook and the device pretty much sells itself, But its essential to match content to the device or at least be aware of the trade-offs

 

[chiron]

well, with Nook Color, I agree the andriod is a huge help. But with Nook Simple Touch, well I guess does it even matter to me. I dont end up doing much beyond reading on my ereader.

I think using file manager is better than browsing from Nook's interface and support for Aldiko etc is also an advantage.

 

[bitsandpieces]

yeah, that sure is. Just shows what being a used to any device can do to you I have been using Kindle since too long and nook almost never.

I think using file manager is better than browsing from Nook's interface and support for Aldiko etc is also an advantage.

 

[bitsandpieces]

I mean whenever there are any illustrations involved. These aren't overly complex but the layout tends to get messed up with reflow. These books are over a hundred years old, so i hunted down the scanned pdf copies to see what i was missing. 10-20MB pdf jobbies that take time to render even on top-end tabs. GPUs on tabs aren't quite where the laptops are for now.

Granted these are free books or out of copyright, so a little more fiddling is required. With paid books all these issues are taken care of and you just read and it all just works on whatever ereader of your choice.

My philosophy when consuming any work is to try and keep the format & layout as original or as the artist intended it. Clearly at some point compromises have to be made, are you going to actually read what was written or stubbornly insist on orginal layout or format. Or just pay up and be done.

I'm not schooled enough on the ins & out of reflow & epub in cases like this or whether there are better apps out there, its still a learning experience right now.

Otherwise epub works very well and is very light in terms of resources.

Well, I have not considered the use case. I usually have text only version mainly and for that it works fine. For scanned pdfs, it will be a nightmare i guess. My reading is pure novels, no illustrations.

Thx

Only credit cards. VCC work fine. my debit card was showing up as invalid.

Provided your reading material does not come in A4 size pdf. The bulk of mine happens to be in that format and unfortunatley a lighter more portable device would not be workable.

Just pick up a kindle or nook and the device pretty much sells itself, But its essential to match content to the device or at least be aware of the trade-offs

Agreed 100%. That is a very important point. PDF -> tablets. Reflowable content -> Eink.

 

[blkrb0t]

@Ritvik Have you bought the device yet? If yes, what did you settle on and why?