The Nook
 

I am considering buying a Nook. It seems like they are coming out with some new things on it that have to do with more than just reading. Does anyone have one, what is your opinion of it vs any other e reader

It's seems like Coke versus Pepsi. I'm Coke to the max.

Nook versus Kindle - I love my Kindle, doubt I'll change. But if magazines are important, Nook does color. I don't know, is downloading books harder? It's really easy on the Kindle and no wires or computer interface needed.

If you get a Galaxy tablet with Verizon service you can get books, magazines, games, email and more. You can get them with low rate plans of $20 per month for 1 GB of 3G service on a 2 year contract. It's an awesome deal and if I didn't already have the Motorola Xoom I'd get one of these. I get my Kindle books on mine as well.

My mom (66yr) has a Nook Color. She downloads books with no problems. She can also Facebook and get her emails.

The color also has speakers so she can listen to music that's been downloaded or from Pandora or it will read the books to her.

I haven't gotten to look at it yet but she absolutely loves it!!!


:)
Abbie

Is there any kind of dues/membership fees you have to pay in order to order books

nook crazy
 

I have never had a device before other than a pc and phone. I love the nook. I have had mine since they first came out. I have since compared it to others. For me it was easy to learn how to use. I carry it in stead of a wallet. It is there where I am in line at walmart, or waiting for the trolly. It is also great to have while waiting to see all the doctors! Time flies when you read, and can help distract from pain. I am 59 and hope to have this device or another like it all my life. ginnie It was worth the money

Some books, like the classics, are free. Others, like best sellers and contemporary books etc... you pay for. So far I've only downloaded the free classics. Mainly because I still like to read good old fashioned used paperbacks that I buy used on Amazon. I read those at bedtime then donate them to friends or the library or Salvation Army. I don't want a lighted device other than my reading light when I'm reading myself to sleep at night.

I have the Kindle (well, two of them. 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen, gave the 1st Gen to my sister)

I love my Kindle. I've looked at the Nook and have thought about getting one too, but I've also looked at the Galaxy Tab and the iPad. I think the Galaxy Tab or the iPad would be better than the Nook (do more stuff with both) and if you dont mind not having 3g capability, the Tab and the iPad both have WiFi only versions. (no 3g service contracts to pay for!) I'm still trying to find a review of the Wifi Tab, they just came out this month.

The Tab and the iPad tho, are expensive. I think the Wifi Tab is supposed to be $350 or thereabouts, and the iPad is about $500 for the basic one.

If all you want is something to read books on, the Kindle and the basic Nook (not color) are great. If you want to be able to do more, the Galaxy Tab or the iPad are probably good choices.

The Nook Color is now the cheapest android tablet ($250) and after I looked into a bit more, they're allowing Flash on it. Flash is the program that allows you to watch videos. (Apple wont allow it on the iPad yet) The price alone for the Nook makes it attractive and now that it's being turned into an android tablet and not just an ereader, it's sounding good to me

My birthday is in less than a month. I've been thinking about getting a Galaxy Tab or an iPad, but might go with a Nook Color now that I was inspired by this thread to go researching the Nook Color. I need to go find a B&N to visit to look at a Nook, and then find somewhere that has the Tab so I can compare. (I've seen the iPad. Want one, but dont want to/cant really afford to spend the $$)

I just saw the Galaxy tablet on sale for $139! WOW! its a 7inch screen that will read books AND do applications like dragon, or GPS or ...anyway, its a really neat thing to have and it would do more than read books. You could do music too.

I saw the Nook advertised and it looks fun!

Dear Doydee
 

[I forgot to tell you. I have the black and white nook. I didn't want to update with color, as I am not into mags. I read continousily ever moment I get. The new model is nice for its pictures and for all the other things it can do. Since I don't need all that I stayed with the origional. It also does not hold a charge as well as others like kindle. That may be a draw back for you. I do buy books on line. My sons goes into my documents and down loads books he has, so I have a good supply. There are alot of free books offered. ginnie

The Nook Color is reviewed as an almost Tablet Like device. It has wi fi and does web browsing as well as being a very good Reader. A review: http://reviews.cnet.com/4505-10619_7...?autoplay=true

And a lot less expensive than an iPad.

Dej, where did you see the Galaxy Tab on sale?? Was it the WiFi only version, or was it the 3g??

If you go to vzw.com (or call me at work :p) you will get it for $199 with a 2 yr contract. If you buy another Samsung smart phone you save another $50. It's a very good deal. :)

Darn, I was hoping it would be the wifi version of the Galaxy Tab. I dont want to do a service contract for the 3g. (my Kindle and my ipod touch have spoiled me for not having to pay any fees as long as I have a wifi network somewhere nearby)

The wifi Galaxy Tab is $350 on Amazon. I have yet to see one in a store somewhere that I could play with. (seen the 3g version tho) The size of the Galaxy Tab is what I like. It's a similar size to my Kindle3, and nowhere near as heavy as the iPad is. I'm hoping the wifi version is similar.

I'd love an iPad, but the cost is so high. (the Target down the street from me has the 64gb wifi iPad 1 for $599 tho. Tempting!!)

edited to add: I did some research tonight. Found out it's possible to put Kindle's android app onto the NookColor. (think you have to do a little jailbreaking/hacking to get it to work...maybe...have to do more research)

Makes the NookColor a little bit more appealing if I can read Kindle books on a NookColor, and a little ironic to use a Nook as a Kindle if it's really possible.

edited to add: jailbreaking the NookColor to run the Kindle app voids the warranty. Darn.

Staples.com is where I saw it.

I miss reading, thinking about getting a Kindle or Nook. Which is the best and easiest to read? Does it come in larger print and compatable colors? Do I havta be a paying member in order to receive downloads of books? And what are the costs of books?

Thank you.:)

I think the Kindle is the easiest to read. I've seen the Nook, and the NookColor before. I compared the Nook (not the NookColor) to my Kindle, and thought the Kindle was easier to read. The original Nook has a similar screen to the Kindle. (no color, looks just like a page in a real book) The NookColor is a touch screen tablet-style reader and the screen doesnt compare to E-ink. It's backlit and I dont think it's as easy on the eyes.

The Kindle text is adjustable. I think it gets fairly large. When I put it on the highest text size, the text was HUGE.

The plastic body of the Kindle is either a graphite color, or it comes in a white plastic color. I like the graphite, which is what my Kindle3 is. My older Kindles were white plastic. Still looked good, and just as readable.


I am considering a NookColor myself, but mostly because I want to get a tablet computer like an iPad. The iPad is just so expensive compared to the NookColor. I need to go back to B&N and get a better look at the NookColor and not compare it so much to my Kindle. (might compare it more to the iPad or Galaxy Tab)

As a Reader the Kindle and the Sony Reader with the E Ink display are the highest rated. The Nook, being an LCD, has much higher glare. The Nook Color is now Android 2.2 (Froyo), a Smart Phone Operating System. If you only want a Reader either the Kindle or the Sony seem to be the way to go. If you want Tablet Features, but not the iPad price, the Color looks pretty good. One feature liked is the back lit screen, no need for a reading light, won't disturb the Spouse.

Did some more reading about the NookColor.

I read that it wont work on my WiFi system with the encryption settings set up the way they are. (highest security settings, and it's a hidden network so the neighbors cant see it to hack into it)

Which now has me wondering if the Galaxy Tab can see a hidden network. I checked. Pretty sure it does.

Also looked to see if NookColor can read Word documents (.doc, or .txt). It doesnt. That was one of my big requirements. I read a lot of stuff that I download off the internet and send to my Kindle or iPod Touch. (finally figured out how to get personal documents converted into files that can be read on the iTouch and not just on the Kindle)

I'm dropping my quest for the NookColor and if I ever get a tablet, I'm going with either the Galaxy Tab or the iPad. Mostly because I've done Kindle for some long, and dont want to start buying my books from a different bookstore. The GT and the iPad have Kindle readers, so I can still carry around my library of stuff.

Amazon also announced that Kindle will be able to read library books soon. (cool!) so I'm all excited about that when it happens.

I still think the Nook and the NookColor are good eReaders and think they're a great product, just like the Kindle is.

Doydie,

I think you should go to a B&N and look at the Nooks and play with them. Then go find a Target or one of the other stores that sell Kindles (Best Buy sells them too, I think) and go look at their floor models. Target and Best Buy both had working (with limited functionality) floor models of the Kindle so that you could see what the text was like and how the buttons worked and felt.

When I looked at the Nooks, I thought the NookColor was a bit heavy. Heavier than the Kindle. Didnt like that. I still havent seen the WiFi Galaxy Tab, but I read a review for that on Amazon.com today that was written by a person who's using a cane who really liked that she could carry the Galaxy Tab easier when using a cane than she could the iPad. Since I'm currently using a cane, I thought that review was a pretty good one and made a good point about the size and weight difference between the GT and the iPad.

I bet when you finally decide which reader you want, it'll come down to personal preference. What feels best to you, and which bookstore you think you'd use more. Make sure you check both B&N and Amazon to see which one carries more of what you like to read.

I'm glad that you posted this thread, because it inspired me to start really researching the other types of readers and tablets. Since I was already planning on getting one or the other for my b-day later in May.

One of my co-workers has the Nook and she also has the Motorola Xoom, another tablet but a lot more expensive than the others we discussed. The Nook is geared toward reading mainly so if that is your main use you might just want to get one of those devices.

I have had customers who had both. It all depends on your needs and your budget. When you get the monthly service plan you save on the price of the device because with the contract you are paying for it over time. If you get it as a wifi device it costs more because you are not signing up for service.

If you get equipment from any wireless provider, they give you a discount in exchange for you signing up for service on either a contract or month to month plan. Two year contracts give you the biggest discounts because you agree to pay xx dollars per month over the life of the contract.

I'm pretty sure that just the Nook has 3g, think the NookColor is WiFi only right now. I was thinking the NC had the 3g, but I just checked and it doesnt. (disappointing, but people would be seriously taking advantage of the 3g that they offer for free with the basic Nook right now)


I looked up the Xoom to see if it's offered as WiFi only, and they do have it, but it's not going on sale till the first week of May, and is going to be $600. (Yikes! I could get a first gen iPad for that on clearance at the Target down the street)

The GT is $350 for the WiFi version. I'm finally getting to where I have the stamina to go shopping, so I might try to go tablet shopping tomorrow (just window shopping so far) see if I can find a Galaxy Tab to compare to the iPad.

I'm actually having fun researching all the different types of tablets and ereaders. I'm probably having more fun researching and comparing all the readers than I'll have when I finally decide on what tablet I want.

I love my Kindles, but I think any ereader has to be good if you get one that has access to a decent online bookstore like B&N or Amazon. (I looked at Border's Kobo reader, and like it for it's weight. Text isnt as sharp as the Kindle tho)

I think any ereader that encourages people to read more, or helps people who have reading problems to be able to read more is a really good thing. I'm a huge fan of reading, and am considering volunteering to help people learn to read. I just love books, and ereaders. (the gadget geek in me is what loves the ereaders. My inner gadget geek wants a tablet now)

The Nook Color will read using Quickoffice Software for viewing Microsoft Office files: .xls, .doc, .ppt, .pps, .txt, .docm, .xlsm, .ppsx, .ppsm, .docx, .xlx, .pptx And it supports ePub and PDF formats, both non and Adobe DRM

It cannot edit the files though.

It has a basic email program and a basic browser.

For use as a Reader only the Kindle or Sony are much better, E Ink display. No color, but a very low glare display.

Is there a service fee for Kindle?

I don't have wifi or a wireless router, so should I get the 3g Kindle.....or what do you experts suggest?

Thank you for your help.

Nope, no service fee for the Kindle. The 3g is offered free (by AT&T) I think Amazon pays for it because they want to sell books, and the book downloads are actually very small files, even if it's a HUGE book, the files are actually pretty small. Doesnt take much time to download a book, anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or two, so that probably doesnt really cost them a whole lot to do.

My latest Kindle (3rd Gen) has both the 3g and the Wifi capability. When I'm at home, it connects to my WiFi router. If I'm out somewhere away from my internet, or if the power goes out and I have no internet, I can still use the 3g to buy a book, or even check my email if I want to. You can use the internet for free on the Kindle. But, it's experimental right now, and the Kindle's internet browser isnt the greatest in the world. (no video) and it's hard to navigate the internet on some websites. But it can be done, which I really like.

I'm going to start taking my Kindle to the gym with me (started going back, I want to read my Kindle on the treadmill) and I think it'll be really great to be able to download something to read if I finish my book while taking a stroll on the treadmill.

If you get a Kindle, or any ereader, I really recommend buying a protective cover for it. They show those commercials for the Kindle where the people are running around, walking on fences while reading their Kindles, or the worst, putting it in your back pocket (if you have those ginormous gangster jeans) and I just cant see doing that with my Kindle or any other ereader.

Amazon has the best customer service. I know a few people who accidentally broke their Kindle and customer service either replaced the Kindle for free, or gave them a huge discount on a new one. (depended on how long they had their Kindle I guess for what kind of discount they might get)

When I got my Kindle 3, it had a problem and was rebooting strangely. (that Kindle was the victim of a badly manufactured Amazon made cover that was causing a lot of Kindles to short out or randomly reboot) I was one of the first people to report the problem, and Amazon was great and refunded the money for the bad cover, and sent me a brand new Kindle. (I had to send the defective/broken one back) I had a new Kindle the next morning because I'd called early enough in the day that they overnighted a new K3 to me.

I love Amazon's customer service. I havent heard as many nice stories about B&N's customer service.

It would surely make a nice Mothers Day gift..:D

Have any of you purchased the bigger Kindle? I wonder if I would like it better?

I do not know the cost of a refurbished Kindle. I have a Kindle 2. I thought I saw a television commercial advertising a Kindle 3 for a little over $100 but I will pay closer attention and try to get back to you on that.

I wonder how you can get an "older" kindle. Maybe through Craig's List? It might cost a lot less.

DD has an Android phone and downloaded the Kindle application. Actually, I also have an Android and DH loaded the same application in my phone. DD has gotten a few ebooks for free.

You can adjust the size of the font, no problem.

I don't really know the different ereaders. I looked briefly at the Nook but since I already had a Kindle, I did not take the time to compare. I was not going to spend any more money so it did not matter.

Most of my books have cost less than $10. It really depends on the book. Others may be able to tell you the average cost of their books because I may be way off on the price. I think it is much less. If you go to the Amazon website, you can see how much the books you like will cost if you get them electronically.

I looked around on the web for you but I am not a good online shopper. I think you are more skilled at it aren't you?

There is a cheaper Kindle. It's the "Kindle with special offers".

It's $114, and the "special offer" part of it, is that it has advertising built into the screensavers. I think it still has the free 3G too. So it's the same Kindle they're offering for $189, you just get some money off of it because it has "commercials" in the screensavers.

It sounds like it would be a good deal for someone who wants an ereader and doesnt want to pay close to $200 for it. (the wifi only Kindle is $139, and the one that has 3G and Wifi is $189. No built in commercials on those two)

I asked my dad if he wanted the "Kindle with commercials" and he said he'd actually pay more money to not have advertising built into a Kindle. So, if he gets a Kindle3 for Father's Day, it's not going to be this one.

They have 9.7 inch 3g kindle for 389.00. Does anyone have that one?

I worry about the 6 inch 3g for 189.00 being too small. Does the larger print run off the page? I'd hate having to scroll back and forth to see the larger print.??

No, the larger print does not run off the page. It's made to fit the page.

I just looked at my Kindle, and set it for the largest text size. HOLY COW! It was HUGE! I tend to read the text size that's right in the middle. There's 8 different text size settings.

The smallest setting is pretty small, but the largest size is ginormous. I googled around, and someone said that the largest font size is equal to 20 point font on a computer screen, and the smallest size is equal to 12 point font. I wasnt sure about that, so I opened Word and typed a couple of words that matched what was in one of my books, and then compared the text sizes on the Kindle to what was on my computer screen by changing the font sizes around on the computer and the Kindle.

I think the largest font size seems to correspond to 26 point font on my computer monitor. The smallest is pretty dinky, and I think it's probably smaller than 12 point font. The largest font size does NOT go off the page on the Kindle. It fits the screen just perfect.

I think most books are printed in 12 point font, or at least 10 point font (10 point is pretty small) So being able to increase your font size to GINORMOUS whenever you want to is really great. I know when I have the occasional vision issue (sometimes I wake up with blurred vision that goes away after a few hours) it's nice to be able to still read my Kindle (usually)

The home page of the Kindle (where you go when you want to select something to read from your library) doesnt have the ability to increase font size tho.

What does that mean?? Duh..:)

What are your reading eye sight problems again? Don't remember. I do not think you have to worry about the font. There is no scrolling. I would hate that!

Holding a Kindle (or a nook) are probably not an issue. Can you hold a paperback novel? The Kindle/Nook are actually easier to hold once you get used to the feel and I like it because I do not have to hold it "open" as I would a book so I can set it on the counter or prop it up as I lie in bed.

The home page is where you go to choose what book you want to read. They didnt give that page the ability to increase the font size. So it stays at whatever the default font size is.

The Kindle 3 does have audio menus tho. (you can set the Kindle to read the menu out loud to you.)

Oh, and the Kindle can also read the text of your books out loud to you...only if the publisher of the book allows it. Some publishers have decided to be putz's tho and havent enabled the text-to-speech. You can always contact the publisher and ask permission. (at least that's what I've been told. I've never tried that)

Apparently some of the publishers have the mistaken belief that having your kindle read out loud to you is going to steal money out of their pockets that they'd be earning from the sale of audio books. There's a big difference between having a computerized voice reading a book to you and hearing the book being performed by a professional voice actor. The professional voice actor will always sound better. (unless the professional voice actor is Stephen Hawking)

That's what I like about the Kindle, no more trying to hold the book open while trying to crochet.

When I read the last couple of Harry Potter novels (which they really need to get Rowling to hurry up and release as ebooks) I got really really tired of holding those ginormous books open. They're way too heavy and uncomfortable to hold when you're sitting in bed.

With the Kindle I can read books that would be larger than the nearly 800 pages that the last Harry Potter book was, and not have my arms get tired.

If I'd had the flare that made my arms go numb before I got interested in Harry Potter, I would never have read the books. 800 page hard cover novels are just way too heavy for me to try to read comfortably anymore. I love that I can read huge novels with my Kindle and never have to worry how heavy the book is.

Plus, with the cover my Kindle is in, I can stand it up on my desk and read my book and crochet/knit and not have to worry about keeping the pages open. (the cover has a little kickstand on the back of it so it stands up) The same cover company that I got my K3's cover from makes them for the Nook also.

Well I ordered the Kindle 3g for 189.00 and a cheap protective cover. I may order another better cover like yours, Erin, later(did you order it from Amazon?) Happy Mother's Day to meeee.:yahoo:

Do I have to wait for my Kindle to get here before ordering books? I guess so, duh.:rolleyes:

Oh wait a minute, do I have to order the books from Amazon?

I just found out on line that my local Walmart has the Nook Color didn't order a protective screen cover and Walmart does have that so I guess I'll go get it

You dont have to wait to start ordering books. Download Kindle For PC (or Kindle for Mac if you have one) and start shopping/reading.

If you can get the program Calibre, you can use that to format books bought from some other sources to work on your Kindle, but I've never been able to get that program to work for me. So I dont use it. I like it that my Kindle is idiot proof. I dont have to know how to program anything to get it to work.

I buy all my books from Amazon. If I read anything that's not from Amazon, it's usually fan fiction that I got for free off the internet. I copy/paste the fanfic into Word and then email the Word file to my Kindle's email address that converts it into a Kindle document and sends it back to my Kindle, free if I send it to the @free.kindle.com address. If I'm not near a WiFi hook up, I can send it to my @Kindle.com address over the 3g for 15 cents a megabyte, most of my Word files are in the kilobyte range, so I almost never pay more than 15 cents a document because most of my fanfic stories dont go over the megabyte size. (a few have, but it's never bothered me to pay to use the 3g to transfer a document.)

But, you dont have to wait for the Kindle to get to you to start book shopping since they have the Kindle for PC/Mac/iPod/iPhone/Android programs that you can use to read your books.

Amazon has a lot of out-of-copyright free books you can download too.

Edited to Add: yes, I got my Kindle cover(s) from Amazon. They're made by a company called JAVOedge. They sell some of their stuff on Amazon, so that's where I went to buy my covers. If I did this right, there should be pictures below.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...f/DSC04159.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...f/DSC04158.jpg

My walmart has a lot of nice stuff for the Nook (and the Sony Reader) Not much in the way of Kindle stuff, but at least for the Nookers, they've got a decent selection of Nook stuff.

I have to go to Target for Kindle accessories if I dont want to wait a couple of days to get something from Amazon.

Wait a darn min...lol...you're getting to tech. for me.:eek: You mean you can download kindle *free* to your PC? How do you do that and how much room would it take on my little laptop?

Note added...Nevermind, I looked it up and decided that I don't wanna do that. I have enough on my PC and it really wouldn't be as much fun to read books on my PC..ugh..

Thanks Erin....I love those covers you have. Will most likely have to have one of those. Everything else will wait until I get it home and learn by doing..lol

For the covers, you might like this

I have four JAVOedge covers. Two for my Kindle 3, and two for my Kindle 2. I bought one for my dad's Kindle 2 (so I could get back one of my K2's covers from him) I love these covers.

I want to get another cover. (yes, I'm nuts, I like to accessorize my Kindles) I just cant decide which new cover to get now.

edited to add: almost forgot, you can already start to buy books for your Kindle. If you bought it on your own Amazon account, you can start book shopping and when you turn the Kindle on for the first time it should already be registered to you, so any ebooks you buy now should go directly to the Kindle.

Erin you are so savvy on all this. Can I also pre shop for my Nook?