E-Reader Price Wars? :)

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MerpsMom

MerpsMom

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
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Leawood, Kansas USA
Seems there's discount in the air. There are some pretty good-sized price drops on seemingly all of the e-readers, apparently because of the iPad?

They get down far enough, even I will overcome the aversion to "buying" rather than "checking out" books. :p

Cathie
 
I bought myself a Kindle for Christmas. Best Christmas present I ever had.

It's not perfect and there are things that I would change about it, but it's pretty darn good.

I eat out a lot and the main reason I bought it is for reading when out eating. Recently I finished a series book while eating. With it's built-in WiFi, I bought and was reading the next book in the series within a couple of minutes.

The thing I like least about it is a the people; especially the young wait people who should know what it is; asking what it is and wooing over it. If I were younger I would be using it as a pickup tool but since I'm not; it's a nuisance.
 
I suppose I could be called a Luddite since I refuse to wear a watch and am one of the few people in North America without a cell phone.

My wife was given a gift card to Barnes and Nobel for the specific purpose to buy a Nook. We looked at it with the help of a knowledgeable saleslady, but I wasn’t too impressed (no big surprise), but neither was my wife, so we just bought a bunch of coal burning paperbacks.

She has seen the Kindle, too, but didn’t particularly like the feel of it.

When she was at her optometrist (she keep losing her contacts), she was telling him about the Nook experience at B&N, when the guy started gushing over the iPad. He brought it out and they played with it for about twenty minutes.

It takes a lot to impress her, but she was floored.

She wants one.

Darn!
 
What Bill Henry said.......the IPad could do anything those e-readers do, but on a gorgeous, color screen with a very fast processor and it can do way more than just reading a book, if you want.

I am getting one.
 
Paul N said:
What Bill Henry said.......the IPad could do anything those e-readers do, but on a gorgeous, color screen with a very fast processor and it can do way more than just reading a book, if you want.

I am getting one.
Click to expand...

If you want to do more than read a book, then the iPad is a good way to go........................................... but a dedicated eBook reader will give you a better overall experience in reading a book.

To me the iPad is just too big to carry around and read in restaurants. The Kindle is just the right size.

The iPad (or other tablet computer) is a computer and does computer things well. Or not so well when it comes to battery life.

The Kindle/Nook doesn't try to be a computer. The screen uses an eInk technology that looks like book. You can read it just like a book in the brightest sunlight. You can't do that with a tablet computer. The iPad is useless outside. Forget about taking it to the beach.

I leave the wireless off on my Kindle unless I am buying a book. I go 2-3 weeks without recharging. I average using it a couple of hours a day.

The cheapest iPad is $499. The Kindle is now $189.

Don't get me wrong. I like the iPad as a computer - but not as an eBook reader. If I had an iPad, I would keep my Kindle.
 
I actually WON an IPad in a drawing, and sold it to one of my employees. I love my Kindle (actually have TWO... thought my 1st generation one had died, and was looking for an excuse to buy gen2... turns out I had accidently turned the gen 1 off... don't tell Roger) and prefer it.
 
The basic Nook is now $149. I was in Barnes and Nobles today and they had the Nook display right at the front of the store. You could hardly get in without tripping over people hawking the nook.
 
At the moment, I'm tapped out on the learning curve after all the new gadgets I've recently bought. So....I'll do the blonde thing and ask for help here. :icon21:
Basically, I've forgotten all the research I did last Christmas on the pros/cons of all the readers.

Larry, Mike, Barb, etc., you all seem really checked out. What's good and bad about each, and what would be your recommendations?

Cathie
 
If you have a Barnes and Nobles near you, go check out a nook.

I really like my Kindle. It's great for the technically disadvantaged in that's very simple to use.

Turn it on and it opens to where you were reading when you left off.

Reading is a simple as pressing the Next and Previous buttons when you want to turn the page.

I buy my books online rather than directly from the Kindle. Take a look at Amazon's Kindle section. If you are setup up on amazon, you can buy any book with a single click and it will be delivered to your Kindle in about a minute.

Read this page and watch the videos:
http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reading-Display-Generation/dp/B0015T963C

It tells you all about the Kindle. I have the smaller version which is $189. I like the size because it is about the size of a paperback book.

I leave the wireless turned off unless I am buying a book. With the wireless turned off, I only need to recharge it every couple of weeks or so. Turning the wireless on/off is simple.

It's easy to learn even for the technically disadvantaged. Forget about all the tech stuff. In it's simplest form it's just a book reader.

It's not perfect and there are advanced things I would like to see it do (better bookmarking for one).

I normally read several books a month. I haven't purchased a real book since I got the Kindle at Christmas.
 
I bought my wife a Kindle for Christmas and she loves it. The only con would be that there is no backlighting so you may need a light while reading at night.
 
DTWDSM said:
I bought my wife a Kindle for Christmas and she loves it. The only con would be that there is no backlighting so you may need a light while reading at night.
Click to expand...

As we used to say in the programming world; that's a feature not a bug.

The eInk technology used in the Kindle/Nook, etc is supposed to be like a book; not a computer. Think of the screen as a page in a book, not computer screen. Once it's drawn on the screen it stays until replaced with something else. No power is needed to keep the page on the screen. Like any other book you need light to read by. And since it's not a computer, you can read it in the brightest sunlight. Try that with an iPad or other computer.
 
E Reader Price Wars

I know there were some people on here who expressed an interest in e-readers.

Today Barnes & Noble dropped the price of their e-reader to 199 and added a wifi only version for 149.

In response, Amazon has dropped the price of the Kindle to 189.

Just FYI for those who might be interested.
 
I just ordered a Kindle 3G. There's a lady who comes into the coffee shop I now dwell at who has the 2nd generation Kindle. We've talked about it several times, and she's very happy with it. I'm currently reading a 900-page book that is about the size of a cinderblock, so the idea of a Kindle (or any of the e-readers) is very attractive. Ditto for when I travel, since I can stock multiple books on it without taking up any space.

The only downside for me is that I like to share books with people, and I'm not sure I can transfer a book from my kindle to someone else's.

Oh, and I'll need a flashy case for it, too.
 
PaulSF said:
...The only downside for me is that I like to share books with people, and I'm not sure I can transfer a book from my kindle to someone else's...
Click to expand...

The funny thing is that you could share books to someone else's iPad (or computer, or another Kindle on your account), but then they might have access to your account - appears that no password is required to buy books - would be good "in the family".

I bought a new DX. I don't travel much any more so the larger page size was more important to me.
 
Pat Murphey said:
The funny thing is that you could share books to someone else's iPad (or computer, or another Kindle on your account), but then they might have access to your account - appears that no password is required to buy books - would be good "in the family".

I bought a new DX. I don't travel much any more so the larger page size was more important to me.
Click to expand...

There are both good and bad things about that.

If you share, you need to make sure that it is with someone you trust not to buy books.

If you don't share then there is no problem. I have some books that are on my Android phone so I can read on the phone. I like the convenience of using multiple devices to read.

I will be upgrading to the K3 later this year and will sell my K2 to a very good friend that I can trust. They are former business partners that have a business in the same ware house as me and helped me
with painting and other stuff when I bought a house a few months ago. My house is 1 mile from the shop and theirs is about 30 miles away so they have their own bedroom at my house and stay over 1-2 times a week. I will include them on my account and if they want to buy a book they will tell me.

I thought about the DX, but the size put me off. I eat out a lot and prefer the paperback size. I also like the the K3 will be smaller and lighter.

If anyone would like to read more about the difference between and eInk devices (Kindle, Nook) and LCD devices (Ipad, etc) and why some prefer one over the other, here is a decent article in today's NY Times. It also talks about color coming to the eInk devices.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/business/media/12novel.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=eink%20ipad&st=cse

and here is another on the Kindle

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/technology/personaltech/26pogue.html
 
Larry Peterson said:
...I thought about the DX, but the size put me off. I eat out a lot and prefer the paperback size. I also like the the K3 will be smaller and lighter...
Click to expand...

The DX is a very good option for reading at home. It is not heavy and gives you a page very similar to a conventional hardback while being lighter and easier to hold. My biggest objection to the standard Kindle is the page size. I read too fast to enjoy the small number of words across the screen - the same objection I have to the stupid new mass market paperback format with the taller narrower pages. In spite of that, I agree that the standard Kindle is the best for reading where you have to carry it around. For reading at home, there is no reader better than the DX. I am considering getting my wife a standard Kindle for Christmas - she doesn't object to the narrower text (and we can share the account). Hey, then I could borrow it if I have to use one where size is an issue. :p
 
In addition to the K3, I would like a DX sized tablet. Not the DX, but an Android based tabled with an LCD screen for reading magazines, etc in color. I hate Apple, so I will never own an Apple product.

It doesn't look like there will be eInk color technology anytime soon so I would like an Android color tablet with a Kindle reader plus a K3.

I always want it all.
 
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