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New Ebook Reader
The Cool-er Compact eBook reader
Want A New Ebook Reader? Reasons Why You Should Hold Off Buying One
There are quite a few new ebook readers coming out in 2010. Some are full featured and expensive while others are relatively cheap. All serve the same basic need of letting people read electronic books while on the go. It might not be the best idea to buy one of these at the moment.
One of the strongest reasons is that the tablet market may just be around the corner. Apple and other companies are thinking of bring out tablets which very well may replace the ebook reader market in the near future. Expensive ebook readers will be replaced by tablets that do much more than just read ebooks.
Secondly, it might be a good idea to wait for formats to open up. Kindle has their own format. The Nook has their own format. It may be a good idea to wait for one proprietary format to win before investing in one or wait for the ebook market to adopt open standards.
There are still thousands of books that you can download for free or buy in PDF format. These can be read on your computer, netbook, and even your phone. For most people having a book to read while waiting on their phones are much more convenient than using the larger ebook readers.
For the same price of a new ebook reader, one can get a netbook, a smart phone, or an internet tablet device. These all can read ebooks and do many more functions than any reader currently is doing. If it's going to be an additional device it may as well be multi-functional.
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New Nook 1.3 vs Kindle 2?
I'm buying an ebook reader and want to choose between the Barnes and Noble Nook or the Amazon Kindle 2. I was leaning towards the Kindle 2 because books are cheaper and there are more books on the Kindle.
However, the Nook just had an upgrade, having web browser and you can read any book for free in Barnes and Noble store for an hour. I don't care about the two new games, but the other upgrade makes the Nook more attractive than before. Now I really cannot decide which one to get. Any one can help?
I've compared the new Nook and the Kindle 2. From the official page of B&N, this is how the Nook compares with the Kindle:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/compare/
Since on website of Barnes and Noble, it only mentions advantage of the Nook over the Kindle, let me try to tell more about benefit of the Kindle 2 over the Nook:
- Now the Nook comes with a basic internet browser like the Kindle 2, but it is limited to using WiFi and cannot be used to browse with its 3G wireless network. The Kindle 2, on the other hand, only has free 3G wireless but not WiFi, but you can browse for free with its browser anywhere with wireless coverage. One thing to note, there has been lots of people complaining that they cannot get the Nook to work with their own WiFi network.
- The Amazon Kindle has free international 3G wireless which covers over 100 countries. So even if you're in places like Canada, UK, Australia, etc., you can access the internet with the Kindle free of charge. The Nook has wireless only within the U.S., and is limited for use of buying books only
- The Kindle is available outside the U.S. (it ships to 176 countries), while the Nook (and also its ebook) are only sold within the U.S. at this moment. So if you're outside U.S., even if you find way to buy a Nook, you'll still have problem to buy books on the Nook device you have.
- The Kindle has text-to-speech function, so it can treat an ebook like audio book. This function is not present on the Nook.
- The price of ebooks for the Nook on Barnes and Nobles are more expensive than the ebooks on the Kindle. This can make quite a difference in long term, the price difference adds up as you buy more books.
- There are more selection of copyright ebooks on the Kindle compared to the Nook. I think one of the reason is because Amazon has developed the Kindle store for over 2 years. The Nook claims that it has more than million book titles, but actually many of the books are those in public domain (non-copyright) that can be found free on other websites. There are millions of free Google books, they can be read on the Kindle as well.
- The Nook has lending book feature which is good, but there is limit on lending period and number of times for lending. On the other hand, the Kindle can share all purchased books if it is registered to the same Amazon account (you can deregistered and register your Kindle to different accounts many times, if you like). I'll say it is a draw in this area, as both ways have its pros and cons.
- The Nook supports epub format, while the Kindle supports mobi format. Actually you can easily convert these ebook formats easily from one to another, using software like calibre:
http://calibre-ebook.com/
- It is good that the Nook provides books free for reading for one hours in the Barnes and Noble store. However, I don't think it is a killer feature, because actually all paperbacks are free to be read in the store.
One more thing to be aware is that, at first glance you may think the Nook can read ebooks with color touch screen. But indeed the color touch screen is only a small screen beneath the greyscale eink screen, and seems it is only used to browse the cover of ebooks.
In my opinion, it is a tie between the Kindle and the Barnes and Noble. But if you may travel and you enjoy reading during your trip, you should go for the Kindle for sure. Moreover, I trust the Kindle will come up with some strategies very soon, like improving their lending book function. The Kindle is the biggest player in the ereader market right now, and I believe it will put enormous effort to hold its position. Finally, if you're an avid reader, price of ebooks will also be a big concern, as ebooks on the Nook are more expensive.
I recommend this article as well, it is the best review on ebook readers I've ever read (note that the Kindle 2 now supports PDF natively):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Freview%2FR3QM7LGL62MZ4X%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref%255F%3Dcm%255Fcr%255Frdp%255Fperm&tag=ereader-2-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957
Just check up their homepage to see the latest price of the devices. The price is most up-to-date, and if there is any price change it will be reflected immediately on their homepage.
Hope this helps you decide.
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