e-readers...nook, kindle or on computer

[videovillageidiot]

ok...i'm just starting to look at e-readers. don't know much yet...i have learned you can download e-books and read them on your computer or get them for a kindle or nook. some books can be "borrowed" from your library, using adobe digital editions software on your computer and copying to your nook. kindle is not quite "there" yet (i think you need something called "overdrive" to support the kindle and, at least in my library system, that's not yet available). some devices get books directly through a wi-fi connection, requiring you to be near your wireless network or at a hotspot (starbucks, barnes and noble, etc.), while others use wi-fi and 3G (i heard kindle makes you pay a fee for the 3G connection, though i think that may no longer be the case).

within each brand, there are a variety of options...most nooks use their internet connection mostly for downloading books (and some light google searching and e-mailing, I think), while nook also has the "color" which has more robust internet functionality - but with the "color" you can only connect thru wi-fi...this means that with the lesser priced nook you can only buy books "anywhere" with the 3G connection; with the "color" you can do real web surfing, but only in a hotspot - so if you're stuck in a cornfield, forest, etc. you can't surf and you can't even get books.

...decisions; decisions.

just wondering what others are doing for e-reading. also, feel free to correct any of my "facts" - i think some of what i've read is outdated.

thanks eveyone!!

[Bobby]

I use an original Nook with 3G option and like it very much, ESP. at the beach. I like the touch screen at the bottom instead of the Kindle buttons. I do use the 3G a lot, esp. when away from home.

But I also read Nook books on my iPad and my smartphone, whichever is handiest. If ambient light is not an issue, the iPad is the better display.

Nook Color is not an eInk display and thus not good in high ambient light situations.

[Barb O]

i heard kindle makes you pay a fee for the 3G connection, though i think that may no longer be the case).

I have the most recent generation of Kindle (the small one)
-- seems best suited to reading novels or anything else that has only (or primarily) text
-- poor rendition of photographs and very poor rendition of computer screens which have a dark background with white text
-- I have used the 3G to download books from the Amazon site -- no fee. It might be sending your own documents to the Kindle which has a fee.
-- I don't mind the number of buttons: most of them are the alphabet. However, at times I do find the buttons for cursor control awkward to use.
-- I like the portability of the smaller size

For the books I have considered, the Amazon site has had a sufficiently large sample of that book which can be downloaded for free in order to determine if I want to make a purchase for reading on the Kindle device.

Despite its shortcomings I find my Kindle useful and I am glad that I purchased it.

[Helen]

My daughter has the Kobo eReader and she loves it. I personally have not used it, but my daughter uses it everyday and has not said anything negative about it.

[cdeemer]

I have Kindle 3 and absolutely love it. Moreover, I use it for much more than ebooks: I listen to audio books, I read student papers by using free software to make them Kindle compatible, I do email, I write notes in Kindle Notebook, I sometimes use text to speech to LISTEN to my email, I changed my NYer subscription to Kindle, I read the Sunday NY Times on Kindle ... it has changed my online and offline habits for the better. LOVE IT.

[videovillageidiot]

thanks for the responses! since money is always a factor, i'm going to hold off - but your input is very helpful. i might start by downloading the adobe editions software and borrow books from the library to read on the computer. free all the way around!

hmmm...has anyone installed that software?

thanks again!

[cdeemer]

Kindle/Amazon cut a deal and by the end of the summer, most libraries should have Kindle ready ebooks.