Ereaders

[Miriwina]

My husband has offered to buy me one, but I have no idea which one is better.
I believe Kindle (amazon.com) has the biggest choices in book and somewhere I also read they could be cheaper, but they do not support Epub yet, which is starting to be very popular. It also has advertisements which some people find annoying.
Nook ( barnes and nobles ) Seems also a great choice. It supports Epub, and offers a vast choice of books even if maybe smaller than Kindle.
Nexus seems to be the most enjoyable one but will only accept things bought from Google store which at this point is not very attractive.
I don't know much about Sony.
IPads are a little pricy and I don't think they do enough more then my Itouch to justify owning one. (Correct me if I am wrong!)

Thank you for your opinion!!

[Sorahl]

I like the kindle myself.
The choice of books available is very large and getting more each week.
But in all fairness i did not look into the others at all because mine was a gift of sorts.

Which ever you do end up with i hope you enjoy it :-)

[Benedictat]

Here is my take on the eReaders currently available.

Sony ereaders.   Love them.  Software is relativelyeasy to use and make purchases.   If you have a complete reinstall, you can re-download your purchased books for no cost.  This is the one I used to use, and the sony's got me thru 22 months in Iraq.   Extremely long battery life.   Downside:  Most of them don't do wi-fi, nor have backlight or any kind of lighting scheme to make it easier to read in low light.  Bring your own flashlight.

Kindle.  I avoided them because they have in the past gone into people's accounts and removed books.  Granted, they DID issue a refund for the book.  However, the endusers were not ASKED, the books were simply ... gone.   Doesn't matter why.  So I like my book accounts disconnected from everyone who might try to control what I can and cannot read.

Apple.   The ipad 3 is decent, and not overly heavy for e-reading.  Mind you, I avoid Apple's proprietary ebook software.   The good news is the IOS platform uses 3rd party software too.   So if you already have a library under Nook, or Kindle, or Sony ... they all can be read on the apple device.   I am now using my Ipad Mini as my book reader.  It's awesome.   Excellent form factor, battery life while reading AND listening to music is excellent, and the screen is of course backlit.

Recommendation:  If you're going to have an IOS platform OR an Android tablet, the stay with it.  They can use the 3rd party software and you save money and don't have an extra device laying around.  (My tablet that my wife uses is a Samsung Galaxy Tab (v1) 7.7 (7 inch screen... she loves it!)

[Miriwina]

thanks all for your input! I saw the Ipad mini today in the store.. all i could say is WOW!
It looks awsome... i like the voice recognition too... The price is a little higher than I expected though, but it still might be worth it since because of their apps i would not have to worry about where I'd get the book from.. THAT in itself is a big plus...

[Benedictat]

The eReader software that I'm using specifically is:  Bluefire.   It's cross platform, so you can get it on Android too.  It's awesome.

Let me know if you want to get an idea on what I use my mini for (or even the Samsung Tab, when my wife uses it).   Got some nice apps loaded up on both that are excellent.

[Sorahl]

To be honest i have never lost any books off my kindle and i have not heard of it happening to anyone else.
The kindle stuff is also cross platform and i more often then not read on my phone because its smaller to carry.

[Lili Birchflower]

Well, I do not have - nor do I intend to have in the foreseeable future - an e-reader, but I did have opportunity to preview a few in the past several weeks.

A library patron brought in her plain Kindle.  Nice but didn't appeal to me.  Too...... something.

Oldest son uses his smart phone as well as an Ipad for reading.  The Ipad was nice but too bright for my liking (yes, the brightness settings can be turned down).  Still not a winner, in my opinion.

Son's partner has a Nook.  Now, I liked that one!  Small, about the size of a paperback, and he had a setting turned on which actually made the page look like a paperback with a soft, muted 'feel'.

[Lili Birchflower]

[Sephrinia]

I would say for the price, your best value could be an android tablet. You can use Bluefire to open all your epubs and then install the kindle app as well, giving you more options for where you want to buy your books. AND they are cheaper (and just as good) as an IPad.

lol.. how do I know this? I have an IPad and Talonn had a Samsung android tablet.

Honestly, the IPad works wonderfully and is very easy to use... but so is Talonn's tablet. I got the IPad when it was the only thing on the market... but if I had waited, with what I know, I would go with the android device. My Ipad is first generation.. and at just over two years old, I can no longer update my operating system.

Most likely the older androids will not be update-able soon enough also... but she paid half the price. It doesn't hurt quite as much at half the price. *wry grin*

[Benedictat]

Very true.   You listed teh top points for why my wife keeps the Samsung tab around, ... half the price of my Ipad Mini.  But my mini is able to play my iTunes movies.  So my mini is a mobile entertainment platform with excellent size.  :-D    The android tablets are still pretty good, and the Play store now seems to have movies you can download readily enough ... so it might be a moot point now.

Either way, MY suggestion is to get a moderately higher end tablet, 7 inch factor, and use Bluefire and Kindle software to do the ereading.  From there, you won't be limited if you choose to branch out to other things with your tablet.   :-D

[Talonn]

But my mini is able to play my iTunes movies.  So my mini is a mobile entertainment platform with excellent size.  :-D    The android tablets are still pretty good, and the Play store now seems to have movies you can download readily enough ... so it might be a moot point now.

You can actually watch movies/tv shows purchased on iTunes on your Android tablet.  I got an app called DoubleTwist player that works well for them.

[Benedictat]

Never heard of it.  I'll look for it next weekend when I have time to go digging and playing around with it.   Thanks tho!

[Nyxmyst]

I suddenly feel like a completely out of touch fuddy duddy.   Most of what you're all discussing goes well over my head..lol.  I do have a kindle, which I love.  However, as I'm unfamiliar with most of the rest of what you're all on about, cannot even begin to provide an opinion. 

Whatever you end up with, I hope you enjoy it and it does everything you need / want it to.

[Miriwina]

Thank you all so much for your input!!

I know it's an early Christmas for me but Hubby bought me the Ipad mini. They were out of the 16gigs so he got me the 32gigs ones before they went out of them also... worst than hot buns those Apple things!

Anyways, now I need you input again as to which program would you recommend for:

1- read kindle
2- read barn and nobles
3- read others (or all in one pgm)
4- any other good pgms for cool stuff.

I have two Itouch devices but I never used them for other than music and movies. I had given up on games because my clumsy fingers did not agree with them.

Thank you all in advance!

[Kheldarren]

Thanks for the info on the Bluefire Reader! I wanted something nice to read ePubs on my Galaxy Tab 7" and the nook app stinks unless you buy the book through them. I read Miriwina's fantastic book (which you need to read if you haven't yet) on the nook software on my PC, but the Android version won't let me add my own ePubs.

Generally I read books on my iPad that work supplies, but I really like how handy my 7" tablet is. I like both iOS and Android, but don't want a Kindle or nook as they are too tied to their retailers.

Did I mention Miri's book?

[Miriwina]

I love my Ipad Mini, but now that I see hubby with his Nexus. I was afraid that I would be stuck you like Kheld and that is why I went with Apple, but the Nexus reminds me of a portable hard drive since it is as easy as one to move things from comp to it. I don't know which program he uses for books since he is more of a paper book kind of guy but he did install one to put mine on it and it worked. It does not show the cover, and he also complains that the prg could be written a little better. I know he had Nook and Kindle app but I believe the one he uses for my book is yet another one (But don't quote me on that, I'll have to ask him. Anyway, Nexus and Galaxy tabs are still different so that pgm might not be found for Galaxy either.

With apple though it is the same. I haven't found a way to even see the books I purchased on Amazon or B&N on my computor. I mean they are on the ipad, i can read them, but I have no idea if they are stored on my computor somewhere. If so, the files are hidden.

Also for those who will buy Apple Ipad/Itouch/Iphone. Make sure to test the camera (especially the front one) as they seem to have defects. Apps will crash and/or restart when using facetime, photoboot or just the plain front camera. I had to have mine replaced ( the ipad not just the camera) because of it. Although they are real nice about it and did not give me any trouble for the exchange, the warranty still continues from date of purchase, so now I hope nothing else will break that would be a lot more important than a camera.. :/

[Benedictat]

I have both an iPad Mini and a Samsung Tab 7.7 (ver 1, which is actually a bit smaller than ver 2).   Both are used for ebooks, and both run Bluefire app.  I still avoid Kindle, and Sony's app on those are next to useless in my opinion.

Bluefire does show the covers and graphics on both platforms.   Both are MORE than useable as a book reader, and even the Tab could sync with iTunes for music (and it does multitasking very well too).   I am not disappointed with either device, and while the wife wants to get rid of one, ... I find I'm having a tough time of that.

I *like* their form factors, and yes some things could always be better (on both platforms, mind you) ... but they are nice as they are.   They fulfill their niche of portable entertainment devices in a truly wonderful way.   And they are definitely PORTABLE.  

That said, I'm downloading Kindle and B&N now on my iPad to test them out.    But, another reader you might want to look into ...    Stanza.   It's another multi platform pkg that is good for ebook reading.

One last thing.  Audible books on iPad has been re-written to take better advantage of the screen size and horsepower on the device(s).   Not sure on the interface now, truth be told, but I do purchase Audible books now and then for my long trips to florida and elsewhere in the country.  It's nice to hear a book while driving.  And it puts the kids to sleep really fast in the back of the car so no squabbling.  :-D  LMAO!

[Sephrinia]

  It's nice to hear a book while driving.  And it puts the kids to sleep really fast in the back of the car so no squabbling.  :-D  LMAO!

Where was this option when we traveled with our kids?? That alone would make a tablet worth the purchase price!! *mischievious grin*