Do you feel like eReaders (Kindle, nook..) are as satisfying as owning the physical book?
by E Book Reader on Monday, July 5th, 2010 | 10 Comments
Do you rather have the electronic book reader and read books digitally or do you like physical books? Are eReaders able to replace that refreshing ‘brand new’ smell you get with each turn of the page or would you rather have 50+ books on something that is as light as your cell phone and save your back? Does it bother you that there is likely not going to be cover art to your book or does it matter, as long as you get to read the book? What do YOU feel about ebook readers, what do you feel are to pros and cons to owning one?
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Ebook readers are great. I recommend this article, it is the best review on ebook readers I’ve ever read about ebook readers:
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
Not sure if it helps, but I’ve compared the Nook and the Kindle, so let me tell you my findings. From the official page of B&N, here is how the Nook compares with the Kindle:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/compare/
Since Barnes and Noble page is only mentioning the advantage of the Nook over the Kindle, let me try to tell more about the benefit of the Kindle 2 over the Nook:
- There is no internet browser for the Nook. So even with Wi-Fi, you can only use it to purchase book. You cannot do searching in Google, Wikipedia, check email, etc., like what you can do with the Kindle.
- The Amazon Kindle has international free 3G wireless which covers over 100 countries. So even if you’re in places like the UK or Australia, 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 only ship within the U.S. at this moment.
- 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.
- Amazon is already doing some change after the Nook is announced (still more than one month for it to be available). They dropped the price of their International Kindle even further. And they are going to release a PC software which can read their Kindle books. They also added native PDF support for their Kindle 2.
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.
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. BTW, the Nook seems to be in stock only in Jan 2010, so you’ll not be able to get it in X’mas…
Hope this helps you decide.
I don’t have a Kindle but I have quite few ebooks on my laptop, and cover art is provided. I do prefer to have the physical books, but ebooks are simply more convenient. I am getting the Kindle for Christmas. I love to flip the pages and be able to hold my book, whereas ebook reading isnt so enjoyable. Once you get used to it, its all right. Those things have small screens if you don’t have good eyes, thankfully I’m 20/20.
the thing that stops me is the DRM and the price.
I like having the books but if I didn’t have to hear the wife asks why I buy so many books when I usually listen to the podiobook instead of reading.
I think some day they are likely to replace magazines but people even with ebook readers will want some books.
I have a substantial collection of books in physical form, and I prefer them that way. I rarely read more than one book at a time so it isn’t a big deal to not be able to carry them all at once. I love the new book smell, but even more than that I love the OLD book smell. About 95% of my books I bought used, from Goodwill, thrift stores and garage sales. I especially love it when I buy a book that someone has underlined, highlighted, taken notes in, dog-eared, etc. The fact that someone else owned and loved that book before me makes it more special.
Also the price tag is just not practical for me. If I have to pay 400 dollars to get the ereader, and then REpurchase every book I already own (200+) for an average of 5 dollars each, that’s 1400 bucks. It’s just not worth it. I’m holding out for an ereader to come with some kind of credit system so you can download the books you already own for free (or even discounted).
Never! You don’t get the same thrill nor the same sense of contentment from and ereaders.
You can read a book any time but e-readers…no
I own the Kindle 2, so let me give you some of my opinions about it. I’ve to say I love it! I think I’ve read over 30 books with my Kindle, no glitches so far! Kindle books are cheaper than actual books and I think I’ve saved over $100 for the books I’ve bought on the Kindle.
One of the reasons I love my Kindle is that it has helped me improve a lot on my efficiency and utilize my time. Before I have the Kindle, waiting time like when I’m waiting for friends or waiting for shuttle bus or some thing like that is simply wasted. Now I just need to bring the Kindle 2 along with me, and all my favorite books are inside it. Another thing I like the most is the text-to-speech function, which means I can "read" books without even holding or looking at the Kindle. Now I like to use this function when I’ve myself busy on some boring things, say when I’m on the step machine or doing some housework…
I like reading and at the beginning I did miss a bit on the feeling of reading books. But now I love to hold the Kindle, the e-ink seems to work very well, it is really like reading books… Now I often read with the Kindle for several hours but I don’t feel tired… And I now prefer to manage all books inside the Kindle rather than my never big enough bookshelf… And like to do bookmarking, annotation, dictionary lookup without any additional thing but a Kindle. You can get a cover to protect the Kindle as well, so it will not be easy to break it
There are quite a lot of free books (tips: if you’re outside the U.S. all the books will have US$2 added, but when you choose to download to computer when you check out, the $2 will be waived, and you can copy the books to your Kindle through USB cable), and many Kindle books, magazines and newspapers are cheaper than the actual paper version. I remember I read these reviews about the benefits of the Kindle when I decided to buy it:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Freview%2FR2DUM7S4XW06QN%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ASIN%3DB00154JDAI%26nodeID%3D%26ref%255F%3Dcm%255Fcr%255Fpr%255Fcmt&tag=moreinfo-po-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957
http://www.speedreaderxreview.com/is-kindle-2-worth-the-price
And if you ask me to choose again now, I’ll still go for the Kindle instead of the Nook, because I think the web browsing function is rather important (the Nook does not have a web browser). The free internet (and now it is free international internet) plus the web browser allow me to look for information whenever I’m in need. It is really a cool feature that cannot be missed. And right now it is free for both the U.S. and many other countries, it is just incredible when you bring it to trip. The Nook doesn’t have the text-to-speech function as well.
Finally, in case you don’t know, Amazon has just put a price slash on the Kindle 2, and it is now selling $100 cheaper than the price I got my Kindle, and it adds in international wireless access and native PDF support… So take the chance if you want it.
Hope it helps
I own the Kindle 2, and it is easy for me to say I love it! I think I’ve read over 20 books so far.
I love my Kindle because it has helped me improve a lot on my efficiency and utilize my time. Before I owned the Kindle, waiting time like when I’m waiting for friends or waiting for shuttle bus or some thing like that is simply wasted. Now I just need to bring the Kindle 2 along with me. Another thing I like the most is the text-to-speech function, which means I can "read" books without even holding or looking at the Kindle. Now I like to use this function when I’ve myself busy on some boring things, say when I’m on the step machine or doing some housework…
I like reading and at the beginning I missed a bit on the feeling of reading books. But now I love to hold the Kindle, the e-ink seems to work very well, it is really like reading books… Now I often read with the Kindle for several hours but I don’t feel tired.
Below is where you can purchase your own from amazon.com:
I have loved my e-reader. You may like the feel of a book, but I love the feel of having 100 books in my hands with an average cost of $2. I’ve enjoyed my kindle immensely. It goes every where with me and I can actually carry all the books I know and love. At first I missed the feel of a page, then when I tried to go back and read one of my hardcovers recently I got so frustrated with having to actually hold the book open instead of just holding it in my hand! There are plenty of other places to see the cover art, and honestly I don’t buy a book because of the cover in general. They’re not for everyone, but I have very much enjoyed mine.
I love my Kindle 2 very much. If you’re considering to get the Kindle, just get it and you won’t regret. Right now I’ve read over 10 books with the Kindle, and I really like the idea that I can bring and store all the books with the handy device. Besides, it uses the e-ink technology, it is really clear like reading books; and even I read with the device for long hours, I don’t feel tired. My only complaint is the white case, right now all the Kindles are in white color… I think it will be cool if I can have a black or deep blue color Kindle
I suggest you to read this review from a top reviewer who is also a book lover, it outlines quite a lot of benefits of the Kindle and also why it is worth especially at the end of the review:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Freview%2FR9J54TZ1541OR%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref%255F%3Dcm%255Fcr%255Frdp%255Fperm&tag=more_info-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957
BTW, there are some websites like these two, where you can find more than ten thousand free books for the Kindle. So no need to go to library to borrow them, you can actually own them:
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://manybooks.net/
Hope this helps.
1. You can save money (ebook is cheaper)
2. You save a lot of place to keep all your books
3. Carry all your favorite books in one single device
4. Easy to buy ebook (direct download)
5. Support the green live and against global warming by reducing wood consumption
more details here http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015T963C?ie=UTF8&tag=hot_deal-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0015T963C