EReader: Nexus7 v Nook (99$) v Kindle Touch(99$) v Kindle NonTouch (79$)

[champion-7891]

Hi

I need advice on which is currently the best Ebook reader among those in the title. I also have lots of ebooks in prc, mobi, pdf and epub format, and I'd prefer to have one device for all of them.

Thanks!

 

[shortylickens]

The best EBOOK reader is the old Kindle. But tablets do so much more.

 

[MrX8503]

If you're doing pure reading, get an ereader, not a tablet.

As for the touch vs non, I'm not sure.

 

[nace186]

Kindle does not support the epub format. I would go with Nook.

 

[BenSkywalker]

For all the different formats you have, it looks like you are limited to the Nook or the Nexus7(unless Amazon has finally gotten ePub support built in?).

For the comparison between the devices. In a well lit area the contrast and battery life of an eink display just can't be beat. You can read like it was paper for hours on end without any sort of fatigue(as long as your eyes are good and don't get tired reading printed text). With that said, most of the time I end up grabbing a tablet over the eink device because I don't have to worry about the lighting situation at all and I can do a whole bunch of other stuff if I so choose.

In a well lit area, barring Amazon having updated their file support I'd take the Nook hands down when looking explicitly at the reading capabilities of each(honestly like Sony's high end readers better, but they are considerably more expensive).

 

[Red Storm]

If all you're going to do is read with it, go e-reader. If you want to do anything else, go Nexus.

 

[cl-scott]

I will generally agree with the rest. If you're looking for the best READING experience, an e-ink based device is the way to go. You get very near print quality, but at the expense of things like refresh rate. E-ink readers are very specialized for reading. Among the various e-ink devices, I'm preferable to the Kindle, and I've looked at quite a few. The Nook has some odd partitioning of the internal memory, with a good chunk of it being reserved for stuff you buy from B&N. You can root them and rearrange that, but not everyone wants to do that. You also have about half the internal storage on anything other than the Kindle.

As for Kindle Touch vs non-Touch... Kind of a tossup for me. The touch will be a significantly better experience if you're the sort who likes to annotate books, but then the non-touch has the handy hardware page turn buttons. Then again, the touch will suffer from fingerprints and other problems that plague touch screen devices.

If you want to do anything other than reading, then a tablet would be the way to go.

Either way, you can use the free program Calibre to convert between formats. PDFs are generally the single worst format there is to convert from, since it's closer to an image format than a text document, but as long as there are no headers or footers you can usually get an acceptable result.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I have the $80 Kindle 4 and the Nexus 7. I like both as e-readers. The Kindle 4 is obviously the better pure book reading experience, I love that it's compact and light weight and it's great to read outdoors with. The Nexus 7 I like because for a tablet it's very light and I can go from reading a book to surfing the web to watching videos with the same device.

I've never owned one, but I don't think I'd like touch based e-readers though. As far as I can tell the only time it would be useful is during the initial setup when I had to enter my email address and password for Amazon. After that I've never had to touch the keyboard. I much prefer the physical buttons for paging through books, the screen doesn't get finger prints and I don't accidentally change pages while picking it up or laying it down. Also the touch sensors add weight and thickness to the device and cost $20 more.

But I'd say wait a few days. There are rumors of a new higher contrast Kindle coming from Amazon.

As for all your book formats. Calibre will convert just about anything to be readable on a Kindle (or whatever you go with). And chances are you might need to use Calibre anyway to fix formatting issues since not every epub file will look perfect on every device.

 

[champion-7891]

Thanks for the replies - from what I understand, e-ink displays require an external light source. So my question is how much of illumination do we really need - as in I usually read before sleeping, so would a low illumination lamp be enough to read well (on an e-ink display)?

 

[champion-7891]

Also, it seems that in Nook v Kindle, there would be some format that would be get left over, requiring conversion using Calibre as you have suggested. My question is that then which among Kindle v Nook is better (since i'd have to convert anyways, though it seems Kindle supports more formats than Nook, basically only lacking epub I think), irrespective of their online book store?

Edit: I don't suppose .lit's are supported?

 

[Thump553]

I'm perfectly happy with my Kindle Touch, it's as good as the basic Kindle as an ereader and the touch feature is a bonus. The only time it aggravated me at all was when I was reading a book loaded with footnotes-touch in the wrong spot and you pop a footnote rather than turn a page.

Tip-buy the one with ads, they are barely noticeable-basically on when the device is off, like a magazine back cover, saves you money and some of the offers are decent.

Tip 2-if you are not in a huge rush wait a week or so for the upcoming Kindle announcement-if you are lucky they will announce a new version of the basic Kindle/Kindle Touch with a built in light. That would be the perfect ereader. As far as the need for a light goes, if you need one for a regular paperback, you will need a light for the Kindle. OTOH a basic Kindle/Touch is just as legible outside as a paper book.

Basic Kindle/Touch plus the calibre program and you should be all set. Light is optional based on your needs/use. I don't have a light myself.

 

[kevinsbane]

One thing about the and supported kindle is that you have to remember to turn off the wireless, or the and updates will drain your battery. It does so even when you have the kindle off.

 

[gorcorps]

Thanks for the replies - from what I understand, e-ink displays require an external light source. So my question is how much of illumination do we really need - as in I usually read before sleeping, so would a low illumination lamp be enough to read well (on an e-ink display)?

You need as much as a real book. I would suggest checking them out in store to see what the technology is like.

The Nook also has a touch version with built in light so you don't need to have an external source if you don't want. I would personally vouch for this one. I think the touch versions are nice because the navigation without touch sucked, and I usually read in the dark with no easy to use light source so I think the glow light version is worth it.

 

[Thump553]

One thing about the and supported kindle is that you have to remember to turn off the wireless, or the and updates will drain your battery. It does so even when you have the kindle off.

If you are using the original Kindle or the Touch your battery life is probably measured in multiples of weeks, even with wireless on. Mine gets very heavy use, including interactive word games, and I charge maybe 1-2 times per month and never turn the wireless off.

 

[kevinsbane]

If you are using the original Kindle or the Touch your battery life is probably measured in multiples of weeks, even with wireless on. Mine gets very heavy use, including interactive word games, and I charge maybe 1-2 times per month and never turn the wireless off.

I have a Kindle 3, and there is a very noticeable and measurable difference in battery life with wireless on and off, if you have the Kindle "special offers" edition.

I would say that the battery lasts about 1-1.5 weeks on standby (not in use) with wifi/3G on. Versus 3-4 weeks with it off. I think i made a typo in my original post: this only applies to AD supported kindles! Not "and" support kindles...

 

[TuxDave]

Thanks for the replies - from what I understand, e-ink displays require an external light source. So my question is how much of illumination do we really need - as in I usually read before sleeping, so would a low illumination lamp be enough to read well (on an e-ink display)?

If you have enough light to read a real book, you have enough light to read off an e-ink display. And if you're reading before going to sleep, you probably don't want a back-lit device. I don't know how much weight this article holds but it's plausible.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/04/experts-kindle-helps-you-sleep-ipad-causes-insomnia/

 

[Bonesdad]

I have a Kindle 3, and there is a very noticeable and measurable difference in battery life with wireless on and off, if you have the Kindle "special offers" edition.

I would say that the battery lasts about 1-1.5 weeks on standby (not in use) with wifi/3G on. Versus 3-4 weeks with it off. I think i made a typo in my original post: this only applies to AD supported kindles! Not "and" support kindles...

hmmm, odd. I leave my wi-fi on pretty much all the time and my battery goes for 3-4 weeks. I don't have the time to read as voraciously as I'd like, usually just before bed for a half hour or so. Never had short battery problems with Kindle. When I had my Nook, I had to charge it 2x as often as my Kindle.

 

[kevinsbane]

hmmm, odd. I leave my wi-fi on pretty much all the time and my battery goes for 3-4 weeks. I don't have the time to read as voraciously as I'd like, usually just before bed for a half hour or so. Never had short battery problems with Kindle. When I had my Nook, I had to charge it 2x as often as my Kindle.

Do you have a "special offers" Kindle? I found that my other Kindle Keyboard (a non special offers, non 3G version) had no variability in battery life. I only get a shorter (standby) battery life with wireless on, on a special offers, 3G Kindle.

My theory is that it eats up the battery life because it has to update its ads periodically, even when sleeping and therefore actually has a battery drain while not active, as opposed to just being off without special offers.

 

[kojak61]

On the new Kindle paperwhite, I wonder how newspapers with pictures appear on it. I am thinking of getting one I can read at work and study for certification exams.

 

[Bonesdad]

Do you have a "special offers" Kindle? I found that my other Kindle Keyboard (a non special offers, non 3G version) had no variability in battery life. I only get a shorter (standby) battery life with wireless on, on a special offers, 3G Kindle.

My theory is that it eats up the battery life because it has to update its ads periodically, even when sleeping and therefore actually has a battery drain while not active, as opposed to just being off without special offers.

Actually, I've had Kindle Keyboard and Kindle Touch "special offer" edition, the special offer edition has had better battery life than the keyboard from day 1. I'll probably have to plug in my Kindle Touch tomorrow...first time I've had to charge it since before I went on a road trip over 3 weeks ago. Don't know what to tell you...maybe I got lucky. My wife also has a special offers Touch and she has same battery life as me...

Edit: forgot to plug it in on the 6th, 7th and 8th. It gave me a final warning last night while I was finishing up "The Road" (spectacular book btw). Figured out the last time I charged it was August 15th. On my way to finally plug it in now, so I have a full charge tonight...