Readers and Such.

[Gil]

Here's the deal:
I have a NOOK Tablet which is completely awesome as a reader.
I also have a Kindle account on my laptop, and with all the interesting free books, I'm starting to build a pile of Kindle books that can't be transferred to Nook via the Calibre program.

I was considering buying a low end Kindle...but that seems a little short-sighted in the face of the availability of tablets that can run both the Kindle App and the Nook App. As well as some light computing.

I'm considering the Nexus 7...any fellow geeks got other/better suggestions?
Don't want an iPad. The wife has one and it's way to heavy, and way to pricey (Hers was a gift).

 

[acascianelli]

I don't know about you, but I can't read on a backlit LCD display for very long which makes a Kindle Fire/iPad/Nook Color useless as an e-reader.

I'd do more research on converting Kindle books to be used on the Nook, there's got to be a way to do it.

 

[bergauk]

The Nexus 7 is supposed to be fantastic. I've never seen one in person, but they have fairly impressive specs for their size, It'd definitely be worth checking out further, find some reviews for it and see what they have to say. I'd get it for the tech specs alone.

 

[Gil]

I have no problems with the backlit display.
The only time I can't read it is in direct sunlight....unless I bump the brightness to full.

There is a way to convert Kindle books to a NOOK readable format.
That would be the Calibre program I mentioned. It will convert a lot of books.
However, if the books are DRM protected, they can't be converted to the NOOK format.

Actually, the books converted by Calibre don't actually convert to the NOOK format. They are just storable into the regular library. But savable to folders that can be opened and read. So they must be opened thru a sub-menu.

I'm digging the Nexus 7 due to the specs. And the ability to run both Kindle & Nook format on the same device.
I'm pretty sure that it's the best tablet for the job. I'm just balking a little bit at the price.
I know that it's gonna cost about the same as a Kindle Fire, and be more functional.
But me "cheap" side forces me to ask:
... if there is a GOOD option that is cheaper.

 

[BobK]

The real question here is, I think, do you want a tablet or an ereader? Tablets can do much more than a dedicated ereader, but of course you pay for that ability.

For just reading, I'll take an ereader over a tablet any day. The ability to read in bright light is important, even if it comes with the disadvantage of requiring an external light source in low-light conditions (except for the new "Nook Simple Touch(tm) with GlowLight(tm)" and undoubtedly others in the near future.

I own a Kindle Keyboard and a Nook Simple Touch as well as two tablets. I have both the Kindle and Nook apps on both the tablets. For reading, I'll use one of the ereaders over the tablets almost all the time.

One more consideration: Battery life of a tablet is measured in hours. Battery life of an ereader is measured in weeks.

But then again, if you're just looking for an excuse to buy a neat new toy (as I suspect, and with which I can fully sympathize with) then go for the Nexus.

 

[Gil]

I was thinking the same thing BobK.
I'm a voracious reader.
I bought the Nook in the first place so I could store MORE books.
It seems that the Kindle has a TON of freebie books available vs a few for Nook.
I'd like a device that can do both Kindle and Nook.....
It would be more convenient than having two readers to carry about.

 

[bergauk]

One to take note of about the Nexus 7 is that it DOES have an IPS display, meaning the quality of the screen and well as the viewing angles for it will be great. It might actually be great for reading on just because of that.

 

[BobK]

I use my Kindle for reading books from Amazon only, I use the Nook for reading books from any other source (most commonly gutenberg, manybooks.net, and Baen). Of my Amazon books, 78 were freebies and I paid for 53 of them. I have yet to pay for a book from B&N; in fact the only book I have from B&N is one of their daily in-store freebies.

One thing that should be of interest to both Amazon and B&N is that a fair number of the books I've purchased are books from series, and the first book of the series had been a freebie (this policy has also resulted in some purchases from Baen Books). In other words, B&N's lack of easily accessible freebies is costing them sales.

If you obtain books from third party sources you'll find that books are almost always available in both .epub (Nook) and .azw/.mobi (Kindle) formats, so it doesn't matter which reader you have. In fact once you've made the purchase you can download two copies, one in each format. That's true of Smashwords and Baen anyway, I can't actually say from experience if it's true of other places.

Heh, as for book capacity, that is completely a non-issue; both my Nook and Kindle were advertised as being able to hold over a thousand books (exact numbers escape me). As a practical matter I'll have between a half dozen and a dozen books on either device at any given time.

Hopefully a bit of these meanderings are of use to somebody.

 

[Robin]

@ Gil

Would you consider a Kindle Fire? either the current one or upcoming one. Because that way you get all the functionality of a tablet for a good price and can run the book apps if sunlight isn't an issue.

I personally would go for a proper e-reader if in your situation and get a basic Kindle for all those Kindle titles you have amassed.

 

[Gil]

I have a Nook Tablet. Access to a iPad. I'm having issues in my mind adding a Kindle Fire.
Especially considering the Nexus 7 is the same price as the Kindle, It seems the Nexus is likely a better choice.

 

[BobK]

If I were trying to decide between the Fire and the Nexus 7, my choice would almost certainly be the Nexus. The Fire is designed for consuming content from Amazon, period. It does a great job of that, don't get me wrong, but it by no means is a general-purpose tablet. I would check to see if the Nexus is similarly aimed at consuming Google content before making a final decision, and would definitely see if the Kindle and Nook apps are both available for it. After all, the idea is to find a one-ereader-fits-all.

Having said that, if I were in Gil's position I'd probably go with an inexpensive dedicated-ereader Kindle.

For what it's worth, the device I use for reading while on the go is a Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 and the reason is that it fits in a shirt pocket.

 

[Gil]

At this point, I've put the Kindle App on my phone.
And I'm using it quite satisfactorily.
Doesn't mean I don't want to get another device.
And I may yet.....

 

[Gil]

After much soul and wallet searching, I bought a Kindle Touch.
I put my 300+ free books on it and, because of it's light weight and smaller "footprint"
It has become and almost constant companion.

A few things I've noticed:
The Nook Tablet stores books in a much more usable fashion.
The Nook also has a much more user-friendly UI.
The Nook also can be read in bright light, and complete darkness.

All that said, The Kindle is light weight, it is scarcely heavier than my cell phone.
The UI while clunky, is fairly easy to use.
The battery life can be measured in days vs hour with the NOOK.
On the whole, I'm pretty stoked that I can read my hundreds of dollars worth of free books, and I didn't spend $250 for a Nexus 7, and I'm not feeling any buyer's remorse.

 

[BobK]

If you're happy with your decision then that is of course the most important thing.

Not having a Nook Tablet and not knowing if the UI on the Kindle Touch is anything like the UI on the Kindle Keyboard (although I suspect it's almost identical) I can't comment on their relative merits. I will say however that I find the UI on both the Kindle and Nook Simple I own to be somewhat clunky but useable.

I would imagine that trying to navigate amongst 300 books would be a bit of a chore to find the one you're looking for. This is why I keep only a half dozen to a dozen books on either device.

Anyhow, enjoy your new Kindle!

 

[Gil]

Thank you. It is my "carry it with me" option as it weighs next to nothing compared to the Nook. And I only keep a few books at a time on it too for the very same reason.