[Construct]

Right, but I was never under the impression that everyone would be able to access it for free.  You can only "sample" books, not read them from cover to cover.  You can search within books and access a handful of pages in either direction, but that's all.

Sorry if this is too OT, but I just stumbled across this: http://www.overdrive.com/default.asp

It seems to be a bit of a hassle to use, but maybe it has potential.

That would be a good project.  IIRC Park University for example, pays $30K a month for access to  archives/ databases. 

[turkey]

I guess I'm just not a sunshine guy.  To be honest, I bought the iPad for the $30/mo 3G plan, which is cheaper than what you can get for your netbook, and I would own an ebook reader as well, except...I don't need one any more!

I have free access to nationwide Wifi hotspots since I have ATT DSL. Then there are free Wifi hotspots.

If I'm traveling for work and need connectivity, I'll have their laptop and they will supply an adapter for 3G or whatever - on their dime.

I use my netbook to access e-mail occasionally, or if I want to look up directions or restaurant reviews or whatever. So far I've always been able to do that for free. I can live without it though.

Other than that, I don't need connectvity when I'm traveling. I have plenty to occupy myself without it. I suppose if I really had to, I could use my cell phone, since it has some sort if minimal browser built in.

$30 a month for connectivity? Sorry, but I don't see that as a good deal.

Plus, as has been noted, I can run real programs on my netbook. I find it's ideal for noodling around with programming. I often get a bit bogged down and then I'll be doing something else and the answer occurs to me. Pop open the netbook and fire it up (it has an SSD so it boots really fast) and I've got a full development and test environment.

[turkey]

No argument from me, there.  e-Ink is a phenomenal technology.

I feel it isn't quite there yet. I'm not sure it will ever be as fast as an LCD, since e-Ink requires a 180 degree twist and LCD only 90 degree AFAIK.

I've found over the last ~13 years that the technology changes so fast that this kind of device should be thought of as a short-term purchase. 3-5 years tops. By that time, you'll want to get something newer and better.

The JBL is at a good price point and works very well IMO. It's also fairly open and cross-platform, so I'm supporting those things.

I won't be locked into something from Amazon, Sony, Apple, or B&N either. (If you buy books from them with their device, you're basically locked into their system unless you're willing to toss away your investment.)

BTW, the e-books I read on my Palm Professional back in '97 or so are still readable on my JBL. We'll have to see in 13 years what some of you are saying about the e-books you have right now.

[turkey]

My wife has been reading ebooks for years and tried a couple of the early readers, a Sony and one called a Bookman (i think). She purchased a net book as an interim to the Kindle but. No

Perhaps the Franklin Ebookman? They had some flaws, but they actually worked pretty well for reading. The thumbwheel really made for easy page turns.

[davidrs]

FYI for those interested in learning more about how the major publishing houses just want to take you for a few more dollars...

From the WSJ, today.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704271804575405181858061108.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_tech

[davidrs]

The WSJ article offers some interesting information.

The resellers (Amazon, B&N, Apple, etc.) are being pressured by the publishing houses, and for now, the publishing houses have the upper hand (thanks in no small part to Apple's cave-in).

The resellers are, at times, taking a loss. Their cut is definitely a smaller piece of the pie.

Others have commented on the tie-ins and price maintenance between the text book publishers, colleges, and professors.

Have to respect those publishers who are still honoring a whole sale model and letting the market (via resellers) set pricing.

Those of you using e-Readers for some time know that the pricing on new (protected) digital copy has risen, and the price differential between hard copy and digital copy has shrunk. As the market matures you would expect pricing to have become more competitive, NOT LESS competitive.

Hopefully the AGs will steer the ship back to the middle.

 

[turkey]

I was an original Newton user. Had only someone handed me an iPad at the same time....

The Newton has never been equaled as a PDA. It was a truly well designed device. The OS and software were done in Smalltalk (one of the things Jobs got a license to when he visited XEROX PARC way back when), so it tended to be very stable and crashproof. They also thought really hard about each feature and how to make it work well, rather than just loading on huge numbers of lesser-quality features as is the norm in the software business.

There still isn't anything that does handwriting recognition as well, and the Newton made me productive, helped me out when I needed it, and then got out of my way.

I still suspect that Jobs only killed it because it wasn't his project, and he had to piss on everything to assert his dominion when he came back to Apple.

The Palm was quick and dirty, small and relatively inexpensive. The Newton was the PDA done right, but it was bigger and more expensive than the Palm. That could have changed if Apple had stuck with it. Better battery technology, better processors, better displays, better plastics - all these things were in the wings when Apple killed the Newton.

Do I sound bitter? It was as if all the high-end manufacturers decided overnight to cease selling product and all that was going to be available was Home-Theater-in-a-Box from Walmart.

I still have an eMate 300 that I drag out occasionally, and my brother actually bought a whole bunch of Newtons, software, and accessories.

I saw the writing on the wall and switched to the Palm, which was still a useful device, but it has always felt compromised compared to the Newton.

Remember the college backpack filled with science textbooks like the hunchback remembers Notre Dame. Had only someone handed me a Kindle DX at that time....

I agree with the sentiment, although not the reference to the Kindle.

What I would want for college would be about an 8.5" x 11" screen and a separate keyboard and mouse, or keyboard and touchpad. I'd want the keyboard to attach to the screen and protect it, and then detach for use. A stand to prop up the screen might be good too. Apple is heading in the right direction with the iPad and it's accessory stand and keyboard. However, I'd want a real computer for college use, not an iPod on steroids.

[davidrs]

Hey Turkey,

I loved the Newton as well and was highly dismayed when it was dropped. Thanks for highlighting some of the behind the scenes subterfuge.

Also was a Palm fan and wished the OS had stuck around in some form - it was great for my needs. Can't beat the fact (and the sweet irony) that it ran MS Office better than Office ran on Windows Mobile!

The examples used to contrast then and now were just examples, not necessarily what I would devise for the need. And yes, an ergonomically functional physical (or virtual) keyboard and point device would be a necessity.

Have an ideal device in mind ... but it is copy wrong-ted.

[bundee1]

Full disclosure, I work at a B&N store.

Both nook and sony read the now industry standard epub format, meaning it will read any epub file brought from any vendor as long as it goes through Adobe digital editions software. You CAN also download from public libraries that support the overdrive program. Kindle can't do either. The advantage of being made by BN is that you can get help in store and buy wirelessly from BN.   Not shilling just stating facts.

[turkey]

The advantage of being made by BN is that you can get help in store and buy wirelessly from BN.

Some would see all those as disadvantages.

[bundee1]

My point is you're not locked into buying from bn and you can get face to face tech support at a store.

A not so tech savvy person (probably the majority of holdouts) might appreciate that.

[ooheadsoo]

Good points.  The techie segment has never driven the market.

I spend much of my time away from any free wifi spots, so 3G i s worth $30/mo to me.  Anyway, back to readers.

I have yet to see a non Sony integrated light solution until the kindle3, which makes it my choice.  A light is crucial for my reading habits.

[ooheadsoo]

Ah, a solution for the Kindle 2. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003IB3OCE/?tag=fineboreacom-20

Does the Nook have custom lights, yet?

[bundee1]

There are a couple of clip on lights from bn for about $15 that are specific to the nook but I like a cheaper snake light that they sell in store for $10. They also make a $50 case with a built in light. It runs on 2AAA batteries store on the spine of the case.

[ooheadsoo]

So how easy is it to get a file from your pc to a nook or kindle, a file not purchased from bn or amazon?

[Construct]

So how easy is it to get a file from your pc to a nook or kindle, a file not purchased from bn or amazon?

According to both companies, the products actually support a fair range of formats that can transfer USB or wifi-like plugging in a thumbdrive.  Based on my readings this week, I am becoming more enthusiastic about the nook wifi than others. I have read warranty issues with the Kindle 2 and dx. 

[Construct]

Ok, all the devices mentioned are excellent choices, and have merits and drawback---especially when the uses are filtered through personal needs.  I already have an iphone 4 and a netbook.  I am covered for that stuff. 

Summary:
jetbook:  Open, but smaller screen than I like. I also feel like this is a fringe/soon to be dead product because it's not mainstream.  I fear orphans.

 Ipad:  Expensive like a laptop, but doesn't run full-fledged program suites or make calls.  Not good for sunlight reading.  Else, the perfect size and very versatile.  Does not have battery life approaching e-ink readers.

Sony:  Bleck-- I lied...don't like this option for some reason(s)

Kindle:  Great devices, smaller library.  overpriced dx2, and questionable issues for warranty support (many reported)  40 hours of battery life.

 Nook: May not have 14 day life (only a mere 30 hours) But the books/free books available are as much as all others combined + several hundred thousand. 

YMMV, and it's a compromise in any direction for something.  Right now, I'll be happy to get a little nookie.   

[newzooreview]

For what it's worth, I have both a Kindle DX and an iPad, and since I've gotten the iPad I don't use the Kindle any more. The Kindle app that Amazon made for the iPad is superior in every way to the Kindle device, and the iPad hardware is significantly better as a reader as well:

1. The Kindle screen is slightly fuzzy and low contrast. It's very hard to read comfortably without a bright light source, and I do most of my reading indoors or on an airplane. On the beach I don't bring electronics since the salt water mist is deadly to them.

2. The iPad screen is sharper than the Kindle, and it provides choices of text contrast (black on white, black on sepia, white on black). The black on sepia (more of a "not quite black" on "slightly off white") is ideal. It has much better contrast than the Kindle e-ink, but it isn't so contrasty that it causes eyestrain.

3. The iPad has a backlight adjustable from within the Kindle app. I can read it anywhere and everywhere with perfect lighting. Frankly, in bright light I find the iPad to be fine as well.

4. Speed. This is a major difference. The Kindle is extremely slow to react. Even turning a page is tedious, especially after you've used an iPad where everything works smoothly and quickly. I never used any of the extra features on the Kindle (searching, dictionary, footnotes, etc.) because they were so clumsy to use and painfully slow. I use them on the iPad because it's very quick and responsive.

5. Color. It's a huge advantage having a color screen. Not only can I much more easily scan through the covers of my books, but I also found that a lot of my books had color images in them that I wasn't seeing on the Kindle.

6. Photo quality. Books with photos or diagrams in them display much higher resolution versions on the iPad in almost every case. Illustrations in books on the Kindle typically look crude and pixelated in comparison.

7. PDFs and e-books. The iPad let's me read a huge range of material: from the Amazon Kindle store, from the iBook store, PDFs, and e-books (open source format). Of course the iPad also provides offline web pages, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, and movies. It's so much more versatile in that regard that there's no comparison.

8. Battery life. I've never run into a problem with the iPad's 12-hour battery life. I often get more like 14 hours for something a low demand as reading. If i'm reading for extended periods, I'm always near an outlet. Even on 30-hour trips overseas I haven't run out of iPad battery life given that I'm sleeping and on the move during part of the total time.

So, those are my preferences and observations. Happy reading!

[Construct]

For what it's worth, I have both a Kindle DX and an iPad, and since I've gotten the iPad I don't use the Kindle any more. The Kindle app that Amazon made for the iPad is superior in every way to the Kindle device, and the iPad hardware is significantly better as a reader as well:

1. The Kindle screen is slightly fuzzy and low contrast. It's very hard to read comfortably without a bright light source, and I do most of my reading indoors or on an airplane. On the beach I don't bring electronics since the salt water mist is deadly to them.

2. The iPad screen is sharper than the Kindle, and it provides choices of text contrast (black on white, black on sepia, white on black). The black on sepia (more of a "not quite black" on "slightly off white") is ideal. It has much better contrast than the Kindle e-ink, but it isn't so contrasty that it causes eyestrain.

3. The iPad has a backlight adjustable from within the Kindle app. I can read it anywhere and everywhere with perfect lighting. Frankly, in bright light I find the iPad to be fine as well.

4. Speed. This is a major difference. The Kindle is extremely slow to react. Even turning a page is tedious, especially after you've used an iPad where everything works smoothly and quickly. I never used any of the extra features on the Kindle (searching, dictionary, footnotes, etc.) because they were so clumsy to use and painfully slow. I use them on the iPad because it's very quick and responsive.

5. Color. It's a huge advantage having a color screen. Not only can I much more easily scan through the covers of my books, but I also found that a lot of my books had color images in them that I wasn't seeing on the Kindle.

6. Photo quality. Books with photos or diagrams in them display much higher resolution versions on the iPad in almost every case. Illustrations in books on the Kindle typically look crude and pixelated in comparison.

7. PDFs and e-books. The iPad let's me read a huge range of material: from the Amazon Kindle store, from the iBook store, PDFs, and e-books (open source format). Of course the iPad also provides offline web pages, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, and movies. It's so much more versatile in that regard that there's no comparison.

8. Battery life. I've never run into a problem with the iPad's 12-hour battery life. I often get more like 14 hours for something a low demand as reading. If i'm reading for extended periods, I'm always near an outlet. Even on 30-hour trips overseas I haven't run out of iPad battery life given that I'm sleeping and on the move during part of the total time.

So, those are my preferences and observations. Happy reading!

That is simply the BEST and most comprehensive comparison (and perfectly salient points)  I have read to date!  Many thanks! 
I knew just at a glance the DX was a joke, considering it was initially $10 less than an ipad... NO WAY!!!  That's like saying a B&W gameboy = PSP.
Also the backlight--- I was really concerned about adjustably. It was kind of a pain on my netbook to get things "just right"  for reading.
Size:  I am not yet convinced that a 6"  reader will work for me. 
I downloaded the kindle app for my iphone, and I agree:  cool animation and INSTANT page turning. 
I have never read more than 4 hours in one sitting, as even books become strenuous.  a 12 hour life is a lot longer than expected.   
I am grappling with the ipad cost....I'd have to justify it for myself.  At least your post gave me a LOT of directly applicable info I can use.  Thanks!
I am going to try the nook and ipad today.

[Construct]

Direct sunlight... the ipad will shut down from heat. (I just read the macrumours site...plenty of confirmation on this) 
Judge the readability here:



 


Quote I read:  "You can always add light, but you can't take away the glare from the glass."