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mamaslearning
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| Posted: May 31 2011 at 10:07am | IP Logged
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Here's a recent search at 4Real for these e-readers, but I have some additional questions. E-readers
Technology changes so fast, so I wanted to revisit this discussion. I've reviewed a lot of online comparisons, but I want some real world opinions from those that use these for reading to children (or having their children read on them).
I have been considering purchasing the Nook from B&N, but recently saw that our library will soon be lending books in Kindle format. This was a big factor in my list of requirements, so now Kindle is back on my radar screen. Another feature I'm looking at is audio capability. Nook 2 which comes out in July does not do audio books. I haven't decided it that's a big deal to me because I like the new look and size of the Nook 2. (I want the e-ink screen, so tablets and color models were not researched. Although, they just recently unveiled color e-ink that will be out next year in China.)
My main reason for getting an e-reader is for OOP books.
Kobo -- Borders went bankrupt so not sure it's a good idea to purchase a Kobo.
Sony - is it worth the extra $100 for MP3, audio, translation dictionary, and note taking? Also, I don't think you can replace the battery and it doesn't have wi-fi.
So, I'm debating between the Kindle and the Nook.
Kindle - cons: no touch screen
Nook2 - cons: no audio
Oh, decisions, decisions. I just need to pick one and be done.
Thoughts?
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Lara
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mwittlans
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| Posted: May 31 2011 at 11:04am | IP Logged
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I love my Kindle. I went back and forth between the Nook and the Kindle. I'm the opposite of you in that I don't like the touch screen. I am like you in that library lending is a HUGE plus.
I haven't tried out the audio feature yet so I'm afraid that I can't comment on that. I'd love to hear from someone who has used it. I have no idea how to even use it.
The kids really like the Kindle and so I'm considering buying a second one.
I love all the free OOP books available. I downloaded close to a hundred books the first couple of days.
I don't see much need for paying extra for the 3G. I wish my husband had saved the money (it was my Christmas present). The web surfing capabilities are extremely limited at this time. It's only good for buying books from Amazon. So, if you have wireless in the house you don't really need to pay the extra unless you want to be able to download books at the beach.
I also recommend against downloading any games. Too many times the kids have gotten distracted by the free Every Word game instead of reading. Though that's not all bad -- it is educational in a way.
Also good to note is that I've gotten great customer service from Amazon.
Here's a little thing I wrote about how e-readers are helpful to homeschoolers and how it saves $$ in the long run, http://homeschoolconnectionsonline.blogspot.com/2011/05/usin g-kindle-in-your-homeschool.html
Blessings,
Maureen :)
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: May 31 2011 at 12:42pm | IP Logged
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We don't have any of the above but someone we know has a kindle and was showing us the audio the other day. (I assume you mean the audio that reads aloud the book you are viewing.) It is not like listening to a book on tape (no life or feeling in the words). I don't think it would do justice to living literature or make a great story memorable, but it does pronounce things correctly and I could see it being helpful when mom is cooking or cleaning and just needs to "pre-read" something. You have the option of speeding up or slowing down the audio, which is neat. There's a demo here.
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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Capsela
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| Posted: June 01 2011 at 9:02am | IP Logged
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We are looking at getting a Nook Color. The reason we are going with a Nook over Kindle is that it is open source and so you can put Kindle books on the Nook. I think it will be great for school!
Kelly, mama to 4 boys (9, 6, 3, 7 months)
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mamaslearning
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| Posted: June 01 2011 at 9:25am | IP Logged
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cathhomeschool wrote:
| We don't have any of the above but someone we know has a kindle and was showing us the audio the other day. (I assume you mean the audio that reads aloud the book you are viewing.) It is not like listening to a book on tape (no life or feeling in the words). I don't think it would do justice to living literature or make a great story memorable, but it does pronounce things correctly and I could see it being helpful when mom is cooking or cleaning and just needs to "pre-read" something. You have the option of speeding up or slowing down the audio, which is neat. There's a demo here. |
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I was actually thinking of audio books and not text-to-audio. Sorry I didn't make this distinction. 
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Lara
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mamaslearning
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Capsela wrote:
We are looking at getting a Nook Color. The reason we are going with a Nook over Kindle is that it is open source and so you can put Kindle books on the Nook. I think it will be great for school!
Kelly, mama to 4 boys (9, 6, 3, 7 months) |
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I didn't know you could put Kindle format on the Nook. How do you do that?
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Lara
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Capsela
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| Posted: June 01 2011 at 9:45am | IP Logged
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The Nook Color is an Android product. You have to do something to it (not sure what, my husband is the computer expert in the family lol) and you have access to the entire Android market. From there you can get the Android app for Kindle and purchase books from amazon.
Kelly, mama to 4 boys (9,6,3 and 7 months)
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mamaslearning
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| Posted: June 01 2011 at 11:13am | IP Logged
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Ah, it's for the color version. I don't want the color version. Thanks for that information, I'll do some more digging on this issue.
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Lara
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Karen T
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I have a Sony PRS650 and love it! I really wanted the e-ink screen, like you, b/c reading on a backlit screen tires my eyes after awhile. I went with Sony b/c of the touchscreen and the fact of library books. Amazon now says they'll start supporting library epubs (next fall?) so that's less of a distinction now but I'm still happy with my Sony. I don't use it much for audiobooks b/c they take a lot more memory and I have a tiny Sansa clip which is more convenient for audiobooks. But I do have mp3 music on it that I sometimes play for background while reading (classical). It does not have a speaker like the Kindle does. I didn't like the kindle's keyboard taking so much room.
As for Kobo, I wouldn't worry about Borders - they are still in business in many places, such as my town. But also Kobo has its own ebook site, which is usually a tiny bit cheaper than many other sites so I often buy from them (the few books I actually buy).
One thing to be aware of regarding ebooks in general. While there are thousands of old, out-of-copyright books available for free, and most new books come in e-format to either buy or get from the library, there is a huge gap in the books from about 1930 to 1990. So there are lots of OOP books which are still in copyright and so not available, or even still in print, but not by ebook yet.
There is still a way to get Kindle books on the other types of readers but it's in a gray zone. If you use Calibre software (free) as a library cataloger (sp?) you can get plug-ins which will strip the DRM from any type of book and convert it to the format you need. The conversion part is legal; stripping the DRM is not legal in the US. However, many people feel that once they have legally bought a book, they should be able to do whatever they want with it. I'm not advocating stripping library books to keep, etc. Even without doing anything to DRM, you can read Kindle books on your PC with their free Kindle for PC app. I do that to check their sample chapters sometimes to see if a book is worth buying, or getting on my library's waiting list for.
The Sony is a good bit more $$ than the others but I'm still glad I got it. We ordered it directly from Sony and were able to get it during a sale, plus use their student discount (my teen was in college) so that might be something to look for. However, I know there has been a huge shortage of them since Christmas - first b/c demand outstripped supply, and then b/c one of their factories was in the part of Japan hit by the earthquakes. Someone on another site recently posted finding them at Borders, though.
The sony 650 and 350 (slightly smaller) don't have wifi; you have to hook the reader to the computer to load books. It's very easy and I'm just as glad not to have that ability to instantly buy books but if wifi is important to you, either look at the 950 or one of the other readers.
I do love the note-taking feature - I have my knitting patterns loaded on it as well and can make notes right on them. I also love the dictionaries although I wish they included a Latin one; a lot of books I read have Latin phrases and although I took Latin I'm pretty rusty! The French one was very helpful when I was reading Les Miserables earlier this year.
One last thing about Sony that I liked it for - it has expandability. Although I can't imagine actually filling the thing entirely up, it's nice to have that option. I've put my knitting patterns on an sd card just to keep them separate from books, and I tend to delete books off the reader once I've read them.
hth,
Karen
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Caroline
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I have a Sony Daily Edition and I love it.
I think Karen detailed the benefits of a Sony very well.
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JennGM
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Very interesting thread. I have not been attracted to any of these e-readers at all, except that it would be nice to read all the .pdf files of old books that I keep downloading.
And from what I hear, the .pdf files don't work too well...as in not scrolling from page to page.
Any reader work better than another for these files? Are there any conversion tools, or does everything cost money?
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mwittlans
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For just reading pdf files, you're probably best off by downloaded the free Nook or Kindle app to your home computer. The bigger screen will make for much better reading of a pdf.
Here's a really nice youtube video I found that explains it as well as the difference between various readers,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUlVFruTfVs&feature=player_em bedded
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Caroline
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I have several pdf files on my Sony Daily Edition. For example, I have all of the Simply Charlotte Mason free ebooks in pdf form and they all read beautifully.
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jawgee
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mamaslearning wrote:
Capsela wrote:
We are looking at getting a Nook Color. The reason we are going with a Nook over Kindle is that it is open source and so you can put Kindle books on the Nook. I think it will be great for school!
Kelly, mama to 4 boys (9, 6, 3, 7 months) |
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I didn't know you could put Kindle format on the Nook. How do you do that? |
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You can convert either one to the other format using a program called Calibre. I've never used it - my DH always does it for me - but apparently it's pretty easy to use.
As for PDFs reading on the Kindle, it's not perfect but it is really nice. I have Angel Food on my Kindle right now and it is so nice to be able to read it to the kids without printing out all 183 pages.
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Caroline
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jawgee wrote:
As for PDFs reading on the Kindle, it's not perfect but it is really nice. I have Angel Food on my Kindle right now and it is so nice to be able to read it to the kids without printing out all 183 pages. |
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Where did you find the Angel Food books on pdf? I would love the link!
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jawgee
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Caroline wrote:
jawgee wrote:
As for PDFs reading on the Kindle, it's not perfect but it is really nice. I have Angel Food on my Kindle right now and it is so nice to be able to read it to the kids without printing out all 183 pages. |
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Where did you find the Angel Food books on pdf? I would love the link! |
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HERE. It's only $11.97 for the set of all four in PDF!!
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Monica
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JennGM
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mwittlans wrote:
| For just reading pdf files, you're probably best off by downloaded the free Nook or Kindle app to your home computer. The bigger screen will make for much better reading of a pdf. |
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There's the rub...I want to get away from the computer screen to read these!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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aforb001
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I have a Kindle 3G with WiFi and I love it! I have downloaded tons of free books and haven't spent a dime. It is great for reading on the go. I carry it wherever I go. My 9yo ds likes reading on it and actually prefers having the text to speech on. I do not care for the text to speech, but it comes in handy on long car trips. I have several PDF books that I have e-mailed from my computer to my Kindle. Some turn out better than others, but they are still readable. You are able to download MP3 files but I haven't tried that.
Adele
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nissag
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I just did some research with my oldest daughter and it looks like we have decided on Nook Colour. We like the look of it, wifi, the file sharing, apps, and that BN will enable you, er... update you with titles of more books you might like. :) Plus, you can dress it - with clothes and jewelry. 
Blessings,
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Mimip
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I am SOOOOO confused about which of these to buy!!!!!!
What we REALLY want it for is audiobooks AND the e-reader.
Does the Nook Color to that Nissa????
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Mimi
Wife of 16 years to Tom, Mom of DD'00, DD'02, '04(in heaven) DS'05, DS'08 and DS '12
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Kindle Nook Kobo Sony
