[bugeyed]

There & Back AgainWith apologies to Bilbo BagginsMy observations along the path to finding a suitable eReader.Earlier this year I had the urge/need for a new high tech gadget & eBook readers were just beginning their first downward price adjustment. The Nook WiFi had recently been released & was available at the B&N kiosk, making it ripe for impulse picking. Well, I picked. This was my first exposure to a handheld device other than a PDA or phone & I was initially attracted to the Nook's features beyond just reading eBooks. I found the on-line functions to be somewhat cumbersome & not really much fun. Two days into my relationship with the Nook, a friend mentioned that he had a Sony eReader & was very pleased with it. I was intrigued with the functionality afforded by the Sony's full touchscreen & impressed with its robust build quality. I made the switch from Nook to Sony & settled into this new relationship. As the honeymoon waned & the frequent occasions that the Sony's low-light screen legibility let me down, my eye started to wander back to the retail displays of eInk readers. That's when the Pandigital Novel made it's debut at a substantial discount. I was seduced by the possibilities of rooting the Novel & having an inexpensive, reasonably proportioned *Pad/eReader. Over the next couple of weeks, I became somewhat disillusioned with LCD readability in daylight & continued to use my Sony in some environments. Soon, the maintenance of a hacked Android "eReader/Tablet" started to get a bit tedious, with all it's bugs & quirks & technical work-arounds. I went back to my Sony & thought my wanderlust had been satisfied until I saw a Kobo display at the local Wallyworld. Price was right & I again strayed. I was happy with the screen, but not the user interface. For what it offers, the Kobo is a good product, but I want more navigation tools & I didn't like the placement of the page turn buttons. I exchanged the Kobo for a Nook of all things! Having come full circle, I can be much more objective in my critique of the Nook. My initial impression of the LCD UI was that it was a full touchscreen wannabe, but now I see beyond its limitations & understand how much it brings to the game. Without compromising screen legibility, the LCD touchscreen adds that element of control & multi-taskability, if you will, that I missed with the Kobo. At this point, I appreciate the quality of the eInk display & the LCD touchpad lets me interact with the unit in a way that doesn't make me pine for the Sony's full touchscreen. By the way, I did consider the new Sony 650, but it's expensive & none of the accessories that I have will work, covers, charger etc. That last fact irritated me enough that I didn't give it a second look. In the end, or at least for now, the Nook is my go-to eReader & I am very happy with it. I am looking forward to the next firmware update & hopefully Nook will continue to improve in a few areas. Oh, I never seriously considered the Kindle because of the Amazon only format. I don't much like the look of the Kindle with its keyboard. The Nook has a much better feel in my hand than the Kindle, Kobo & maybe even the Sony, although I still like the materials used in the latter. I will be adding an Android tablet in the next year & it will have it's place next to the Nook as, with current technology, I don't see a do-it-all product on the market. Cheers,kev

 

[lawman]

My nook spends a lot of time in my pocket. It's good for reading on the fly, and very capable for that purpose. I am fast becoming disillusioned with the cost of ebooks, however, and I think that, in the long run, it's going to be generations before any significant switch is made - why pay $6 to almost own a book, when I can pay $7 to own it, read it, keep it, then sell it to buy another?I think we're going to stop looking for "do-it-all products" at some point. No backlit display will function like paper, no epaper display will work as well as a backlight.

 

[bugeyed]

I agree that the price of eBooks needs to come down to attract the masses. My attraction to the eReader stems from my reading several books at once, or over an extended period. Some books I read quickly & others I work on for a while. It's mostly technical material that I keep around to keep the gears oiled. The eReader lets me take a bunch of books along & I don't have to choose which I will likely be in the mood for. That's the way it's working for me now & being able to grab a new book from the web without having to remember to do so later is worth something to me. The whole eBook/eReader thing is new for me, so no telling how I will use them in the future. I can only concern myself with today & today I like my Nook. BTW I am waiting for delivery of my $99 3G Nook refurb. from B&N to arrive. Then this $150 WiFi unit is being returned. BTW I am changing my mind about buying & returning perfectly functional products simply because I don't like something about it. Basically, if a store doesn't have a functioning display & can't answer questions about the product, I don't have a problem taking it for a test drive. Some retailers even encourage that! Cheers,kev

 

[lawman]

BN apparently realized the 3g at $99 was a steal, so they've upped it to $119. Still a deal. So much to play with in an always on 3g device...