Sessa17

I have nothing to base that statement on, only that a friend told me this. I'm really not worried about it anymore, even if that is the case, B&N could easily fix it. Right now, my only major reservation is matching Amazon's better ebook prices.

Supermallet

A quick and dirty breakdown of current e-readers:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/16/e...ers/#continued

The last portion ("Wait") applies directly to me.

Sessa17

I understand the "wait", but I'm ready for one now. The Kindle & Nook (especiallly) both fit everything I am looking for for the most part, I have no interest in a bigger model, & the only future e-reader that I will likely be interested in is Apple, b/c I'm an Apple whore, but it is still likely a couple of years away at best. So I'd rather have a Nook or Kindle now, & enjoy it for a while. By the time whatever one you (or anyone) is waiting for is actually released, the second you get it, another future ereader will be right around the corner.

Supermallet

That's fine. I'm not saying you should wait for the end-all, be-all ereader. I'm just looking for a few things that aren't currently available (faster refresh, color e-ink). I also think giving the technology a little while longer to mature won't be a bad thing. I've got plenty of physical books I still need to read to tide me over, not to mention movies, music, and games.

Ranger

oK, did some testing.
1) Yes, it is true that cc number needs to be entered to unlock the ebook.
2) But the ebook only has to be unlocked the FIRST time you open it OR if you re-name the PDB file. I think that is somewhat reasonable.
3) Yes, you still can read the ebooks on the PC offline (if unlocked already). The program will say to check network connection and then prompt you to login again. Just close that and ebooks open fine offline.

And in other news:
Barnes & Noble’s Nook Sold Out for the Holidays

meglet

For those looking for PDF support, Amazon release an update today for K2s and Kindle DX that improves battery life, adds PDF support to the 6" Kindle, and adds the ability to rotate the screen.

However, it also breaks the custom font and screensaver hacks, so those of you who have them installed will have to either give them up, or wait to install the update and hope the hacks are re-hacked.

I'm waiting for now, because I don't need PDF support, don't have a battery life problem, and want my custom screensavers more than I want the screen rotation. But when the update comes out next year to allow "organization" (folders or otherwise) I'll have quite the dilemma if it breaks the screensavers again.

mhg83

How do you update the Kindle?

Ginwen

Typically, just turn on the wireless and at some point it'll update on its own. I assume the people that don't want the update never use the wireless. Now that I know this is out there I'll just turn on my wireless overnight.

Edit: or if you're impatient you may be to do what it says here to apply it sooner" http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200324680

drmoze

Of course, it is a WHOLE lot less (100% less, in fact) to borrow ebooks from a library on a Sony Reader. I'm reading the latest David Baldacci book (First Family) right now, and it didn't cost a cent. That's a whole $9.99 cheaper than what I'd have to pay on the Kindle!

xmiyux

No libraries near me loan out ebooks.

kms_md

has anyone tried out the new pdf support in the kindle 2? this was the sole feature i was waiting for before purchasing.

mhg83

I loaded a few pdf files and its a serious disappointment. The font size is really small and there's no way to increase the font or even zoom in! Hopefully amazon fixes these issues, it's un-readable.

Ranger

That's cool, but some of us do want to support the authors, publishers, and bookstores.


BN also seemed to recently have brought down their ebook prices to "normal" as in costing about the same at Amazon kindle store. For example, I recall someone saying the BN ebook "The Stand" by Stephen King cost about $40, but now it is $7.19 - same price as the kindle edition. Now they just need to get their gift cards to work for buying ebooks.

Ranger

Are some of those the google books? I think they're the scanned pdf-types, not the selectable text pdf-type. So I'd expect only the latter to be able to have fonts adjusted. Not sure if it's both types that can't be zoomed.

mhg83

It was an e-book

Ginwen

It wasnt the deciding factor for me, but I can read library books on my kindle thanks to a guy named Igor who posts on Mobileread. The selection's pretty crappy around me even though I have two libraries (King County and Seattle Public) to get them from so I don't end up checking that often to see if they have it (I did at first but about 99 percent of the time, they didn't have the book so I just got out of the habit, whispernet is evilly tempting to me). I usually use the library when something is total crap but I want to read it anyway (like I read 3 of the 4 twilight books that way, so at least I wasn't contributing much money).

As far as PDFs, I'm glad they added support for them, but I've always thought that if I really wanted to look at a lot of PDFs, I'd probably buy one of the larger sized e-readers like the DX or one of the others, it just seems to me they'd look better although I don't really know.

Ginwen

I know you were just seeing how it would look (which is apparently crappy) but did you try converting it to kindle format. I know Amazon converts for about a dime, or you can get converters I'm sure (there's even a converter that installs right on your kindle but I'm kinda paranoid about that). I'm just curious how they look, I haven't tried myself because there's been nothing I really wanted to read that was PDF only (not so far, that is).

meglet

For converting to Kindle format, I really like MobiPocket Creator. It will convert from .txt, doc, PDF, and a couple others to a Kindle compatible format. Quick, easy, and it usually even does a pretty decent job of picking up chapter markers in PDF documents.

Ginwen, as for the library books, I have heard that the New York Public Library will let you check books out even if you don't live in NY. I haven't tried it myself since I am a re-reader, so I prefer to purchase books instead of check them out.

Supermallet

Did anyone end up getting a Nook? I've heard reports of it being laggy.

Deke Rivers

laggy? as in slow? i have a Kindle 1 and have not experienced that

Supermallet

Sorry, I meant Nook. Fixed it in my original post.

Sessa17

None have shipped yet, not even to stores (only a few of the largest stores got them for demo). B&N's handling of this has turned me off to the Nook. I'm getting a Kindle for X-mas, I just want it for reading. I was psyched for all the bells & whistles the Nook had, but given all the delays, & their reluctance to even have them out early for demo, the Nook has the potential to be a disaster with early problems. The Kindle will hold me over until the eventual Apple tablet, since I'm an Apple fanatic.

Tommy Ceez

So the consensus is that if I want to borrow from the NYPL's 17,000 e-book collection and dont want to spend a lot on bells and whistles I should get the Sony Pocket Reader, but if the lack of an on-line dictionary is a dealbreaker I should buy the Nook?

EDIT:

Although there might be a lesser known reader that fits my needs and has the dictionary for the price of the Sony or does the Nook thing for cheaper I have a long standing policy that lesser known electronics products SUCK because there is no information online, no 3rd party accessories, and no help at all with these things (I'm looking at you iRiver mp3 players!)

Sessa17

I guess I was wrong, the Nook's are shipping now.

Here is a good, in-depth review. . .
http://gizmodo.com/5420216/barnes--n...etty-damn-good

nevermind

From the gizmodo article:

This will be interesting. And may determine if we are Nook owners by spring.