Amazon Kindle Reader 4 vs Nook 2 vs Sony Reader – thorough comparison
Digital ebook readers have become a part of our lives in the last years, allowing us to keep in touch with our favorite books, magazines and newspapers in a new way, being easier and more comfortable to use. There are a couple of different devices in this class available on the market right now, but 3 brands manage to outperform all the others:
- Amazon’s Kindles – most popular digital readers in the entire world, the Kindle’s come with good features, excellent prices and access to a vast collection of content. They are available in a couple of different versions, with different screen sizes.
Sony’s eBook readers – some of the pioneers in this domain and available in a couple of different forms, they do not offer the features or the build quality of the Kindle’s, but compensate with more affordable prices- Barnes and Nobble’s Nook – a popular device in the US, is sold via the B&N libraries and also offers access to tons of content. Comes with a very good price and some extra features over the other readers, like a small touchscreen.
In the last years I’ve been able to come in contact with all these gadgets above, mostly because of my job as an editor for a big online IT magazine (ever since 2004). Thus I was able to form a good idea on the pros and cons of each of the readers presented above. In the next rows I’m going to share my knowledge about them with you, so keep reading below. Once again, most opinions are based on my personal experience with these gadgets, but also one reviews available online from regular customers who own these products.
Amazon Kindle digital readers – Kindle 4, Keyboard and Touch
Amazon is probably the biggest and most notorious webstore in the world. They now sell pretty much everything for nearly unbeatable prices, but back in their young years, they were mere an online bookstore. They still are, and in order to help people get easier access to all of their books, newspapers, magazines and other types of content, they’ve also invented the Amazon Kindle reader, the one device that revolutionized the electronic readers’ market back when it was launched.
Years have passed and now the Kindle reader has reached its 4th generation, launched in September 2011.
Alongside the new Kindle 4 (which now costs only $79, with Shipping included), Amazon also offers now two different readers: the Kindle Keyboard, which is in fact the rebranded version of the 3rd generation (but with a price cut, as it starts at only $99 now) and the Kindle Touch, which is the first touch-based ebook reader from Amazon and also starts at only $99. We’ll talk about all of these in the post below.
In order to meet the demanding need for books and cope with the facts that classic paper novels are a burden to carry around, Amazon invented the Kindle: a compact electronic gadget that can store hundreds of books, newspapers, magazines or images/songs and can provide the same reading experience as on a regular book.
As you know, regular displays may cause headaches and watery eyes when used for a longer period of time. Also, when used outside in strong light conditions, you’ll barely be able to distinguish anything on them.
A new complete Kindle family for 2011
That’s why digital readers use a different technology: e-ink displays. Shortly, these screens mimic a regular page from a hardcopy book. Thus, reading od these devices is almost the same as reading from a printed piece of paper, but you get some bonuses: you can adjust the levels of darkness desired for the texts, you can re-size fonts, you can search inside books, can made annotations and others.
The Kindles have been the most popular ebook readers in the world for the last several years, and Amazon kept improving them e each year with new versions that meet the demands of more and more potential buyers. I too consider them the best pick you could make right now if looking for an eletronic ebook reader, and here’s why:
- they are nicely designed, compact and light, but also sturdy and reliable;
- they come with top features for such devices: adjustable perspective (portrait or landscape), high quality e-ink displays, QWERTY keyboards, free 3G, speakers, decent amount of memory, text-to-speech , etc;
- they provide access to Amazon’s collection of content, one of the biggest in the world. And also one of the cheapest, where popular books cost just around $9.99 (including bestsellers), where you can also find over 1.500.000 free titles and where you can get many US and International newspapers, magazines, audiobooks, games and podcasts;
- they can read PDF files and also support a bunch of popular file formats, like TXT, DOC, MP3, JPG, etc (some through conversion)
- come with a basic browser that will work OK with static pages and applications for your favorite social services, like Facebook and Twitter
- you get battery life of 2 to 6 weeks on every charge
- they are darn cheap (most go for under $100 these days)
And those are some of the things people enjoy on their Kindles.
Up until 2009, you could only buy a Kindle in the US. These days though, most of the Amazon readers are now available internationally in more than 100 countries in the world. Amazon ships them directly to your door, but be aware that shipping fees will apply (you’ll be informed about those when placing an order). Also, you should know that using a Kindle outside of the US, you won’t get access to all the content US customers get, as you’ll still get most of the books, newspapers and magazines, but won’t get the audiobooks and the games.
As of 2011, there are three different Kindle readers available on the market, and you can read about each of those below,
The Kindle 4, the new generation reader launched in 2011
This is the latest and the cheapest Amazon readers of all times. With it, Amazon cut off some of the fancy stuff and offers a compact and ultra-light device for an unbeatable price. Compared to the previous generation, the 4th Kindle is now smaller, lighter and no longer offers a physical keyboard, speakers, 3G or a headphone slot.
The new compact Kindle 4
You still get Wi-Fi for browsing and buying books, but the new Kindle is as basic as it can be, while being perfect at its task: display books. The screen is the same as before, a 6 inch e-ink display with good contrast and crisp images, plus Amazon improved the way it refreshes pages (you no longer get a flush-to-black effect on every refresh, but once every 6-7 page turns).
You can read more about the 4th Kindle in my review here on the blog and also see my comparison between the Kindle 3 and the Kindle 4.
Dealing with prices, the new Kindle starts at $79 in the US, with Shipping included. That’s for the add supported version, but you only get a small commercial on the bottom of your homescreen and when turning ON the screen, so by all means, those are not intrusive. The standard version of the new Kindle goes for $109, and this one also ships Internationally in around 100 countries (outside of the US though, shipping costs will apply), and it will only take about one week to have it in your home once you’ve ordered it. If you happen to live in the UK, the same Kindle 4 goes for 89 pounds there (yea, it’s more expensive, sry guys).
Oh, and you should also check out my video review for the Kindle 4 below (yea, that’s my review made for another site of mine, tabletbite.com).
The Kindle Keyboard, the previous generation, now with a discount
The Kindle Keyboard is in fact the Kindle 3, rebranded and cheaper than it was before.
The Kindle Keyboard - the older generation, rebranded and cheaper
You get the same 6 inch screen that you have on the newer Kindle 4, plus the physical keyboard, 3G and speakers, all in a bigger and slightly heavier body. All these are extremely useful if you plan to use your reader for more than reading books, and will come in handy if you want to browse or listen to music. You do get that free Internet connectivity on the 3G version and it works with all kinds of websites, plus the keyboard is awesome for typing, commenting and going on social services.
More about the Kindle keyboard in my other post, or in my detailed Kindle 3 review; but basically, the Keyboard is the reader to get if you plan to do more with your device than reading and don’t mind the extra bulk.
The Keyboard Kindle is available now in two different versions, with or without 3G. The Wi-Fi only model starts at $99 in the US and is an add-supported version, while the international version goes for $139. Details about these two are available via this link. The 3G models go for $139 (with ads) or $189 (without ads/ships internationally) and you can find out more about them here.
The Kindle Touch, the new 2011 touchscreen Kindle
Alas, we finally have a touchscreen on a Kindle. While the Nook and the Sony Reader had this feature for a while, the Kindle was the only one to miss the trend.
The Kindle Touch is the first Kindle with a touchscreen
You should see the Touch Kindle as a more functional Kindle 4. It’s pretty much the same in terms of size, although it’s a bit thicker and heavier than the basic 2011 Kindle. It doesn’t offer speakers or a headphone jack, but has a touch-display and a new interface that replace all the buttons. The touchscreen should be useful for navigating, browsing and typing (with that virtual keyboard), still, don’t expect an iPad like experience. There’s still an e-ink screen on the Kindle Touch and it will take a bit to respond to your commands and refresh the content.
Of course, besides the pros, having a touch-screen also means smudges, fingerprints and some extra glare (as cleaning those smudges on standard matte displays is a complete pain). So it’s up to you to decide if the good parts compensate for the trade-offs.
The Touch Kindle starts at $99 dollars for the Wi-Fi only add-supported version. There’s also a 3G model that starts at $149. However, unlike the Kindle Keyboard, you won’t be able to use 3G for browsing, but only for shopping in the Kindle Store and visiting Wikipedia. Plus, the Touch edition of the Amazon reader is now available Internationally, as it only ships in the US for the time being.
As a wrap up, the Kindle readers are right now probably the best picks if you’re shopping for a digital ebook reader. You get three different ones to choose from (four actually, as there’s also the Kindle DX, which is basically a 9.7 inch version of the Kindle Keyboard, but it’s also very expensive when compared to these new versions launched in 2011), based on what you really need: a simple reader, like the Kindle 4, or a more functional and complete device like the others.
Out of all, the Kindle Touch is the only one that can be put side by side with the Nook 2 and the Sony Reader, as it’s the only one to boost a touchscreen. But since I’m confident many of you don’t need or want a touchscreen on their reader, I’m sure the Kindle 4 and the Kindle Keyboard will still be extremely popular in the months to come.
THe Kindle Keyboard and the New Kindle 4 are your best picks if you want a cheap reader
Still, there is one major drawback on all these devices: you can only get content from the Amazon Kindle Store and not from others, plus they don’t offer native support for some of the standard file formats. So, the Kindles don’t work with ePUB content. The new Kindle 4 does allow you to borrow content from public libraries, but the process is a bit complicated: you have to send that piece of content to Amazon and they’ll then send you a properly formated version for your device, which is in fact the same with other types of popular files (like .DOCs for instance). Also, there’s one problem with lending books on Kindles: you can’t lend any book, but only some “selected” ones, and you can’t do it straight from your device, you’ll have to login to your account on Amazon’s website for that. But all in all, I for one can live with these minor inconveniences.
Barnes & Noble Nook 2 digital reader
Advertised as a Kindle Killer, the Nook is a digital ebook reader produced by Barnes & Noble. You’ll only going to get this one if you live in the US, and if you do, you probably already know that B&N is one of the biggest library chains in the country. So the Nook has a strong backup.
New Nook 2, with a touchscreen
The Nook has now reached its second generation, as the Nook 2 was launched earlier in 2011. It does come with a couple of improvements over the first Nook and it does have some nice strong-points, including the well built chassis, the touch display and access to B&Ns content library, which seems to be now even bigger than Amazon’s one, with access to nearly 2 million pieces of content.
Having a touchscreen, it’s only fair to compare the Nook 2 with the Kindle Touch and when having a quick look at them, they are pretty much on par. There’s a similar 6 inch e-ink touch display on both, they both weigh around 7.5 ounces and offer enough battery life for weeks of reading (up to 2 months in both cases, but you won’t get that much) and enough storage space (the Nook does support microSD cards to expand memory, but how much space will you actually need on an ebook reader anyway?).
There are though some details that set the two tablets apart though. The Nook wins when dealing with standard written content, as it supports B&Ns proprietary file format, but also ePub content. You can also easily lend and borrow any of your purchased books and the whole process is quite simple.
The Kindle on the other hand does offer you the browser and a 3G option, while the Nook does not. For the moment, neither of the two ships outside of the US, but I expect Amazon to fix that quite soon, as they are already shipping some of their other Kindles overseas. Still, if you’re living outside the US and can get one of these two, on the Kindle you’ll actually have no problem getting content from the Kindle Store, while on the Nook 2 you will. That’s because you need a valid US Shipping address added to your account to shop for content. This can be faked from a computer if you’re adding a fake US dress, your own Credit Card info (you don’t need an US CC for that) and use some kind of proxy service that would make the B&N site think you’re browsing from the States. But how many of you know how to do that or are willing to put up the effort?
In the end, there’s also the price matter. The Nook sells for $139 and is only available in the US like I said. If you think about it, that’s on par with the Kindle Touch, but the Kindle also has the add-supported version that sells for only $99. Plus, without access to audio content and a browser, the Nook 2 is basically just a reader with a touchscreen, so unless you really want that touch-display, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t pick the basic Kindle 4 and get the same basic functionality for half the price.
The Nook 2 is solid and sleek, but is a bit overpriced
Now, I’m not saying the Nook 2 is a bad pick. No, it’s an excellent reader and offers you access to all sort of content, as long as you’re living in the US. But I do find it too expensive for what it has to offer when compared to the new Amazon Kindles.
The Sony Reader Wi-Fi
Last but not least in our list is the Sony Reader, and over the year there have been many different ebook readers from Sony.
For 2011, their most popular model is the Sony Reader Wi-Fi, a compact and sleek reader with a 6 inch touch-based e-ink display.
Basically, the Sony Reader is on par with the Kindle Touch and the Nook, as least of a first look. However, there are once again those details that make the difference.
The Sony Reader is the only one to offer a pen
First, the Sony is the slimmest and the lightest of the three, weighing around 6 ounces, while the others weigh around 7.5. Not much, but on a portable device like this one, every fraction of an ounce makes a difference. The Sony Reader will give you access to ePUB content and content from Sony’s store and you can access this content internationally.
Second, the reader does offer a headset jack, so you can add in music (and there’s enough space for that, thanks to the microSD card support), while the others do not. And third, more importantly, it comes with a stylus and allows you to make hand-written annotations to your documents, which is something many of you would actually like.
On the other hand, you don’t get 3G on this reader and you’ll have to settle for Wi-Fi, just like on the Nook. And you don’t get a browser either.
Last but not least, there’s the price matter, as the Sony Reader Wi-Fi is the most expensive of the three readers compared in here. It starts at $149 and can be bought in three different color options (red, black and white) and can be found in online stores or on Sony’s website. The Reader will eventually be available all around the globe, but availability differs right now from country to country.
All in all, the Sony Reader does offers a couple of extras over the Kindle Touch or the Nook 2, with music and the bundled pen for note taking. It is also slim, compact and awesome looking, but it is expensive, especially when compared to those 2011 Kindles.
The Sony Reader does offer some extras, but it is also the most expensive of all
Wrap-up and conclusions
All in all, choosing one device over another is not that simple. You can’t really say one is better than the rest, each has its strong and poor points.
If you already have a reader and already own a collection of content for it, it’s easier for you: stick with that brand, otherwise you will have compatibility problems when trying to migrate all your content to another platform.
Thus my conclusions are mainly for those of you planing to get their first ebook reader. So, if you’re in need of a basic ebook reader and don’t expect to use it for anything else than reading written content, than you should definitely go for the new Kindle 4. It’s cheap, it’s light and gives you access to hordes of books, newspapers and magazines. And is shipped in more than 100 countries. Of course, you won’t get ePUB in there and you won’t be able to lend and borrow books that easily, but if you can live with those, the 4th Kindle is your top pick.
On the other hand, if you need more from your reader, it will be more difficult to choose between all the other options left. The Kindle Keyboard is great for websurfing, as it comes with Free 3G and physical keyboard. The Kindle Touch and the Nook do offer touchscreens. Now, the Touch Kindle also has a 3G option, but unlike Keyboard, 3G use has been limited to only access the Kindle Store and Wikipedia, so you can’t use it for browsing anymore, which kind of defeats the whole purpose. Last but not least, the Sony Reader does offer music and the pen, but it is 50% more expensive than the Kindle Touch and does not have a browser. As for the Nook 2, it’s expensive and it doesn’t offer anything over a basic reader, except for the touchscreen (but still, why pay for a touchscreen if you have no use for it?)
So, my advice: go for the Kindle 4 if you’re looking for something cheap and basic. Or pick between the subsidized Kindle Touch/Keyboard or the Sony Reader if you want some extras. As for the Nook 2, I’m sorry, but I consider it last in my list right now, mainly cause it’s too expensive for what it has to offer, when compared to these main competitors.
This pretty much concludes my comparison of the 2011 Kindles, Nook 2 and the latest Sony Reader. This post was last major updated on October 10 2011 and if you have something to add or need to ask some questions, please submit your comments below.
Both of these units are rip offs. Let me tell you why!
You can buy a 7″ LCD picture frame that can display your digital pictures for $75. Then why should someone pay for the Sony or Amazon readers $300 or $400?
If some one could add to a picture frame the necessary hardware/software combination that could display ebooks in ANY format, and could market it for $99 there would be a sure winner. If they could also add a wireless radio in to it, with a built in web browser like the Kindle, it would replace the lap top for many travelers.
Irrespective of the format of the ebook, I should be able to read any book on any format, that I don’t have to convert to LIT or PDF! I will not pay money to read the books ONLY in the Sony format or Microsoft format.
Come on Chinese manufacturers, it is time to design and dump millions of these gadgets for under $99!
I have the Sony Reader and think it’s great. I was quite suprised SONY supported so many formats, not typical for SONY. However SONY does have some short comings. First the software that comes with the product is garbage.
I’ve read many reviews and I think many of the reviews miss 1 HUGE point. In the long run Amazon is MUCH cheaper than the sony device. Amazon might be $100 more but buy 10 books and soon you will break even. (Most of the books I’m interested in cost $20 or more on paperback). SONY tends to give a little discount for the eBooks but Amazon caps all books at $9.99. While both suffer from a lack of supply I tend to find SONY has much less support than Amazon. This has been a real fustration for me. Personally I would like to take full advantage of my reader and purchase or re-purchase books so that I may store them on my reader. But this is a vent on just ebooks alone.
Where SONY does shine is that there are a lot of good 3rd party tools (free) that allow one to convert HTML/Text/MS Word files to SONY’s format, which is optimized for their display.
I’m very happy with my SONY Reader and think it looks very slick, batter life is amazing. But if I could redo the purchase I think I would go with Amazon for the reasons mentioned above. Having the ability to immediately(EVDO) go online a buy a book very cheap ($10) is really the heart of what makes the eBooks reader so attractive.
I have a sony ebook and am not happy with it at all. I have had nothing but problems. I purchased the extended warranty and have nothing but problems getting them to honor it. It freezes and I have to push the reset button to recharge it. Then it won’t remember my bookmark. I would not recommend it to anyone until they get the issues addressed.
I own the Sony ebook reader and am real happy with it. Not only will it work with many formats, but 3rd party software exists that will allow you to make ebooks from even more, including Microsoft’s Ebook format (LIT) so you can buy almost any format (except kindle or Mobi) and read them on sony.
I have the Sony Reader and for the purpose of reading a book, it is great. (getting it form Sony and viewing it on the device).
I noticed it would freeze when I tried reading pdfs with links embedded into the file, but would get it to work by turning off the device. There was no need to re-size the file but when zooming into the file, there were some strange display issues but still legible.
It is great for taking to the gym or other places since the battery life lasts practically forever and it is sleek and small enough to fit in a small purse.
I have read that kindle offers a user the ability to buy books directly from amazon, but in reality, how many books can you really read at one time and is there an urgency to get a book then and there? Waiting to get to a PC isn’t that big of a deal. And if you are purchasing a reader, chances are you have PC connectivity, so it is not a big deal whether you have to connect to a PC…thinking about it, I have a iphone, where I could purchase widgets directly to it and sure it is nice to have, but I noticed it really isn’t’ necessary over time but just made it just too easy to spend my money. I figure it is the same idea for Sony reader verses the Kindle.
I haven’t tested the kindle, but if you are torn, I hope this helps.
I have the Sony reader. There are many books posted on the internet in the newsgroups and using available programs to convert them to the LRF format of the reader is straightforward.
There is also websites that show hacks to change the function of the various buttons on the reader to make it function better.
For instance the numbered buttons on the reader step you thru a percentage of the book. A hack changes them to go to a particular page number. The readers will only improve but right now I prefer the Sony reader.
While the Kindle may not natively support PDFs, DOCs, etc you can easily either use 3rd party tools to convert them or just email them to Amazon and have them convert them for you. For 10 cents they’ll covert it and wirelessly transmit it to your device or for free they’ll email it back to you. It’s actually pretty slick. I’ve tried both and I have to say despite its odd shape the Kindle came out well ahead after a while just in terms of how well it worked and some of the features.
Hi, I’ve just bought the PR-505 as a present for my partner and am thinking about keeping it myself. The battery life is impressive and given we will be reading mainly books freely available on Gutenberg and free books I don’t have any issues with whose software is best or whose books are the cheapest. As for the first posters comment about lcd screens, just try reading for a couple of hours on an lcd screen and you’ll see why the e-ink screens are special. very special. I also link the leather case although have concerns about how well this willl protect the screen in the long run.
I have been using a Sony Reader PR500 for quite some time now & I love it. Previously I used a LCD PPC & I can say there is no comparison – the epaper beats the LCD hands down. The display is MUCH clearer & a battery charge on the Sony lasts 3 weeks instead of the 3 hours (or less) on the LCD. It was suggested a much cheaper reader could be sold based on a LCD digital picture frame type device. While this is quite possible it would not be portable since it would require full time use of an AC adapter & still wouldn’t have as clear a screen. I agree the price for epaper readers is too high, they will come down as the technology gets better. The newer Sony is already $100 cheaper.
Actually, Amazon.com has released the international version of the Kindle for all to enjoy…
Yes, there is an option to download through the internet. Just access ‘Manage your Kindle’ from the ‘your account’ menu on the amazon.com website and there you can download the content into the computer and transfer it onto the device (Documents folder)
I live in China and I was wondering does anyone know if the Kindle will still work such as the internet…and will I be able to charge it without having to but a transformer?
I’m not sure if it supports Chinese characters. But if you want to use it for English books, it should work just fine. As for the charger, you’re probably going to need and adapter, but that shouldn’t cost more than 5 bucks.
I just received the Sony touch edition PRS-600. The design of the reader is very nice and I like the feel, but that’s as far as I can go with this paper weight. The software doesn’t work on a MAC system like they say it does. The software for this paper weight is the worst software I have ever seen. It dose not respond to any input, it is a big waste of time and resources on the computer.
I don’t want to have to reload a book to meet another different format. The amount that this reader costs, you shouldn’t have to do anything but download a book and read it. Sounds simple, but these readers are a long way from being a simple easy alternative to a book.
I have other Sony electronics that seems to work the same way as the software for the reader, very very slow.
I HAVE RETURNED MY SONY TOUCH EDITION READER, going to stay with paper for a long time.
Don , a lot has changed from 2007 till now. I will make an updated version of this post, based on the new Kindle and the Sony Reader. For now, i do have to say that o totally recommend the Kindle, as you can see in my recent post where i compare some of the best available readers: http://www.mikesquarter.com/best-ebook-readers-offers-reviews-and-comparisons-587/
When it comes to which ebook reader is best I have to say hands down its Amazon’s Kindles.
The new versions of the Kindle read many different formats and the Newest Kindle DX is a native PDF reader.
Add that to the fact Kindles are wireless, to me its a no brainer!
Free wireless for life with the Kindle made it an easy choice for me.
I teach a small class and often scan portions of books to prepare discussion guides. Would Kindel be able to send “stuff” to my computer?
OK Im sorry but I have to say that Sony is the winner… and here is why:
- Sony is compatible with multiple eBook stores and with the kindle you can only purchase books from Amazon
-With Sony you can access to 1 million free public domain titles from Google books
-with sony you can borrow ebooks from the libraries
-Sony is compatible with Mac and PC
-Sony is touch screen
-has expandable memory
-you are able to bookmark,highlight and zoom and take notes freehand with the stylus that comes with it.
Not sure what you meant be send stuff. Do you meant send documents wirelessly somehow? if that’s the case, then no, you can’t, as this device doesn’t come with wi-fi (capable od doing that) or Bluetooth.
I received the kindle for Xmas and like it very much, however, I am told that with the Sony, you can download from the library for free. Is this true? My friend is contemplating buying a Sony for this reason.
Well, since you live outside the US why don’t you take a look at the BeBook that is coming out at the end of this month. I have some info about it on my blog and it seems to be a good competitor. It’s made by a Dutch company. Both the Kindle and Sonys are great choices. I personally would say go with the Kindle, but they’re pretty close.
I have a sony touchscreen and absolutely love it. Even the inconvenience of having to link to my computer is worth it to have the various types of docs. able to be loaded and read later. What I am having problems with it that some of my books, and I have well over 300 on my computer right now, load onto my reader beautifully, but the title won’t show in the library. Rather it shows a document with the file number. I have called Sony, and that didn’t give me any real help. How can I change the titles on the reader to show what the book is rather than having a series of letters and numbers? Anyone have any ideas?
I really don’t see the point of an ebook reader at all.
They cost as much as 60 paperbacks to begin with, you have a limited choice of books, and worse yet, ebooks cost as much or more than the real thing.
If ebooks were half price I’d understand the attraction.
I can pick up a paperback and resell it on amazon after and recover around 70% of my costs, or even pick up a second hand paperback up for $1.
Lester, how about when traveling. I do like the feel of regular books, but when traveling for 2-3 weeks with the airplane, i can barely take 2 titles with me. With the Kindle I can have how many i want, plus i can buy more from anywhere in just a couple of minutes. So…
I will be the first person to comment on Nook. I received my device for Christmas as a gift. I did have some issues on the beginning resulting from bugged firmware. But I continued to use it on everyday basis. Then, the updates started. And I have to say that all my problems went away, plus some unexpected improvement came in. I highly recommend this device for books and documents written in English. micro-SD slot makes it possible to hold hundreds of books at the same time. The battery is very good, especially with networking disabled, but does not hold for as much as kindle. I charge my Nook once a week, and use it everyday for 2 – 5 hrs. On the good side, the battery is replaceable. However, the service is the field where Nook beats everything else, hands down. When you break your device, B&N will send you a new one before you even return yours. The phone help is knowledgeable, and a real person i B&N store is a lifesaver. The only downside is character display. Nook will not display ISO-8859-2 correctly in epub. Fortunately, you can see them correctly in PDF.
As a side note I will mention that Nook runs on Android OS, and is rooted up to the newest firmware version. It is possible to install more software on it, and more software for Nook is on the way.
I highly recommend Nook for English text. I do also recommend Kindle, which I bought for my fiance (due to ISO issues, and simplicity of “analog” keyboard), and Sony, which is a great reader.
I am a teacher interested in using them for my whole class in 6th grade. Has anyone done this yet and which model would be most user friendly? Also, I want a model that can download library books – is that only on the Sony? Last question, can we share the books will all the models, purchasing one and sharing them? Thanks for any advice.
I purchased a Sony PRS-500 several years ago. I took out the extended warranty at the time, as well. I have been extremely pleased both with the reader’s performance, the availability of reasonably priced books and the service offered by Sony. I dropped and destroyed my reader the first month I had it and the warranty covered the total cost for replacement. I am an avid reader–I always have a book with me anywhere I go, either in my hand or in my purse–so I purchase a fairly large number of books. I have located several vendors who offer compatible formats at much lower costs than the Sony store as well as software to allow for format conversion, although purchasing books from the Sony store does have advantages such as unlimited downloads of purchased books whereas some vendors offer a limited window of time and/or number of downloads allowed. If there was anything I would like to have to improve my reader, it would be a backlight (??) which would allow for reading in the dark, but I can certainly live without it. I’m thinking about replacing my current reader with a newer one (I don’t really need a new one, though) and passing this one on to one of my children. If I do so, I will certainly choose a Sony again. Having had such a great experience with the reader I currently have, I wouldn’t consider any other brand.
Joleen, all devices should now get books in PDF format. Still, i doubt any of them actually allow sharing books. You’ll have to buy them for each device
I just purchased my sony pr500 and love it! I can borrow books from the library at anytime. Really don’t need WIFI connect, because its just so easy to download from my computer. There is no book out there that I must have in 60 seconds. Sandra you can purchase a book cover that has a built in light which works wonderfully. I can read in bed with the lights off. The sony is so compact, it fits in my handbag quite nicely.
Gina,
Info, please, on the book cover with built-in light. I’ve tried the clip-on book lights but thus far have found them awkward to use. I’m always bumping them, causing them to slip off the reader. If there is a more user-friendly solution, I’d love to know about it.
Sandra, there is this case for the new kindle with integrated night light: http://amzn.to/bX0HwL . I’m checking it myself as I plan on getting the new Kindle with this accessory. Looks quite nice from the reviews I’ve see so far, although I’m not sure how much using it will affect battery life, as it drains energy from Kindle’s battery. Not sure if that’s what you’re looking for, but there should be similar cases for the other readers as well.
Sandra, for the Sony there is a special book cover with a built in light. It comes with batteries and works great. Not in the least bit cumbersome, and its not going to fall off. Before buying check around for prices, I got mine at Office Depot. Good Luck!
Sandra,
Watersones have all sony accessories heavily discounted at minute, I bought cover with light for 10.99.
I have just received my Kindle 3 from Amazon and frankly am very impressed with the quality and operation of the unit. Free 3g is a bonus, coupled with wifi makes comms fairly comprehensive. What swayed me to choose the Kindle was the fact this is a tool, mainly to read books and other publications, and Amazon have one of the widest choices of reading matter at often significantly lower prices than competitors. This coupled with 1.8 million free publications swung it for me. A convenient extra is subscription to a newspaper which is downloaded daily to your device, a nice touch. Battery life is impressive and a free internet browse facility (albeit with limited functionality) is not to be sniffed at. I haven’t seen mentioned here what happens when you switch the kindle off; you get an image displayed on the screen, usually a greyscale painting or a bust of an author, a really nice touch, imho. Have just taken receipt of a kindle case whilst writing this and am again very impressed with the quality of the non-backlit case. I had a bit of a struggle to fit the tabs in the case to the kindle frame, but once pushed home I felt confident the device was not going to slip from the case. Overall a quality piece of equipment. I can live with no battery replacement, no extendable memory (3,500 publications is probably sufficent for me), bearing in mind you can remove publications when you are finished with them and reload from the archived facility on the Amazon server, why would I need extendable memory? I am having difficulty understanding what competition the Kindle has in the market place, from an overall package point of view. To prospective purchasers, buy it, you won’t regret it!
I have a Sony PRS-505 for nearly 18 month. I use the reader only to read scientific papers converted to epub format with tools you can find on the internet. I also now bought a kindle 3, mainly because of the advertised better e-ink quality. Access to the Sony or amazon store are not relevant to me. I can confirm, the contrast of the amazon devise is clearly better comapred to the Sony, in particular with smaller fonts. The kindle is faster although, I like personaly the slow page turn. The Kindle has more option in particular font size and line spacing, which helps to improve the reading quality.
However, the kindle built quality is far inferior to the Sony. It feels like a toy. The keys a difficult to use and the labelling looks like it will not last for long.
So overall (for me) there is not much going for the Kindle (if you have already a e-reader) apart from the better e-ink contrast
I will send the Kindle back.
PS: The web-browser is not worth to mention, slow and many pages can’t be displayed.
I use ‘calibre’ to manage my documents,
Hi
can anyone tell me which device is good for reading non-proprietary material? I have a huge collection on ebooks in .doc and .pdf formats, but I’m not sure about copyrights.
i live in india and I’m planning to get an ebook reader for myself through a relation staying in USA. please guide me whether kindle/sony support these kind of documents.
Can you tell me which (if any) of the readers: (1) play WMA files, (2) play WMA files at a bit rate of 32 kbps, (3) play protected WMA files. I want a reader that will play materials from RFB&D. The reader must be able to do all of these. Thank you.
I want to pick up what will be my first e-reader. Does anyone know whether Amazon’s newspaper subscriptions will work on a Nook or Sony reader? There are a couple of U.S. dailies I’m interested in, but they’re only available at Amazon. Why not just buy a Kindle? Because Kindles don’t offer memory expansion via SD or micro SD cards. While Kindle memories are substantial, the ability to interchange content via memory cards is something I want in a reader.
The information was helpful even though a difference of opinion can at times puzzle but you get an idea of the needs and wants,I live in Canada and will be able to handle the product in the Sony store though leaning towards the Kindle it would be nice to handle said product
I have a Sony eReader and a Kindle. I would like to be able to purchase some classics such as the Illiad in Italian. Does anyone know how I can do that?
As far as comparing the two readers, I like the look and feel of the Sony much more than the Kindle. The keyboard on the Kindle is more difficult for me to use and I find the touchscreen on the Sony similar to my iPhone so it did not take me long to get used to it.
The contrast on the Sony is not as good as I would like but it is not a problem. I have tried to find books that I might be interested in on Google Reader, but most of them are .pdf format and really don’t display very well on the Sony.
I’ll share more as I use them over the next few months.
Hi, A friend bought my husband an Amazon kindle for christmas from the UK, but unfortunately he only reads books in Dutch, si it possible to buy ebooks to download on his kindle? Many thanks for your help.