My wife really likes to read and has expressed a desire for a Kindle like device and as much as I think that Valentines day is a total horse droppings, Hallmark, Avoid restaurants like the plauge holiday I'm thinking about getting here one or something like it. I'm not really up on all these tablet devices, Kindle, Nook, and probably a zillion others. She is not technologically saavy but I can figure out how stuff works.
Soooo any recomendations as to one product or the other or why? Does one have better batterylife, Quicker charging, easier to download books? Readable in the sun on the beach??? I also don't want to spend crazy $$ .BTW how do you back these things up so you don't loose what you purchase? Flash Drive?
I've got a Kindle, and like it. It's basically readable in the same circumstances a print book is...you can't read in the dark (like you can with an LCD-screen tablet) but there are no screen glare problems so you can sit outside with it as well. Other readers, like the Nook, have this "E-Ink" feature.
If you turn off the wi-fi, the battery seems to last forever. I read an hour or two every night, and charge it every two to three weeks. I've never taken it down far enough to get the battery warning. When I've plugged it it, it seems to be back at 100% in an hour or so (I haven't had it below ~33%, though). One cool thing is that the E-ink books only use power when you push a button, like to turn a page.
The one complaint you'll get about some readers is slow page turning. This seems to be dependent upon the book itself. My Kindle was nice and quick, but one recent book (a Project Gutenberg freebie) really seemed to bog it down.
Operation is pretty straightforward. I got the Kindle 3 with 3G, and it worked right out of the box. I helped my sister-in-law set up hers with just straight wi-fit; a bit more work to get the MAC registered with the local wireless server.
I waffled over the standard Kindle and the Kindle DX (the big one). In retrospect, I think I'm happier with the smaller one. It tucks quite nicely into pockets...I have a rain jacket with an external zipper pocket that could have been MADE for it. The DX, like the tablets, is a bit larger and takes a bit more management.
The cool thing is, there are a lot of free books available in most e-reader (and tablet) formats. I especially like
Baen Books, they've got a ton of free SF novels, by current authors. I have bought a number of books via Amazon, they make it (all too) painless.
The Kindle 3 has some "experimental" features. It does include a web browser, for instance. When we lost power for a couple of days, I used my 3G Kindle to keep updated on the news.
I don't have "brand loyalty" to the point where I'd tell you to get a Kindle over a Nook. They're probably pretty equal. I'll probably get a tablet some day for other reasons, but I've generally been dismayed with the amount of screen reflections (I *am* picky about this sort of thing, though). The E-ink systems are probably the closest equivalent to a print copy.
