Anybody Have an e-Reader ?

[RTB]

I agree about the e-readers on boats. Wasn't trying to be a smarta$$. Had to google besotted....guess I need to read more. LOL.

[aquarian]

Originally Posted by bljones

I am leaning toward the sony touch, for a couple of reasons-
1. It is open-source, so i am not tied to Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, or Indigo/Chapters for my selection.
2. The company I represent is offering one as part of my incentive program. i could persuade them to change models if necessary, so...
can anybody give me an advantage of a kindle or Kobo over the Sony Touch?

I would check around as to who is selling what you want to read and/or can you get what you want to read free. Not all books are available in all formats. I have found that the Kindle store is most likely to have what I need. But I have 4 different readers and each has something the others don't. Keep in mind that Kindle can't read Kobo and vise versa. Project Gutenberg has thousands of free books in almost all formats.

[aquarian]

So, what does besotted mean?

[RTB]

Either works for me....

1. Strongly infatuated: "he became besotted with his best friend's sister".
2. Intoxicated; drunk.

[S/V Willow]

Infatuated. Enamored. Fond of. Sorry didn't mean to disrupt this post - I'll put it more simply - I love my ereader! Simple as that.

[aquarian]

I feel so much smarter. Thanks guys.

[Rhapsody-NS27]

I like the Kindle

I saw them for the first time in Sep. Then I found out about the Nook (B&N) and Sony readers.

I've now had my Kindle the last few weeks and already reading more than I have in a long time. While waiting for it to ship to me, I downloaded the Kindle PC software and started reading one of the free books from Amazon and the actual kindle operates in a very similar way. I like that it's just a simple reader without all the extra features of iPad, Computers, Smart phones or whatever else people have these days. And Amazon has a software reader for each kind of device.

It's Great!

[AntiqueTri]

I am surprised no one has mentioned the nook. My wife and son each have one and love it. I hadn't considered any other just because they are so happy with the nook. It reads lots of formats and is easy on the eyes. Anyone have any opinions on nook vs. others?

[nautical62]

I bought an Ipad several months ago and love it.

In addition to reading books & magazines, it does everything an Ipod touch does: I can watch movies on a bigger screen, show picture galleries, get my email, surf the web and use any of the tens of thousands of apple apps. For cruising, I like that the battery life and draw is much lower than lap top. I can watch movies for several hours without needing to run an inverter. I can more easily take it by dinghy into town and spend time on the internet without being rushed by lap top battery life, and without putting my lap top through as much stress. It also serves as a back up to many of the functions my computer and phone offer.

With devices that now do so much more than just read books, it makes me wonder if the devices that do little more than read books will be around much longer.

[rev412]

BLJones. Make sure you're talking about the PRS-650 rather than the earlier model of the Sony Touch, the PRS-600. The touch-screen overlay used on the older one substantially diminished the contrast of the e-ink display and gave problems with glare.

[Zydeco]

Originally Posted by AntiqueTri

I am surprised no one has mentioned the nook. My wife and son each have one and love it. I hadn't considered any other just because they are so happy with the nook. It reads lots of formats and is easy on the eyes. Anyone have any opinions on nook vs. others?

We have two Kindles and a Nook. The Kindles work great, haven't given us any trouble, and the battery lasts a long time. The Nook has been disappointing. The battery does not last nearly as long as the Kindle, and it regularly "freezes". The only cure I have found is to take the back off, remove the battery, then re-assemble it. I have to keep a tiny phillips screwdriver handy for removing the battery. A more permanent cure was to buy the second Kindle.

[Chipg]

If you can swing it get an iPad 3G with the GPS chip, it's screen is easier on the eyes after long periods of reading, it's more organic and natural feelng when reading. Its also a fantastic weather, radar, navigation, Internet and entertainment device. You'll be happy you spent more. I love my iPad.

[Mimsy]

I'm debating the pros and cons of an iPad vs. Kindle for my 10 year old. Its an extravagance for a 10 year old for certain, but she is going to have to give up so much of her stuff to move aboard this might make it easier.

I get the multifunctionality of the iPad, but then its quite a bit more expensive than a Kindle.

What is the power usage/charging rates of each one? How quickly do they run through a charge? I imagine the ipad will eat a lot more juice than the Kindle, just wondering HOW much more?

[Realtime]

My wife has a Kindle and it's great - especially the ease of thinking of a book you want and getting it within about a minute - and the readability of the screen. I have a Sony e-reader and it's almost as good in terms of readability - particularly with its own reading light. Downloads come only through the computer. Its advantage is the availability of lots of free books and ability to read books and files saved in pdf format. With the two of us sharing, we have a pretty good setup. Both are really easy on power.

The limitation I haven't seen mentioned yet is the pictures and graphics, which are pretty useless on both. So these devices are not much help in learning how to read weather maps or fix the diesel. Better plan on a few serious references for what you need along those lines.

[SaltyMonkey]

I have an iPad after being sceptical about it. Turned out to be a great deal.

I use Kindle app on it for Amazon ebooks and the like, as well as Zinio for some magazine subscriptions. More importantly, there are many additional applications to download which are content driven (some specific magazine vendors etc) or functionally driven. Im using it for example to study for my extra HAM license.

The screen is amazingly crisp, clear and colourful. I can sit in bed, play music, watch open university lectures, study, read, etc. Easier than a laptop. More fuller than a Kindle or eNook etc