Ebook readers

[deborahjross]

From Maya Kaathryn Bonhoff, who's been researching opinions on the various ebook readers:

One source notes that the best-reviewed reader devices are, in order of user happiness: Kindle, Nook, iPad and Stanza (which will run on a number of platforms)

I've done only limited tests on my Nook reader, and am not even sure what format it uses. But I'm hoping to be able to do some serious testing as soon as I can stop to take a breath.

I expect the iBook readership to grow, in part because the iBook will read epub and PDFs, and because it's so freakin' easy to put a book you acquired or created into your iBook reader. You literally take the file and drag it into iTunes, and then drag it from iTunes to the iPad or iPhone icon. Poof! You have a new book on your shelf. And iTunes/iBook doesn't care where you got it. This is the biggest drawback with the Kindle reader for iPad/phone—you have to buy books through Amazon, you can't just download them easily from your computer.

Comments

[michele-briere.livejournal.com]

I had a Nook but the touch screen was making me crazy. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. I could scroll down but it wouldn't scroll up. And it's so small that my sausage fingers kept hitting the wrong buttons. (buttons?). So I got rid of it.

I'm being stubborn about getting a Kindle because of Amazon's strict proprietary locks on it.

I'm waiting for the technology to go a step further and allow any e-reader to accept e-books from any site.

At the moment, I have e-readers for PC's on my laptop. I have PC-Nook, Kindle and Adobe. Most of my e-books are on the Nook reader mainly because Barnes and Noble has a lot more titles available than Amazon. I only get an e-book from Amazon when I can't find it on B&N. There are some e-books that are only carried by Kindle, such as the Torchwood books. The Adobe e-reader is good for PDFs and library e-books. Our local public library has started having e-books available. I can download them, and they are readable for 2 weeks before they get locked.

Also, the e-readers have become a big part of my life because I have carpal tunnel on both wrists. Holding a book/magazine for more than a couple of minutes, and my hands go numb. I'm only buying a paper book now if I found it to be an exceptional read. Or if it's an author I collect.

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

It hadn't occurred to me that a device like a Kindle or iPad is a good solution for problems like carpal tunnel and arthritis. I certainly understand the reluctance to buy into amazon's stranglehold on Kindle, but I suspect we have already seen the fatal cracks in that monolith. I look forward to mutually compatible formats.

BTW, it's on my to-do list to put JAYDIUM and NORTHLIGHT ebooks on the B & N site, although the multiple formats through Book View Cafe should cover a range of PC readers.

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

When I read drafts of friends' novels, I create a PDF and put it on my iPad to read with iBook. This saves lots of trees and makes it easier to carry the book around. (I make notes in my Pages app.)

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

That certainly makes sense. The more I hear about the iPad, the niftier it sounds.

I certainly approve of minimizing paper usage! After I draft a story, I used to print out a copy for revisions, which meant doing that several times before I was done, but now I do a round or two on the computer, then print out one, then the final version goes off to my agent electronically.

[(Anonymous)]

I like the iPad. I find reading on it very easy, plus access to all those other applications is wonderful. I too load other files, such as the short stories I am currently sorting through, onto my iPad as .pdf files. The nice thing is that you can now download iBook and pdf files directly from your e-mail to the iBook shelf as well.

Rochelle

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Aha! Another vote for the iPad!