JCC Kindle vs. Nook (vs. Other?)

update: I bought a Kindle since the Border's near my house was going under and everything was on sale, and I had a gift certificate so I could get it for $30. I like its size and weight, and I love that it comes preloaded with 100 books so I haven't even had to put anything on it yet, I'm going through Arthur Conan Doyle and Jane Austen.

 

I would buy a Nook color if I had the time to actually enjoy it. My free book reader on the iPhone is plenty good for the use I get out of it.

 

Wow, I just realized I said I bought a Kindle, but what I actually bought was a Kobo. Proofreading, not my strong suit.

 

So Amazon really stepped it up today with new Kindles and great prices

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/28/amazon-set-to-unveil-199-kindle-fire-tablet/

The cheapest Kindle is now ridiculously cheap at $80.
The new colour Kindle Fire is only $199. The only key thing missing is 3G, but I'm sure they'll add that within a few months.

This is an amazing price. My dad is a massive iPad/iPhone fan/user, but he's forever resorting to stealing my sisters or my iPad. For a $300 saving compared to the cheapest iPad, he will definitely buy the Kindle Fire.

Amazon is really the only company competing with apple when it comes to tablets, and it's because they have
1) Content
2) Catering to a different market, rather than trying to rip off Apple like the other tablet makers are.

The Kindle Fire will never come close to the iPad, but for someone not interested in apps, and only wants to browse the web/read books, its the perfect tablet. Amazon Prime customers being able to get TV Shows and movies, is a big bonus too.

 

I got a Kindle for my birthday this summer and I love it. I am not particularly interested in the Kindle Fire unless it turns out the specs for things like web surfing and aps are actually tolerable. But at that price I'm guessing it's mainly just a Kindle with an LCD screen. Which, to me, is pointless. The whole idea behind getting an e-reader for me was that I could read without eye strain and the kindle has like a month long battery.

 

I got a Kindle in July and I love it. I didn't want a tablet (I already have a normal laptop), but I just wanted a good e-book reader - and that's exactly what Kindle is. I don't need apps for it - I need it to be able to connect to WiFi so that I can download e-books without plugging in the USB cable, and it does that (also can browse and buy e-books directly from Amazon).

Also, I must praise Amazon's customer service. The Kindle I first bought broke down after a couple of weeks when I was on holiday (a white patch appeared on the screen that obscured a large part of the displayed content, and not even repeated restarts helped), but Amazon promptly sent me a new replacement free of charge, plus a prepaid label for the old one so that I could send it back without additional postal charge. I've been happy with my new Kindle ever since.

 

Okay let me just say that the Fire looks amazing. Instant access to all of my content? Yes. Fast easy to use touchscreen interface? Yes. What looks to be an amazing web browser? Yes.

As someone who's not really too interested in apps(though I think they said it might be able to access the Android app store), this looks phenomenal.

 

Most impressive indeed. This could cause Apple some problems, especially those who don't care for apps & looks and want decent reliable fast browsing and content viewing for a good price. Something that can do much of what an iPad can and significantly undercut Apple in price could be a big seller, Kindle has already made a name for itself.

 

Also this. (Forgot to copy it into my previous post...) The e-ink screen is amazing.

 

Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet just recently came out. I'm thinking of maybe getting the latter for a Christmas present.

 

I bought a Kindle a few weeks ago and am in love. We are in a srs relationship and will be marrying soon. I never thought I could be so happy.

 

Someone get me a Kindle Fire for my B-Day

 

From what I've read, Kindle Fire is only worth getting if you have/plan on getting an Amazon Prime account.

 

Mine is the £89 version, not a touch or fire or whatever. The next and previous page buttons are on the side, and the screen is fantastic. It does nothing except let me read. No 3G and I only turn the wifi on when I want a new book. It's off the rest of the time. It's brilliant.

And yes, the battery life is awesome.

 

I got my kindle in May as an early birthday present. I moved over the summer, couldn't bring my extensive library of books with me, so my bf bought it so I could read my favorites. Absolute adore it. Also, it is so much easier to handle on a crowded train then a book.

 

Hmm, maybe just a regular Kindle, then

I used to be one of those that said "but it doesn't compare to a REAL book", and I still feel the same way, but after using the Kindle app for iPhone I kinda loved how convenient it is. I wish I could've had it when I was trying to read 2666

 

It's not the same as a real book (as much as I love mine there's still something great about an actual book), but it's so much more convenient.

 

The nook tablet is thinner and lighter than the color and has wicked cool HD screen.

 

Nook tablet and Kindle fire both stream netflix, pandora, and hulu plus (iirc), but Fire also has access to amazon's music store and movie/tv streaming (with a prime account I think).

 

No.

No no no no no no no no nonono NO!

Ugh.

I think you can tell my distaste for e-books/e-readers. It's actually more of an intense hatred. Some of you know how much I hate death, well e-books are my #2 most hated thing (#3 is peanut butter).

These are NOT books. They're not. A book is made of paper. It is printed. This is a defining feature of the book. These are pale, warped imitations.

But enough about expressing my crazy anti-e-bookiness. Let me give my reasons WHY.
Physical bookstores and libraries:
Even if they might not go away completely for a while, there's still a great danger that they will eventually. I don't know about you, but I LOVE bookstores and libraries, and actually being IN them. When I'm surrounded by books like in a bookstore or a library, I have an enormous feeling of peacefulness and joy well up inside me, because these books are all so beautiful. Some of the really large libraries I've been to have felt the best, and I've felt like (but didn't) prancing around the aisles just running my hands along the books in reverence. Bookstores are losing business rapidly. Borders (my favorite store in the world) is gone. Barnes & Noble isn't doing very well either, and would be in the same boat as Borders if it weren't for that wretched Nook. And don't even bother thinking about all of the independent and used bookstores. Many of them already have niche markets, and they're in serious danger. Unlike some I have never had a problem picking books to buy. Oh, sure, it may take a few hours, but that's because I'm trying to narrow down the possibilities, and I don't go to a bookstore iunless I plan to buy SOMETHING. And I love going to bookstores, and I love new books. I should say personally I prefer buying books to borrowing from libraries, as I'm prone to re-reading them, or to putting them down for ages and picking them up again later. But both kinds of places are needed. I rarely even buy things online, because you can't replace the feeling of a bookstore.

Books themselves:
Just like you can't replace a library or bookstore, you especially can't replace a book. How can you replace the feeling of a book? The smells, both of old and new books and how they differ. The feeling of pages on your skin, of cradling the book in your hands or propping it on a table. The sound of a page turning has such a cathartic, melodious feel. And since books do feel different as they get older, it's almost like they're alive. E-readers tout their "convenience" but they entirely miss the POINT of a book. It's only half about the words; the other half is the experience. So I don't see how you can say you love books if you read mostly or exclusively on e-readers, because you're missing the point of books.
I mean, it's true that words in books are special, and honestly words are special no matter what. But books are a unique case, because they have such a rich tradition of changing the world. A book can move you to tears, or laughter, or both. They can make you remember your past or give you ideas for the future, or inform you of the ideas of others. They can move one person, or ten, or a thousand, or a million. Yes, the internet has this ability now, and so do e-books, kinda, but they also have one fatal weakness: they're not physical. They are digital; they take up no space- which proponents of e-books are happy to point out- but this is actually a BAD thing. When more and more new materials are being put exclusively on e-readers and in e-book format, and more and more old books are being converted, well....frankly it's dangerous. Electronics are rather fragile, and what happens if some big catastrophe happens, and the information on something is stored exclusively on an e-book and it can't be accessed anymore? What happens if, as someone jokingly said here, that people start DESTROYING paper books because they mistakenly think they don't need them anymore, and then something happens to wipe out electronic data? It won't happen now, or soon, but what about a generation or three down the line? That's a

 

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Well, it's true that I've talked about my aversion to death recently, so people may know how much I hate it. So I figured it was a good measure of just how much I hate e-books.

 

I wish I had as high an opinion of humans as you. I think humans are perfectly capable of being that stupid, and even if there are a few dissenters it wouldn't be enough.

It's more that they would put forth some excuse about unnecessarily taking up space or using resources better used elsewhere.

Also Jello: Those were all decent sized paragraphs! I don't understand why people always complain; just because of the post size? It's not hard on the eyes or anything...either way this is something I'm very passionate about. And I take the time to read other people's post in discussions I'm in if they're really long...