Wednesday, November 24, 2010

E-Readers

We've discussed e-publishing several times on this blog. If you'd like to catch up, just visit the archives and see what you might have missed.

Now it's time to take a look at the other side of the coin. The e-readers that people will use to download and access your work. There are several options from which to choose. The top four (according to my research) include, in no specific order of popularity:

1. Kindle
2. iPad
3. Nook
4. Sony

Kindle is probably the oldest in this group, having more or less started the e-book reader industry several years ago. iPad may be the most recent entry into the field. I know the iPad is a great product, but it has way more features than most people are looking for in an e-reader. The backlighting is also an issue that apparently causes eye strain. This blog wasn't created as a technology review site, so I feel like I've said enough about that already.

However, since my wife recently mentioned that she'd like to have a Kindle for Christmas, I'm beginning to look at the options. I received an email this morning from Kindle regarding their $139 price tag. Tempting, it is. But before jumping at the offer, I wanted to get some input from my readers. So, here's the question of the day:

Do any of you have e-readers? If so, what brand? Do you like them? Would you recommend them? And does any know what features Amazon has taken away from the Kindle in order to price it at half of what they typically sell for?

I'm listening.

5 comments:

  1. I have this:

    JSM M001 White 7" Touchscreen Netbook Google Android Notebook Tablet PC E-Book Reader with WiFi - 2GB Netbook

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/JSM-Touchscreen-Netbook-Android-Notebook/dp/B003L5QAAU/ref=pd_ys_iyr_img

    which is wonderful. Why buy JUST an ereader when you can get this cheaper which has a mass of other things on it, including wifi? The only snag is the low battery life - 2 hours. It has Kindle on it too - so why buy a Kindle? Odd.

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  2. Erastes: Thanks for the comment. I had never heard of that brand/model before. It sounds like something that might work for people who didn't need a long battery life. Thanks again. Where did you find it?

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  3. Started out with a Nook earlier this year, and now I have a Kindle. Both have advantages, however, Kindle is faster,loads easier, and has the basics the Nook active to check for formatting errors when my eBook is published in the next month, but I'll stick to the Kindle for most of my reading needs.

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  4. I have a Kindle and I love it. I don't have much experience with the other ereaders, but I did check out the color Nook the other day. It's a nice device, but much more expensive. And frankly, I think it does too much. I want the Kindle to be a ereader, not store pics, surf the net, etc. I have a brand new MacBook as well as an iPhone and iTouch if I really want all that stuff.

    The Kindle is fast, super easy to use, easy on the eyes, and looking at my sales alone, of the 28 ebooks I've sold this month, 25 were from Amazon for the Kindle. If this is anything like the BluRay vs. HD DVD battle, just by sales alone, and sales figures I've seen from epublished authors, the Kindle is the champion, and will continue to be that.

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  5. I have a Kindle and love it! Though I've been having issues with my ebook CROSSED OUT on this site. I'm telling people to order from my publisher, which has the secure .pdf file.

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