E-book Reader Advice

All,

I'm looking to invest in an e-book reader and would appreciate hearing about your experiences with them, good and bad. I have no bias towards any brand or seller. I would like one that will read a variety of file formats including .pdf and has both wifi and (pardon if I don't use the right term here) celluar communications.

Interested in knowing how you handle the "anxiety" of carrying around an expensive bit of kit to read Lee Child novels. I just know my reaction would be different if, instead of my $1 paperback from the Senior Center Bookstore, I drop my $300 Kindle in the toilet.

Thanks, and Happy New Year to everyone!

Andy

I'd wait a little, there are several tablet devices going to be released this year in the same price range so you can do much more than just books.

I'm interested in this thread as well... In my research i'm favoring the Sony Daily Edition (PRS900BC) at this moment over all others.

I'm not interested in the wireless capabilities but everything else i've read about (including the negitives) seems to be ok for me.

If Amazon offer a Kindle model without the keyboard (software version is fine), have a slot for SD cards and open it up for more document formats; they would have a much better product. Well, a product that I would purchase.

That Sony model does have a few issues (boot up is slow at times, etc), but does offer a better package IMHO.

But thats my opinion at this time and i'm sure others will chime in with their experiences/research. I maybe persuaded to change my mind!

Would you know who is releasing the new tablets?

I did a lot of research on e-books for Christmas gifts. The Kindle, Sony and Barnes and Nobles Nook are the three big sellers right now, but the Nook has still not officially released active units, they come out next week. They have demos in most stores.

After much debate I purchased a Nook for my mom. Selfishly if she doesn't like it, it will come back to me. So maybe it was for both of us

I may get some of this mixed up and apologize for it, I am sure others can correct me. All are roughly the same size and shape. All use e-ink that mimics book paper. The Kindle I believe has a keyboard along the bottom while the Nook uses a touchscreen. The Nook also has the distinction of having a color screen along the bottom that lets you scroll books by their cover.

The Nook also supports the widest variety of digital book formats. The Kindle is primarily an Amazon.com only product. The Nook can hold 1,200 books on internal memory and 17,000 off SD card. The Nook also is open source software so you can expect all sorts of applications such as weather and MP3 capacity, alarms, etc. The Nook is also wifi, the Sony and Kindle must be plugged into your computer. Also when you take a Nook into a Barnes and Noble, their stores have free wifi which downloads coupons and deals you can use in the store for coffee, food, discounts on products.

To be honest the deciding factor for me to get the Nook over the others was the font size. My mom needs large print books for her eyes and the Nook by far has the largest variety of fonts to read.

I have considered how to protect the unit if it comes back to me. Nothing they have designed as of yet protects from water damage or dropping. I love to read in my hot tub and would want to protect it from splashes or water. I have some ideas that could work for any of the e-readers, something as simple as a double thick freezer ziplock bag to fitting a waterproof cover over it and seam sealing a thick clear plastic face to the front. The issue with a rigid clear box like Otterbox is that you need to be able to touch the unit to change pages.

Hope that helps.

I would also advise to wait a bit if you can. IIRC both HP and Toshiba are going to release some new tablets that will be very competitive and more versatile than what is out now.

Whatever you get, make sure you have a "no questions asked" return period. Use it hard during that period. Test EVERY function, do everything with it you think you might ever do.

If you're happy with it after that, you now know it inside and out. If not, you can return it and you know what you want in a replacement unit.


Water safety tip:

If you're in the habit of reading on the pot, set it on the FAR side of the sink or put it in a pocket until AFTER you are settled and all "hazards" are "sealed".

Return it to that safe place BEFORE you "unseal" anything.

You may want to get in the habit of keeping the toilet lid down when not in use to reduce that hazard overall. (Closing it before flushing will also reduce "toilet plume".)

There are a few android based ones coming out soon. Over on the android forums there are those of us that would like a non phone android device so we can have them for family members without data plans.

I just can't see buying hardware thats only an ebook reader since you can read ebooks on nearly everything, just seems way too limited to me.

I have two friends that are all hot to trot on these ebooks. They keep asking me for my opinions on the features and what I think of them (since I'm the resident electronics and computer geek).

Honestly, I want to ask - what is the appeal of an ebook reader? Maybe they do more than I imagine. After a long day in front of a computer screen (my work), I don't quite understand sitting down at night and reading from another computer screen for recreation. I already spend way too much time in front of a computer.

I am asking sincerely, what are the draws of these things that make them so popular?

For me its two fold, I like the e-ink screen as it's really easy on my eyes instead of the typical monitor, especailly for long periods of reading (so far i've used the Kindle for about a 4 hour stretch and it was quite different then a usual LCD screen). But the big advantage is the sheer volume of material that I can store thats separate from my usual electronic devices which is mainly my work pc's.

I am too in the computer industry and have a large number of reference material that I go through and use quite often; Making notes in the margins etc. I am finding that I need this stuff when I am out of the office which is where my mini library is. Its just easier to carry one device instead of a couple reference materials with me at any one given time.

I like the sony devices as I can hand write notes and highlight at will (from my understanding). Two things I do quite often with books.

As for novels, yeah I probably will have a few on there for general time killing, but thats not my primary use of the device.

Good point. I did not realize that these ebooks had grown to where you could get highly technical reference books for them. That would indeed be a great use. I thought the available content was more limited, and mostly geared towards recreational reading. Do these ebooks supports things like diagrams, or are they limited to plain text?

From my understanding, anything in the actual book will be on the digital version.

Some e-readers will allow you to highlight data, makes notes/comments. Obviously bookmark areas.

The Kindle is right now the leader in e-books. IMHO it will only hold its place until the next defining leader comes out. Whether that is the Nook or the mythical Apple iTablet, who knows. Sony gave a good run, but its a distant runner in this race.

An excellent point you raise. One of the reasons I asked the question is to hear how people use them and why.
My initial hankering comes from my geekineess. These things just look cool. But I also like the idea of being able to carry a bunch of books in one small and lightweight package as I'm usually reading 2 or 3 books at the same time. Plus, being able to carry pdf versions of all my e-gear manuals would be a bonus. I too stare at LCD screens all day but I've seen the Kindle and Sony screens in the stores and they really look to be easier on the eyes.

As for the tablet products, I'm yet to be convinced they're a worthwhile investment for general usage. I've tested a lot of them for clients over the years and while I think they're great for a specific task set, they just confirm my opinion that multipurpose tools aren't really good at any one thingg. Just my bias. I prefer tools made for the task.

The screens are supposed to be easier on the eyes, but most everyone who has and carries an ebook seems to also carry it along with a laptop so I just don't see the point in carrying another devide around. But then I also think about backups, etc. If I have a laptop with documents/books/whatever on it and an ebook with books on it now thats two things I have to backup, where if I just keep the ebooks on my laptop they get backed up along with it.

I read Lights Out as a .pdf on my desktop pc a few months back and it killed my eyes. It was terrible and I work on my laptop for work a couple hours a day.

The e-ink format is much easier on the eyes. Eye fatigue is really a non-issue in this case. There is no backlight or harsh screen glare. The background is a brownish grey like a paperback book. I spent quit a bit of time reading from Kindle, Sony, Nook and none of them caused me any eye strain or distraction.

The true debate on these should be on battery power. IIRC all those I mention will last several days on a charge. I know the Nook is rated to last about ten days with wifi turned off.

When comparing to tablets, remember these will be essentially netbooks/notebooks or in the case of the Apple Tablet a giant iTouch. Those batteries are judged on hours of charge, not days.

I don't have an eBook reader because I'm happy with my Palm PDA, which is much more versatile. IMHO, all these eBook readers are just a great gift for our grandparents - that's all they're really good for.

What's killing me most about them is that I have to use a flashlight to read in the dark!

at least I am used to reading with my headlamp already

Personally, I've held off on an eBook reader. $300 buys quite a few paperbacks! I also can't stand the thought of paying more than paperback price for a license to read a book. If you "buy" an eBook from Amazon, you don't truly own it. It is restricted to only work on their particular reader, and they can revoke that license whenever they feel like it. Read this article - a publisher decided to pull some books from distribution, and it was deleted by Amazon from the readers' kindles. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10289983-56.html

The only place I buy eBooks is http://webscription.net - the Baen (science fiction publisher) eBook service. They sell for less than paperback prices, with no DRM, and in whatever format you like. Once the rest of the industry adopts that model, I'll consider an eBook reader!

I am a potential ebook purchaser. The idea of easily carrying around my entire library, plus assorted manuals and guides, is pretty attractive. It looks like waiting a bit is prudent.

Wow. If these ebooks are tied to a particular device, what if your device breaks and you have to buy a new one? Or what if your device ends up being on the losing end of some kind of ebook format war?

If the publishers do not have a fix for these (common) scenarios, then there's no way I'd buy an ebook reader. I did not realize that ebook content providers were tieing them up with onerous DRM like the music companies did. I'm not against publishers protecting their content, but not to the point where they expect me to pay more, be inconvenienced, or be literally screwed out of stuff I purchased legally just because my device went bad.

Now learning this about ebooks has made me forget about researching any of the features, because the restrictions are too onerous to make even the most stellar device worth considering.

With the Nook you can highlight stuff in a book, attach notes, and recall the highlights and notes anytime you want. It also can play mp3 files, and has a small set of speakers built into it, along with a headphone jack. You can listen to mp3's while reading the ebook as well. You can load .pdf files through the included adobe app, but you can't highlight the pdf document, at least not yet. I'm sure there will be a hack for that soon. With the Nook, you can swap books from your laptop/desktop back and forth, and if a friend has a Nook you can beam the title to their unit for them to use for 2 weeks, then it reverts back to your device. Money magazine just did a write up on the Sony,Kindle, and Nook and the Nook was the clear winner.
Additionally, you can read magazines and newspapers on the Nook, as well as Barnes Noble exclusive content while you are at the store. From what I've heard, you can also read a title in the store for an hour before deciding the buy it. Not to mention the million + titles available for it.

I have a Sony PRS-505. The NOOK and the SONY have the most formats by a hair-


the trick is to choose a very common format that can be read on almost anything- PDF or RTF. Alternately, get a program like Calibre that allows format conversion

I like my Sony, my father -in-law likes his kindle.

Also, there are millions of free books, and publishers are doing new free books daily.

As I understand it with the Nook, all books you purchase are stored online on their servers. If you lose or destroy your Nook you can download all the books again. You can also remove books from your Nook and store them online and download them later when you want too.

As to pricing, from what I have seen with the Nook, (as I stated I bought one for my mom but it hasn't arrived yet) most digital books that are new are $9.99, which is cheaper than the $25-$35 you pay for new hardcover. The benefit for mom is that she can now read any new book because she can use the larger font rather than waiting/hoping for her favorite authors to publish a Large Font edition. From there they descend in price down to FREE. B&N also has a massive library of old classics that run from Free to a couple bucks. I love reading classics like HG Well, Verne, etc.

Sony and Nook both support the epub format which will allow you to borrow books from your public library and they will delete themselves after 21days. With the Sony and Nook you can also download free ebooks from google several classic books as well as old trapping, cook books, hunting and other survival related subjects are there free for the downloading. I dont like the Kindle for the reason that they can DELETE your books off your machine without even notifying you, they say they wont do it again but the fact that they can if they want to dont sit well with me it also means that they can see what else you've been reading which means if you've been reading army tech manuals that you've bought on pdf format they could go "oh my god he's reading about weapons and tactics and military gear" and no telling who they would report it to.

Another $0.02 worth here.

I have been reading ebooks in various formats for several years, starting with my palm m500, then my palm TX and now my iPhone. The e-ink and larger size of the dedicated readers is offset by the portability and built in "light" of the more general purpose PDAs. With the PDA /iPhone I always have my books with me and can read anytime I have a few minutes to kill. I can't see carrying something the size of a kindle around like that. I also tend to read later in the day and carrying around a book light in addition to the reader would be more likely to reduce my usage.

- Eric

I own a Kindle 2 from Amazon. I have HUNDREDS of books on it.

At work, I have evaluated the Sony and Barnes and Noble Nook, as well as some other readers. I have found that it's a 3 horse race, and that only these three are worthy of purchase.

In ranking order it's:

1. Kindle
2. Sony (any of them)
3. Nook

Nook is a distant third at this time.


Here's what I think about them:

1. WiFi is not really needed, but a cellular data connection is very useful.

2. eInk is great - but it's got a long way to go before it's cheap enough for a nice newspaper sized device.

3. Tablets will likely not get anywhere near the battery life or light weight of an eInk based device.

I would buy a Kindle if I was buying a first eBook reader.

I think this comes down to what your priorities are.

My wife has a Kindle, and I have an 64GB iPod Touch which has a software Kindle reader, as well as another software book reader that is better at public domain books and some other apps to download/view various content, etc.

If your priority is READING, you probably are going to want something with the e-ink screen. They are much easier on your eyes than the traditional LCD screens, and of course, having a bit larger screen than my iPod Touch aids in reading as well.

However, with my iPod Touch, I can have lots of books, lots of different reference materials, and as Eric points out, it is small enough to actually have it with you all the time. FWIW, the 64GB Touch has the capacity to carry around a LOT of stuff.

I've probably got well over 100 books, both commercial and public domain (takes very little space), 2000 songs, an off-line copy of Wikipedia, off-line dictionary, off-line maps, random reference materials, podcasts, TV shows, pictures and I have space leftover.

As for Kindle books, you buy a book and you can download it to your device(s). I think you get at least three devices you can have it on concurrently. So it works fine for me to have a copy of purchased items on my wife's Kindle, my iPod Touch, and even on my PC (they have a PC version of the Kindle reader now). If you delete it from the device, or de-activate the device from Amazon's web site, it goes back into the pool of available copies.

The Kindle's user interface is kinda clunky, but works fine if you are just reading books. But a general purpose device it is not, much contrary to my iPod Touch.

It should be noted, that the clunky UI of the Kindle does make it somewhat difficult to jump around, making reference material less friendly than it could have been. The Kindle really should have had a touch screen.

Not all books are available on the Kindle, but the majority of new books are. Right now, a sampling of the commercial (purchased) non-fiction on my Touch:

- 2009 Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment
- Mountaineering First Aid
- Medicine: For mountaineering
- Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary
- Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook
- Illustrated First Aid Guide
- First Aid: A Pocket Guide
- 98.6 Degrees

To show what kind of books I wanted that were not available on Kindle, here are a few:

- Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine (2001)
- Sunset Western Garden Book (2007)

Apple is rumored to release an "Kindle Killer" this month, although the rumor goes on to suggest it won't actually ship until March. If this runs some variant of the iPod Touch/iPhone OS, then it will likely support Kindle books via a software application.

Oh, the Kindle has very good battery life, the iPod Touch does not. I carry an external re-chargeable battery pack to make sure I always have juice.

-john

The mythical Apple Tablet is just that. Its not coming out in March. Its just a rehash of bogus blogging from 2009 regurgitated for New Years. If you do a web search you will see that Apple has never commented on a tablet being released or what it looks like and no reputable computer writer or reviewer has seen one.

However, if Apple did put out something that was iPhone/iTouch like but the size or larger than a Kindle/Sony/Nook it would very well be amazing. As long as the battery lasted longer than a couple hours.

As I mentioned earlier, my aim is to have a very good tool for a specific purpose. I'm too old to enjoy reading books on a PDA screen; did that with the Handspring device 8-10 years ago; darn trifocals make that hard nowadays. I have the same problem with the iTouch and similar products, screen's too small and I can't use thumb-type keyboards (don't have two full thumbs). I've not had much luck using tablet computers and really, to be useful as computers, they need to be of a size that makes them unwieldy as a casual device to carry around.

To sum up the my position so far (and many thanks for your suggestions) I would prefer a lighweight, purpose-built, long battey life device with an easy to read screen, simple controls, multi-format capable, don't have to take to a store to download new books and be able to have control over my library.

Not so hard, eh?

For those who have them, what price range are the books you purchase? Is one (Amazon vs. B&N) cheaper than another?


Thanks for all the input!

If you want the larger and easier to read screen and the purpose built, the Kindle does work reasonably. I can't compare it to units like the Nook since I haven't seen them.

I don't know if B&N or Amazon are cheaper, but the Kindle books on Amazon are typically several dollars less than the paper versions.

A sample:

2009 Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment
Kindle: $38.85
Paperback: 43.17

Pirate Latitudes: A Novel, Michael Crichton
Hardcover: $14.00
Kindle: $9.99

Neuromancer, William Gibson
Paperback: $10.20
Kindle: $5.59

As for the Apple tablet, I wouldn't rule it out and it rumors suggest it would compete with the Kindle directly. It is noted there is a planned even on the 27th:

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/01/04/major-new-apple-product-on-january-27th/
"The gathering is to be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, a space Apple often uses for media events like these. According to other sources, it will occur on Wednesday Jan. 27"

Obviously it could be false, but if you are not in a major hurry, it couldn't hurt to wait until then and see if there is an announcement, and if so, if the product sounds worth waiting for.

*shrug*

-john

I have an iPhone with a couple of book reader apps (including kindle). Several of my coworkers have Kindles. None of us have paid for any books yet.

There are lots of sources of free books available on line depending on your needs/tastes. Project Gutenberg has lots of free books that are no longer protected by copyright. Several publishers offer free samples including, Random House, Harlequin and Baen. There are lots of other sources as well.

Currently I have about 147 books on my iPhone. Convenience factor is very high and the battery has lasted through a full 14 hour day of travel, lots of cell phone calls, some web surfing and at least 6 hours of book reading with the music playing. It won't run for days on end without a charge, but neither will I.

Hope that helps,

- Eric

Interesting article out of CES on the blurring of technology when it comes to mobile devices along the lines of what we've been discussing here. Tablet Fever

Let's see:

$300 (reader) + $9.99 and up per title (e-book) - fragile - electronic - can't resell - can't borrow/loan = FAIL

versus

$0.00 (reader) + $4.50 and up per title (paperback) + works everywhere + won't break + can resell + can borrow/loan = WIN!

Not interested. Not even a little.

I just read about the new Skiff reader on CNN. I googled up skiff and sniffed around their web site. I really like the layout and options on it but (when it's announced) I'll bet the price tag cools me off a bit.

Ditto.

I understand the perspective, but I think that math is slightly biased.

-john

Frighteningly enough I agree. E-books will not replace my books and as I said earlier I have not paid for any e-books or even my "reader".

My view is that I already have the iPhone (or PDA) for other reasons so a free reader and free books is a pretty nice use of something I already have. Equally important I can travel for a couple of weeks without carting around several large heavy books. Or worse (since I re-read books) buying and disposing of books as I go.

I much prefer reading paper books but the convenience factor is pretty darned high for the iPhone (or other PDA) since it is something that will be with you most of the time anyway.

- Eric

The Que Reader may prove to be popular in the the next couple of years. (but I would certainly wait until the prices come down)

http://www.que.com/

http://buyque.barnesandnoble.com/specifications/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-UPDiJiIGY

I read a lot of ebooks. I don't own any dedicated ebook reader; I read them on my iPhone or on my laptop. I won't buy any media encumbered with DRM, which pretty much eliminates the Kindle and the Nook for me.

The iPhone is an imperfect ebook reader but it's not terrible. As a way to bring reading material with me with minimal bulk it works well for me.

Like I stated in earlier post, I got my mom a Barnes and Noble Nook for Christmas and do to some medical issues with her eyes she can't use it for a while. So I am borrowing it. I have read about 6 books on it so far and I will admit I don't really want to give it back.

Its pretty study as is, but I carry it in a large Alsok waterproof bag when I read it in my hot tub or doing stationary cardio. I found that with a computer app called Overdrive you can check out library books and download to Nook. This is standard for all readers I believe. The books I bought are all $7.50. I still prefer free library books but at basically a 1/4 to 1/3 price to hardcover, its not a terrible hardship to spend the money.

E-ink is not hard on the eyes at all. However, if using a headlamp it needs to be set weak, diffused or offset so it doesn't glare out the page. In fact I have gone to using a blue photon light when reading in bed. if I could find my petzl e+lite, I'd be happier.

surprisingly, I am ashamed to say I prefer pushing the side button to turn the page rather than you know...going through all the energy of actually turning a page.

End result. I'm happy with it.

I've been reading e-books since at least 10/6/2002 on my Palm PDAs. At best guess, I've read roughly 500 ebooks on my various Palm PDAs.

I have not purchased a dedicated e-book reader (despite reading about them and trying them in stores), because my e-book needs are met by a multipurpose device. My coworker mentioned that his iPhone works well for his e-book needs.

I think e-books are good in their place, but I'd suggest you consider whether a smartphone (iPhone, Android) would serve you better than a dedicated ebook reader.

What I like about e-books:

- I save money. My favorite science fiction publisher has extremely low prices on e-books. Baen Books Each month they offer a 6-book package for $15, usually including that month's new releases (otherwise only available in hardback or trade paper). The books in this month's package total $88.96 in list price in paper. Sure, I can't resell them, but realistically, I've saved far more money than I'd get from resale.

- I save space. I own over 6,000 books in physical form (and buy more every month). Buying ebooks (and using the library) helps keep that down.

- I always have something to read in an odd moment. If I'm waiting for my wife at the store, or at an airport terminal, I"m set.

- I can read in bed comfortably without disturbing my wife (since my Palm is self-lit).

- It is no extra weight for me, since I'd be carrying the Palm on my belt in any case. I expect the same for my coworker with his iPhone. For my sister, yes, it is extra weight.

- The e-book reader remembers my place, I don't need to use a physical bookmark.

Dislikes:

- Some publishers seem to think they can get me to pay as much, or almost as much, for an e-book as for a physical book. So far, they have been wrong.

- My Palm Tungsten E has a limited battery life, and the display washes out in sunlight. Ebook readers wouldn't have either problem.



Based on my frantic research after my sister bought a Sony Reader and was wondering if she should return it for a Kindle instead, both the recent Kindles and the Sony Reader support at least simple .PDF in their latest version. For non-DRM books, translation between the various formats (and reading e-Books) can be done using the freeware program Calibre. So, if what you want is only available as one of the 1,000,000+ ePub books at Google Books, translating it to Kindle format is just one more step.

Many of the free ebooks (like the 27,193 at ManyBooks.net can be downloaded in whatever format your e-book reader likes (ManyBooks.net offers 24 choices).

Some commercial sellers do likewise: Baen Books offers six formats.



Since I read my books on expensive kit I carry around regardless of e-reading, that hasn't been a direct issue. For preserving said kit, I have a nice secure leather belt case. So far, I've had a PDA as EDC for 12 years with no physical accidents to the hardware.

Not so fortunate with cell phones, though, since the balt cases I was able to find had a nasty habit of popping off my belt.

I decided on the B&N Nook and I've been quite pleased with it. I find that the battery life is quite good and the screen is very easy on the eyes. PDA/Smartphone screens are too small for these old eyes.

They've updated the OS and have included a web browser (still a beta version). Since the Nook has wifi I can surf at hotspots or around the house. It also has a MP3 player on it so I can listen and read at the same time.

I'm building a collection of pdf versions of all my various gadets' manuals to put on it.

So far so good.

I purchased a Kobo E-Reader a few weeks ago. This is a basic no frills E-Reader which uses E-LInk technology and is much cheaper then a Kindle et al. With the much cheaper price, there is no wi-fi etc which is ok with me.

The e-reader has a 6" (diagonal) screen and is much easier to read then my HTC Hero phones' small screen or my netbook or laptop back-lit displays.

The e-reader has on board capacity of approximately 1000 books which can be expanded to about 5,000 total with the included SD card slot. The battery life is phenomenal and I have yet to re-charge it since the initial charge 3 weeks ago despite reading every night at bed time.

One great aspect of this e-reader is I can purchase books from the website and read them there online or from the e-reader or my HTC phone.

I usually read 3-4 books concurrently and having not to cart around 2 or more books in the backpack saves a lot weight and room as the e-reader is about the size of a large paperback and is just shy of 8 oz in weight and only 3/8" thick.

If you has asked me a year ago if I would purchased an e-reader (of any brand), the response would of been no. So far, I love the e-reader and now cannot foresee purchasing another hard or soft cover book, save for specialized manuals etc.

I had not heard of this brand before. My husband got the Sony e-reader, and then upgraded to the kindle.

Personally, I felt like they just weren't REAL books if I wasn't turning the pages!

But then... I read one book on the Kindle. And realized how easily I could download the sequel to it. No waiting list at the library, no more books for my already full book cases... and just like that, I was sucked right in.

Also note that some of them you can add your own pdf files and stuff onto them. So some types of "specialized manuals" that you have saved on your computer could possibly transfer to your Kobo. *at least, you can do that on the sony and kindle readers*

Enjoy your books!

(my husband has misplaced the kindle *sigh*, so not much reading going on here!)

I bought a Nook last March and the only thing you can do with the WiFi is connect to Barnes & Noble bookshops (only in the US)no browser at all. Is that an add-on or an improved soft that I could download?

There is a new software version #1.3.0. It has a beta version of web browser that works with my home wifi network. Can't be sure if I'm downloading new books via the wifi or the 3G connection. Regardless it seems to be working just fine.

My wonderful wife got me the Nook last month and I've really liked it so far. The wifi works on any 'open' network or one you know a password too, such as my home network. I've done book purchases sitting at home with just the wifi and it seems just as fast (less than a minute) as when I am in the local B&N store.

The browser they just put out in the new update is lame... I can't see using it for anything major as it is just to clunky and restricted but it is a 'nice to have'. I do like the new games - chess is nice and the general response it has now seems to be better. I have loaded a bunch of PDF manuals, some free fiction in PDF, some other epub books from several on-line sources and an so far very happy with my choice. B&N also seems to be supporting the device as I have received a couple of totally free books from them just because I have the Nook and even got a free cookie one day with an on-line Nook coupon while in the store.

I also like how it acts as an external drive when you connect it to your computer (I've got both Mac and Windows units) thus allowing you to also store any file you want on it - can't read anything but the 'right' formats but the file is still there and can be carried around... nice bonus for my thinking.

Paul -