eReaders

I'm sure you will get more folk than just me responding but:

Get her a netbook. Then she can download the e'readers from both Amazon and B&N as well as any other she would like.

I have a friend who has a nook and loves it, but I personally don't care for it.

As far as the e-reader software, Amazon's is the best. I have it downloaded on my desktop as well as on my netbook and the Amazon software syncs my bookmarks so that if i switch machines, I don't have to look for the place where I stopped reading! I love that!

Pricewise: B&N has better prices overall on e-books than Amazon, I've found.

Now, I'm told that one should be able to download books from one service to the other, but I havent found anyway to put my nook-books into my amazon reader or vice versa. Of couse I haven't looked very far either. So take that with a grain of salt. I can't remember if my friend has been able to download from amazon onto her nook, I can ask if you are interested.

Anyhow, just another option. I have a HP mini and have no idea how much it cost as it was a gift. I carry it around with me everywhere as it fits nicely into even a medium size bag.

 

The color nook looks pretty good though I haven't played with it - 249 also :-(

The archos 7 is android which is iffy - don't know what version of android the new one is. The one my son has is 1.5 and is limited though he loves it.

You might want to see if you can try out one on the net and see how you like it. You have to scroll back and forth and zoom in/out to do well on some pages. Several of the units available do not do youtube or flash. Some do not have andorid apps market so you have to find apps online (which is fairly easy but an extra step) There are a number of sources for apps.

I own a pandigital book reader which is an alternative in your price range. Bed bath and beyond and Kohls carry them and often have coupons if you sign up or whatever and you can get it down to 129 or so. there are a number of alternatives with it also, there is a forum that has lots of help. They also offer android 2.1 which is very nice though this unit likes to turn itself on now and then.

You can youtube search and gain lots of information quickly.

Kmart has an Augen reader that I thought about but they didn't have it in stock. It was around 99 - it is a linux system and looked fairly good. They also have a 7 inch tablet for 170 that is android.

All in all they all have some drawbacks.

I was impressed with the kindle 2 but I need the backlit screen. Don't know how the net works on it.

There are a couple that are not well known - aluratek Libre, a non backlite screen and a little funky but works nice - nothing but reading. The other is a Jetbook mini that is a new rig for 99, not sure what all it will do.

Wife has a nook (old one) and she loves it.

Samsung has a new 8 inch tablet I know little about but it is spendier.

Archos has a 10 inch as well.

Wits A81e is a 7 inch with the latest android on it but about 200 if you can find it.

Most of the android units will run Kindle, Nook and other readers for book reading.

There again there are a bunch of formats which are available but different readers do different formats.

Calibre is a conversion program that will convert between formats if you want to take a little more time.

Wait six months and there will be ten more units available that will mix your oatmeal for you so do some research and see what you think is best for your uses.

From your post I'd lean toward an android tablet of some sort.

I love my Pandigital. It does all I want thus far. http://www.smartqmid.com/phpBB3/index.php is the forum if you want to do some reading. The wiki would help you see what it will and won't do.

If you find a unit you think would work, google for the units name or model followed by forum - usually there are forums with help.

Target has a netbook for 179 I think this week but they are not quite as nice for reading in my mind but would be much more usable for other things.

Android 2.1 is the next to newest, newest is 2.2 and they are working on another. Whether the companies will offer updates or not is totally unknown so do not plan on it. Some still run 1.6 which is fairly good.

The tablets are not phones, android is phone software so that is why there are some ifs in the mix. Some makers do better jobs of correcting the issues.

 

I have an Acer 10.1 Netbook and do my e-reading using a free download called Calibre.

It's a large download. It favors e-Pubs. But, handles quite a few of the available formats.

I've used it to convert all my Honor Harrington in Microsoft Reader Format to ePub.

Honestly, when you can buy a fully functional Computer for slightly more than a dedicated reader I just don't see the sense in it.

Also, I have found in practice that a 10.1 inch Netbook does not try to roll of my knees when taking notes in church. Like my 15.4 inch Laptop did. I can also hold it with one hand while typing with the other while walking.

I can have e-Sword and MS Word up at the same time and it's not so big as to disrupt the service.

I really am sold on my Netbook and have upgraded to 2GB Ram and Win 7 Ultimate X86

 

I have been using a Dell mini for over a year now and have loved it. I can read books, listen to books, watch hulu and netflix Battery life is about 10 hours.

Since I'm in the car about two hours a day now, I received an iPod Touch for my birthday - mainly to download audio books on, but it is amazing and I can keep it in my pocket and keep listening. That was what I thought I'd do on it primarily, but I downloaded Kindle and eReader and I can also read on it. I've downloaded several Bibles too. Great little (and convenient) gadget! (and watched netflix still)

 

Yes, the only way I would get an iPod Touch is by Gift. Simply too expensive for my personal tastes.

I have an old Dell Axim that plays music quite well and has a touch screen. After I got my Netbook I decided that I'd try to sell it and put the money towards an iPod because Windows Mobile Media Player did not support gapless playback.

And, when you are listening to Worship Music that segues from tune to tune that gap between songs is extremely irratating.

What I found though, was an App called, I think, Pocket Music, that basically turned my Dell Axim into an 8gb iPod Touch... (The Axim supports a 2GB SD and an 8GB CF)

What I found after that was, it was too hard to select that much music while driving!

Later, a friend gave me an iPod Nano 1GB and I've loaded that with my favorite Worship Music and Worship on the way to work in the morning. Just like putting a really big CD in the Cd Player...

 

I work for a school district and our tech dept is dealing with a situation where the HS librarian bought several 3G &Wi-Fi Nooks. The problem is that this model and the Kindle 3G model are misleading: you get free 3G, but the 3G is ONLY for downloading books from their network(s) (available through AT&T).

Needless to say, we are now going to get the Nooks to authenticate to our network through Wi-Fi. (Sure they can be hacked, but we have policies!)

Just wanted to mention that part.

P.S. - I also saw a Sharper Image Literati at Kohl's (full color) for $129, $99 after $30 mail-in rebate.

David

 

The new $139 Wi-Fi Kindle looks nice. That's probably the one for me.

 

Please report back in three months and let us know how the dedicated e-Readers are doing.

Things like, formats accepted and availability of the books you really want in that/those format(s).

Ability to move the e-books from one machine to another. Etc.