Crowdsourced Shopping

[ase]

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is available in electronic format, and I want something to read on the train, so I'm looking at ereaders. Are there overwhelming reasons to go with a Kindle Touch over a Nook Simple Touch? Available free / cheap books, breadth / depth of compatible file formats, convenience of downloading internet content, marginal non-reading bonus features? I'm leaning toward the Nook. I'm also eying the Sony ereader in reflexive anti-crowd attitude, but I'm not buying without trying.

Comments

[cahn]

I get the vague impression that kindle is easier to buy/load books onto, but I've only ever used a (old-generation) Nook for about five minutes, so don't know. I definitely get the impression that the number of books available is much higher for kindle than for nook.

I find myself, these days, using the tablet much more than I use the kindle... if I were to get one device, I'd actually get a used ipod touch (or android equivalent), which I think are selling for about $50 -- it's like having a smartphone only without the "expensive" and "charge you every month" part. But that form factor may be too small for you.

[ase]

As a veteran Kindle owner, how do you feel about the paging functionality? When I tried the e-ink readers in the store, I wasn't thrilled with the routine paging, and the occasional black-background page-turns did funky things to my eyes. Do you ever get used to that?

if I were to get one device, I'd actually get a used ipod touch (or android equivalent)

Thank you for that suggestion! My roommate recently upgraded his smartphone, and is letting me borrow his old phone as a stopgap. eBujold on transit, here I come.

What I don't seem to have communicated is that I am absolutely okay with the smallest form factor that is legible. I am juggling a messenger bag, an mp3 player, a book/ereader, and a blessed bicycle on my commute. Freebie 3.5" screen restores 500 page nonfiction to my time on BART! Assuming the library has electronic copies of preferred doorstops.

[cahn]

Used smartphone for the win! (I actually bought a used, deactivated smartphone as my preferred eEverywhere device -- the only reason I didn't suggest this was that they tend to be a lot more expensive on the secondhand market than non-phones.) I absolutely think this is the optimal one-device solution, as a) small/light, as you say; b) you can do other things on it besides read books -- for example, I have all my text notes synced between my device and my computer; c) camera; d) no monthly charge :)

And you can't get better than free :)

I don't mind the small form factor for reading on things like transit because the page turns are very quick, though I usually use the kindle when reading books at home; the e-ink is easier on my eyes.

But to answer your other question: yes, I did get used to the kindle paging, to the extent that when you asked that it took me a minute to remember what you were talking about :)

[ase]

the only reason I didn't suggest this was that they tend to be a lot more expensive on the secondhand market than non-phones.

The second-hand smartphone is ancient - Android 1.6 OS, which is, what, about 100 years in tech time? - but functional, and will ease me into contemporary handheld electronics. Portable calendar FTW.

...one thing it doesn't seem comfortable doing is electronic library loans. Drat. Must find better apps, or an OS upgrade, if 1.) possible and 2.) the owner doesn't mind.

Good to know about the Kindle paging; the black-flashy thing seemed really distracting when I tried the e-ink readers.

[cahn]

Wow, yeah, ancient ;)

I believe OverDrive is available for Android? I've only used the iOS version, but I've used that succsesfully for library loans... I think Android in general has been a little less accepting of the DRM-book thing.

(My library does have a fairly limited electronic selection, although I've been able to get a couple of things I wanted to read... YMMV.)

[ase]

There will probably some freeware evaluation. I've got Aldiko and FBReader loaded so far... ultimately, I need an app that handles the SFPL's DRM. For now there is the Bujold that got this started and all of Project Gutenberg. (And a few books that may, ahem, already live on my laptop.) SFPL will probably be hit and miss on ebooks, but some beats none, especially during the borrowing-old-phone evaluation period. :-)

Also, it has been pointed out I missed a major smartphone function in my reading rush: plan or no plan, I can access wifi. There may be some coffee shop lunch breaks in my future.

[cahn]

Ha, right -- somehow I neglected to mention that my chief use of my smart"phone" is reading my RSS feed :) (There are also apps for caching RSS feeds offline; if I'm not going to be around wifi for a while I usually do that.)

My vague impression -- either from Lifehacker or my own library? -- is that the OverDrive app (which I think is free?) is the only thing that handles the Adobe DRM (which is what my library uses, and I assume what the SF library uses) right now on Android -- but since my family has successfully indoctrinated me into iOS, I haven't done in-depth research on this.