Slashdot Mirror
The Kindle Killer Arrives
GeekZilla sends coverage from Wired's Gadget Lab on the Nook, Barnes & Noble's first e-book reader. "Sleek, stylish and runs the Android OS. What's not to like about Barnes and Noble's new e-book reader? Despite the odd name, the Nook looks like an eBook reader that would actually be a worthwhile investment. Best feature? The ability to loan e-books you have downloaded to other Nook owners. The reader, named the 'Nook,' looks a lot like Amazon's white plastic e-book, only instead of the chiclet-keyboard there is a color multi-touch screen, to be used as both a keyboard or to browse books, cover-flow style. The machine runs Google's Android OS, will have wireless capability from an unspecified carrier, and comes in at the same $260 as the now rather old-fashioned-looking Kindle." Here is the B&N Nook site, which is still not visible on their front page and has a few non-working links. (Nook.com isn't set up yet.) Their comparison page takes dead aim at the Kindle. Among the advantages in the Nook's column: Wi-Fi, expandable memory via microSD, MP3 player, and PDF compatibility. (But remember the cautionary note B&N struck six years back when they got out of the e-book business.)
According to the comparison sheet, they're using AT&T.
According to the comparison sheet, you can.
How does the availability of dedicated ebook readers prevent you from using your iPhone? If it does it must be you, because Stanza has worked for me for more than a year and delivered several books without my opening my wallet.
If I read ebooks anywhere other than on planes I might spring for something else, as the iPhone is a marginal substitute.
"Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
The wireless service is provided by AT&T. Says so at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/features/
This isn't the sig you're looking for... Move along.
I have a Kindle, and when I turn the wireless feature off, I've had a single charge last for 2 weeks of reading averaging 2+ hours a day, at a pretty regular rate. With eInk displays, it's the number of page turns that eats power - slower readers might have better results.
A second reason is that the iPhone display, while nice, is still back-lit and still gives me headaches if I read off of it for extended periods of time. eInk looks more or less like paper and doesn't operate by shining a bright light in my face.
Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
For the youngsters who don't get the reference, read the Slashdot blurb from the ipod's release: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/1816257&tid=107 . And then get off my lawn.
I've read more than 120 books now on my iPod touch (which is very much an iPhone with no phone), no problems. Yes, a larger screen would be nice and you have to set a sensible brightness level (too bright in a rather dark environment is bad) but mostly I just forget that I'm reading on an electronic device and not a real book. I just read. There's not much more to say here, I'd say. I think the e-ink displays are overrated. They may have some slight advantages but they're far from perfect.
And the iPod has the advantage of being small and light enough to be safely held in one hand and to go into any pocket, which is great. And compared to most ebook readers the iPod is cheap. And it can be *so* much more than just an ebook reader.
um, why can't you sit outside and read an ebook on your iPhone while sitting in a hammock? I do it all the time, and it seems to work just fine for me....
You personally may not like it, or perhaps you have some specific vision problem that stops you from doing it, but that doesn't mean it's not a perfectly good suggestion for a great many people anyway.
Some bring out the best in others, some the worst. Some bring out far more.
Which it is.
It's quite simple. A punt is a flat-bottomed boat which is propelled by pushing a pole against the river bed (similar to a gondola). A punter is to Oxford and Cambridge as a gondolier is to Venice. (Don't worry if you've never heard of Oxford, Cambridge, or Venice: they're in Europe).
Just for the sake of argument (though I agree with many of your points), I'll offer up some counter-points:
.epub, .txt, or .pdf. I'm absolutely confident that in 5 years, all of these formats will still be easily readable, and if not, there will be many free conversion tools to make them so. In fact, the more of these e-readers that get sold, and the more e-books that people buy for them, the more important this will become, and the more of a "sure thing" this will be.
- Services - A book can't deliver the newspaper to you, without any need for intervention, or killing trees.
- Search - e-books make it really easy to find that quote you're looking for.
- Dictionary - A good e-reader lets you instantly lookup a word that you don't fully understand, in my opinion enhancing overall enjoyment of the book.
- Book price - If/when bookstores start doing things as they should be done, e-books will be much cheaper than a new, retail copy of a book.
- As XKCD happily pointed out, a 3G-enabled e-reader is essentially The Guide
- Obsolescence - Most books sold for this will be in
Also, I'm trying to talk myself into buying one of these things. It's just so damn cool. Now, by no means will I stop buying new books, or get rid of my old ones, but I also won't feel any guilt pirating/fair use-ing e-books of books that I own or buy. Plus, there's lots of good, freely available e-books out there, even if you don't count Project Gutenberg.
Does the circular pad actually do anything? I can't tell from that page. It looks to me like the buttons are arranged in a circle, but that the circle they're contained in doesn't do anything (e.g. scroll through lists or act like a jog wheel).
I owned one of these. No the circle does nothing special. It's just four buttons.
It was a good player, especially considering it was the second mp3 player to market. The only serious fault (that i found) was the battery door was mechanically secured to the main board alone by a solder joint. This joint would eventually break, and it wouldn't get power. Likely an easy fix, but i had a warranty, so they just replaced 'em. I later got a Nomad II as a replacement, which also had a circular button panel on the front.
:x
From a no name company, but this number that just got posted on Engadget seems incredible. Android, and apparently an open OS that runs ordinary Android apps.
Same concept, but seems like more of a generalist device (and also much uglier). Can read not only ebooks, but can surf the web on the little LCD on the bottom, and then when a button is pressed, mirrors the content on the eye friendly e-ink display.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/20/watch-spring-design-alex-push-the-web-to-e-reader-format-video/
Kindle does not have WiFi capability, so it is irrelevant that you can't use WiFi on Flights. I only turn on my Wireless connection on my Kindle when I want to browse and download a book. So for a few minutes every few weeks, when I grab a few books for my queue. Other than that, it stays off for battery conservation.
Also, Kindle is incredibly good for Flights. Especially long ones. I don't' travel every week, but I travel often, and between waiting at the airport and time on the plane, I can go through 2-4 books on a trip. A Kindle is much lighter to carry than a stack of books. plus if you run out, you can switch on at the airport and get another.
My cardboard boxes are free. Of course, they can't be used to show off how intellectual I am.
Of course they can. A messy room filled with towering stacks of cardboard boxes labeled "books" just screams "eccentric genius".
"You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war." -- Albert Einstein
Blame Canadian content laws. Amazon is classified as a bookstore in Canada, and therefore must sell X percent Canadian content - a protectionist policy that supposedly protects us from evil Americans taking over our media. The net result is that Amazon could either stock and attempt to sell a boatload of Canadiana which sell poorly (and in Amazon's low-margin line of business, is death), or Amazon can choose not to operate in Canada at all. It has chosen the latter. Amazon.ca is operated entirely from within the USA (no employees or warehouses in Canada), and all shipping is contracted out to a 3rd party (which, being a shipper, is not subject to the content laws).
Funny enough though, the shipper that handles all of Amazon.ca's work, the one that helps the company dodge Canadian law - is none other than Canada Post, owned and operated by our government. Some things just don't make sense.