eReaders: For The Electronically Inclined

Kindle vs. Nook

Hmmm. The Man tells us that we’re killing trees. The Man also tells us to read more, instead of rotting our brain watching the TV. Most reading still takes place on dead trees. Such hypocrisy!

Fortunately, The Man also comes out with new tech toys to sell us. There will always be so many products & deals, but, technology does not come cheap. And, because of that Law (although we do have that Invisible Hand), as soon as you get that device, it’s obsolete in six months, regardless of the quality.

Yet, there is a point to this: Is the eReader phenomenon here to stay and is it worth it?


What do I mean by exist?

Is it possible to own a genuine, well-built device, whose sole purpose is to be an eReader? Or, is a product like the iPad (which is expensive) the closest we can really get? (Let’s not deny that people aren’t reading as much as they used to, despite the Harry Potter fandom.)

Well, my friends, I can tell you that is not the case.

But how do I know? Because I told you. And I just purchased a Barnes & Noble Nook. Hehe :)

Don’t take my eInk for it, though. Try it out for yourself and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. It actually is a true eReader. And you don’t have to pay Apple for their iPad, either. Save money. Save paper money. Save Trees.

What do I mean by worth it?

But, J, aren’t these things expensive? Yes and No. Yes, you’ll rarely find an eReader for under $100. Most decent ones are $150 or more. And you still have to buy the eBooks. :(

Yet, if you can get past the initial price point (which many cannot), then you’ll be surprised by how much you can actually save.

Books cost $1 to $15 less, depending on the title and there is no shipping fee. That’s huge. Although shipping fees for in-store purchases are very small (due to the bulk transportation), eBooks are cheaper overall.

Also, you save space. That’s right. All eReaders can hold at least 150 books. Most can hold a lot more than that. The Nook I just bought can hold 1,500, and that’s just the Internal Memory. It (like most) has a microSD card slot, so you’ll never have to worry about running out of storage.

Not to mention all of the trees you can save--just like the man wanted!

And, at least for the Nook, the books you purchase (even the FREE ones, and there are many) from B & N are always backed up. So, if you can’t find your Nook, or it gets damaged, or lost...or stolen, you still have your purchases safe. Yay for good business practice!

So, although you may not want to get one today, I highly suggest it within the next few years. As the prices fall, and the quality of the products inevitably raises, you’ll be burning for one, if you aren’t already.

B & N Nook. Yay! Don’t get the color version if you want long battery life. Great syncing abilities. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (Has NookColor, now, although battery life drains.)

Amazon Kindle always has good reviews, but you’re limited to what Amazon can sell and I personally don’t like having the keyboard. http://www.amazon.com/ Has the DX version, which is the size of the iPad. (Yay large reading screen.)

Sony eReader for not selling books directly is a great one in look and price. Also has pocket edition if desired. http://www.sony.com/

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or posting on Twitter or our Facebook Group!

J.