eBook reader review

The original Barnes & Noble Nook was a huge seller in the world of eBook readers. Now there are two new models to choose from: the new Nook Color, and the Nook Touch. The latter is branded as “the simple eReader” by Barnes & Noble, where the focus is solely on the reading experience. But is this the right device for you?

Nook Touch eBook Reader

Nook Touch Key Specs

Average Price: $139
Release Year: 2011
Battery Life: Two Months (Wi-Fi off)
Screen Size: 6 inch
Screen Type: e-Ink touchscreen
Weight: 7.48 oz
Storage Size: 2GB (expandable by 32GB)
Internet: Wi-Fi
Main eBook Format: ePub

Pros Of The Nook Touch

Design: The Nook Touch is noticeably shorter and wider than other eReaders like the Kindle, but it weighs pretty much the same as the Kindle Touch. It’s compact, and sits well in your hand for reading. Because Barnes & Noble used soft-touch paint for this reader, it looks rubberized and sleek.

Touch Screen: As the name suggests, the Nook Touch features a touchscreen. The technology makes use of infrared sensors built into the border around the screen (the same technology employed by the Kobo Touch and Sony Reader Wi-Fi). As a result, it’s extremely responsive to even the slightest touch (which is a good thing). Using a touchscreen eReader is generally intuitive, and far easier than using a directional pad to make your way through menus.

Page Turns: The page turns are relatively fast on the Nook Touch. No current e-Ink reader has instant page turns, but the “flash” effect on the screen (it turns black for a second each time you turn the page) has certainly been reduced since the previous Nook models. E-Ink screens are never going to work as fast as LCD eReader devices, such as the Nook Color, but users probably won’t notice much delay on the Nook Touch.

Battery Life: The battery life on the Nook Touch really is excellent. As long as you don’t keep the Wi-Fi turned on, you won’t have to recharge the device for up to two months. This is double the battery life of the standard Kindle, but equal to the Kindle Touch and Kindle Keyboard. It’s excellent news for people who don’t want to worry about charging when they read, and means you can probably take it away on vacation without ever needing to recharge the device.

Extra Features: There are a number of extra features built into the Nook Touch, on top of standard reading features such as the dictionary, a variety of font sizes and so on.

Barnes & Noble had put an emphasis on the social side of reading, with features that will let you share what you’re reading with friends, or post highlighted book passages onto Facebook and Twitter (like with the Amazon Kindle). You can even ask friends to borrow books you’ve seen on their lists, though note that some publishers don’t allow their eBooks to be lent out.

User Interface: The Nook Touch has been well designed, and is easy to use without the need for an instruction manual. It doesn’t work in quite the same way as the Nook Color, but the touchscreen means that it’s easy to get to where you want to go.

Book Format: The Barnes & Noble Nook Touch uses the standard ePub book format. This is useful thanks to the fact that a number of other reading devices and bookstores also use this format. This is one benefit over the Amazon Kindle, which reads its own AZW books and the Mobi format – not ePub. The Nook Touch can also read PDF files (standard on most eReaders) but not Word documents. The book format also means it’s easy to loan books from the library, though this is something that Kindle have also just started to implement.

Cons Of The Nook Touch

Lack Of Features: There are a few features missing from the Nook Touch, notably a web browser. Its main rival – the Kindle Touch – does come with a browser, albeit a very basic one. Some other features that you’ll find on the Kindle Touch and not on the Nook Touch include the ability to play MP3 files.

Price: Although the Nook is more affordable than it has been in the past, it’s still beaten by the Amazon Kindle Touch in terms of price. The latter offers a discount if you buy the model with special offers (ads) shown on the screensavers and home menu. Barnes & Noble have previously voiced their opinion on the use of ads on their readers, saying it’s not something they’re planning to do in future. Kindle also has the standard option, without the touchscreen, which is cheaper again.

When you compare the price of the two devices without the ad discount, the Kindle Touch and Nook Touch are largely identical in terms of price and the features they offer. Both are touchscreen eReaders, both have access to excellent bookstores, but the Kindle Touch provides a web browser and the option for a (more expensive) 3G version if you want it.

No 3G Option: As previously mentioned, the Kindle Touch offers the choice between Wi-Fi and 3G, whereas the Nook Touch only comes with Wi-Fi. This is not a problem for most users, as you can do all your buying and downloading when you’re near a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Is The Nook Touch Worth Buying?

When the Nook Touch was first released, it was king of the touchscreen eReader world. With the release of the Kindle Touch, things have changed a little. In truth, the reading experience is very similar on both: they both have intuitive menu systems, and both have a high quality e-Ink display. It all comes down to which store and book format you prefer. And, if you want 3G internet access, you’ll have to go with the Kindle.

By Tracy Falbe
When people say that they have no interest in reading an ebook, what they actually mean is that they do not want to sit and read a long work on a computer screen. But with a dedicated ebook reading device, such as the PRS-505 from Sony, reading an ebook becomes an excellent experience. The main difference from a computer screen provided by the Sony ebook reader is the e-ink technology that supports the reading screen. The e-ink system allows for low power usage and (here’s the big one) comfortable reading. The text is crisp and clear and can be read without eye strain for long periods in both artificial and natural light. Unlike the screen of a laptop computer, the screen of the Sony ebook reader has no glare in sunlight. Essentially the reading experience will feel exactly like looking at the pages of a book. Indeed, upon becoming absorbed in a novel, I have found my thumb seeking to physically turn a paper page because my brain assumed I was holding a book.

The user interface for the Sony PRS-505 is also easy to learn and use. I was able to quickly figure out the bulk of the system’s navigation without consulting the instructions. Figuring out how to move between ebook titles and navigate within ebooks took only moments. The menu choices are obvious and make sense – very refreshing in a gadget! No baffling cell phone weirdness here.
The navigation within an ebook is well laid out. You can access the table of contents and go directly to specific chapters within the ebook. You can also simply “begin” the ebook and page through from the beginning. The nicest feature is the “continue reading” choice, which automatically takes you to the last place you were reading in the ebook. This is exceedingly handy for someone like me who is chronically plagued by gremlins (both real and imagined) that take bookmarks from my paper books.

Additionally, the ebook reader has a bookmark button that allows you to mark any page in the ebook. Bookmarks that you make for any particular title are stored within that title’s menu where you can easily access the pages you marked for later review.

The system to interface your ebook reader with your desktop or laptop computer is also easy to use. This ebook library management software allows you to load files from your computer or access the Sony ebook store online. Because you can easily load files from your computer, you are also free to obtain ebook files in compatible formats from any source.

The Sony ebook reader connects to the computer with a USB cord. When connected, the ebook library interface will add the reader to its display and you can easily add ebooks from the computer library to the reader by dragging and dropping the files. In the same way you can remove ebook files from the portable reader by dragging the files back into the library.

About my only criticism of the Sony ebook reader is that the little buttons for advancing the pages lack perfection. I find them a little stiff and the positioning of both of them is not an optimal fit for my hands. This may not be the case for all users because I am admittedly an ergonomically difficult personality. The Sony ebook reader does have two ways to advance pages, so one or both of the options may work well for other users.

As with most specialized gadgets, you will need to know where to get content for your Sony ebook reader. Certainly, Sony has its own ebook store integrated with the system, but other sellers such as Baen.com and Fictionwise.com serve the Sony ebook reader market as well. Ebook titles from small publishers and individual artists are also plentiful.

For example, my [http://www.falbepublishing.com/braveluck/free_ebook.html]free fantasy ebook Union of Renegades from Brave Luck Books ™ is available to download in the Sony compatible ebook format and many other popular formats, including the Kindle. http://www.braveluck.com

when i select some words from it and press right click by the mpuse i can't find the copy option,,, and when i press ctrl+c to copy the word and go to any text , i can't find paste option, you may say that there is a problim in adobe reader but i haven't so please if any one can help me

A PDF is virtual paper. it is not an "image" persay, but it acts just like one. you cannot copy words from a PDF for that very reason. just like you cannot copy text from an image. to copy the text, you need to convert the PDF into a different format. try looking at www.omniformat.com

I mean ALOT!!
THEY HAVE TO BE 100% FREE!!

not all are ebooks, some are podcasts.

http://www.chuggnutt.com/ebooks.php

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://creativecommons.org/text/

http://cosl.usu.edu/openup/

http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/

http://www.davidbdean.com/2006/07/27/5-excellent-places-to-find-drm-free-science-fiction/

http://podfeed.net/tags/ebooks

http://www.babblebooks.com/shopping/shoppodcasts.asp

beatles!: http://www.revolverbook.co.uk/
maybe: http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Books

http://winksite.com/site/help_bl_view.cfm?blog_id=4065

http://literalsystems.org/abooks/index.php

I would like one that has a built in dictionary and about the size of a hardback book.

You are better off with a low end Pocket PC device like Casio or Acer or Palm based PDA as almost all eBook readers (Franklin,PDAMan etc) have seemed to failed.

PRS-700BC Reader Digital Book (Black) 6 Touchscreen Display E Ink Technology LED Reading Light 7500 Pages Per Charge USB 2.0 Interface Digital Book Readers The PRS-700BC Reader Digital Book from Sony is an ultra-portable e-Book reader perfectly suited for travelers commuters and bookworms. The Reader can store approximately 350 books in its internal memory; storage capacity can be expanded via SD and Memory Stick Duo memory cards.The Reader\’s 6 touchscreen display is designed with text in mind. It can display 8 levels of gray scale at an impressive 170ppi resolution. This makes reading prose on the display as comfortable to the human eye as traditional paper media.The included software for Windows allows you to convert PDF Microsoft Word and BBeB documents for use with the reader. In addition to electronic books the Reader can also play music in MP3 and AAC format. Portable Entertainment General Equipment & Gear Digital Book Readers PRS700BC Reader Digital Book (Black) P R S-700 B C Reader Digital Book (Black) PRS-700BCReader Digital Book (Black) PRS-700BC ReaderDigital Book (Black) PRS-700BC PORTABLE READING SYSTEM(BLK) Sony Sony P R S-700 B C PRS-700 BC PRS700BC PRS700BC PRS-700BC PRS700BC027242746466 P R S700 B C Reader Digital Book (Black) 6 Touchscreen Display E Ink Technology L E D Reading Light 7500 Pages Per Charge U S B 2.0 Interface sonny Sony PRS-700BC Sony Reader Sony Digital Sony Book Sony (Black) PRS-700BC PORTABLE READING SYSTEM(BLK)

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ICE Book Reader Professional is an ultimate e-book reader and and MP3 creator. ICE Book Reader Professional is a first alternative e-book reader with native support .LIT files, witch do not use any Microsoft Reader components. Also is possible to use ICE Book Reader Professional as a teleprompter.

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