What are you reading on?
When I did my post last week, I was re-reading some of my past buying guides. Those focused on which ereader to purchase. I remember when I would anxiously await each new update to the ereader market and how excited I was about those new devices. Whee, this one has a keyboard. Oh my, this one has a touch screen that has no screen degradation. (The first touchscreen had an overlay that made the rendering of the letters cloudy).
Fortunately, Sony has developed a way to provide eink touchscreens without any screen degradation. Sony achieved this by placing infrared optical touchscreen technology which, as I understand it, means that there are infrared lasers on the sides of the device that read your finger or stylus inputs. Thus, there is absolutely nothing on top of the Pearl eInk display, just like on the Kindle. If you look at Slide 2 from PCMagazine, you can see the clear difference between the former Sony PRS 600 and the Sony PRS 650.
Look at the light on the cover of the Kindle!
While I have read some complaints that the light is too strong on the right hand corner, I found it was a good wash of light over the entire page. This picture was taken in total darkness and gives a fairly good representation of the pool of light. You can click to see a larger image.
The Kindle cover does add bulk. The Kindle 3 weighs about 8 ounces and the light adds another 8 ounces. The mass market paperback weighs 7 ounces. The Kindle with the cover weighs 1 lb 1/2 ounces. The hardcover weighs in at 1 lb 3 ounces. Click for larger images to see more size comparisons.
Lighting was so important that I wrote an article in 2006 wherein I argued that a backlight for ereaders was imperative. It was so important, I bought several different clip on lights and reviewed them.
Alas, booklights and I have never had a positive relationship. I can’t imagine having to use a clip on booklight for an ereading device. The ability to have the light integrated into the device is quite important to me.
Oh the good old days.
I did order the Kindle Voyager. It’s supposed to be the best ereader ever made. Maybe it is. The light that floods the front of it seems more even than previous devices. The screen renders crisp letters but since I unboxed it, I haven’t read even once on it.
Digital books are my primary source of reading material although I have been known to crack open a print book from time to time. I read on my phone and my iPad mini using the Kindle app. But I know that there are many who prefer their ereaders like my friend Melissa.
Still others are still primarily paper readers.
I’d love to know more about the DA readership. Let us know your reading preferences. I have two polls because I’m curious about what device you read on and if its a tablet, what app you use.
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I read most often on my iPad mini. I used to read all the time on my Kindle Touch but since getting the iPad mini, I have maybe used it three times in the past half year. It just sits on my shelf unused. I guess it’s the multi-functioning of iOS that trumps it, plus–as you say–the lighting, which means I can read in bed with the lights off. I am tempted to get one of the newer Kindles that lights up, but I don’t see much point to it. I almost never run out of battery on my iPad, since I’m usually recharging it at the end of the day. It’s nice that I can go forever without charging the Kindle, but recharging honestly isn’t much of a hassle for me. So the iPad mini always wins.
I also read a lot on my phone, because I often do not take my iPad mini with me while going around town. It’s tricky, though, because I need that battery power for making calls and looking things up online if I get lost (as I inevitably do 60% of the time I leave my house). But I usually just carry an extra battery power pack thingy and I’m good.
I also read on my laptop or desktop at times, which is convenient. Almost always the Kindle app. The Kindle app is what I use on the iPad mini as well, unless it’s something I bought from the Apple Store or from Google, for some reason. It’s rare but it happens. Usually when I have a gift card or credit, or when it’s cheaper, for whatever reason.
I am going on a trip tomorrow where I will be on a zillion flights (okay, eight flights in ten days, but it feels like a zillion), so I am bringing four paperback books as well. I go mad whenever they tell me to turn off all electronic devices and I need my reading material. I specifically made a note on my packing list to bring paperback books. But that is probably the only time I’ll use them. I honestly haven’t read a non-digital book in ages; they just sit behind glass doors on my bookshelves, looking beautiful.
I’ve had a kobo glo for about a year and a half now. Prior to that I’d been reading ebooks on my laptop and my phone, but since I got the ereader I rarely bother read on either any more. I’m about half and half on reading digital and paper books, usually split by genre. For example, romance is digital only, narrative non-fiction is paper only.
It’s definitely changed my reading habits – I’m much more likely to DNF a digital book than I am a paper. I’m also much more likely to take a change on a digital book, mostly because I usually buy direct from publishers which means the exchange rate is in my favour. I very rarely use the kobo store – the access via the device is slow and poorly designed, and if I’m buying books on my laptop i might as well buy direct.
Generally, I’m very pleased with my glo. The light is really handy, especially reading in dimly lit areas. Battery life is great, home screen is great, and I love the little reading rewards. A lot of the flaws have been ironed out by later updates (like being able to sort books into categories), though I’ve also had updates crash the device and had to factory reset it, which wasn’t fun. I haven’t seen anything that would tempt me to upgrade while it still works, but if it does die I don’t know if I’d get the same model again. I’d still stay away from kindle – everything I own is epub, for a start, and I like the freedom to shop around – and you don’t see a lot of nooks in this country, so I’d probably go kobo again, but I might get to know some of the other models better.
I finally upgraded to a Kindle Paperwhite when my old Kindle keyboard broke. Secretly, I prefer the keyboard. I don’t like the touch screen. I keep highlighting words by accident and getting definitions I don’t need or want.
One thing that would make me explore the Kindles again is if they improved their organization. I hated, hated, hated how, when the Kindle Fire first came out, they highlighted everything BUT how you read and manage books. I mean, yay for tablets, etc. etc., but I want my Kindle to be the source of all that is excellent in e-reading, and it just wasn’t. The Kindle Touch I own is great, but the organization of categories is just bad and clunky. I see no reason to pursue an update until they vastly improve the way I can organize my books. After all, I have hundreds on my Kindle currently, and would add more if there were a decent way to manage them. They seem to think what they’re doing right now is okay, when it’s not.
I need tagging. I need a better, faster search. The search on the Kindle Touch is pretty awful. Maybe they’ve improved it since. I haven’t noticed because they never talk about book organization in their marketing videos. They talk about social media and dictionary entries and buying from their store. All I want is an ingenius way to organize my books. I am still searching for the right app or mobile device to organize ten gazillion books in my e-library, and until then, I settle for the Kindle app on iOS, which is also sub-par but has a better reading experience than most when in-book.
On my computer, I organize everything in Calibre, but the UI is pretty outdated and it’s not for reading in any case; I use it mostly for converting books from epub to mobi or vice versa.
I used to read on my big old iPad, using either iBooks or the Kindle app, but always found the screen too bright or the contrast too high, even when using the “night” setting.
Then I bought a Kindle Paperwhite and used it extensively despite its limitations (and the awkwardness of having to convert to the right format).
Then I upgraded my good old iPad to an iPad Mini and added the MegaReader app to it. That’s when I found the perfect combination for me of ease of use and adaptable screen lighting.
My Kindle Paperwhite has remained unused since….
I also use Dropbox as short-term library, from which I can download to MegaReader as long as I have wifi access (Thank you McDonald’s!)
My main library is Calibre (33570 books to date) and I also use the Calibre reader when I’m pretending to be working on my laptop…
I read primarily now on my Google nexus 7″ 2nd generation tablet. I use Calibre Companion which allows me to sort and look up books using tags, series, etc. (just like in Calibre). I love that it also shows my custom column information from Calibre (such as Date originally read, etc). I also use the premium version of Mantano to actually read books. There are lots of nice reading apps for Android. I chose Mantano as it allows me to customize the font, background, etc. Also a swipe up or down the left side adjusts the lighting.
I still load books on my Sony. I still love the Sony 650, but only use it to read now during the day as it isn’t backlit. I try to still use it at least once a month. It’s still a great reader, but to be honest I mostly use it to justify the bookoo bucks I spent on the leather cover I got from Oberon. But it was my first reader and I really wish Sony hadn’t gotten out of the eReader game.
I won a Kobo mini and love the size of it. I had planned to use it as my purse reader (and did for a while). But then I got the Nexus and it became my primary device. So I now read maybe 3 books a year on the Kobo.
I wanted to add that the other wonderful thing about Calibre Companion is the subforum at Mobile Read. The developer is always open to input on developing features and there to help with any issues.
I read on my phone and on an iPad mini with kindle app. My reading habits have changed drastically since going digital. I’d read a paperback book every few days. On ereader I can read two a day, at the same time.
I used the kindle app on BLACKBERRY way back in the day. It was the only app worth using. Then I moved to an iPhone and used the kindle app and the Nook app. Ive read entire books on my phone. On occasion I’d read on my laptop with the kindle for pc but I’ve always hated that.
My first ereader was a Nook Color. I was SO excited about it! Then I rooted it so it was an android tablet and I used the Mantano app for reading. I loved that app but I did not enjoy the android experience. I gave the nook to my mom.
I bought an iPad 3 and started using the kindle app and iBooks and on occasion the nook app but with iBooks to handle my epubs I moved away from nook for good. The iPad was huge and heavy so I got George the Mini iPad about 2 years ago. I figured out how to use calibre and started using the kindle app almost exclusively. I love being able to email books to my kindle account from calibre and they show up on both devices.
I hate the idea that I don’t own a book, I own the permission to access it. I can’t share it with friends or my mom or lend it like a paperback. I buy the file if I can, strip the DRM and convert to mobi and pdf.
I have a lot of books now and I don’t want to keep them on my computer– I need the space– so I store my books in the cloud. It’s like having a central library. I can email a book to myself from the app and read something new in seconds.
I’ve also used an app called vbookz for my iPad and iPhone. It will read a pdf document aloud. I’ve become accustomed to the mechanical voice and I can keep up with my books in the car.
I used to read about 20 books a year. Now I read between 75 and 100.
I have the first generation Kindle, but am getting a Paperwhite for Christmas. I want something that holds a charge longer. But my primary focus is print. A book isn’t real to me unless it’s print. If I read an e-book I really adore, I buy it also in print.
I’m hoping a better device will ease this habit, but I doubt it.
I had been using my kindle paperwhite almost exclusively because it doesn’t stress my eyes as much as my iPad. However, lately I’ve been using my scribd app to save money so I’ve been using my iPad. Now it’s about 60% kindle and 40% iPad.
@HJ: Me too!!
Well, now that I had the Paperwhite for over a year I’ve gotten used to it. But at first I was so, so annoyed with it. And I miss my old Kindle Keyboard still, I highlight/comment a lot of quotes and it was easier to do so with the K3 than it is with the Paperwhite (though things are better now, after a software update, but at first I was unable to select the exact text I wanted, I always selected at least one or two extra words).
Something else that I *really* miss that the K3 had and the Paperwhite doesn’t are the physical buttons for turning the page. I read a lot in bed before sleep, and it’s a lot easier to keep a finger on a button and periodically press it than it is to press on the screen itself, as the Paperwhite wants (and it has to be in a specific area too, if you press too high you’ll get a menu, and if you press too low you’ll get another menu and so on. Which would have been a lot less annoying if I’d not had the K3 before, that was so very easy to use).
I was so happy that they reintroduced the side buttons, when I first saw the Voyage! I cannot wait to get one, but where I am they’ll only be available after the 22nd of December. Sigh.
I just got a Paperwhite this year. Before that, I was just reading on my phone. I never had issues on my phone other than it really ate through the battery. Now, I only read on the phone if I’m somewhere and unexpected have time to read and don’t have my Kindle with me (Dr. office, extra long wait at restaurant, etc). I’ve found the I really don’t like paper books as much any more either, but I will get them from the library if they don’t have the ebook.
My first choice is my kindle paperwhite, but I will read on my iPad/phone if I don’t have it with me or if the book is only available as overdive ePub.
I think the paperwhite is a little thicker/heavier than I want it to be and like Kay find the highlighting/writing a bit clumsy but I think it is great for reading on especially at night.
I bought a Paperwhite almost a year ago, because I figured it was cheaper than kindle+light. After the initial newness factor wore off, I find myself reading mostly paper still. It might be different if my library had a better selection of ebooks I was looking for or if my tbr pile was smaller.
I do sometimes read on my tablet, but generally only if its handier than the kindle. I really don’t like reading books on an LCD screen.
i used to read almost everything on my kindle app but when I started grad school and several books worth of notes were trapped in the app preventing me from exporting them, I migrated to ibooks. I like iBooks not just bc the notes sync easily between my macbook and my iPad but also bc when I click on a note, it takes me to the page in the book. I use Calibre & dropbox to manage all my ebooks. For PDFs I use either iAnnotate or Goodreader.
What, no iBooks app? That’s 97% of my reading.
My latest reader is a Kindle Voyage, which I love. The screen clarity is the sharpest I’ve had to date, I’m able to read on it whether in the dark or in direct sunlight, and the charge holds up pretty well. I have an iPad mini and I occasionally read on it, but by and large, when I’m into heavy-duty reading (at the gym, before I go to bed, etc), I’m on the Kindle.
I use my phone to read on when I’m at work–because it’s easier for me to hide the phone when someone goes past my office. Not to say that I don’t work when I’m at work. I’m just saying that there’s down time. And I need a couple of minutes to read just like the smokers at work have to have a cigarette. I don’t sound too defensive, do I??
Nexus 7, Moon+ Reader and Calibre Companion for me. I’ve just done a series elsewhere on this selfsame subject, and got to some very different conclusions! I have ereaders, but I gave them up a while back. the Nexus does pretty much everything I want it to.
I started reading on a Sony and loved it from the day I loaded my first book to it. I now have a PRS-T3 and I ordered a second as soon as I heard they wouldn’t be making them anymore so I it’s there if the one I’m currently uses breaks down.
I ordered and returned a Kobo Aura because I didn’t like the way it sorted my books, plus it didn’t want to load them from the sd card. Then I tried the old school Nook. I didn’t like it either. On the other hand, I love my Sony. It’s all what you’re used to.
No Moon+ Reader/Pro? Everything I read is through that app, thanks to Calibre and Apprentice Alf.
My reading path has been: paper –> Nook First Gen –> Android phone –> Android tablet
I bought the Asus Memo Pad 7 a few weeks ago and my love for this tablet is off the charts. My primary requirement was that it run Moon+ Reader and because of Android Kitkat, that wasn’t a sure thing. But it works beautifully, battery life is around 8-9 hours and I have background themes for all lighting conditions, no lights needed.
I have a Kobo Glo and am very happy with it. I love the discount coupons you get from Kobo to use in their shop. I also like that I am not locked in and can buy from anywhere. I use Calibre to sort my books and sideload them. I was disappointed to read that Kobo are discontinuing the Glo in favour of the Aura as I would be happy to have another one if this one gave up the ghost.
I appear to be the only one, but I love my Nook. My first edition nook just died (RIP) and now I have a Nook glow light. While I was waiting to purchase a new Nook after the first one died, I tried reading on my iPad, but I didn’t like it as much. For me, the eInk screen is vital. I also like the fact that it isn’t a tablet. If I’m going to read, I want to just read, not surf or get otherwise distracted. It also helps me wind down at night before bed without having to stare at a backlight screen, and I can take it anywhere and still read it-including in direct sunlight.
I also still hold a special place in my heart for paper books. They’re just so less convenient to travel/move with.
I use a Sony PRS-T1, which I got as a Christmas present a few years ago. I love e-ink.
I read almost exclusively on my Kindle Paperwhite 2, which I bought just a couple of months ago. I thought about getting the Voyager instead but with the dollar becoming increasingly expensive (I live in Sweden) I figured it would be too expensive for features I most likely wouldn’t need. Before the Paperwhite I read on an Cybook Odyssey older version, 167 ppi, no light, lot of ghosting and very slow touch screen, using the experimental browser was next to impossible and I sideloaded everything via USB from my computer. I enjoyed the Cybook a lot, but since the Paperwhite arrived I have used nothing but the Kindle.
I prefer a dedicated eink device for reading, mainly because I am less distracted by random webbrowsing which steals a lot of time the few times I sit down to read on my Nexus 7, first generation. I do use the Nexus however for library ebooks, since Swedish libraries use DRM protected epub and with the Aldiko app downloading library books it works quite effortlessly.
At times I set my mind on picking up a paper book and I visit the library or buy a paperback (which are pretty cheap where I am). Then when I pick it up to read I can’t believe how inconvenient it is to hold the big thing in my hands and I usually put it back down again and go to find my ereader. Over little more than three years I have become an almost exclusively ereader and I can’t see myself turning back anytime soon. Unfortunately ebooks in Sweden are quite expensive with a higher tax than old fashioned paper books, but then I almost never read anything but in English these days so it all works out for me.
I have kindle keyboard third generation which still works, first generation fire which kept getting slower so I updated to fire HDX last year and love it. That’s my main reader. I also sometimes read on kindle application on my iPad ( hate reading on iBooks – turning pages there just feels so very slow for some reason). But mostly it is fire HDX for me because I try not take my iPad out of my house.
I used to read on my kindle touch the majority of the time but in July I bought a Kobo Aura and that’s my main reader now. I will use my ipad mini sometimes and I use the ibooks app mainly. The other app I use on my ipad is Marvin.
Back when I had an android tablet, I used Moon+ reader. That was an awesome app.
Funny enough, I don’t use the kobo app at all. I use calibre to sideload everything.
I started a long time ago with a Sony PRS 300(?), and now have a NOOK Simple Touch. I like the NOOK a lot, it’s basic, easy to use, has wireless tech, but I’m worried about the future of the company.
I am still using my kindle keyboard. I would love to upgrade to a paperwhite or kindle tablet but I tend to use things until they break before I buy a new one.
I still use my Nook Glow and love it. I just don’t like to read on my phone. If I’m going to read a graphic novel/comic or a picture heavy book, I’ll use my iPad2.
I wish that Kindle would come out with a touchscreen reader that you can turn the backlighting off, for those of us who are sensitive to blue light. I can’t read on my iPad or my iPhone for a couple of hours before bedtime, or I can’t get to sleep.
And I wish Kindle’s book organization didn’t suck.
And as a reviewer, I wish ARCs and documents were reliably sync-able on the kindle platform. Lots of times I can’t get my highlights and comments out of the ARC, which is such a pain
Despite all these complaints, I love my Kindle, and I love being able to sync a book between it, my iPhone, and my iPad, so I can keep reading everywhere, no matter what.
I’m really happy with my Kindle Paperwhite (it’s sitting next to me now). It glows and I can read it in bed. I have an older iPad that’s heavy and harder to read in bed so I don’t use it for reading, and like a previous commenter said, I worry about wearing down the batteries of my iPhone since I need that for SO MANY other things. My Paperwhite goes with me everywhere and lasts a long time.
I read on paper and on my iPad mini (in iBooks, actually), but I didn’t register the ‘or more’ until I hit vote, so the paper option is one vote low :)
I read exclusively on paper until I got my ipad about nine months ago. I don’t know if I’ve even bought a paper book for myself since I discovered iBooks, probably about seven months ago.
I read ebooks primarily on my Nook Glow. I much prefer it to the Paperwhite I had (I gave the latter away). I turn the wifi off and sideload books onto it from Calibre. As someone said earlier, ereader preferences are so individual, I just like the handfeel of the Nook and I prefer its fonts.
I use my 1st gen Nexus for Scribd and when I had pdf ARCs, and I use my phone when I don’t have my ereader or want to read something on impulse that I haven’t yet sideloaded. I keep my Calibre folder in GDrive so I can always access it via the phone.
And I’ve come back to reading paper books more regularly, especially for general fiction, SFF, and longer novels.
Shelf space was a major issue before. So the day I got myself a tab, my reading life turned a new leaf, literally. I am now on my third device, in just under 4 years.
I have both Amazon and Kobo apps, and also Aldiko for books that I buy from publishers direct.
I still buy paper books, though selectively.
My current primary reader is the Voyage. It is quite the upgrade from the K2us that I have been using since early 2009. The page turn thingies work great and the resolution is such that I can easily read two fonts smaller than I could on my previous reader but I don’t know that it’s worth the extra cost over a PW.
Short stories go to my phone (S4) and I use that when I’m out and about.
I try to avoid doing any long form reading on backlit screens but I do have some kids books on my tablet that I use for them. Those screens just seem to give me a headache if I use them too long. I’ve tried many apps on both my phone and tablet but I just can’t get past the screen issue.
I haven’t read fiction in paper since early 2009 and don’t miss it at all. If a novel isn’t available digitally, I just skip it.
Kindle e-ink (keyboard kindle) and paper. I occasionally read on my iPad, but not often: too heavy, too computer-screen-like. When I do read on my iPad, I use the kindle, marvin, scribd, and ibook apps. I love e-ink. I’m curious about the Voyage.
I was a strict paper only reader, until I put the kindle app onto my iPhone for a free book – after that I was hooked. I bough and loved akindle keyboard, upgraded to the paper white for the lighting and just got a voyage as I wanted a button for page turns again – find the touchscreen on the paper white really irritating.
I still read on my phone but more if I end up with spare time unexpectedly, I prefer the e-ink screens as I feel like my eyes cope with them better after a long day at work.
Tried a couple of apps but always end up back at kindle, hate the lack of organization that’s available but for ease of buying books and syncing devices it just makes my life easier.
I have been a voracious reader ever since I was a very small tyke, bugging the heck out of our local librarian because I had read everything in the Childrens Room. [She was an angel and let me borrow from the Adults Room with her overseeing my choices.] Every apartment I lived in, and later my house, was filled with books. They were my security blanket. I would NEVER get rid of a book. Shelves and stacks everywhere.
And then I was given a nook 1st edition. It was love at first sight. Donated and gave away the stacks. Oddly enough, I thought it would be like cutting-off an arm, but it was very liberating.
I’ve had two or three nooks–can’t remember. I was gifted an iPad by my wonderful hubby while recovering from a series of surgeries. That was 2010–the first iPad. I loaded the nook app, and that has been my preferred way to date. I also use the nook app on my iPhone to read in the car and waiting in doctors’ offices. It’s been a life saver. iPads have come and gone, but my library is always there.
I have never had a kindle, but I do have the app for iPad for the rare times when a book I must read is not available at B&N. But, I find I *forget* to read them. Likewise with a handful of iBooks and the iBook app.
I read about a book per day…sometimes more…sometimes less. Reading is as fundamental to me as air and water. I never, never, never thought I would ever toss aside my paper books for digital, but I wish I hadn’t taken so long to switch. Calibre tells me I have 3687, 2437 and 1252 ebooks in my three libraries. I would have blown the roof off the house (and probably triggered a divorce!) if I had collected and kept that many paper books.
My only fear is that B&N will go belly-up one day and my library will be lost *somewhere* as they recently stopped letting you download a copy of the ebooks you buy to your computer. (I am so angry about that!)
But, on the bright side, if Calibre is correct…I will NEVER run out of things to read!
I read on a Kobo as it is the best you can get in Canada still I find. I just got a Mini as it was on sale and I can easily read it while having a sleeping baby on me.
I still by paper Harlequins because they go from my Mom, to my girl friend, to her Mom & sisters and they take them to the old age home where their Grandma is. I get any major paper fiction from the library. I like paper mainly because I want my son to read and not only play on the computer when he is older. (So far he loves books, so it’s working! We read together multiple times a day)
I’ve got a pretty decent array of devices to read on–though now it’s down by one since I just sold my Nook SimpleTouch. I’ve still got a Kobo Mini, a Kindle Fire HDX, and a Nook HD. I use the latter two for double duty as QA test devices at my day job, which is why I’ve been slanting to reading more on them lately. They are my current preferred reading devices, and I’ve got each loaded up to talk to Amazon, Nook, and Kobo so I have access to the majority of my ebooks.
I’ve also got the Amazon, Kobo, and Nook apps on my iPad, but I like that less as a reading experience just because it’s a full-sized iPad and I find it a bit too large to hold when I’m trying to read on it. I will absolutely read on it if I have no other device immediately handy, but it’s not my first choice.
Likewise for my iPhone. I’ll absolutely read on it if I have nothing else available, but since it’s so small, I can only get a paragraph at a time or so each time I swipe to turn the page. I find this suboptimal.
The vast majority of my book purchases these days are digital, but I do also still buy print–predominantly the authors who are on my list of “people I’d want to read during a power outage” (since my house has at least one of those during every winter), or books that are old enough that they haven’t been ported to digital. My biggest buys in print are my favorite SF/F authors. Though I still have a large backlog of print books I haven’t read yet that I have amassed over the years, so I’m still working through them, too. ;)
Lastly, I do also use the Overdrive app when I want to check stuff out from either of my two local library systems. I loves me some Overdrive and I am delighted that it exists!
I started on ebooks with my Palm Pilot. Had a couple of Palm devices. Got a Nook originally because it would read PDBs. Turned out to be a good decision when all my Fictionwise.com and ereader.com stuff got migrated to B&N.
Still do most of my reading on the Nook Glow (4GB onboard no SD), still have two working Nook Glowlights (the earlier version of Glow that took a SD card.) Daughter uses one.
Husband has had several generations of Kindle (keyboard, still has DX, now has and loves paperwhite. Uses DX for things with line drawings.
We also have assorted tablets. 10in Note(wifi) 10inGalaxyTab3-with 4G, 7in Galaxy Tab3 with 4G.
My phone is a Samsung 3, his is a Samsung Mega – all devices have Kindle & Nook apps.
@Dee:
Re the comment that:
My only fear is that B&N will go belly-up one day and my library will be lost *somewhere* as they recently stopped letting you download a copy of the ebooks you buy to your computer. (I am so angry about that!)
When B&N did that, I installed the Nook app on my PC, downloaded EVERY LAST ONE of my 3000 plus book, installed the appropriate Calibre plugins (google apprentice alf DRM for the perplexed for details) pulled every last book into Calibre, and converted them to mobi a hundred at a time. I’m hanging in with my Nook Glow for the moment and continuing to buy epub from B&N but I am ready for the apocalyse this time. I had downloaded all my old PDBs and stripped them before fictionwise and ereader.com closed down so I didn’t lose the hundred or so books they didn’t have the rights to move to B&N. But I’m keeping my Calibre library current.
I read on my iphone mostly. Just finished a paperback and remembered I really don’t like the format as much as I used to. It’s printed too small and it’s heavy.
I still have my Sony Reader (touch screen) from five years ago. I’m a dinosaur. I never buy the latest doo-dads if what I have is working super-awesome.
At first, I preferred my Kindle Paperwhite over my iPad. Now it’s been unused for more than as year as I shifted to first my iPad mini then upgraded to the iPad Air 2. Really, the better anti-glare implemented into the iPad Air 2 is what sold me on it in the first place. I’m noticing I’m getting much less eye fatigue using it.
What sold me on going back to the iPad was just how much easier it is to organize my books using Marvin and Calibre. Though my poor Calibre library has been neglected. Must fix that. Anyhow, my ebook library has grown to the point where the thought of even using Kindle collections makes me groan.
I have an iPhone 6 Plus, and it’s OK for reading on. But I vastly prefer the iPad.
@Metal Queen: I don’t keep up with the latest tech either. If something works well and isn’t broken I’m unlikely to replace until it does break, which is why I’m usually behind the times with the latest gadgets.
My reading is pretty much split between three devices: my 3rd Gen Kindle with keyboard (mainly used for reading at home); my iPad mini (mainly for library books and non-Amazon acquisitions); and my iPhone for on-the-go reading when I’m out and about.
I primarily use my Kindle Paperwhite which I easily read in daylight and at night. My main issue is I wish there was a way to lock formatting since I’m always inadvertently touching the screen and changing it. I’d love to hear from someone who has used both the Paperwhite and the Voyager and highlight what the differences/improvements are. Jane, I think it this may fall to you so please give that shiny new reader a try!
I’m on to my 3rd (4th?) kindle keyboard. I love it and I am resistant to change. My last two have been bought very cheaply secondhand, which also works well for me.
But. I have just bought two days ago a small Android tablet, which I would like to be able to read on sometimes. Currently I have the kindle app, which is okay but I can’t work out how to navigate from chapter to chapter. Can anyone help?! Or, if I use another app, how easy is it to read my kindle books? I’m not really interested in sending thousands of books through Calibre to convert to epub at this point.
I read primarily on my iPhone and Nook Color. I use my phone for all my commuting reading, which is a lot, and my Nook for extended reading at home. On my phone, I use the Nook app, Bluefire for DRM side loaded books, Overdrive for library books, and the Kindle app for freebies and the occasional exclusive book. I also have Overdrive on the Color.
I bought a Nook eink (Simple Touch, I think, not the Glow) to read outside and for the longer battery time, but I almost never use it. I keep thinking I’ll use it as my loaner ereader, but so far none of the non-ereader owning people in my life are interested in borrowing it.
I like the Color better, even though it’s heavier – I like reading on it better and I have all my folders set up on it. And, this is key, I can use Dropbox on the Color and not the Simple Touch. I love using Dropbox for side loading – it’s so easy. I’ve mostly stopped buying directly from BN (although I’m still able to download my books from them using their app on my laptop).
I don’t own a Mac or Android tablet – I suspect that if I did, I’d use it a lot. But right now my Color is my tablet, because I really like the organizational capabilities. Someday I’ll set up Calibre, but it seems so daunting, I keep putting it off.
I read on my Kindle. I do have a great tablet, but I don’t take it with me on the metro. It’s too precious, and I think would mean too much of a temptation for robbers. My Kindle flies more under the radar. I also like the eink more. I work in front of a computer all day, and the screen is too much for my eyes sometimes. However, the no-light Kindle doesn’t feel bad for my eyes. I also didn’t get the touch screen, because during the winter it would be difficult to turn pages in gloves.
@Make Kay: I can adjust the lighting on my kindle paper white all the way to off. I rarely have it on over 2 or 3. Is it not really off?
@Melanie Simmons (@mlsimmons): I found that too! Holding them feels so inconvenient. Though I got a Kindle in the first place because it’s so difficult to get books in English where I live.
Dude, I would gladly take that Kindle Voyager off your hands! I was originally on the nook train because I am vehemently against Amazon’s proprietary formats, and damn the man, etc., blah blah blah. But that was right before I discovered calibre and the magic of de-drm’ing, so I can actually purchase ebooks from almost anywhere and convert them to epub. And I could have, theoretically, purchased ePubs anywhere and converted them to Kindle format.
Of course, then B&N dropped the ball in so many massive and unhappy ways with regards to actually LISTENING TO THEIR CUSTOMERS. The file organization system on the nook is utter shite, and just – ugh.
Long story short, I’d happily get a Kindle Voyager if it was in my budget. It looks dreamy. I prefer the lightness of e-ink readers, and I am too easily distracted by other apps, the internet, etc., to read on my phone or a tablet.
I love my Nook Simple Touch despite the inconvenience of having to sideload most of my books onto the device. That’s because I get most of my ebooks either from Overdrive or as digital ARCs for review/collection development reasons (I’m a librarian). I generally don’t purchase anything off of B&N unless it’s at a significant discount, so I watch the Daily Deals like a hawk. I still read a ton of paper books because I borrow them from work or buy them secondhand at the used books store. My tastes are so particular and I read so widely that the cost of so many full-price books and ebooks would be untenable, though. I *wish* more of my collection was digital, honestly.
The Simple Touch itself is light and very portable (easy to toss in my purse and go) and I really love the e-ink display since I’m one of those people whose sleep patterns are disrupted by the light from my laptop and phone. I just clip on a book light if I’m reading in bed, easy peasy.
If B&N weren’t in dire straits and phasing/farming out Nook support, I would purchase another one in an instant when my device goes, but like others have said before me, I don’t feel confident in their long-term solvency and think I’ll probably do as they suggest and d/l Calibre to manage and protect my collection. I chose the Nook over the Kindle in the first place because Nook is epub and Amazon’s proprietary mobi formatting and business practices rubbed me the wrong way, but don’t see much alternative if my Nook bites it. Maybe a Kobo?
My phone is used as a last resort because the screen is so small and it eats up the battery. I use my Nook app and store my non-B&N epubs in Dropbox if I want access to those.
I used Kindle eink from the beginning, but now that I have an iPhone, I much prefer it. If I get another reader it will be lit-screen, but I’m so happy having one-thing-does-all (audiobooks, too) I may not bother.
I read on my tablet and phone using the Kindle app. I love how it syncs flawlessly between the two so that I can snatch a few pages (or chapters) with my phone while waiting somewhere and be right where I left off when I’m back with my tablet. I haven’t cracked a paper book in so long that I can’t even remember the last one. Ebook all the way for me!
My primary reader is my Nook Simple Touch. I neither want nor need a lighted display, it messes with my sleep patterns. I actually upgraded (IMO) to eink from an iPad. I still read on my phone or my iPad in a pinch, but it’s not my first choice.
I remember the good old days of being excited about new ereaders coming out. Now I barely even notice.
I’m on the 2nd gen Paperwhite when I want to be fully immersed in my reading. The iPad Mini can’t provide me with that kind of experience; I’m way too easily distracted by all the other things I could be doing on that device. The iPhone 6 makes a better reader than previous iPhones, but it’s still something I find better suited to keeping up with RSS feeds and articles I’ve stashed in Pocket, rather than full length books. I’ve been known to read novellas on it though.
The Paperwhite (2) really was revolutionary for me though. Having a much more consistent light source made using that device so much better than any of its predecessors.
@Suzanne – if you are flying to/from/within the US, you no longer have to turn off your ereader for takeoff and landing, although you do have to turn off wifi.
I mostly read on my Kindle Keyboard – I love the keyboard, and I love the page turn buttons. The comments above suggest I will keep the KK as long as I can–or until I can get a newer Kindle with page turn buttons.
I read primarily on my Kindle Fire when I am at home. This is especially true since I got the free Scribd for three months (thanks, DA!). But I, too, long for a way to organize the books I have on Kindle. Sometimes a search will find them, sometimes not. It would be so nice to just go to a shelf and pull.
But if I am away from home, in the car or on a plane, I prefer my Kindle Touch. It seems sturdier and if I lose it I will be sad but not quite as poor when I replace it.
I love, love, love Scribd. I will be keeping it when the three free months run out. But I do wish (slightly off topic) they would deal with the Apple app situation re: audio books. It is just a joke. Kindle Fire is much too big to tote around and it eats through the Kindle battery a percent a minute. It will be lovely if and when they deal with that issue on the iPhone. As soon as they do that, I will ditch my Audible membership. I get a lot more bang for my buck from Scribd.
I love my kindle paperwhite – I can read everywhere – at the park, at the beach, in the dark (would make a great Dr Seuss poem if I had the time). Question – do any phones that you could put reading apps on have non-reflective screens? Because this was the big turn-off tablet reading for me, when I couldn’t see the screen adequately outside. Ta xx
I remember the days when I would eagerly wait for sales on ereader so I could get one! I did buy two sony readers (yeah, I know. Amazon took too long to venture in the Canadian market unfortunately. Didn’t have much of a choice). Now my Sony reader is tossed off to the side and I mostly read on my phone (android) or my tablet (nexus 5).
I get majority of my books in eBook format from the public library. My library ( Toronto public library) has a great selection of romance books. So I use overdrive a lot. The only other app I use for reading is the kindle app.
Just curious: Why do you suppose that there are so many fewer votes for the kind of reading apps people use (382 on Sunday evening) than votes for the devices themselves (462 at the same moment)? I would have expected the opposite, since I can use a variety of apps on the device I use. Am I missing something?
@Mzcue: Because if you read on a dedicated eink device, I don’t think you use an app. The whole device is the app.
As a librarian I’m all about the Overdrive app lol. Also really love the ease of my iPad as my do-it-all device and seeing the covers in high res color. But there are drawbacks like battery life, eye strain, and getting neck and shoulder pain if I’m overusing it so I also like the eInk and lightweight of nook. My iPad also doesnt have enough space for some of the MP3 audiobooks I check out on overdrive so I use my iPhone too.
I use the Bluefire app for eARCs because I can’t get them to download to Overdrive properly, and I use the nook app for old NookBooks I bought or when my mom wants to lend me one of hers (she has my old 1st gen nook as well as a kindle fire), and I use the kindle app for ebooks that I buy since they’re most often on sale on Amazon.
Last but not least I use paper books for anything picture book, interactive, photography or art centric, or just not available in digital format.
My current dedicated ereader is a Kobo Aura + Calibre + Book Collectorz. The Aura is my 3rd Kobo device. I really prefer epub and I love that Kobo almost always has coupons – but they have to because I’ve noticed that Kobo consistently is priced higher than Amazon/B&N and they have less content. But I’m heavily into their system and haven’t yet. Every now and again I think of giving up the ghost and going over to the dark side (amazon). I hear they have cookies…
As far as apps, I use Kobo, Amazon and Marvin. I love that I can hook Marvin into my Calibre and I have a million billion katrillion freebies on my Amazon app.
I do all of my library organization using Book Collectorz. Book Collectorz is very powerful so I’ve not learned how to use all of it. I know it does have a reader attached to the desktop version (like calibre) but I’ve not dropped my ebooks into it as I keep my actual ebooks located in Calibre. If Calibre and Book Collectorz somehow merged…I’d think I’d died and gone to book heaven.
I still read on my Kindle DX, but it is the bathroom reader, filled with free Amazon books. Daily I read on my Android Nexus 7 (I bought a 2013 model after my original Google Nexus 7 got broken), usually with Moon+Reader, sometimes with the Kindle reader. I also read on the computer in a host of formats, for work and for pleasure, and occasionally on my iphone when I can’t find my tablet.
I use Calibre to manage and sideload all of my eBooks. Until recently I used a 1st gen iPad and used mainly ShuBook. I also use ShuBook or BlueFire on my iPhone when I’m not using my tablet. I use FBReader and BlueFire for reading on my Samsung Tab 3 – FBReader for most of my reading and BlueFire for when I am in a rush to read an eBook and will then sideload on to FBReader at a more convenient time. I prefer to have all of my eBooks on one app and FBReader is the one that suits me best. I like the way the app sorts my eBooks.
Much as I love using my Samsung I hate the fact that I can’t store my magazine from Zinio on the SD card, so I don’t purchase any digital magazines any more.
I read almost exclusively on my Kobo Aura HD. I love the light and the device itself is great. I vastly prefer eInk to an LCD screen.
While the e-ink “flicker” seems to’ve gotten much better on more recent kindles, it’s still enough to give me the twitches — and I’ve never had much eyestrain from reading on my phone or iPad. My preferred “non-denominational” reader on iOS is Marvin. (A brief rave: while it’s not free, it supports tagging, cover-selection (from Photos), and True Author Sort (i.e., you tap the right icon and get a list of authors; tap an author-name, and get the author’s works), among other useful things — like customizing webpages you can go to, to get more books. I think Gutenberg is pre-loaded, but I stuffed Smashwords on there, too.)
I… sometimes read in paper. It’s just so much handier to pull out my phone!
AT THE MEAL TABLE: Laptop
For hmtl ebooks: Firefox.
For epub ebooks: EPUBReader add-on for Firefox.
For Open Library ebooks: Bluefire.
IN BED: iPhone
For html ebooks: Tomes (which has autoscroll) or Instapaper (which also has autoscroll).
For epub ebooks: ShuBook (because I can’t find an epub e-reader app with autoscroll – anyone know of one?).
For pdf ebooks: GoodReader (which has autoscroll and will allow me to read the pdf as plain text).
For public domain Google Books ebooks (so that I can switch between the epub version and the pdf version, as needed): Google Play.
For subscription ebooks: Scribd.
For public library ebooks: OverDrive.
For digital magazines: Zinio and iPhone’s Newsstand.
For the only DRM-locked ebook I own (Merriam-Webster’s English Usage Dictionary): Kindle app.
IN THE BATHROOM or AT THE MEAL TABLE: Printed books and magazines
Which don’t require me to figure out which app will open them, thank goodness.
@Ros: While in the book, touch the top of the screen to call up the annoying top and bottom bars*, then touch the picture of the cover. This should cause a menu to drop down which has the table of contents at the bottom.
*I’m sure there’s a technical term for them, but since I keep accidentally getting them while trying to turn the page, that’s what I call them. (Okay, the polite version of what I call them.)
Laptop, kindle and desktop computer. I still prefer dead tree books.
iPod touch using Marvin. It’s with me all the time, so when I have ten minutes to read, it’s there.
I used to read a lot on my Nook Simple Touch, but I haven’t used it in over a year; I’d still take it with me on a trip, due to the longer battery life, but for day-to-day commutes, it’s not worth hauling it with me because I have the same books on the iPod.
Why wasn’t Apples iBooks app on the list for the second question? I use iBooks and Marvin as my preferred reading apps. So my choice was OTHER (really?).
I have 3 e-readers: Nook SimpleTouch, Nook Color, and Kindle Fire. I use the Nook SimpleTouch for nearly all my e-reading, for the following reasons.
1) I prefer EPUB to MOBI: think page numbers.
2) Nook SimpleTouch has a long battery life.
3) Nooks have better shelving- organization capabilities than the Kindle Fire Maybe newer Kindles have such capabilities, or maybe I haven’t figured out how to do it on the Kindle Fire. I have over 10 self-created shelves on my Nook. As far as I can’t tell, you can’t do that on a Kindle.
4) Nook SimpleTouch has the capability of reading most print PDFs in different fonts, which the Kindle Fire and Nook Color do not. I am not talking about magazine or comic book PDFs, but about regular print books in PDF format. I much prefer the capability of reading a PDF in different fonts to being able to zoom in and out.
There are some scanned PDFs which the Nook Simple Touch cannot change font size. Often for such docs, the pages are so small that they re hard to read on the 6″ screen of the SimpleTouch. For such docs, I use a PDF cropping tool, which makes the docs much easier to read on either the 7″ screens of the Nook Color or the Kindle Fire. On a Nook SimpleTouch, a cropped PDF has the same page margins as the uncropped version. If you need to crop it, take it off the Nook SimpleTouch.
I have noticed that for many PDFs, especially those from the Internet Archive, which have blurred and unclear letters when read from the Kindle Fire, have much clearer letters when read on the Nook Color.
Amazon doesn’t appear to have done a good job for reading such PDFs.
I use Calibre on my desktop for interacting with my e-readers. I like the Calibre ability to create a library in a spreadsheet, with appropriate columns as author, title, tag, date, etc.
Some people use their e-readers for multiple tasks, such as web browsing or listening to music. I use my e-readers exclusively for reading, so ease of reading is the criteria I use.
@Lostshadows: Yes, I can go through the TOC, but I like to page through the chapters directly sometimes, looking for the bit I want to read. It takes you to the next (or previous) ncx marker. On the kindle there’s a button for that, but I can’t find an equivalent on the kindle app.
I used to read on my nook HD but now that I have an iPad mini, my nook HD and my first generation nook don’t get any love.
Like Ames, I sideload all of my books from Calibre onto the iBooks app. I hardly ever read print books anymore. I’m always on my iPad mini.
Another shout out to the Moon+ Reader Pro users out there! I love the flexibility, and the use of text-to-speech without having to lose my spot in the story nor fork out another amount of $$ for whispersync narration. Understandably if I hadn’t had good ol’ Calibre and tips from Apprentice Alf, I might not find it as useful as I do. For the last two years, I’ve used it on phones and tablets alike, and my poor Kindle Paperwhite sits alone on the bedside table…
I’m currently am reading on a Voyage. I apparently was lucky; my light is perfectly even over the entire screen.
I am agnostic about platform. However, I am passionate about ink, both real ink and e-ink, and will never give it up. I absolutely HATE reading backlit text for any amount of time. I have Kindle, Nook, and Kobo on my phone and tablet, but use them very little. My e-ink readers get 2/3 of my purchases, but I still buy a fair amount of paper material.
@Iola: For the US flights (four out of the eight flights), I was fine keeping it on, but I started from Israel, so I had four legs of international flights as well. They required I turn it off still. I wish they’d update to the same regulations as the US flights. It was silly; they had huge screens that showed our progress on a map across the jet but I couldn’t turn on my non-transmitting iPad mini? Ridiculous.
I’m truly at a loss to find an adequate book app that organizes huge e-libraries competently for reading. I am tempted to make my own app, honestly, that satisfies all my needs. I can code and I work in software, so it’s not that much of a leap. Now I just need to find an extra ten minutes each week to work on it, and I should be ready come 2017. :)