nook, kindle, IPAD

[gmacruiser418]

ok, so i'm considering buying a nook, kindle or IPAD for reading, anyone use one of these while cruising? and cons to any of these in the sun?

[graf103]

I loved using my kindle... no problems with it at all in the sun or not.

[ehfl]

iPad is not readable in direct sunlight. Kindle works great in direct sunlight (since it uses ambient light, the more the better). Not sure about the nook.

 

Also the Motorola Xoom will be out next week....much nicer specs than the iPad (2 cameras vs no cameras for iPad, dual core vs 1 core for iPad, 4G vs 3G for iPad, etc.)

 

The Kindle app is available for iPad and Xoom, so it's not really a matter of which books you can read, but whether you need something for direct sunlight or not.

 

Personally, I take both (eReader and tablet). It's great to be able to watch movies or listen to music on a tablet (you can listen to music on the Kindle but it's not a great experience), view your vacation pictures or videos, check in with the office, surf the web, etc.. For the beach, the Kindle is best.

[awboater]

Kindle or Nook work great in the bright sun.

 

Before I bought my Kindle, I used a kindle app on my iPod Touch, and it is hard to read outside, and impossible to read in the sun. I suspect the iPad is the same.

 

My eldest son has a Nook, and it is pretty much the same as a Kindle.

 

I also take a small netbook (Acer Aspire One) with me for internet access. A netbook is a lot easier to carry around than a full sized laptop. And they are a lot cheaper, and if lost, stolen, or broken, it's not that expensive.

 

One criticism about netbooks is that they are slow, and they are. But I dual boot mine, Ubuntu and Windows XP. Under Ubuntu, the netbook is as fast as my laptop under Windows. I use Gimp on the netbook and it is fast and powerful enough that I can edit photos if I want to.

[izzyvet]

DH has an iPad and he loves it for reading, but it is completely worthless in sunlight. So for our upcoming cruise he bought a Nook last week. So far he loves it. He's already loaded about a thousand books into it. I like the size, but it's pretty thick.

 

My HCG Evo phone has a great reader app, and I can use it outside. I've found with this phone, I have no use for a reader. I have about 400 books on it.

[lgonquin]

Kindle worked great for DW on our last cruise. Even downloaded some new books while at sea. No problems.

 

Unfortunaltely DD sat on it during the flight home :mad:.

[masonpips]

I was on Celebrity Century last week lying facedown on my lounge chair w/my Kindle on the deck while reading. A guy and his wife walked by and he said "Look! In the bright sunlight!". I told him how awesome it is!

 

I have such an OLD school Kindle (version 1.2, it's huge/thick w/the back cover that falls off) and I LOVE it. I got it for Mother's day in 2008 (?). The first year I read 52 books, one a week (this from a mom of two very active kids that was also working full time and generally read 5-7 books on vacation and not much else throughout the year).

 

Kindle. All the way.

[CodyC815]

Kindle would be best for reading in the sunlight, the iPad would be better for just about everything else. I've taken my iPad with me on my last 4 cruises and use it for pretty much everything, games, crosswords, books, writing reviews and just surfing the web.

[centurycruiser]

Can Kindle or Nook be used with the internet to check email?

[VaBchNative]

Kindle would be best for reading in the sunlight, the iPad would be better for just about everything else. I've taken my iPad with me on my last 4 cruises and use it for pretty much everything, games, crosswords, books, writing reviews and just surfing the web.

 

Kindle and standard Nook use eInk and work great in full sunlight even while wearing sunglases. The color Nook uses an active screenlike the iPad, which can not be seen easily in direct sunlight.

 

Love my Kindle 2 (Feb 09) and talked in-laws into the Dx and the K3 (current version). My DW has the iPad (does not use it for reading).

 

Go to the Kindle discussion page on Amazon for discussions balancing the pros and cons.

 

I love it... two years ago the questions were "what is that?... That's so cool!". Now they are "Is that the Kindle or the Nook?"

 

Regards,

Steve

[Oville]

I have an iPad and I'm on my third Kindle. Obviously I love Kindle but I also love my iPad. Having said that, for reading the Kindle is the way to go. It's so light weight compared to the iPad and you can't read books outside on the iPad.

 

Someone asked if you can download email on the Kindle, I have with my Kindle Global and assume I can on my new Kindle w/3G and wireless, but on our last couple of cruises I've used my iPad.

 

Hope this helps.

[maryann ns]

The Kobo is very similar to the Nook and is worth considering, especially for Canadians. It has Wi-Fi for downloading though I won't be using it on our cruise. We are also taking a netbook for everything but reading, though we may use it to read on the plane.

 

The Kobo weighs less than most books and the netbook weighs less than a pound.

[KirkNC]

ok, so i'm considering buying a nook, kindle or IPAD for reading, anyone use one of these while cruising? and cons to any of these in the sun?

 

If it is just for reading, I would not get the ipad, it is much more expensive and does not do well in bright light (I own one so not dissing it).

 

Kirk

[hancock]

I am able to download free books from my library online with my Nook. Can't use the library with a Kindle.

[Happy ks]

I have my Kindle (Sept 10, when the $139 version came out) and absolutely love it.

 

A co-worker of mine has a Nook and she loves hers as well. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

I'd also love to have an Ipad, but since it would just be for fun, not work, I cannot see spending the $ on it right now. We use one at my school job...love it, but I'd rather read on a Kindle, the Ipad would seem to get heavy to hold after a while (comparing it to Kindle).

 

The only downside I have is that I'm a fst reader and I need the font a bit larger, so there is not much on a page, I have to turn pages a lot. Not too much of a problem though.

[Putterdude]

DW took her Kindle on our two cruises last month and had no trouble reading in the sun which is one of the features of the Kindle.... for me I only got mine a couple of weeks ago and still had some books to finish...so maybe this afternoon I will become a Kindler...or whatever.:)

[gmacruiser418]

thank you everyone for your input. I really appreciate it!

[Underwatr]

Can Kindle or Nook be used with the internet to check email?

Don't know about the Nook, but the Kindle with 3G can be used (for FREE) anywhere there's a cellphone signal it can roam to. Your email provider needs to have a webpage that looks good on low-bandwidth devices like cellphones for best results. I use Yahoo mail; I think others have been successful with GMail on the Kindle.

[Travelcat2]

Love my Kindle. The only reason I did not consider the Nook was the possible instability of B&N. They have been closing tons of stores lately. The e-books have been very hard on book stores.

[Traveling Library]

Reading with the nook is bright sunshine is just fine. The nook uses e-ink and the screen is not back lit. Thus no glare or reflection.

I picked the nook because you can download library ebooks. You can't do this with the Kindle.

I'm a huge fan of the nook. I'm reading more now than ever.

You can download the nook application onto other electronic devices. Try that and see if you like it.

Traveling Library

[nytonowhere]

the ipad is lit up just like any phone, i know its impossible for me to see my phone screen at the beach.

[Underwatr]

The internet access on the Kindle is great, but I will say that reading this particular bulletin board on the Kindle 2 is an exercise in frustration. Too many graphics in people's signatures (mine included) makes the pages slow to load and causes too few posts per Kindle screen.

 

Maybe the K3 browser is better but I suspect this is a general problem.

[centurycruiser]

Don't know about the Nook, but the Kindle with 3G can be used (for FREE) anywhere there's a cellphone signal it can roam to. Your email provider needs to have a webpage that looks good on low-bandwidth devices like cellphones for best results. I use Yahoo mail; I think others have been successful with GMail on the Kindle.

 

But, can it also connect to the internet thru wifi on board ship, or, do you get international roaming charges?

[Underwatr]

If your device is WiFi capable (the K2 isn't), then it should be able to connect, but you'll pay the ships use rate for the WiFi connection.

 

I'll clarify a bit - my Kindle didn't connect to the ship's cellular network, but I had free access whever we were in port.

[MrsPete]

I have the Kindle 2 and the iPad. In my opinion, if you want a dedicated reader, the Kindle is your best bet; however, if you want a multi-function item, the iPad's for you.

 

Kindle

- Lowest cost

- Easy to read in sunlight

- Allows you to set up your own "folders", making it much easier to locate the book you want -- which matters to people like me who've had them a while and have hundreds of books

- Offers a few games, though the quality is low

- Assuming you turn off the 3G when you're not actively purchasing books, your battery'll last 2.5 weeks -- and that's with heavy use

 

iPad

- Much more expensive than the Kindle (or other dedicated e-readers)

- Lets you surf the internet, though the keyboard isn't all that easy to type upon

- Lets you watch movies, including NetFlex rentals

- Lets you listen to music, though the speakers are not all that good

- Offers a wide variety of other aps, including interactive kids' books, calculators, diet trackers, etc.

- Allows you to have both the Kindle and Nook aps on the same machine, although there's little point since the two are essentially the same

- Full color screen if you enjoy reading magazines on an e-reader

- The screen is vastly inferior to Kindle's for reading

- Considerably heavier than the Kindle, which does matter if you're the type of person who likes to read for hours at a time

- Battery lasts 2-3 days, less if you're watching movies