CNet, Oh CNet

[TreyDaPrince]

So I'm shopping for an eReader for my mother for her birthday. Trying to do my research on both the Kindle and the Nook to see which one she'll like more. I come across CNet for some comparison charts and read their reviews and I come across this for the Nook:

Using the touch-screen navigation pad does take some getting used to, particularly if you're accustomed to using a touch-screen phone like the iPhone. Your initial urge is to touch the e-ink part of the screen, but then you gradually get used to the concept of confining your touches to the screen at the bottom and the Nook logo that sits just above the screen. That Nook "button" serves as a home button that turns the color screen on when it's asleep; for energy-saving purposes, you can set the screen to turn off after 10, 30, or 60 seconds when not in use.

...

That said, one of the noticeable drawbacks of the device is that it just can't measure up to the iPhone or iPod Touch (particularly the most recent generation) in terms of speed and performance. Yes, the touch screen is more responsive than the laggy e-ink screen, and yes, you can flip through your reading collection Cover Flow-style, but you're just not going to get that buttery smoothness you encounter with the iPhone. Combine that minor sluggishness with a cellular wireless connection (sometimes AT&T's 3G service is quite fast, but sometimes it's not, depending on the quality of the signal and your location) and there will be moments you'll wish the device was zippier.

...

True, the speed gripe is par for the course with e-ink-based e-book readers; all of them still stutter and flash when moving from page to page and generally have slow start-up times after a full shutdown (the Nook does, too). However, the firmware upgrades have managed to fix earlier gripes about sluggish load times when opening books and noticeably slower page turns (compared with the Kindle). Again, though we'd always like a little more zip, the Nook is generally peppier than it was when first launched.

This is why I stopped listening to CNet when it comes to phones. But now I see I can't rely on them for anything because EVERYTHING is compared to an iPhone. The first sentence of that last quote should have sent off a little light in the editors head that said, well maybe I shouldn't do the Nook/iPhone comparison. Because it makes NO SENSE! Next thing you know they'll be comparing a Hyundai Hybrid to an iPad saying the iPad has more 'zip'. Get over yourself CNet. You suck!

Edit: I still can't decide on which one to get, so if you have any thoughts, I'll be happy to listen.

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

Well... the nook is now 150 for wifi and 200 for wifi/3g... otherwise, it was a toss up for me when i was thinking about biting a little bit ago.

 

[jdbower]

Wait, CNET's still in business?

Regarding ebook readers, first I'd like to give kudos for realizing that an ebook reader and a tablet (let alone a phone app) are two very different devices.

My personal preference would be to look into something like the alex or to try to find a Linux-based reader (I haven't looked too hard). However, my wife will most likely end up with a Kindle for the ease-of-use and price. The new model looks pretty good and comes in a little cheaper than the competition ($190 for 3G and $140 for Wifi only). Besides, we're heavy Amazon customers as it is.

 

[thekarens]

One thing you want to consider is if your mother will want to side load books from the library or other places. My library's e-books are formatted in ePub and the Kindle doesn't support ePub, but the Nook does. Borders and Kobo also offer their books in ePub format. That and the fact that the Nook is based on Android made it a win for me.

If that's not a concern the new wi-fi only Kindle is $130 so it beats the wifi Nook by $10

 

[TreyDaPrince]

My mother doesn't have Wi Fi at the time so I'm gonna have to get a 3g capable one. The Kinlde is 190 and the Nook is 200 so ten bucks isn't that big a deal. Think I'm going to go with the Nook though because of the ePub.

 

[jdbower]

In case it matters, Kindle also has an ePub converter:
Kindle 2 Gets PDF and EPUB eBook Converter

I think a lot of the Kindle format issues have died away.

 

[Yourdogsdead]

There is also a new Kindle coming out. Cheaper priced with better build quality. Plus it looks pretty nice.

 

[bigk]

This is why I stopped listening to CNet when it comes to phones. But now I see I can't rely on them for anything because EVERYTHING is compared to an iPhone.

They got great material for android as well. They also have a great pod cast for android, it just so happens that the iphone is popular as well.

I honestly do think they are bias toward iphone users, you can really hear it when in their "dialed in" cell phone podcast. But so far people having been converting to android. So far molly wood and one of other guy (the name escapes me at the moment) both have a android phone of some sort when there were iphone users.

As for e-readers Amazon.com JUST RELEASEDthe NEWEST generation Kindle. (They just released it like July 28, 2010. Wont ship until August of this year.)
So, I would suggest waiting for reviews on the NEWEST kindle. Once that hits compare the kindle with the ipad, nook, and the sony e-reader. Go to sources like cnet.com (yes cnet) pcworld, pcmag, consumer reports, toms hardware etc.

Also read customer reviews for each product. That way you get both a professional view on each item and you get a customer reviews based on real world results.

Now for my opinion on which device to get (NOTE: I DO NOT OWN A E-READER):

#1.) Amazon Kindle. Why? For starters they just released a new one. With wireless off the battery hold for ONE MONTH WITH OUT recharging. Insane.

Now you can still read amazon books even with out a kindle. You can read your books on the Kindle device, your android phone, Blackberry, Ipad, iphone, a pc, and a mac.

But they also have this service for free called wispersync. So lets say your on page 54 of some book your reading on your kindle. With this wisersync you can pick up right where you left off on your android phone, pc, ipad or what ever.

Pretty cool. On top of that the price is only $189.99 with cell service. $139.99 for just WIFI. For the $189.99 version you can download any book with in 60 sec (according to amazon) through the AT&T service. The thing is, there is NO MONTHLY cell service bill.

I think the kindle looks promising. But like I said I don't own any e-reader, I've heard the ipad is too heavy for just reading books. The nook android OS is SLOW, but don't really offer to much more for your money. You can see color pictures, browse the web etc if your into that kind of thing. Sony e-reader has to be synced with a computer, talk about hassle when buying and reading books.

I think the kindle is the way to go, FREE cell service for downloading books, no syncing, cheapest e-reader so far, and LARGEST SELECTION OF BOOKS.

Have a good day.

 

[terpitude71]

trey: nook all the way. ability to load on your own ebooks ftw. my wife is absolutely obsessed with hers

 

[tony bag o donuts]

I want a nook, but it doesn't support files from zenio's magazine reader format...

 

[andersab]

I have a nook, nook all the way... it works very well with all formats minus mobius. I love the touch pad, battery life, and ease of importing outside books.

Sent from my incredible using Tapatalk

 

[TreyDaPrince]

I ordered the Nook today.

 

[Kash76]

I night bought my wife a nook recently, she loves it.

Sent from my EVO 4G using Tapatalk

 

[mikestorm]

CNet needs to fire Bonnie Cha. For years I've been reading her reviews, and for years I've been irritated by them.

She reviewed the Droid Incredible, and one of her complaints was (and I quote) "You can't use voice and data at the same time."

Sure Bonnie, knock the phone because it happens to be on a CDMA network. Uninformed people are going to assume that's a device limitation.