FaithManor Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 What are the differences? Does anyone gets motion-sickness from screen flickering, headaches, etc.? Can textbooks be downloaded to either of these? If you have one, can you download books from the other company or are these proprietary? Is there good customer service? How many pages can a regular Kindle hold vs. a KindleFire, vs. a Nook? If the memory gets full is there some way to save books to a hard-drive or memory card so that you don't have to buy them again? Sigh....Ds is going to be taking some MIT opencourseware coursework and not only are the texts expensive, but many classes have additional readings from 5-20 other sources and our local library system is so far beyond pathetic that it does not bear attempting to work with...and even if they were decent, I seriously doubt I can find a copy of Johannes Itten's "Art of Color", etc. So, I need to find a way to make this more economical. Ds is a tech NERD extraordinaire so I'm pretty certain using it will be a snap. But, I have no idea if one of these devices can handle large textbooks and is easy to navigate for study purposes. I can see that they'd be fun for leisure reading. I'm just worried about the study aspect. On the above textbook, I can save about $150.00 if I download it to a Kindle so I'm assuming some similar savings on the other art books he needs to consult. Thank you so much....be gentle...I only recently learned how to put an attachment on an email. (Hanging head in shame because dh is a senior level Oracle DBA and ds writes computer games in Visual Basic and is now learning JAVA...I am so far behind! :blushing:) Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I have no answers on the Nook, but I've had my Kindle for over a year now and I pink, puffy, rainbow {heart} it. Mine can hold 3500 books. I prefer the e-ink technology to back lit screens as it's easier on the eyes. The Nook Color, Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire are all back lit and I personally wouldn't use for just reading. If there are going to be diagrams or charts in books though, I might consider it. Does anyone gets motion-sickness from screen flickering, headaches, etc.? There is zero screen flickering. Even on page turns. Can textbooks be downloaded to either of these? Yes, but I don't know if a specific book for a specific course will be available. Does anyone gets motion-sickness from screen flickering, headaches, etc.? If you have one, can you download books from the other company or are these proprietary? They are proprietary. Most books that one store has the other does as well. Is there good customer service? From Amazon, absolutely. James Bond's Kindle just went blank one day. The screen wouldn't come up, it wouldn't power off, nothing. I called customer service and they walked me through trying to reset it and nothing worked. It was still in the warranty period, so they shipped us a brand new one (new, not refurbished) the next day with a box to ship the old one back. How many pages can a regular Kindle hold vs. a KindleFire, vs. a Nook? The regular Nook can hold 1000 books, but it also has an expandable drive (SD card) , which the 1st Kindle had, but for whatever reason they took it away. The basic Kindle holds 1400 books, the Touch holds 3000, the Keyboard holds 3500 and the Fire hold 6000. The good thing about Kindle and books I will answer in your next question. If the memory gets full is there some way to save books to a hard-drive or memory card so that you don't have to buy them again? The Nook does have the memory card like I said above, but I couldn't find any info on having them stored in another location (somebody with a Nook might know). With the Kindle, all your books are stored in the Kindle account. Every book you purchase are there permanently. If you upgrade to a newer Kindle (or have to get a replacement like JB), you just go to your Kindle account and send them to the new device. Once you've paid for a book, it's yours. If you have more than one device registered to the account (James Bond is registered to my account), you can send the books to any device registered. They also have the Kindle app for computers, iphone, ipad, android, blackberry, etc. I have the app on my iphone and if I'm out and about and have time, I can read the book I was reading on my Kindle. It automatically updates to the last page read on the other device so I don't have to try to find my spot. When I go back to the Kindle, it updates to the last page I read on my phone. Yay They are super easy to manage. When I purchase a book, it asks me which device I want it sent to and I click it. If I want it on more than one device and can either open the app on that device (in this case my iphone), go to my "archived items" and pull any book I want over to the phone in less than a minute. Did that help or did I confuse you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 This was very helpful! I really think we would not like the back lighting, but since one of the texts is an artbook, I'm now a little unsure. I looked up the Nook and the one book I really NEED to save money on is not available at Barnes and Nobles so now I'm definitely going to have to go with Kindle. The BN price on the textbook was $347.00, the Amazon price was well over $200.00, and the regular Kindle plus Amazon download would be in the $120.00 range plus I'd be able to get some of his other texts this way. Hmmm....if I splurged for one of the better Kindles, can the back lighting be turned off? I could use it possibly for some of my grad school work but I know that it must read just like a page...white background, blacktext, good font, etc. I will go nuts if it is different from that. Oh, and is there a feature that allows you to highlight???? I own no textbook that has not been attacked with pink or orange highlighters! :D Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I have the original Nook. Does anyone gets motion-sickness from screen flickering, headaches, etc.? The screen doesn't really flicker, per se. It sort of dims, then the next page appears. I don't know how it is on the current versions of the Nook. Can textbooks be downloaded to either of these? The Nook has textbooks, but I know very little about this. If you have one, can you download books from the other company or are these proprietary? Proprietary Is there good customer service? I've had no problems with my Nook, but when I've had a question, they've gotten back to me very quickly. How many pages can a regular Kindle hold vs. a KindleFire, vs. a Nook? I don't know, but have no reason to doubt what the previous poster said. If the memory gets full is there some way to save books to a hard-drive or memory card so that you don't have to buy them again? You can save them to an SD card, plus they are always saved on your Nook account at the Barnes & Noble website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I LOVE LOVE LOVE my kindle but I honestly don't know about textbooks on it and how easy it is to highlight (and then find it back), flip from section to section, use the glossary, maps, etc. I just use my kindle for reading novels. It is super easy to use and I have found 100s of books for free on Amazon but again, I don't know anything about using it for reference materials, textbooks, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I have a Nook. Not a Nook Color, just a Nook (we didn't want all the Internet features; we have computers for that. :)) Mom in Heels has already answered these questions, so these are just my own experiences: Does anyone gets motion-sickness from screen flickering, headaches, etc.? No screen flickering. Is there good customer service? I haven't needed any customer service support, but if I did, I'd take my Nook down to my local B&N and talk to a real person's face. :) How many pages can a regular Kindle hold vs. a KindleFire, vs. a Nook? I have a truckload of Tom Clancy novels, as well as all my other books. Mr. Ellie says there's room for a truckload more, lol. If the memory gets full is there some way to save books to a hard-drive or memory card so that you don't have to buy them again? The ones I buy from B&N remain on my B&N Nook account; I can download them again at any time. Also, I save all my e-pubs to my computer, free ones as well as the ones I purchase, so yes, all the books are saved to my hard drive. (Hanging head in shame because dh is a senior level Oracle DBA and ds writes computer games in Visual Basic and is now learning JAVA...I am so far behind! :blushing:) :lol: It's ok, girlfriend. I'm sure you can do many things that totally bamboozle Mr. Faith. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Refurbished Fires are on sale today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I really think we would not like the back lighting, but since one of the texts is an artbook, I'm now a little unsure. You'd probably want either a Nook Color or a Kindle Fire as they are the ones that have color. I looked up the Nook and the one book I really NEED to save money on is not available at Barnes and Nobles so now I'm definitely going to have to go with Kindle. The BN price on the textbook was $347.00, the Amazon price was well over $200.00, and the regular Kindle plus Amazon download would be in the $120.00 range plus I'd be able to get some of his other texts this way. Hmmm....if I splurged for one of the better Kindles, can the back lighting be turned off? For this you'd need a Kindle Fire, and they have the same sort of screen as say an iPod. You can't turn the backlight off, although I believe you can dim it. In good news, they are on sale today refurbished but with a full warrenty for $139, which is a fantastic deal. I could use it possibly for some of my grad school work but I know that it must read just like a page...white background, blacktext, good font, etc. I will go nuts if it is different from that. It would probably be just like that, but it would depend on the formatting of the individual book itself. You can go to Walmart or Best Buy and see some for yourself. I believe they sell them and that way you could get a feel of it. Oh, and is there a feature that allows you to highlight???? I own no textbook that has not been attacked with pink or orange highlighters! :D I know that the Kindle Keyboard allows you to highlight passages, and I imagine the others do as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Refurbished Fires are on sale today. Do the Fires have the same warranty as new? I'm asking because dh has twice purchased refurbished coffee pots and three times - car parts, and every single time it was a disaster! So, I'm a little scared, yet would like the savings too. Faith - thank you Ellie for reminding me that Mr. Faith can't do everything I can...the next time he gives me this look :001_huh: concerning technology, I'll just ask him to sight-read a Chopin Polonaise which will probably change his face! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Here's a link to the sale today: http://www.amazon.com/gp/goldbox/ref=cs_top_nav_gb27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 (Hanging head in shame because dh is a senior level Oracle DBA and ds writes computer games in Visual Basic and is now learning JAVA...I am so far behind! :blushing:) Faith This is why I'm not tech savvy. I have my dh for that. ;) I'm tempted to get a Fire for text books, but I really don't like the internet access part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3boysmama Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 May I pop in here with a question, also? I noticed one of the comments about the Kindle Fire on Amazon said it was more for game apps, internet browsing, etc...more than it was for reading books...is that true? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 This was very helpful! I really think we would not like the back lighting, but since one of the texts is an artbook, I'm now a little unsure. If you don't want the back lighting (you can't turn it off and they don't have e-ink technology), you can always put the app on your computer and look at the graphics there and read the text on the Kindle. If you're on the go it might be kind of a pain, but if you're home, you'll have access to both. Hmmm....if I splurged for one of the better Kindles, can the back lighting be turned off? Only the Fire is back lit. All the others are e-ink. Oh, and is there a feature that allows you to highlight???? I own no textbook that has not been attacked with pink or orange highlighters! :D Faith Yes. I use it all the time. There is the option to bookmark, highlight and add notes. If you want to review them, you click on the highlight/note option, or bookmark option in the menu section and it will pull them all up. If you click on the individual note or highlight, it will take you directly to the page you highlighted or noted. I have loads of research books on my Kindle that are highlighted to death. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 There are parental controls that you can use on the Fire to keep internet access turned off if you choose (you'd need to go in and turn it on to download additional books, I think ... but then you could turn it back off again). The Fire does have more game/surfing abilities than the regular Kindles, but you don't have to load games onto it or use the web browser. My dyslexic son likes the color version better (though he now uses his iTouch Kindle app) because the brown on sepia mode is a lot easier for him to read than the black on white, but he only ever uses my Kindle Fire as a book reader (occasionally, the littlest will use a free times tables game I loaded onto it while we're waiting somewhere). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caitilin Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Dh uses his Fire to read books ALL.THE.TIME so while it certainly can be used for games, browsing, etc. it is very, very usable just for reading. Dh particularly appreciates the backlit feature because then he can read in bed after I want the light turned off!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I have a Kindle Touch, and as for the motion sickness/flickering, I can give a pretty good answer for that. I have photosensitive epilepsy, and any kind of flickering will trigger seizures for me. The flickering of a fluorescent light will bring on grand mal seizures after a few hours. I've had my Kindle for a couple of months now, and it's never so much as made me dizzy. And I use it a LOT. I can use it for hours without a break, without having so much as an aura (a seizure precursor, basically). So you definitely don't have to worry about that aspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 If you go with the Kindle Fire ( or any android based tablet), you can put the Aldiko book reader app on it and side load epubs so you are not married to the Kindle format if you get a Kindle. https://aldiko.zendesk.com/entries/402881-download-the-latest-version-of-the-aldiko-book-reader-application#overview That way you can get the least expensive version of the book either way. For what it's worth, you can also use Calibre to manage ebooks and convert them for whatever reader you use. Using plug ins for it makes it utterly invaluable for doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 you can read books on it and many people do but it has a back lit screen like a computer screen so many people fine that it is harder on their eyes after a while than the regular Kindles with the e-ink that reads like a book and can be read out in the bright sunlight, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Check all of the books you might be needing over time. I know one book you need was not available to you in Nook format, but Barnes and Noble now runs many college bookstores and is working with many universities to get texts in e-format. Over time you may find many "smaller" books that add up substantially. Nook service (1-800-THE-BOOK) is awesome beyond belief. My original Nook was broken by the TSA (agent for no reason picked it up and repeatedly bashed it down on the rollers until the frame cracked). I was on my way to a sabbatical location and had left my wallet behind, but thinking I had lost it in the airport, shut down my credit cards. So calling from a location other than my home address, not on my home phone, and without my registered credit card working, i talked to customer support, and the next day my new Nook arrived to replace my bashed up (out of warranty) unit, along with a prepaid mailer to send the old one back. I didn't even have to send in the old one first. At Christmas this year, we upgraded to the new Nook Simple Touch, and love it. For things with color, I use the free Nook App on my computer (or iPod) for viewing, but still have the nice e-ink screen for everyday reading. For the rare book that I can only get on Kindle, I use the free Kindle app on my computer or iPod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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