Been thinking about these things. I have heard everyone who has theirs absolutely loves it. I'm wondering about a few things though.

1. Does it work just like an ipod? Once you download a book, you own it, and you have it forever? I ask this, because, there are times a book will interest me, and I'll read 50 pages and it bores me, and I don't finish it. Then what? I've spent 10 bucks on a book that I can't resell or give to someone else?

2. Again, you have this book forever? 99% of the time I read a book, that will be the only time I read the book. I don't like the idea of it taking up space forever, I only leave books now on my shelf, that are on my list to read.

3. Wireless internet? How does this work exactly? You can just read the internet, right? You can't type on this thing?

4. A cool option I love, is being able to read blogs on it. Is this pretty easy? How do you get them on there? I"m assume download somehow, like you would the books. Are they free to follow though since you follow them for free online?


Sorry for all the questions, I am just very intrigued by these, so any and all information you all can give me would be awesome. Are these great things worth it. Do you think they will get less expensive as time goes on, or are they worth every cent?

Oh, last question....which ebook is the BEST?

I have a Nook and love it. I got the Nook over the others as I can borrow books from my local library on it - that to me is key. The Kindle doesn't allow you to do that - I believe the Sony one does, as does the iPad.

I haven't bought any books yet but my understanding is it's just like a physical book - you buy it, it's yours for however long you keep it. You can always delete it from the reader if you're done with it, and probably store it on a USB drive or something. Some books can be loaned to others - so if you and a friend both have a Nook (I only know this about the Nook as I have one!), you can lend her books and vice versa (only books you own).

The internet on the Nook is just a browser - you hook up to a WiFi spot and can access the browser. It's not great - definitely clunkier than using a laptop or iPad for sure, but it works in a pinch. The WiFi is also used to download books and software updates on the Nook.

I have no clue on the blog reading - but I'm curious how that works. I read blogs on my laptop and I have WiFi at home so it's pretty easy. I love the Nook, though, for traveling (I travel for work a fair bit) - I can take several books and it weighs nothing. I also love it for reading in bed as it's much easier to hold and "turn" the pages than a hardback book.

If you can, pop into a Barnes & Noble and check out the Nook - when I went, they had an "expert" in store to help me which was very cool - that's how I found out about the library book borrowing.

I have a sony ereader, and honestly, I have never purchased a book for it. I borrow from my local library (they have a great ebook collection). I will also download free license media for it, including a Novella from one of my favorite authors/vloggers.

I have a Kindle. My local library does not support ebook borrowing, so library books weren't important to me, and I like the variety of books Amazon offers for free. If my local library did offer lending, I might have made a different decision. Honestly, though, I read constantly and I've purchased maybe 5 books total...all the rest were downloaded by polling the limited time free offers on Amazon. It has exposed me to a lot of new authors! Amazon also has a "preview" feature, so you can download the first chapter of a book, read that to see if you like it, and purchase only if you want to. Not sure about the other providers.

I download books to my Kindle, read them, and then remove them from the device. Amazon will allow me to redownload the books I've already bought at any time, so I don't keep them on the device itself if I'm not reading them. Kindle also allows you to organize the books on your device (again, no experience with Nook or eReader, so not sure what they offer) into categories/folders, meaning you can keep it nice and neat.

The Kindle has a keyboard, so you can surf and type (also take notes, highlight in books, etc).

I don't do a lot of blog reading on Kindle, but I know that they support it.

I have a Nook and I love it so much. I don't have the color Nook, but the regular Nook with the e-ink screen which looks exactly like a book (and it does, amazingly, look just like a page of a real book!)

I did a LOT of research beforehand - you will find tons of great advice from nice people at the forums on MobileRead.com. They were very helpful and instrumental in making my decision between the Nook and Kindle.

I'm really glad I chose the Nook, but with that being said, after I purchased it and saw how to use it, how to convert files, and how many books I could get (from various err... methods), I realized it didn't really matter which one I chose in the end. I looked at a Kindle in Best Buy and thought it was great too after all.

Honestly, if you are just reading books on it and are vaguely familiar with a few sites and the program "Calibre", you will see the Kindle and Nook are pretty interchangeable.

iPad, Sony and Kobo I didn't research because I wasn't interested. I also wasn't interested in an LCD screen like the Nook Color or the Sony or iPad. I wanted this thing to replace a book, not just another computer screen.

~BreathingSpace~

I have a sony eReader and I absolutely love it!! I really wanted ePub support and I liked the small size of the sony versus other readers. You can delete books and reload them, it is pretty easy to do. As others have mentioned, there are lots of free books available through various sources. My library has ebook checkout for all but Kindle readers. Mine doesn't have internet but the Sony 905 does and it has a web browser on it. I really wanted my book reader to be a book reader though so I didn't care for the internet option.

The Kindle DX, Kindle 3 and Sony eReader all use e ink pearl which makes it book like and also saves energy meaning your battery can last longer. I looked up the Nook and apparently it uses e ink vizplex which isn't quite as good as the e ink pearl but the differences are minimal.

For me, the choices were between the Sony eReader and the Kindle. The size and ePub support where what pushed me to the Sony eReader.

Note: Apparently the new Sony eReaders are a huge improvement from the previous ones which had some visibility issues. So if you read reviews for Sony, they should be from late 2010 or else they might be referring to the previous version.

And if size is a factor, this site is nice to get a preview of the sizes and compare:
http://blogkindle.com/ereader-comparison/

For Kindle, the Kindle 3 is latest version and for Sony the x50s are so 350, 650 and 950.

My hubby just got me the Nook color and I love it too. You can surf online and look at YouTube, Facebook, ect. You can also upload music and pictures which can be used as a background.
I've never tried to delete a book though..not sure if I can or not.

I'm glad you asked these questions! I have a Kindle and love it, especially for travelling, and I'll be able to use it much more efficiently now thanks to all this great information. I hope someone chimes in with blog reading info...

I just got a Kindle 3g on the advice of my daughter, who has an older version and loves it. I have downloaded 3 books....that is all I know how to do so far. I just haven't had much time to play.
That being said I did research many others..and DH actually bought me the Sharper Image Literatti. I took that back..didn't work at all. Got another, it didn't work, so done with that brand. I also read that the color and/or touch screen eats up the battery quicker. Liked the Nook Book and that would have been my choice if I didn't have a daughter who could help me with Kindle.

Would love to read more comments about the Kindle and usage.

I have a first-generation Kindle.

I will admit ... when my parents bought it for me for my birthday, I was like, "OMGWTFBBQ am I going to do with this awful thing?" I love, love, love books. I love the feel of them, the flipping of pages ... etc.

But I decided to try it out on a short plane trip to NY. My first mistake: I chose a densely packed, long book as my first read (Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, which is the most amazing book ever). I'm well schooled in British Renaissance history, but the lack of being able to flip back and forth killed me. So I also bought the hard copy of Wolf Hall. And I put the Kindle away for six months.

However, DH (then fiance) convinced me to try it again, but with a "fluffier" read. So I put on some chick lit, and a couple of lighter nonfiction reads -- books that I could read straight through without going back and checking stuff.

And it was great.

I can't speak to the Nook or to later-generation Kindles, which let you read mags and newspapers. But for me, these are the pros and cons:

PROS
1) You can lug the Kindle or 10 heavy books when traveling. Which would you choose?

2) Kindle apps are free on smartphones, iPod touches, etc., and Amazon will sync between all devices to the furthest page read. I've never had an issue.

3) You can, if you look, find cheap/free eBooks.

4) You can lend out/borrow books on the Kindle now. Amazon has some information about it.

5) The battery lasts FOREVER.

6) No one has any idea what you're reading, which is cool when you're in the mood for a Danielle Steel fix.

CONS

1) No backlight. You can't read in bed.

2) The page flipper takes a moment to kick in, which annoys me.

3) It can be hard to shop Amazon while on the Kindle.

4) Most books are expensive.

5) You have to be aware of what you're reading. War and Peace = not OK. Bitter is the New Black = OK. If it's rich in information and requires referencing other sections (even though you can search for a word or phrase), forget it.

As far as blogs .... I'd say to set up a Google Reader, and read them on your computer! (Or smartphone)

BreathingSpace,

Thank you for telling us about Calibre. I watched the video that the creator had on it, on the main website, and I started the download about 5 minutes in. Thank you thank you thank you!

I have Calibre on my system but I also have Adobe Digital editions. I believe Adobe Digital editions can read any format of book? or maybe it is just the ePub books. Most readers these days have apps for your computers/ipods and even android devices.

I have an ipad (I am actually typing this on it, right now... It's my main brain and has now completely replaced my desktop) and use both the iBook and Kindle apps to read. It's absolutely worth it - backlit, lightweight, cross referencing, dictionary and interactive note features... And it does more than just books! Heck, I can print from it now, as well as Skype. It replaces every mobile and computing device I have used previously.

You're welcome! Isn't it fabulous? I had tons of Kindle ebooks that I converted flawlessly to read on my Nook.

Although, one funny convert story was that I converted a file, and through the whole book if there was a word with double "L" (like the word "fully" for example), the second "L" was missing. lol. Totally readable though, just made me laugh. The book was great too so that helped!

Just a note about what you are going to use it for - if you are interested in surfing the net, reading blogs, reading in the dark in bed, etc., then you want more of a computer-type reader anyway like the iPad or Nook Color, etc.

If you are just using it to replace reading real books, then Nook or Kindle or Sony with the e-ink screen will work fine for you.

~BreathingSpace~