Digital Reading: e-books discussion

[Snowstone]

Had a some gift certificates from Christmas and my birthday and got an iPad (16GB Wi-Fi), took advantage of the price drop due to the release of the iPad 2.

I installed iBooks and Kindle app. The kindle app gave me 3 free books and a dictionary, iBooks gave me Winni the Pooh :S (I think is not the best choice for a first book).

I know this is not the theme of the topic, but I don't want to open a new topic just for this question, for those who have an iPad, what office suite do you use? I really need one for my studies/work, but don't know what's the best one.

[BlueStarEgo]

Sorry, I don't own an iPad so I can't help you on that one.

If any of you ride public transportation or anything like that do you ever get the feeling someone is reading over your shoulder?

Lol, I know that's a strange question but since my Nook displays extremely clear I always feel like someone is reading with me because whenever I turn around someone is turning away.

[corona]

Big, big announcement today for the Nook Color. I've been holding off on some comments on this device due to not being able to fully utilize until the android update. I'll take a look at it tonight and followup in a few more days. From the LA Times:

EDIT: Yes, technically this means I can watch TV episodes through Hulu now that Flash is finally being enabled. I have no idea if DOES, just that it should. Also, the "Lend Me" feature might get to be a bit more important now if the ease of lending has been enhanced. For example, all three books from "The Hunger Games" can be loaned out to another Nook user for a couple of weeks, and you can browse your friends' libraries and send out requests.

And, of course, Angry Birds!

Barnes & Noble's Nook Color gained a few new features on Monday that push the device more into the classification of a tablet computer and not simply another e-reader.

Among the additions is a store for buying applications, which Barnes & Noble is calling Nook Apps; apps for email, calendars and contacts; support for Adobe Air and Flash; and a new Nook social networking app.

One thing that isn't changing, however, is the price -- $249 for the 7-inch touch-screen device, which features 8GB of storage.

The updates come as the Nook Color is being switched over to a newer version of Google's Android operating system, called Froyo. Unlike the Honeycomb software, which was designed specifically to run on tablets, Froyo was designed for phones but is on many tablets, such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

But while the Nook Color can now run Android Froyo, it won't be running all Android apps. Instead, Barnes & Noble is asking developers to optimize their apps for the Nook Color and submit them through the Nook Apps store, rather than simply allowing users to download apps from the Android Market.

As of Monday, 125 apps were available in the Nook Apps store, including Angry Birds, one of the more popular games available on tablets and smartphones nowadays. Other apps include Pandora Internet radio, the game Uno, the cooking app Epicurious and the as-seen-on-iPad news app Pulse.

[BlueStarEgo]

Have you guys seen the new Nook? Now it has some physical similarities to both the Sony Pocket eReader and the Kindle. Although I still hate touch screens, I think I'm going to go into Best Buy tomorrow just to check it out. I don't think I'd be able to upgrade to one, but I'd still like to get a hands on feel of the new one.

Quick demo
B&N site description

[corona]

Sorry, didn't catch your Nook post until now.

The new e-ink version of the Nook looks like a winner. They addressed the biggest functional issue between it and the Kindle, which was the Kindle's vastly superior battery life.

Hmmm, I could always pick up the new version and give the old one to a family member.

I'm loving my Nook Color and the latest update made it a winner too. It's very cool being able to check within a few seconds the latest postings here right before going to bed. I still prefer e-ink to pure reading, but the Nook Color works for everything else very nicely.