Kindle vs. Nook vs. iPad: Which e-book reader should you buy?

CRAVE - CNET ^ | September 4, 2010 6:29 PM PDT | John P. Falcone

[My hearts in London - Everett]

I read FR on my Kindle. You can post to FR from your Kindle also.

[nickcarraway]

I don’t know if it’s out yet, but I saw a prototype of a Skiff, and it looked very good.

[My hearts in London - Everett]

Thanks for the link!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Got some details on the Skiff?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

OK...Google found this:

Skiff e-reader hands-on: watch out Amazon

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By Thomas Ricker posted Jan 7th 2010 12:53PM

Preview

Ready for your Kindle alternative? Skiff might be it. Might. We had a chance to sit down with the team to go hands-on with the 11.5-inch e-Reader. As a device, the near final prototype was big pushing an impressive 1,600 x 1,200 resolution -- enough to stuff an entire page of the New York Times up front including advertisements and still maintain readability. Mind you, it's not an exact reproduction, content has been modified to account for advertisements which, for better or worse, are part of the Skiff publishing model. Fortunately, we found it impossible to differentiate between the locally served ads and those you're already accustomed to seeing inside your favorite newspaper. But as far as competition goes, Skiff isn't hedging its bets on a single device -- this is a publishing platform. As such, Skiff showed us a total of four different devices accessing its content: a color e-reader prototype as well as Skiff apps running on a Palm Pre, Viliv MID, and of course the Linux-based black and white e-reader launching sometime this year. They even promised an iPhone app as you'd expect with synchronization across all your devices (at least as many as the DRM will allow). Skiff tells us that an Android device is also in the works.

Unfortunately, as a Kindle competitor, Skiff was not willing to discuss the extent of their content partners nor the number of publications (blogs, magazines, newspapers, and book categories are listed on the store) that will be available at launch. Nevertheless, the Skiff Store, we've been assured, will be full with plenty of subscription content and even a few apps like Sudoku and crossword puzzles. A la carte access to content will be available as well.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

And from Gizmodo:

Skiff Reader: The Largest Yet Thinnest eBook Reader to Date

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he Skiff Reader will feature the Skiff service and digital store, allowing consumers to wirelessly purchase and access a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, books, blogs and other content from multiple publishers. Newspaper and magazine content delivered by Skiff will feature visually appealing layouts, high-resolution graphics, rich typography and dynamic updates, supporting key design qualities that help publications differentiate themselves and attract subscribers and advertisers.

Besides the Skiff Reader, Skiff is working with major consumer electronics manufacturers to integrate Skiff's service, digital store and client software into a range of innovative devices. By supporting a variety of devices from multiple manufacturers, and through complementary applications for major smart phone platforms, Skiff will make it easier for publishers to distribute content and advertising across a range of devices and form factors, an increasingly important goal as the e-reading market continues to grow.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

More:

Sprint Skiff Review - What Does This iPad Competitor Have to Offer?

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By Travis Van Slooten

Designed to compete with the Apple iPhone/iPod/iTunes, iLove to dominate the market monopoly, the Skiff was a hit back at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. Release dates were expected in February, but so far, eager consumers still don't have their hands on one.

Skiff, LLC is owned by magazine publisher giant Hearst. They created a full-color, large-format multi-tasking gadget that includes wireless capabilities. The Skiff joins Sprint's network of products. Consumers will have exclusive access to the Skiff store and advertisements specific to Skiff.

Although it is a competitor, it won't blow out the Kindle fire, as the gadget is geared toward magazines and newspapers. It's no wonder being that it is owned by Hearst. The publishes giant puts out newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Connecticut Post and San Francisco Chronicle. Users will also have access to popular Hearst magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, O and Esquire.

What is does offer is that it is the first to feature metal foil e-paper technology. Not only does this offer durability, flexibility, but it is the next generation of e-paper display which is based on a thin sheet of foil. The old glass display is finally replaced. It is over a quarter-inch in height, and the thinnest ereader to date; however, that may change tomorrow. It weighs in at over a pound, and it holds a charge for over a week with common use.

The Skiff utilizes Sprint's 3G Wireless Network to deliver subscription newspapers, magazines and of course e-books. It also has WiFi. Fully intuitive, the user can navigate easily through Skiff store materials, in addition to personal and work documents.

While it may be awkward for book reading, but the huge 11.5 inch screen is perfect for newspaper reading.

[Eye of Unk]

I would say this is what I would like to have. OLED technology, portable and with a massive storage capability.

[BooBoo1000]

I have Sony, and it is wonderful, I am always finding new features, ie last night I wanted to check on something in “ War and Peace. I clicked on it to buy it and down load, but the Sony said you have already purchased this boor, so look in you books, War and Peace will be there, you can re down load it at no charge. Cool. Sony is the best now that they have hooked up with Amazon you find so many books you could not read them all in one lifetime.

[mountainbunny]

Thank you for the information. At think point, I’m leaning strongly toward the Nook. It reads the PDF format just fine and reviews well.

I wanted to ask, do you find yourself reading more? My best friend has a Kindle and she said that it has her reading much more for pleasure. That would be nice side benefit. I read so much for work that I often don’t have a book in progress for enjoyment anymore.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks E.

[SunkenCiv]

Anyway...you read this one? "How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed"

No, but I read the sequel.

[SunkenCiv]

:’)

[JDoutrider]

marker

[nickcarraway]

Well, it seemed much more “readable” than the other ones I’ve seen. The screen didn’t have any glare or anything. I could imaging reading on a beach. The UI was designed for reading newspaper and such. I think they have a deal with WSJ.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"Kindle should be used to replace school and college textbooks."

I completely agree. I would also go a little further and say newspapers and periodicals would be good for that. Something you generally read and throw away. But for books, no way!

[Lady Jag]

Please tell me how you got FR on your Kindle3!!

I just got my Kindle and have had not success.

Please.  

[4rcane]

You got Kindle version 3 with Wifi and 3g? Go to Menu -> experimental, click browser and then click menu and enter URL, type in www.freerepublic.com

You can browse pretty much any webpage on the internet, just like from the PC, except sites like youtube. Most text based sites like freerepublic or blogs will work. Gmail, Google Reader will work as well. Facebook, twitter, hotmail, yahoo.com etc

[4rcane]

You can connect kindle to the pc via an USB cable, but web browser is via wi fi or 3g. I highly recommend ppl get the wifi+3g model, not just the wifi model

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the info!