Nook

I believe you go to Amazon.com and purchase/download the book you want. If you don't have wi-fi, you can go to the bookstore or any other place that has it and Download.

I was thinking of getting one, but I like to read in the tub and that isn't quite feesable! lol

I bought the Kindle for my husband. He loves it. He usually goes to sleep reading - the Kindle turns off in 10 minutes - it never loses your place.

Yes you need an internet connection - the Kindle downloads the books from Amazon to the Kindle wirelessly. No subscription to Amazon for the service - but you do have to buy the books.

The books are stored in your Amazon Library - and you can share them. There are a lot of books that are out of copyright and are free. You can have the Kindle read the book to you.

The books you buy, you'll be able to read from your phone, computer, etc..

If your library has a wireless connection - maybe you can download the book at the library ?? or someplace that you have access to a free wireless connection? You'll be able to check out books at your public libraries sometime this year. (2011)

Here's the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireles...sa_menu_kdp3w3

or you can just get the iPad and download the kindle application, along with internet, games, and so forth!

I have Kindle and it was easy to find free Wi-Fi places to download books....which takes just seconds. It took me longer to decide what I wanted to buy than it did to download it. I now have wi-fi at home, but I have been behaving myself. I'm trying to plow through "Land Of The Painted Caves" and having a hard time. I've loved the series up until now, this ones seems to be spinning it's wheels.

I read my Kobo in the tub almost every night and haven't had an issue yet!

I LOVE my Kobo, and I was very unsure of it at first as well, but I was running out of room for books.

This- plus the Nook app, the Kobo app, AND iBooks. I my iPad!

I have the Nook, and live in a country where the B&N store isn't really supported.

I'll be honest, I download my books online for free... mostly public domain ones, but also newer ones.

I do read my Nook in the bathtub, I haven't had any problems thus far... but my hands aren't wet and I've never dropped it in, lol.

I did a lot of research before I got mine to make sure that it's what I really wanted. The Kindle and Kobo are both available here and supported here (Canada), but there were a few things I didn't like about them. With the Kobo it was the menu and the contrast in the screen - it didn't have enough gray scale for me. With the Kindle, I didn't like that I wouldn't be able to borrow library books with it - the format isn't supported by most libraries. I also didn't like that you have to put books you download for free via the internet through a program to transfer the file type to the one the kindle uses. It will quite often mess up the text in part of the book.

So I was down to the Nook or the Nook Color. I decided on the regular Nook because I couldn't really see myself using the features of the color all that often, and for an extra $100 it just wasn't worth it to me.

I love my Nook though, the screen contrast is great. It's easy to read, doesn't fatigue my eyes, it turns itself off after awhile and I can put books on it wirelessly (through wifi) or by plugging it in.

i got my kindle from a kid on craigslist that got itfor a graduation present and didnt want it. its the 3g version so i can pick up internet almost amywhere along with the normal wifi. it takes notime to get books and our libraries support kindle! to me the kindle seemed a lot easier to read on esp. for long periods of time.
i use mine in the tub but i am just careful but if you are worried you cam get a waterpoof case on amazon for under $15. my mom got one to take to the beach for hers.
i also feel like i go through books much faster with my kindle than actual books. plus i can read multiple books at once or gary and i can both be reading different books and it keeps our spots. plus the fact i just took it on vacation rather than five books was super nice!
for me the color didnt matter much either. i have a smart phone and use it for most of my on the go browsing needs.
i love mine and wouldnt trade it for theworld!

typed all this on my kindle too lol. i have to say i am not a huge fan of the keyboard lol

I've got the Kindle 2, which has 3G, but no Wifi. I've downloaded books in a couple of countries directly from the Amazon store. It only takes a minute or two. When I want to download from other sites, I do it to my laptop and then transfer the books to the Kindle by USB. If they're not Kindle format or PDF, ones without DRM can be converted using Stanza or Calibre.

Kobo is supposedly coming to Germany in August or September, so I might look into the Android app. Library lending for the Kindle is supposedly in the works, too.

I've only tried the Kindle, but several magazines and websites have done comparisons.
Kindle vs. Nook vs. iPad: Which e-book reader should you buy?
The Nook vs. Kindle 3
Nook Simple Touch compared to Kindle 3
What eReader should I buy? NookColor vs. Kindle 3

The problem with a backlit screen like the iPad's is that it's barely legible outdoors, not to mention eye strain. I've got reader apps on my smartphone and find I can't read for hours like I can with the Kindle. I use a little reading lamp attached to it for reading in bed. You can get covers with built-in reading lamps, too.

If you don't have 3G or Wifi, you can still download to a computer and transfer the files to the e-reader. There's no subscription involved with the 3G, as that's covered by the price of the device.

You DO NOT want a backlit screen for reading books - it will strain your eyes in the dark. Instead, get a little reading light that just attaches to the top, it lights up the screen so that you can read but it's not overly bright so it won't bother your SO if you read it in bed. The nice thing about the screen not being backlit is that you can also read it in bright sunlight with no problems.

You DO NOT have to transfer books to the Nook through wifi. You can do it with the charging cable if you want to. It's incredibly easy, just drag and drop.

As for the library book thing, yes it's the same as borrowing one from the library. If you don't read it within the 2 week time period it will disappear, but you can always borrow it again to finish it. I'm not sure if it will keep your page when the book disappears, I don't think it will, but if you make note of where you were before the book disappears then you don't really have to worry about that.

And, if I remember right, soon it'll be possible to borrow ebooks from the library for the Kindle....I'm very excited about that. I have the 3G Kindle and love it....I still read traditional books, but e-books are great as well.

I just purchased the Nook color last weekend. I have wi-fi for my laptop, so it works fine with that. The hospital where I work has wi-fi also. I like the backlight for reading in the dark or low light situations. I like being able to surf the web on it. I've already downloaded and read three books. I was really hesitant...I love the feel of books in my hands. However, my basement is full to bursting with books. And let's face it...how many books do I really read more than once? Very few. So far, I am really enjoying it.

How much is it to download the books?

Normally you just pay the price of the book, and there's a very large selection of free books, like the classics or those by new authors, on an ever-growing number of sites.

More and more magazines are going to e-reader formats. When the ones I read regularly go over to it, I'll get a Nook color (or whatever is that quality at that time). I have stacks of magazines I'm always trying to get rid of.

I saved $10 on my annual Goodguys Hot Rod club membership by agreeing to get the monthly news magazine (200+ pages, in color, with lots of advertisements) online rather than in paper.

I suspect many magazines will go to the format, since postage is their biggest single cost.

Edit: I see that Car Craft is now available. When they get Street Rodder, Texas Highways, and Cat Fancy, it will be time to buy!

About having the e-reader read the book to you: how does it sound? Is it a pleasant, natural voice, or is it more like the device Stephen Hawking uses? Do you have a choice of voices? Can you download the recorded audiobook instead of, or along with, the e-reader version?

I won't be able to buy one of these things anytime soon, but oh, the fantasies I'm having!

I spent $2 at Walmart and got a little led clip on light. Works perfect after some adjusting they may ones for the kindle that are flatter and spread the light better but they are about $30

I don't use that feature or audio-books, but the voices sound pretty natural, and you can choose between male and female. It's not available for all books.

Right now I'm reading a German book on my Kindle, so I turned the voice feature on: Whoever is reading it has an American accent, which is pretty funny!

Here's the good news. According to a number of tech reporters I've heard, e-readers are going to be the new MP3 player in the electronics field. That is, ones that cost hundreds of dollars just a short time ago will fall down in the "disposable electronics" price range. I bought my brother a 500 mb mp3 player a few years ago and paid nearly $100 for it. This week, I bought him an 8GB unit with video display and paid $33 for it. I have heard opinions that the basic e-readers will be down in the $50 range very shortly. The Kindle doesn't have far to go; the basic unit right now is $114.

Mr. Blanche, what MP3 player would your recommend? I've got a million CDs, but have held off on getting an Ipod or MP3 player since they seemed so expensive (although sounds like they're getting cheaper!). I had an Amazon gift certificate which I used for my Kindle - but I have to admit that when it hit the $129 or whatever mark, it looked way more attractive than its original pricing!

Oh, any thoughts about a GPS for the car? Another thing I'd like but didn't want to spend a lot on. Thanks for any thoughts on the topic.

I'm not Mr. Blanche but I love the Sansa Clip+. The memory card slot makes it so I'm not restricted on how much music and audiobooks I can carry with me. You can load regular mp3s and wmas, library music and audiobooks through OverDrive (the library ebook lending system), Audible audiobooks, FM radio, podcasts like Rhapsody, etc. The 2gb model starts at $30.

This is what I just bought for my brother:

Coby MP3 player

I got the 8GB version. List price was $69.99, originally. It was marked down to $43.99, plus at additional 25% off, plus my 10% employee discount (I got it at a Toys R Us store, where they're closing out that model). Like I say, the price on these things is going down fast. The 8GB ipod touch is $200, still, but you can get 32GB for not that much more.

The only disadvantage is that it won't play m4b format, which is the itunes audiobook format.

When it comes to GPS, you're out of my league. I need to get one myself. The built-in turn-by-turn instructions in our new car just expired.

I have the integrated cover for my Kindle....with the reading light. Yes, it cost me a bit but I figured if I was going to spend the money on the Kindle then I would go the extra. Can't say I'm sorry.