Barnes & Noble e-reader app coming to Android
This weekend was all about e-readers for me. After quite struggling with reading long texts on my mobile phones, I’ve decided that just isn;t the way I want to enjoy books. So I went on a hunt to try out as many full-sized e-book readers as possible. I played with Barnes & Noble’s Nook, the Android-powered gadget with an e-ink screen for reading and a secondary, full-color display for navigation. And while this was the coolest of the bunch, which images of book covers, colorful back covers, and a variety of cool cases, the thing was pretty darn slow. Still, at $150 for the WiFi only version and $200 for WiFi and a lifetime of 3G connectivity, it’s near the top of my list.
Next I headed over to Borders to play with their $150 Kobe and Sony e-readers. I found the Kobe’s d-pad unpredictable, and the Sonys, while packing acceptable features – one having a touch screen – were just to heavy – feeling like a single carpet drop could be the end of them.
I tested out a few other knock-offs and came away feeling like the Nook was my best bet. That is, unless, I get a tablet. Now the Android tablet situation can be confusing, to say the least. There are so many on the horizon that it’s difficult to even remember them all. Suffice to say that if that’s the route I choose to go, I’ll have plenty of options. None of them sport an e-ink screen, which would be a soothing relief after a day of reading and writing on a laptop, but there are several e-reader apps available for use on an Android tablet (or phone, if you can stand reading that way. I can’t).
Of course, right now, the biggest names available in the Android Market are the Kindle and Borders eBooks apps. But Barnes & Noble is about to get in on the game, bringing their iPhone reader app over to the Droid. I’m wondering if we’ll have to settle for two apps – one for purchasing, one for reading – like iPhone users do, as seen below. Even if that is the case, I’m glad to see more options available in the Market. Regardless, I’m not sure any app will convince me to read books on a tablet when e-ink is available.
What about you? Will/do you read books on a tablet? On your phone? On a dedicated e-reader? Or do you prefer that old paper stuff? Let us know in the comments.
Via Android and Me
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I am waiting for tablets that have either Pixe lQi or Mirasol technologies.
This weekend I had been looking for an e-reader too. I played with the Kindle app on my N1 and realized that I enjoyed reading while commute on the train. Many comments from the market complained of full version Kindle books not working. Instead of wasting $10 for a non working book I went to BN to check out the Nook. It was nice but like you said it was very slow and there was no trial period. That was enough for me to walk out and think about getting one. I feel like the Sony touch screen e-readers are the way to go after dealing with Nook's page buttons and touch screen combo.
I can wait for an Android tablet. If coupled with the Kindle app, I think that would be a winning combo. However I don't like waiting and right now, I am settling on the ipad. Rather than to carry an e-reader that does nothing else (and half weird web browsing on the nook), why not have some functions of a netbook also? I don't have a netbook or laptop so I think it'll fill the gap nicely. I know that e-ink was supposed to be the initial interest of all this but I'm going to take advantage of the trail period (14 days) and see if the ipad is for me or maybe I'll have to pickup the Nook instead. With my N1 as a hotspot, I think it'll go quite well…
The Nook E-reader is great one to have for serious e-readers. You can get these from walmart and bestbuy.
This weekend I had been looking for an e-reader too. I played with the Kindle app on my N1 and realized that I enjoyed reading while commute on the train. Many comments from the market complained of full version Kindle books not working. Instead of wasting $10 for a non working book I went to BN to check out the Nook. It was nice but like you said it was very slow and there was no trial period. That was enough for me to walk out and think about getting one. I feel like the Sony touch screen e-readers are the way to go after dealing with Nook's page buttons and touch screen combo.
I can wait for an Android tablet. If coupled with the Kindle app, I think that would be a winning combo. However I don't like waiting and right now, I am settling on the ipad. Rather than to carry an e-reader that does nothing else (and half weird web browsing on the nook), why not have some functions of a netbook also? I don't have a netbook or laptop so I think it'll fill the gap nicely. I know that e-ink was supposed to be the initial interest of all this but I'm going to take advantage of the trail period (14 days) and see if the ipad is for me or maybe I'll have to pickup the Nook instead. With my N1 as a hotspot, I think it'll go quite well…
-edit- Ipads are still sold out and I will have to wait about a week. In the meantime I found that the Nook has a 14 day trial period with no restocking fee. For the next 2 weeks I'll be convincing myself not to keep the Nook…
no reading on phones again, I’m going blind.