My wife wants an eReader----Pandigital Novel 7"??

[djs]

I thank everyone for their help.

This, however, has become more complicated than I thought at the time of my posting.

I esssentially knew nothing about eReaders---now my head is somewhat spinning with the possibilities.

I asked my wife to determine what exactly she wants (features, capabilities, accessories, color vs. black and white, etc.,) but she doesn't have time right now to research it. She didn't know of the choices---she just wanted something to "...read books on an eReader", and saw one in a department store flyer that initiated this posting.

I think this may have to delay until 2012---- with her not being able to tell me what she wants, I don't want to get the wrong thing. (unless I go to a Borders, etc to have them demonstrate)

Pat

If she just wants something to read books on, then you probably can't go wrong with the Kindle. As mentioned some have WiFi and some have WiFi along with the ability to go through a cell signal. For the ones that can go through a cell signal (aka "3G"), you do NOT need to have a cell phone, all you need to be is in an area that can see a cell signal (there also is no subscription needed to get books this way). The advantage to having one with both WiFi and and 3G is that you may be in an area with cell service but no WiFi (or somewhere that charges a fee for WiFi). I don't know if this one drains batteries more than the standard WiFi only version.

 

[DeniseM]

Does your wife use your local library? A good first step might be to contact them and see if they lend eBooks and what system is the most compatible.

If she just wants to DL books from a for-pay site, then go with a name brand, like Nook or Kindle.

Does she want to read in bed? Then buy one with a built in book light.

I would not buy an Ipad, unless she specifically wants one. It's a great product, but it's overkill for someone who just wants a book reader.

I have a Nook - the original, and I don't use the internet capabilities except to DL books. I don't like the small screen for surfing the internet - I use my laptop for that.

To buy books from Barnes and Noble (they make the Nook) I visit their website once a month or so using my laptop, and browse through the books. When I find something I like, I put it on my "Wish List." When I'm ready for a new book, I can DL it to the Nook from my Wish List with just a couple of clicks on the Nook - where ever I am.

I don't enjoy browsing the B&N website for books from the Nook itself - I don't have great vision, and I don't like the small screen for internet access. But - it's about the same size as a paperback, and the print size is adjustable, so for reading I love it.

Most of the fee books are first time efforts by amateur writers (and awful) - but once in a while a well known author will offer something for free, so it's worth while to watch the free list on B&N.

 

[djs]

Here is a link of eBook readers that are compatible with eBooks through the Boston Public Library, although I don't know for sure I suspect that this is an industry norm as I also checked other large cities (Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles) and they all brought me to the Overdrive website that I linked above.