On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:05:19 -0700, Darren New wrote:

> Jim Henderson wrote:
>> Already does.
> 
> Unsurprising! :-)
> 
>> I found it easy to get used to fairly quickly myself.
> 
> Yep, could be. But the touch-screen where you weren't actually touching
> the thing you were interested in threw me.

That took me about a day of normal usage to get past - I had kept trying 
to turn pages using the eInk screen.  When something doesn't work,  you 
learn fast. ;-)

> Or, as my brother said, "I got an iPad, because it has a touch screen." 
> "My
>   Kindle doesn't have a touch-screen, which is why my wife's
>   fingerprints
> are all over the screen."

I tried the iPad - found it too awkward to use for reading books - it's 
physically too heavy for me to use in that way.
 
>> Another *huge*
>> advantage is that many e-books can be viewed in their entirety if you
>> go to a B&N physical store - for up to an hour a day.
> 
> That's a pretty slick marketing move.

Yes, and something that Kindle just can't do since they don't have 
physical stores.  Since most B&N stores have a Starbuck's (or Starbuck's 
lookalike in them), it really ties together nicely.

>> And free wireless at
>> places with AT&T wifi (if you don't have the 3G version, which I don't)
>> is pretty cool.  Like Kindle, with the 3G option, you don't have to pay
>> anything extra for access (the device just costs $50 more, and I have
>> wifi pretty much everywhere I go these days).
> 
> It was helpful on my trip to germany. The hotel wanted like $100/week
> for wifi, but I found out the Kindle will do 3G web browsing for free,
> so for the couple of "arrived safely" sorts of emails I wanted to send,
> it worked out with webmail just fine.  (My phone isn't GSM, ya see.)

The thing I'm wondering is if the 3G option is just a special MicroSD 
card, it might be possible to upgrade at some point.  Either way doesn't 
bother me, if I were going overseas, the 3G option is only supported in 
the US anyways AFAIK (it's tied to AT&T) - but most places I'd travel 
outside the US I'd have company-paid access to the 'net, or would be in 
places with a wifi option.

>> I do wish the USB cable was longer - I'm using an extension with mine.
> 
> I bought a second cable to leave plugged into my computer all the time,
> running under the desk and all that. Happily, it's at least a standard
> USB cable.

The Nook uses a micro USB adapter, but I found the extension works well.  
5' isn't a short cable, it's just not quite long enough for charging 
while reading in bed.

>> also wish the USB port wasn't on the bottom of the device.
> 
> I haven't been bothered by that, but then I don't really read with it
> plugged in.

I generally don't either - I've been working out the battery usage, and 
find that if I leave it in "Airplane mode", the battery usage is much 
more predictable.  When turned off, it's actually just sleeping, so 
there's some battery usage when it's not fully powered down, and they 
don't recommend powering it down.

Today is the end of the second week (and return period) for it, and I'm 
still using it every day, so seems like a good investment. :-)

Jim

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